| the health services of sri lanka present and future. | 1) sri lanka has achieved a high human development status; 2) the health sector, and particularly the government health sector, has played an important role in this achievement. 3) the health transition is going to increase the burden of disease and the demand for health services; 4) the government health services have been underfunded and the provincial health services have been more underfunded; 5) the most cost efficient health services, anywhere in the world, are government funded; 6) theref ... | 1995 | 8536324 |
| common origin of human t-lymphotropic virus type-i from iran, kuwait, israel, and la réunion island. | we found previously that kuwaiti htlv-i isolates had two nucleotide substitutions in the most frequently sequenced regions of htlv-i genome, namely: t-->c 4783 in the pol and t-->c 6569 the env genes. these substitutions were observed rarely in other htlv-i isolates and seemed to be good markers of the htlv-i lineage, the "epicentre" of which was located in mashhad, iran. to test this hypothesis we sequenced the fragments of htlv-i genome including sites 4783 and 6569 from seven isolates obtaine ... | 1997 | 9131461 |
| influence of iron, growth temperature and plasmids on siderophore production in aeromonas hydrophila. | aeromonas hydrophila strains obtained from diarrhoeal samples of human patients (19 isolates) and freshwater ponds (11 isolates) were analysed for siderophore production. both clinical and environmental isolates showed significantly increased siderophore production under iron-limiting conditions both at 28 degrees c and at 37 degrees c. clinical isolates consistently produced higher levels of siderophores than did the environmental isolates. the role of plasmids in moderating siderophore product ... | 1997 | 9364139 |
| [current aspects of extrauterine pregnancy in nosy be (madagascar), from november 1993 to february 1995]. | we present the current aspects of ectopic pregnancies in nosy be, madagascar, and possible solutions. ectopic pregnancies are problems of public health here as in many developing countries. nosy be is a small island northwest of madagascar and is part of madagascar's territory. this was a prospective, continuous, nonrandom, open study of 27 ectopic pregnancies observed on this island; all were confirmed by laparotomy during 16 months from november 1993 to february 1995 in the department of gener ... | 1997 | 9172872 |
| plague, a reemerging disease in madagascar. | human cases of plague, which had virtually disappeared in madagascar after the 1930s, reappeared in 1990 with more than 200 confirmed or presumptive cases reported each year since. in the port of mahajanga, plague has been reintroduced, and epidemics occur every year. in antananarivo, the capital, the number of new cases has increased, and many rodents are infected with yersinia pestis. despite surveillance for the sensitivity of y. pestis and fleas to drugs and insecticides and control measures ... | 1998 | 9452403 |
| [the development of public health education: the mauritius experience]. | a public course has been initiated in 1990 in mauritius for covering the national growing needs of public health specialists. this training course was organized jointly by the ministry of health, the university of bordeaux ii and the french cooperation. after 3 sessions dedicated specifically to the mauritian physicians, the course has been re-designed for the needs of the other countries of the region. a feasibility study performed in 1994 in the countries of the indian ocean region showed that ... | 1997 | 9172876 |
| soil contamination with geohelminth ova in a tea plantation. | to determine the degree of soil pollution in an area of high prevalence and the risk of exposure to geohelminth infection. | 1997 | 9476399 |
| [malaria in mayotte: past, present and future]. | discovered as a form of intermittent fevers in 1852 and confirmed by blin in 1905, malaria has had a large impact on the mortality and the morbidity of the population living in mayotte until 1976. an evolutionary analysis of the disease shows two distinct periods. the first period between 1792 and 1974 concerns the date of introduction of malaria to the island and the limited actions of the fight against malaria led by different organizations. the second period from 1976, when the program was es ... | 1995 | 8784540 |
| intra-household allocation of food and health care: current findings and understandings--introduction. | this work offers an anthropological analysis of intra-household processes underlying gender- and age-specific differences in individual nutritional and health care allocations and outcomes in particular cultures. based on recent ethnographic studies in india, nepal, madagascar, mexico, and peru, correspondences are analyzed between local cultural ("emic") and scientist-policy maker practitioner ("etic") understandings of nutrition, health, and human development, and the relative "values" of fema ... | 1997 | 9178411 |
| [vector control in the epidemics of the madagascar highlands]. | the plateau, or more precisely the highlands, cover most of the central part of madagascar with an altitude higher than 1,000 m. there the climate is tropical with a wet and hot season, from october through april coincident with further outbreaks of malaria. this alternates with a dry season from may through september when the temperature is not favorable to the development of the vectors and the extrinsic cycle of the parasite. the malaria is unstable. the short season of transmission is someti ... | 1995 | 8784547 |
