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U Parashar

Publications and source records attributed to U Parashar.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

"Norwalk-like viruses". Public health consequences and outbreak management.

"Norwalk-like viruses" (NLVs) cause outbreaks of gastroenteritis and are spread frequently through contaminated food or water. Molecular diagnostics now enables detecting viruses in clinical and environmental specimens, linking of NLV strains causing outbreaks in multiple geographic locations, and tracing them to their sources in contaminated food or water. This report reviews recent advances in NLV detection and provides guidelines and recommendations for investigating NLV-related outbreaks, including specimen collection and disease prevention and control. This report also updates information provided in CDC's previously published, Viral Agents of Gastroenteritis: Public Health Importance and Outbreak Management (MMWR 1990;39 [No. RR-5]: 1-24). These CDC recommendations are intended for public health professionals who investigate outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis but could be useful in academic and research settings as well.

Caliciviridae Infections↗
PubMed2001

Gastroenteritis viruses: an overview.

Acute gastroenteritis is among the most common illnesses of humankind, and its associated morbidity and mortality are greatest among those at the extremes of age, children and the elderly. In developing countries, gastroenteritis is a common cause of death in children < 5 years that can be linked to a wide variety of pathogens. In developed countries, while deaths from diarrhoea are less common, much illness leads to hospitalization or doctor visits. Much of the gastroenteritis in children is caused by viruses belonging to four distinct families--rotaviruses, caliciviruses, astroviruses and adenoviruses. Other viruses, such as the toroviruses, picobirnaviruses, picornavirus (the Aichi virus), and enterovirus 22, may play a role as well. Viral gastroenteritis occurs with two epidemiologic patterns, diarrhoea that is endemic in children and outbreaks that affect people of all ages. Viral diarrhoea in children is caused by group A rotaviruses, enteric adenoviruses, astroviruses and the caliciviruses; the illness affects all children worldwide in the first few years of life regardless of their level of hygiene, quality of water, food or sanitation, or type of behaviour. For all but perhaps the caliciviruses, these infections provide immunity from severe disease upon reinfection. Epidemic viral diarrhoea is caused primarily by the Norwalk-like virus genus of the caliciviruses. These viruses affect people of all ages, are often transmitted by faecally contaminated food or water, and are therefore subject to control by public health measures. The tremendous antigenic diversity of caliciviruses and short-lived immunity to infection permit repeated episodes throughout life. In the past decade, the molecular characterization of many of these gastroenteritis viruses has led to advances both in our understanding of the pathogens themselves and in development of a new generation of diagnostics. Application of these more sensitive methods to detect and characterize individual agents is just beginning, but has already opened up new avenues to reassess their disease burden, examine their molecular epidemiology, and consider new directions for their prevention and control through vaccination, improvements in food and water quality and sanitary practices.

Adenoviruses, Human↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A cluster of fulminant myocarditis cases in children, Baltimore, Maryland, 1997.

The true incidence of myocarditis in children is difficult to estimate because many mild cases go undetected. This study describes an unusual cluster of myocarditis cases that occurred in young children living in the greater Baltimore area between May and October 1997. A search of multiple comprehensive databases and interviews with area pediatric cardiologists were conducted to identify unreported cases and determine the background rate of myocarditis in the area. Seven cases of myocarditis were found as well as two with a similar clinical picture and myocardial fibrosis on tissue examination. Six case patients with active myocarditis and one child with fibrosis died. The case children were predominantly black (eight of nine) and male (seven of nine), with no identifiable risk factors. The disease was characterized by a fulminant course with malignant arrhythmias. The greatest number of pediatric myocarditis deaths reported in 1 year prior to 1997 was three. Myocardial tissues were examined using immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization, and polymerase chain reaction but no etiologic agent was identified. This outbreak is unusual because of both the number of cases and the fulminant course of the disease in this group of children.

Arrhythmias, Cardiac↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Pathologic studies of fatal cases in outbreak of hand, foot, and mouth disease, Taiwan.

In 1998, an outbreak of enterovirus 71-associated hand, foot, and mouth disease occurred in Taiwan. Pathologic studies of two fatal cases with similar clinical features revealed two different causative agents, emphasizing the need for postmortem examinations and modern pathologic techniques in an outbreak investigation.

Disease Outbreaks↗