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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

Mycobacterium marinum: chronic and extensive infections of the lower limbs in south Pacific islanders.

We report three adult cases of very chronic, extensive infection of the lower limbs due to Mycobacterium marinum. The patients were from South Pacific islands and, clinically, the widespread warty plaques resembled chromomycosis. One was associated with severe lymphoedema. All three patients gave a history of at least 20 years duration. The patients were otherwise well and not immunologically compromised. In all cases, the organism was identified on tissue cultures and was not seen on histopathology. The mycobacteria were sensitive to most antibiotics tested in vitro. The patients were treated with a combination of rifampicin and cotrimoxazole with good results.

Adult↗
PubMed2007

Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infection in women attending an antenatal clinic in the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence and correlates of herpes simplex virus type 2 infection in women in an antenatal clinic in the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu. STUDY DESIGN: A prevalence survey of sexually transmitted infections of pregnant women attending an antenatal clinic at Vila Central Hospital was conducted in 1999-2000. Serum samples were tested for HSV-1 and HSV-2 antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results for other sexually transmitted infections and demographic and obstetric variables were analyzed for their association with HSV-2 serostatus. RESULTS: HSV-2 serum antibody results were obtained on 535 women and HSV-1 results on 134. The seroprevalence of HSV-2 was 30% and HSV-1 was 100%. On multivariate analysis, the independent predictors of HSV-2 infection were age, marital status, and trichomoniasis. CONCLUSIONS: HSV-2 was common in this sample of sexually active women in Vanuatu. This is the first study of HSV in Vanuatu and one of very few studies in the Pacific region.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Bird remains from an archaeological site on Henderson Island, South Pacific: Man-caused extinctions on an "uninhabited" island.

Long thought never to have been inhabited and to be in a pristine ecological state, Henderson Island (southeast Pacific) is now known to have been colonized and then abandoned by Polynesians. Bones from an archaeological site on the island associated with (14)C dates of approximately 800 and approximately 500 years B.P. include specimens of 12 species of birds, of which 3, a storm-petrel and two pigeons (Nesofregetta fuliginosa, Ducula cf. aurorae or D. pacifica, and Ducula cf. galeata), no longer occur on Henderson, and two others (Puffinus nativitatis and Sula sula) still visit but are not known to breed. The vanished species were presumably exterminated by Polynesians and the biota of Henderson Island can thus no longer be regarded as being in an unaltered state. The prehistoric abandonment of various small, unarable islands by Polynesians may have been due to the depletion of seabirds and pigeons, the only readily available food source. The species of pigeons identified from Henderson are known historically only from distant archipelagos and have never before been found sympatrically. Distributional patterns resulting from man-caused extinctions may give rise to erroneous interpretations of the relationships and evolutionary history of insular organisms. Certain endangered species, such as Ducula galeata, might effectively be preserved by reintroduction to abandoned islands that they occupied before human intervention.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

Blood chemistry profile of a South Pacific Island population.

AIMS: To determine basic blood chemistry parameters in the population of the island of Mauke in the South Pacific. METHODS: As a part of a health survey carried out in 1992, 24 laboratory parameters were measured in serum samples of 502 subjects representing 80.8% of the total population. RESULTS: Blood glucose, uric acid and globulin values were above the respective reference intervals in 9%, 5% and 4% of the subjects. Blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine values were elevated in 1.8% and 1.2% of the subjects. Hypoalbuminaemia was found in 1.2% to 4% of the subjects, more frequently in the older age groups. Gamma glutamyltransferase levels were elevated in 6.2% of the subjects. Iron values were below the reference interval in 8.0% of the subjects. Serum cholesterol levels were elevated in 4.4% of the subjects. CONCLUSIONS: The blood chemistry data reflect the disease profile of this Pacific Island population including the presence of diabetes and iron deficiency as well as renal, hepatic and infectious diseases. The data can be used in comparative inter-island studies as well as in those between Pacific Island and other populations.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

The human bioclimates of Western and South Pacific islands and climate change.

The current bioclimates of equatorial Western and tropical South Pacific have been assessed, using the concepts of effective temperature and relative strain as a basis for evaluating likely changes in human comfort regimes as a consequence of global warming. Current bioclimates may be considered marginally stressful for indigenous populations. Global warming will result in changes in the frequency, duration and intensity of physioclimatically stressful conditions.