| [human diseases transmitted by culicidae in southwest indian ocean islands]. | south-west indian ocean islands were inhabited at the beginning and free from all kind of vector. in madagascar, mayotte, moheli and anjouan, malaria vectors were carried by the first settlements. according to epidemics, the anopheles arrived in 1867 in mauritius, 1869 in la reunion and 1920 in grande comore. rodrigues, saint-brandon and the seychelles are still free from malaria vectors in the coastal part of madagascarcar and in comores archipelago, malaria is stable with a permanent transmiss ... | 1998 | 9559180 |
| [entomological surveillance in mauritius]. | the entomological surveillance is an essential link in the fight against malaria in mauritius. because of the large number of malaria-infected travellers in mauritius and the presence of the vector anopheles arabiensis, the risk of local transmission is very real. the medical entomology division together with the malaria control unit and the health appointees exert a rigorous entomological surveillance of malaria. field agents make entomological investigations of pilot villages and around the ha ... | 1995 | 8784549 |
| epidemiology of end-stage renal failure in reunion island (results from the registry of the indian ocean society of nephrology). | end-stage renal disease (esrd) on long-term dialysis is a substantial problem in reunion because of the high incidence and prevalence of this disease due to non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (niddm) and systemic arterial hypertension. | 1998 | 9623542 |
| organophosphorus insecticide poisoning. | organophosphorus insecticides (opi) are the commonest cause of poisoning in sri lanka. being inhibitors of esterases, opi cause an acute cholinergic crisis as the initial phase of neurotoxicity. the intermediate syndrome (ims) which develops 24 to 96 hours after poisoning, and the delayed polyneuropathy (opidp) which manifests several weeks later, suggest a triphasic effect of op intoxication. opi may also cause extrapyramidal manifestations. chronic neurobehavioural effects of longterm exposure ... | 1998 | 9624840 |
| [malaria: research perspectives in medical entomology in madagascar]. | the entomological studies on malaria in madagascar had especially concerned the behavior of vectors in relation to insecticides. the cessation of spraying within the homes and the absence of chloroquine allowed a re-emergence of malaria on the plateau in the 1980's. this phenomenon pointed out the heterogeneity of the transmission on the island. it was necessary to define the entomological characteristics of the four principal facies of transmission in madagascar. these studies provided the serv ... | 1995 | 8784550 |
| evolution of malaria in africa for the past 40 years: impact of climatic and human factors. | different malarial situations in africa within the past 40 years are discussed in order to evaluate the impact of climatic and human factors on the disease. north of the equator, more droughts and lower rainfall have been recorded since 1972; and in eastern and southern africa, there have been alternating dry and wet periods in relation to el niño. since 1955, the increase in human population from 125 to 450 million has resulted in both expansion of land cultivation and urbanization. in stable m ... | 1998 | 9673911 |
| t cell receptor beta chain rflp in chinese, indians and malays from singapore. | restriction fragment length polymorphism (rflp) of the gene encoding the beta chain of the human t cell receptor (tcr) was studied in three ethnic groups in singapore by southern blotting. polymorphism in the beta chain gene was identified in bglii-digested dna samples using a 770-bp tcr beta cdna clone containing the joining and constant region segments. the tcr beta/bglii polymorphism was studied in 136 chinese, 93 indian and 88 malay samples. the frequency of the less frequent allele (tcr bet ... | 1996 | 8807327 |
| microfilarial periodicity of wuchereria bancrofti and man landing periodicity of the vector culex quinquefasciatus say in matara, sri lanka. | to compare the microfilarial periodicity of wuchereria bancrofti, with the man landing periodicity of the vector culex quinquefasciatus in matara, sri lanka. | 1998 | 9704546 |
| iodine content of commercially available iodised salt in the sri lankan market. | to find out whether iodised edible salt available for sale to the public is iodised, iodination is within the sri lanka standards institute (slsi) specifications and the labelling is accurate. | 1998 | 9704547 |
| a young man with widespread arterial occlusions and stroke. | | 1998 | 9704560 |
| a splicing mutation in intron 16 of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene, associated with severe disease, is common on reunion island. | in addition to the frequent delta f508 and y122x mutations on cystic fibrosis (cf) chromosomes of patients from reunion island, one splicing mutation, 3120+1g-->a is observed relatively frequently (12.5%) in this group, in comparison with the french metropolitan population (<0.001 %). this mutation, disrupting the 5' splice donor site of intron 16, can be detected easily by restriction enzyme bstni digestion. in 2 cf patients homozygous for this mutation, the clinical pattern was severe, with bo ... | 1996 | 8860012 |
| prevalence of epstein-barr virus antibody in the chronic hemodialysed population in the south of the reunion island. | | 1996 | 8893196 |
| effects of prenatal and postnatal methylmercury exposure from fish consumption on neurodevelopment: outcomes at 66 months of age in the seychelles child development study. | human neurodevelopmental consequences of exposure to methyl-mercury (mehg) from eating fish remain a question of public health concern. | 1998 | 9728641 |
| anopheles subpictus complex: distribution of sibling species in sri lanka. | to determine the sibling species composition of an. subpictus complex in sri lanka polytene chromosomes of ovarian nurse cells were examined. samples of an. subpictus s.l. were collected from 65 of the 73 health areas surveyed. of 3095 ovaries collected 869 polytene chromosomes preparation were identified as sibling species a and 77 b. species b was present only in coastal localities of the island whereas species a was found both in coastal and inland areas with predominance in inland areas. thi ... | 1996 | 8952168 |
| human dirofilariasis caused by dirofilaria (nochtiella) repens in sri lanka. | human dirofilariasis due to dirofilaria (nochtiella) repens is a common zoonotic infection in sri lanka. todate 70 cases are on record, and they include 3 expatriates from russia, england and korea, who were undoubtedly infected in sri lanka. around 30-60% of dogs are infected with d. repens in various parts of the country and the mosquito vectors are aedes aegypti, armigeres subalbatus, mansonia uniformis and m. annulifera. unlike in other countries of the old world infection is most common in ... | 1997 | 9802095 |
| donor valves as substitutes for heart valve replacement. | the main problems of heart valve replacement in sri lanka are the cost of prosthetic valves and anticoagulant related complications. the use of human donor heart valves (homografts; allogeneic heart valves [ahv]) will alleviate these shortcomings. recipients of ahv do not require anticoagulant therapy. moreover, cryopreservation of ahv offers the opportunity for the storage of valves for an extended length of time with the preservation of valve integrity which is essential for their function aft ... | 1997 | 9257469 |
| [tropical eosinophilia in a man from sri lanka]. | a 21-year-old man from sri lanka came to japan in august 1992 and worked as a painter. he had often complained of dyspnea on exertion before coming to japan. he was admitted to ogaki municipal hospital in june 1993 for further examination of persistent coughing, dyspnea, and fever. a chest x-ray film showed bilateral diffuse reticulonodular shadows. blood examinations revealed marked eosinophilia (9440/mm3) with elevation of the serum ige level (4982 iu/ml). igg enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay ... | 1996 | 9022330 |
| chromosome 15-linked limb-girdle muscular dystrophy: clinical phenotypes in reunion island and french metropolitan communities. | erb's type limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (lgmd) was identified and clinically studied in detail in a small community living in the reunion island (ri). it was linked to chromosome 15q and related to mutations in the muscle specific calpain 3 gene. a series of cases were afterwards clinically and genetically identified in the french metropolitan community. the phenotype was identical to the ri type in the great majority of cases, although clinical differences were noticed in a few cases. six dif ... | 1996 | 9027854 |
| sri lankan refugees are not at risk of persecution. | | 1997 | 9093128 |
| serologic evidence for an epizootic dengue virus infecting toque macaques (macaca sinica) at polonnaruwa, sri lanka. | dengue is one of the most rapidly emerging diseases in the tropics. humans are the principal reservoir of dengue viruses. it is unclear if nonhuman primates also serve as a reservoir of human dengue viruses under certain conditions. in this study, a cross-sectional serologic survey was carried out to characterize the pattern of transmission of a recently identified dengue virus among toque macaques in sri lanka. the results indicated that an epizootic dengue virus was active among the macaques. ... | 1999 | 10072155 |
| maternal exposure to influenza and cold in pregnancy and electrodermal activity in offspring: the mauritius study. | data are in conflict concerning whether a mother's exposure to influenza in pregnancy gives rise to an increased probability that her offspring will develop schizophrenia. in northern hemisphere studies, exposure to influenza and cold tend to be confounded. the present study, carried out in mauritius, examines the effect of maternal exposure to the virus and separately to cold on aspects of electrodermal activity that have been shown in other studies to be related to schizophrenia. the findings ... | 1997 | 9260495 |
| health care auxiliaries in the detection and prevention of oral cancer. | oral cancer is one among the few human cancers with a vast potential for prevention. one of the operational strategies considered to translate preventive measures into practice in developing countries has been the use of community health workers and other health auxiliaries of the primary health care system to disseminate anti-tobacco health education messages and to provide mouth examinations in high-risk individuals during their routine home visits and community meetings. studies conducted in ... | 1997 | 9307722 |
| [seroepidemiologic study of human plague in madagascar]. | an igg anti-f1 enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (elisa) has been developed for plague diagnosis in the malagasy republic. the sensitivity of the test was 91.4% and the specificity 98.5%. this technique is cheap and the cross reaction with other infections diseases prevalent in madagascar is very limited. during the urban plague outbreak (mahajanga city, 1995), the positive predictive value and the negative predictive value were 95.2% and 97% respectively. during this outbreak, the usefulness of ... | 1997 | 9309233 |
| effects of prenatal methylmercury exposure from a high fish diet on developmental milestones in the seychelles child development study. | mercury is widespread in the environment and exists in several physical and chemical forms. prenatal exposure to methylmercury disrupts brain development. the most common mode of prenatal methylmercury exposure is maternal fish consumption. studies of human prenatal exposure in iraq following maternal ingestion of methylmercury treated grain suggested that maternal hair mercury concentrations above 10 ppm may be related to delayed developmental milestones and neurological abnormalities. this lev ... | 1997 | 9339828 |