Greenhouse Effect↗
PubMed1976

Communicable disease in the South Pacific Islands, 1.

An outline is given of the pattern of communicable disease in the South Pacific, as far as it is known. Surveillance and research are imcomplete and the World Health Organization is assisting in carrying these out. Reporting and laboratory diagnosis of communicable disease are inadequate and sometimes inaccurate. This is being improved. Medical checks for intending migrants from the South Pacific are, in a number of cases, inadequately performed in the country of origin and this situation should be altered. The risks to surrounding developed countries from migrants, temporary workers and returning travellers are not tremendous but they cannot be neglected and vigilance has to be maintained. Tuberculosis importation does present risks, as does that of typhoid. Malaria importation carries risks for Northern Australia. Leprosy poses little real risk to Australia or New Zealand and neither does filariasis. Cholera would have to be watched for closely should there ever be a South Pacific outbreak, but the developed countries around the South Pacific which are cholera-non-receptive can control occasional cases. Other than malaria, tuberculosis, typhoid and possibly dengue, problems are thus mainly in the diagnosis and treatment of individuals.

Bacterial Infections↗
PubMed1999

Betel nut: a common drug used by naturalized citizens from India, Far East Asia, and the South Pacific Islands.

Betel nut is a common masticatory drug used in Far East Asia, India, and the South Pacific. It is used daily by 600 million people worldwide, yet is unknown to most Western physicians. As the world becomes more culturally and ethnically interconnected, emergency physicians will encounter the use of betel nut. Significant illness can be associated with its use, including asthma exacerbation, cholinergic crisis, cardiac arrhythmias, acute psychosis, milk-alkali syndrome, and oropharyngeal tumors. We describe its source, pharmacology, composition, presentation, and treatment in the emergency department.

Areca↗
PubMed1980

Aedes albopictus in the Solomon and Santa Cruz Islands, South Pacific.

Surveys of mosquitoes in the South Pacific up until 1977 have shown the presence of Aedes albopictus only as far east as Papua New Guinea. During the visit to the Solomon Islands in 1978 to collect members of the Aedes (Stegomyia) scutellaris complex, Ae. albopictus was found in large numbers on Guadalcanal and was also present in the Santa Cruz Islands. This species has been incriminated as a vector of dengue haemorrhagic fever.

Aedes↗
PubMed2003

Distribution of a 27-bp deletion in the band 3 gene in South Pacific islanders.

Distribution of a 27-bp deletion in the band 3 gene (B3Delta27) that causes Southeast Asian/Melanesian ovalocytosis has scarcely been studied in remote insular Southeast Asia and New Guinea. Here the presence of the B3Delta27 was surveyed among a total of 756 subjects from the indigenous populations inhabiting New Guinean islands and remote insular Southeast Asia by using a polymerase chain reaction method. In remote insular Southeast Asia where Austronesian-speaking peoples inhabit, the B3Delta27 frequency ranged between 0.04 and 0.15. In New Guinea Island, hinterland or Papuan groups showed the absence of the B3Delta27 or a very low gene frequency (0.01 in the Gidra) of the B3Delta27. However, groups of the coastal regions (Asmat, Sorong, and others) and of the nearby islands (Biak and Manus) where Austronesian infiltration had occurred showed substantial frequencies of the deletion (0.02-0.09). It is likely that the B3Delta27 was introduced into this region about 3,500 years ago with the arrival of Austronesian-speaking peoples. Once being introduced, the B3Delta27 may have been selected because of its resistance against malaria, while founder effect and genetic drift might have occurred in the New Guinean tribes with small population size, which helped to generate a variety of the B3Delta27 frequencies.

Anion Exchange Protein 1, Erythrocyte↗
PubMed2004

The migration of doctors and nurses from South Pacific Island Nations.