| an analysis of autopsy brain tissue from infants prenatally exposed to methymercury. | brains from 32 neonatal autopsies from the seychelles were examined histologically and analyzed for mercury levels. six brain regions were sampled: frontal and occipital cortex, temporal cortex with hippocampus, basal ganglia with thalamus, cerebellum, and pons with medulla. tissue blocks for histology and mercury analysis were taken from opposing faces to provide for correlation of findings. similar studies were performed on 12 reference neonatal brains from rochester, new york. no clear-cut de ... | 1995 | 8714873 |
| [ocular cysticercosis (o.c.) in madagascar (apropos of 6 cases)]. | cysticercosis is due to cysticercus cellulosae and was know since a long time. human is an intermediate occasional host by ingesting accidentally eggs of tenia. in madagascar, neurocysticercosis are predominating (55%), occular localisations are not frequent (5%) and concerned particularly vitreous humour and retina. diagnosis relies on serology: elisa test, then western blot completed with research of circulating antibody and antigen in the acqueous humor by immocapture. anatomopathologic test ... | 1994 | 8724807 |
| malaria vectors in a traditional dry zone village in sri lanka. | malaria transmission by anopheline mosquitoes was studied in a traditional tank-irrigation-based rice-producing village in the malaria-endemic low country dry zone of northcentral sri lanka during the period august 1994-february 1997. adult mosquitoes were collected from human and bovid bait catches, bovid-baited trap huts, indoor catches, and pit traps. mosquito head-thoraces were tested for the presence of plasmodium falciparum and p. vivax, and blood-engorged abdomens for the presence of huma ... | 1999 | 10466971 |
| mitogenic activity of new lectins from seeds of wild artocarpus species from vietnam. | proliferative response of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (pbmc) stimulated by new lectins purified from seeds of differents artocarpus species from vietnam (a. asperulus, a. heterophyllus, a. masticata, a. melinoxylus, a. parva and a. petelotii) was studied and compared to those of the lectin jacalin purified from jackfruit (a. heterophyllus) seeds collected in the island la réunion. all lectins stimulated human pbmc to proliferate, with a variable efficiency of the mitogenic activity. ... | 1996 | 8763740 |
| [history of insular malaria in the southwestern indian ocean: an eco-epidemiologic approach]. | madagascar has been isolated from the african continent since the mesozoic era. the archipelago in this region emerged from volcanism during the early and the beginning of the late cenozoic era. consequently, during the prehistoric period, these islands were populated by only birds. parasites and their vectors have been imported. in madagascar (with the exception of the highlands) and in certain comoro islands, their implantation in a favorable biotope was contemporary with the coming of humans. ... | 1995 | 8784538 |
| high frequency of p53 mutations in human oral epithelial dysplasia and primary squamous cell carcinoma detected by yeast functional assay. | to determine the timing and actual incidence of p53 mutations in oral epithelial lesions, we examined 33 primary squamous cell carcinomas (sccs), 14 dysplasias and six hyperplasias from japanese patients by a combination of yeast functional assay and dna sequencing. the assay detects mutations of p53 mrna between codons 67 and 347 on the basis of the dna-binding activity of the protein. twenty-six sccs (79%) and five dysplasias (36%) were positive for p53 mutation, while all six hyperplasias wer ... | 1997 | 9400993 |
| extensive phenotypic analysis of a family with growth hormone (gh) deficiency caused by a mutation in the gh-releasing hormone receptor gene. | gh secretion and release are complex phenomena depending on activation of several genes, including those encoding gh, ghrh, and its receptor (ghrh-r). the gh gene, which is the most extensively analyzed sequence in patients with familial gh deficiency (ghd), represents the main known target of mutations. to test the involvement of the ghrh-r gene in this disease phenotype, we investigated one candidate tamoulean family originating from sri lanka. two brothers, with extremely short stature (< -4 ... | 1998 | 9467553 |
| [a 35-year old male patient with fever and painful swelling of the pectoral glands following a short visit to sri lanka]. | history and clinical findings: one week after returning from a two-week holiday in sri lanka a 35-year-old man started to have recurrent bouts of fever, up to 39.2 degrees c, as well as pain over the left upper abdomen, the back of the right thorax and bilateral pain on pressure with swelling of both breasts. he went to the tropical institute in munich to have malaria excluded. there signs of cholestasis were noted and sonography revealed multiple round foci in the liver. as he had lost 10 kg in ... | 1998 | 9487296 |
| [epidemiological surveillance of grippe and dengue. réunion, 1996]. | the local welfare and health authorities together with the country council of reunion island set up a medical supervision network for influenza and dengue fever in march 1996. influenza of which the spreading over the island has never been well-researched is anticipated by a vaccination campaign organised in an empirical way after a model from the mother country (france). dengue fever of which one of the vectors is omnipresent on the island ranged in an epidemic way in 1978. the aim of this netw ... | 1998 | 9559165 |
| [epidemiologic study of the main human intestinal nematodes in the middle west of madagascar]. | an epidemiological study of human intestinal helminthiasis was conducted during july and august 1995, in the middle west of madagascar, with 4571 adults and children ranging from six months to 90 years, in 61 communities between betafo and miandrivazo. faecal examination utilising the mif concentration method revealed that ascariasis was the dominant nematodosis in the middle west with high prevalences in the high-altitude communities. ascaris lumbricoides prevalences increase among children and ... | 1998 | 9559170 |
| a variant of plasmodium ovale; analysis of its 18s ribosomal rna gene sequence. | we report here a new variant of human malaria parasite found by comparison of diagnostic results obtained from a new dna diagnostic method named microtiter plate-hybridization (mph) and traditional microscopic method. total five cases of malaria were diagnosed as microscopy-positive but mph-negative; one case was found in epidemiological research in vietnam and four cases were obtained from imported malaria in japan. although they were quite similar to typical p. ovale morphologically in microsc ... | 1997 | 9586115 |
| maternal exposure to influenza in pregnancy and electrodermal activity in offspring: a further study from mauritius. | this study examined the effect of mothers' exposure to the 1957 a2/singapore influenza virus in the first, second, and third trimesters of pregnancy on the electrodermal activity of their 15-year-old offspring. the epidemic occurred during cold months of the year. the results show that maternal viral (and cold) exposure during all trimesters of pregnancy produced a lower frequency of nonspecific electrodermal responses and diminished responsivity to 75-db and 90-db tones as compared with the off ... | 1998 | 9643058 |
| monophyletic origin of alu elements in primates. | to get insight into the early evolution of the primate alu elements, we characterized sequences of these repeats from the malagasy prosimians, lemurs (lemuridae) and sifakas (indriidae), as well as from galagos (lorisidae). these sequences were compared with the oldest alu species known from the human genome: dimeric alu j and s and free alu monomers. our analysis indicates that about 60 myr ago, before the prosimian divergence, free left and right monomers formed an alu heterodimer connected by ... | 1998 | 9694666 |
| hiv infection and aids. | this article reports on the hiv/aids situation in sri lanka. by the end of 1997 a total of 240 hiv cases had been detected in the country; 32 of them were foreigners. it was estimated that there are still 6000-8000 persons with undetected infections. of the 77 known patients with aids, 61 have died. among patients with hiv infection attending clinics for sexually transmitted disease (std), about 65% are heterosexuals, 7% male homosexuals, and 6.5% male bisexuals. in most of the cases, the m ... | 1998 | 9707708 |
| characteristics of mutations in the p53 gene of oral squamous-cell carcinomas associated with betel-quid chewing in sri lanka. | oral squamous-cell carcinoma (scc) is the most common neoplasm in sri lanka, accounting for approximately 30% of all cancers in males. epidemiologic evidence indicates that there is an unequivocal relationship between betel chewing and oral carcinogenesis, suggesting that there may be specific genetic targets of betel-quid ingredients. the p53 gene has been indicated to be a tumor-suppressor gene that is found in mutated form in common human cancers; however, there are few reports about "carcino ... | 1998 | 9714051 |
| point mutations and deletion responsible for the bombay h null and the reunion h weak blood groups. | definition of the molecular basis of the reunion and the bombay red cell and salivary h-deficient phenotypes. | 1998 | 9745152 |
| [update on plague in madagascar]. | after a thirty year period of successful control, bubonic plague showed the first signs of return in madagascar where a fatal outbreak occurred in antananarivo in 1978. a second outbreak was observed in mahajanga in 1991 after more than a half century. in 1997, 459 confirmed or presumptive cases were reported, as compared to 150 to 250 cases during the last years. however the actual extent of this recrudescence must be placed in the perspective of a more efficient control program that has led to ... | 1998 | 9812306 |
| antineoplastic agents. 397: isolation and structure of sesterstatins 4 and 5 from hyrtios erecta (the republic of maldives). | the wide ranging marine sponge hyrtios erecta is the source of the spongistatins, a new class of macrocyclic lactone antineoplastic agents. continuation of a detailed investigation of cancer cell growth inhibitory (p388 lymphocytic leukemia) fractions (trace) from h. erecta has revealed the presence (10(-5) to 10(-7)% yield) of cytotoxic pentacyclic sesterterpenes. employing p388 leukemia and human tumor cell line-guided bioassay techniques, two new moderate inhibitors of cancer cells were isola ... | 1998 | 9873492 |
| quantifying genetic and nongenetic contributions to malarial infection in a sri lankan population. | explaining the causes of variation in the severity of malarial disease remains a major challenge in the treatment and control of malaria. many factors are known to contribute to this variation, including parasite genetics, host genetics, acquired immunity, and exposure levels. however, the relative importance of each of these to the overall burden of malarial disease in human populations has not been assessed. here, we have partitioned variation in the incidence of malarial infection and the cli ... | 2000 | 11035799 |
| say 'no' to shackling prisoners in hospital. | | 2000 | 11051710 |
| association between prenatal exposure to methylmercury and cognitive functioning in seychellois children: a reanalysis of the mccarthy scales of children's ability from the main cohort study. | methylmercury (mehg) is a neurotoxicant whose high-dose effects first became known following a number of poisoning outbreaks that occurred worldwide. the primary human exposure is low dosage from fish consumption. studies of fish-eating populations have not found a consistent pattern of association between exposures and outcomes. therefore, examining specific areas of cognitive functioning has been suggested as an important approach to determine whether more subtle effects of mehg exposure are p ... | 2000 | 11068921 |