Little is known of the structure of the international migration of skilled health professionals. Accelerated migration of doctors and nurses from the Pacific island states of Fiji, Samoa and Tonga to the Pacific periphery is part of the globalization of health care. The findings from a recent survey of 251 doctors and nurses from the three island countries are reported here. Key determinants of both present migration status and future migration intentions were analyzed using econometric methods. Nurses' and doctors' propensities to migrate are influenced by both income and non-income factors, including ownership of businesses and houses. Migrants also tend to have more close relatives overseas, to have trained there, and so experienced superior working conditions. Migration propensities vary between countries, and between nurses and doctors within countries. Tongan nurses have a higher propensity to migrate, mainly because of greater relative earnings differentials, but are also more likely to return home. The role of kinship ties, relative income differentials and working conditions is evident in other developing country contexts. Remittances and return migration, alongside business investment, bring some benefits to compensate for the skill drain. National development policies should focus on encouraging return migration, alongside retention and recruitment, but are unlikely to prevent out migration.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Beyond barcodes: complex DNA taxonomy of a South Pacific Island radiation.

DNA barcodes can provide rapid species identification and aid species inventories in taxonomically unstudied groups. However, the approach may fail in recently diverged groups with complex gene histories, such as those typically found on oceanic islands. We produced a DNA-based inventory of taxonomically little known diving beetles (genus Copelatus) in the Fiji archipelago, where they are a dominant component of the aquatic invertebrate fauna. Sampling from 25 localities on five islands and analysis of sequences from one nuclear (328bp histone 3) and three mitochondrial (492bp rrnL, 786bp cox1, 333bp cob) gene regions revealed high haplotype diversity, mainly originated since the Pleistocene, and subdivided into three major phylogenetic lineages and 22 statistical parsimony networks. A traditional taxonomic study delineated 25 morphologically defined species that were largely incongruent with the DNA-based groups. Haplotype diversity and their spatial arrangement demonstrated a continuum of relatedness in Fijian Copelatus, with evidence for introgression at various hierarchical levels. The study illustrates the difficulties for formal classification in evolutionarily complex lineages, and the potentially misleading conclusions obtained from either DNA barcodes or morphological traits alone. However, the sequence profile of Fijian Copelatus provides an evolutionary framework for the group and a DNA-based reference system for the integration of ecological and other biodiversity data, independent of the Linnaean naming system.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Differing profiles of periodontal disease in two similar South Pacific island populations.

The periodontal condition of a cross-section of individuals aged between 15-59 years was characterised from clinical and radiographic observations of dental calculus, gingival inflammation, the level of the gingival attachment , alveolar bone loss, teeth missing or requiring extraction for periodontal reasons. The common characteristics of the profile in Tonga and W. Samoa were a high prevalence of the factors common to periodontal disease: calculus and gingival inflammation; a progressive apical movement of the gingival attachment; and alveolar bone loss. All these criteria showed a positive age dependency with calculus (particularly subgingival calculus) and gingival inflammation being very commonly associated with all tooth types at an early age, less than 30 years. Tooth loss observed was presumed to be previously associated with periodontal disease because the prevalence of dental caries was very low in both populations. Substantial differences were observed in the number of missing teeth between Tongan and Samoan populations, the Tongan subjects having a high rate of tooth loss. From radiographic interpretations of the periodontal conditions fewer subjects in Tonga were assessed as having no disease, and there was a higher prevalence of progressive destructive disease in Tonga than in W. Samoa. The proportion of subjects in both countries with no disease decreased rapidly with age. There was no evident explanation of the greater severity of disease in Tonga than in W. Samoa. The prevalence of microbial plaque, calculus and gingival inflammation was very high in all subjects at all ages particularly over 30 years in both populations.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Wheezing bronchitis in children on a South Pacific Island.

Retrospective and prospective studies were done on children with wheezing bronchitis on the small Pacific island of Niue. Wheezing bronchitis was found to be a common cause of morbidity, but not mortality in these children. Episodes of the disease were most common in children under the age of 4 years and tended to disappear as they became older. A case-control study indicated smoking by the mother (P less than 0.0001), positive stool examination for parasites (P less than 0.001), mother with a history of wheezing bronchitis (P less than 0.01) and father smoking (P less than 0.05) were all correlated with wheezing bronchitis. Skin testing and serologic results indicated that hypersensitivity to house dust mite (Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus) and plantain (Plantago lanceolata) antigens were also associated with having wheezing bronchitis. This study demonstrates the multifactorial etiology of wheezing bronchitis on a Pacific island.

Adolescent↗