| human leptospirosis in the seychelles (indian ocean): a population-based study. | a leptospirosis surveillance program was carried out for 12 months on the entire population of the seychelles. diagnosis was assessed by both microagglutination test and polymerase chain reaction (pcr) assay. in this population of 74,331, leptospirosis was clinically suspected in 125 subjects and confirmed in 75 patients (incidence of 101 per 100,000; 95% confidence interval = 79-126). leptospirosis was more frequent in middle-aged males with environmental exposure. eight serogroups were identif ... | 1998 | 9886203 |
| control strategies for human intestinal nematode infections. | in recent years significant progress has been made in understanding the ecology, epidemiology and related morbidity and development of new tools for the control of soil-transmitted helminths. such knowledge has recognized the impact of helminth infections on the health of infected groups and has created a rational basis for their control. schoolchildren harbour some of the most intense helminthic infections, which produce adverse effects on health, growth and scholastic performance. however, alt ... | 1999 | 10050275 |
| multicentric origin of hemochromatosis gene (hfe) mutations. | genetic hemochromatosis (gh) is believed to be a disease restricted to those of european ancestry. in northwestern europe, >80% of gh patients are homozygous for one mutation, the substitution of tyrosine for cysteine at position 282 (c282y) in the unprocessed protein. in a proportion of gh patients, two mutations are present, c282y and h63d. the clinical significance of this second mutation is such that it appears to predispose 1%-2% of compound heterozygotes to expression of the disease. the d ... | 1999 | 10090890 |
| xenotransplantation. ethics and rights: an interaction. | | 1998 | 10234438 |
| [intestinal schistosomiasis from schistosoma mansoni in madagascar: extent and center of the endemic]. | schistosoma mansoni and s. haematobium affect respectively 2 million and 500,000 persons in madagascar. over the past decade, s. mansoni has spread in the central highlands of madagascar, essentially throughout the mid-west and antananarivo plain. to understand this recent change in the epidemiology of s. mansoni, we examined the relationship between its spatial distribution and several host factors, including labour migration, urbanization and water development projects. in the highlands, the d ... | 1999 | 10399598 |
| [drug resistance of plasmodium falciparum in coastal regions of madagascar]. | chloroquine is still the drug of choice for first-line treatment of uncomplicated malaria in madagascar. however development and spread of chloroquine-resistance could compromise this therapeutic strategy in the future. the purpose of this 1997 study was to compare the efficacy of combined treatment using sulfadoxine and pyrimethamine and single-agent treatment using chloroquine for management of uncomplicated malaria. study data were collected at four sites in coastal areas of madagascar where ... | 2000 | 11258056 |
| [anopheles mascarensis (de meillon, 1947): main vector of malaria in the region of fort-dauphin (south-east of madagascar)]. | anopheles funestus and anopheles gambiae s.l. have been considered until now the major vectors of malaria everywhere in madagascar. anopheles mascarensis, a mosquito native to madagascar, has been identified in sainte-marie island as a secondary vector only. in 1997, an entomological study was carried out to identify the malaria vectors in the area of fort-dauphin, south-east of madagascar. every month, mosquitoes were collected from landing catches on human volunteers (from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm i ... | 1999 | 10399606 |
| prevalence of mycobacterium bovis in human pulmonary and extra-pulmonary tuberculosis in madagascar. | the prevalence of human tuberculosis (tb) due to mycobacterium bovis was determined in madagascar in 1994-1995. a prevalence of m. bovis of 1.25% was observed among sputum smear-positive patients and 1.3% among extra-pulmonary tb patients. this study was conducted in urban areas and will be extended to rural zones, where the majority of the population lives. | 1999 | 10423227 |
| sri lanka: torture continues. | | 1999 | 10437888 |
| recent emergence of new variants of yersinia pestis in madagascar. | yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, has been responsible for at least three pandemics. during the last pandemic, which started in hong kong in 1894, the microorganism colonized new, previously unscathed geographical areas where it has become well established. the aim of this longitudinal study was to investigate the genetic stability of y. pestis strains introduced into a new environment just under a century ago and to follow the epidemiology of any new genetic variant detected. in t ... | 1997 | 9350742 |
| human papillomavirus in carcinogenesis of cervical cancer. | | 1999 | 10643100 |
| fatty acid composition of white adipose tissue and breast milk of mauritian and french mothers and erythrocyte phospholipids of their full-term breast-fed infants. | the fatty acid compositions of white adipose tissue, colostrum and mature milk triacylglycerols from mauritian (n 13) and french (n 15) women were analysed and compared in order to highlight cultural differences in dietary intakes and their influence on milk fatty acid composition. erythrocyte phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylcholine fatty acid compositions were also investigated in their term infants, breast-fed over a period of 6 weeks. fatty acid composition (g/100 g) of all samples w ... | 1999 | 10655975 |
| simple latex agglutination assay for rapid serodiagnosis of human leptospirosis. | a newly developed latex agglutination assay for the detection of genus-specific leptospira antibodies in human sera was evaluated. the assay is performed by mixing, on an agglutination card, serum with equal volumes of stabilized antigen-coated, dyed test and control latex beads and is read within 2 min. the latex agglutination test was evaluated with groups of serum samples from patients with leptospirosis and control patients from hawaii, the seychelles, thailand, and the netherlands. the mean ... | 2000 | 10699040 |
| population genetic structure and competence as a vector for dengue type 2 virus of aedes aegypti and aedes albopictus from madagascar. | starch gel electrophoresis was used to assess the polymorphism of 7 isoenzymes in single mosquitoes (field-collected f0 or f1 generation) for aedes albopictus (8 strains) from northern madagascar. mosquitoes of the f2 generation (3 strains of aedes aegypti and 10 strains of ae. albopictus) were tested for oral susceptibility to dengue type 2 virus. aedes aegypti was less susceptible to viral infection than ae. albopictus. the genetic differentiation was less high between ae. albopictus populatio ... | 2001 | 11716103 |
| benchmark concentrations for methylmercury obtained from the seychelles child development study. | methylmercury is a neurotoxin at high exposures, and the developing fetus is particularly susceptible. because exposure to methylmercury is primarily through fish, concern has been expressed that the consumption of fish by pregnant women could adversely affect their fetuses. the reference dose for methylmercury established by the u.s. environmental protection agency was based on a benchmark analysis of data from a poisoning episode in iraq in which mothers consumed seed grain treated with methyl ... | 2000 | 10706533 |
| study of the dog population and the rabies control activities in the mirigama area of sri lanka. | the national health authorities of sri lanka have adopted a combined strategy of rabies vaccination and stray dog removal to control endemic dog rabies. despite the control efforts, an increase of animal and human rabies cases has occurred since 1994. as a consequence, a project to evaluate the national rabies control program has been started and a study focussing on the dog population and rabies control activities in a limited area of mirigama was conducted. information on canine abundance and ... | 2000 | 10708011 |
| [epidemiological aspects of tuberculosis in middle west of madagascar]. | we conducted a 5-year (1989-1993) retrospective analysis on a series of patients screened and treated for tuberculosis in order to determine the epidemiological aspects of the disease in mid-western madagascar. pulmonary forms affected 97% of patients, and predominantly men (sex ratio: 1.4); 83% of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis were coughing up acido-alcoholo-resitant bacilli. haemoptysis and general deterioration, the most frequently met pathological signs, were observed respectively in ... | 2000 | 11775320 |
| current epidemiology of human plague in madagascar. | from 1996 to 1998, 5,965 patients with suspected plague were identified in 38 districts of madagascar (40% of the total population are exposed). using standard bacteriology, 917 of them were confirmed or presumptive (c + p) cases. however, more than 2,000 plague cases could be estimated using f1 antigen assay. two out of the 711 yersinia pestis isolates tested were resistant to chloramphenicol and to ampicillin (both isolates found in the harbour of mahajanga). urban plague (mahajanga harbour an ... | 2000 | 10717537 |
| a new triterpene saponin from pittosporum viridiflorum from the madagascar rainforest. | a novel triterpenoid saponin, pittoviridoside (1), which possesses an unusual 2,3,4-trisubstituted glycosidic linkage, has been isolated from pittosporum viridiflorum using the engineered yeast strains 1138, 1140, 1353, and sc-7 for bioactivity-guided fractionation. the structure of this compound was determined to be 3-o-[beta-d-glucopyranosyl(1-->2)]-[alpha-d-arabinopyranosyl(1-->3)],[alpha-l-arabinofuranosyl(1-->4)-beta-d-glucuronopyranosyl-21-angeloyl-22-senecioylolean-12-en-3beta,15alpha,16a ... | 2002 | 11809069 |
| candida africana sp. nov., a new human pathogen or a variant of candida albicans? | atypical candida strains were isolated from patients in madagascar, angola and germany. these isolates were slow growing and were unable to produce chlamydospores. they had atypical carbohydrate assimilation profiles. all strains were unable to assimilate the amino sugars n-acteylglucosamine and glucosamine as well as the disaccharide trehalose and the organic acid dl-lactate. they were germ-tube-positive in serum, but only some of these organisms produced pseudohyphae after a long incubation. a ... | 2001 | 11820255 |
| eupha-7,9(11),24-trien-3beta-ol ("antiquol c") and other triterpenes from euphorbia antiquorum latex and their inhibitory effects on epstein-barr virus activation. | the structures of three triterpene alcohols isolated from the latex of euphorbia antiquorum were established to be eupha-7,9(11),24-trien-3beta-ol (2; antiquol c), 19(10-->9)abeo-8alpha,9beta,10alpha-eupha-5,24-dien-3beta-ol (3; antiquol b), and 24-methyltirucalla-8,24(24(1))-dien-3beta-ol (4; euphorbol) on the basis of spectroscopic methods. compounds 3 and 4 have previously been assigned the erroneous structures of 10alpha-cucurbita-5,24-dien-3alpha-ol and 24-methyleupha-8,24(24(1))-dien-3beta ... | 2002 | 11858748 |
| recovery of a species of brugia, probably b. ceylonensis, from the conjunctiva of a patient in sri lanka. | a species of brugia, probably b. ceylonensis, was recovered from the conjunctiva of a patient in sri lanka for the first time. this infection represents only the second record of brugia in the human conjunctiva, and is clearly zoonotic, acquired from a dog. brugia ceylonensis has a distinct head bulb like that of wuchereria bancrofti and b. malayi. however, the parasite recovered was not w. bancrofti, as specific ifat and dna probes gave negative results, and b. malayi is believed to have been e ... | 2000 | 10723527 |
| seroepidemiology of human plague in the madagascar highlands. | we conducted a seroepidemiological survey of human plague in the general population using random sampling in the area of ambositra, the main focus of plague in the central highlands of madagascar (520 confirmed and presumptive cases notified during the past 10 years). sera were tested using an elisa igg f1 assay. considering the internal validity of the assay and the sampling method, the overall corrected prevalence of f1 antibodies was 0.6% (95% ci: 0.2%-1.8%). being nearly 0 up to the age of 4 ... | 2000 | 10747268 |
| successful contracting of prevention services: fighting malnutrition in senegal and madagascar. | there are very few documented large-scale successes in nutrition in africa, and virtually no consideration of contracting for preventive services. this paper describes two successful large-scale community nutrition projects in africa as examples of what can be done in prevention using the contracting approach in rural as well as urban areas. the two case-studies are the secaline project in madagascar, and the community nutrition project in senegal. the article explains what is meant by 'success' ... | 1999 | 10787654 |
| safe motherhood in sri lanka: a 100-year march. | the present safe motherhood status in sri lanka has been achieved by a series of activities for health and social development during the past century. while ancient and traditional religious, as well as cultural concepts provided a sound foundation, it was the policies that focused on human development that resulted in reducing the maternal mortality rate to 2.4 per 10000 live births, and the infant mortality rate to 16.5 per (1000) live births. maternal and child health (mch) services were init ... | 2000 | 10884540 |
| evidence for a mitochondrial lineage originating from the arabian peninsula in the madagascar house mouse (mus musculus). | various subspecies of the house mouse (mus musculus sensu lato) are known to have contributed to its worldwide expansion. however, the origin of mice on some larger islands such as madagascar has remained unknown, with several sources being possible. in order to classify the malagasy house mouse, individuals were trapped in 13 different localities distributed throughout the island. for 33 individuals the control region (d-loop) of the mitochondrial dna was partially sequenced and 21 males were t ... | 2002 | 12136419 |
| secondary analysis from the seychelles child development study: the child behavior checklist. | human exposure to methylmercury (mehg), a known neurotoxin, is primarily from fish consumption. as part of a large study examining the association between mehg exposure and child development in a population with high fish consumption we examined school-age behavior using the achenbach child behavior checklist (cbcl). the cbcl total t score was a primary endpoint and was reported earlier to show no adverse association with prenatal or postnatal mehg exposure. in this study we analyzed the t score ... | 2000 | 10991778 |
| suicide: a socratic revenge. | 2400 years have passed since the occurrence in athens, greece of one of the famous suicides recorded in human history. this autobiographical essay provides a montage on the history of suicide, with snippets from the final hours of socrates, as described by plato. suicide in contemporary japanese culture is also explored briefly, with reference to the deaths of internationally acclaimed movie directors akira kurosawa and juzo itami. the author also questions why no researcher has yet been honoure ... | 2000 | 11006616 |
| early return of sri lankan migrants in the middle east. | the author examines early return migration patterns of labor migrants from sri lanka in the middle east. "attention [is given] to the reasons why a considerable number of migrants return to their country of origin prematurely.... differentials in the duration of stay in the host country, as well as some of the consequences of early return migration for the migrant and his family [are discussed].... the data used for this article are based primarily on a random survey held among 899 return migra ... | 1988 | 12159597 |
| ciguatera: recent advances but the risk remains. | ciguatera is an important form of human poisoning caused by the consumption of seafood. the disease is characterised by gastrointestinal, neurological and cardiovascular disturbances. in cases of severe toxicity, paralysis, coma and death may occur. there is no immunity, and the toxins are cumulative. symptoms may persist for months or years, or recur periodically. the epidemiology of ciguatera is complex and of central importance to the management and future use of marine resources. ciguatera i ... | 2000 | 11078162 |
| [epidemiological stratification of malaria in the comoro archipelago]. | in the comoros islands, the level of malarial endemicity varies greatly from one island to the other, even though the total area (4 islands) covers less than 2,300 km2 and has a population of some 600,000 people only. the epidemiological stratification is based on the diversity of human and physical characterisation. they both determine the presence and the behaviour as well as the size of the vector's populations. vectorial dynamics can explain varying levels of endemicity given parasitological ... | 1999 | 10472445 |
| infectious disease surveillance update. | | 2002 | 12206964 |
| multiple host feeding in field populations of anopheles culicifacies and an. subpictus in sri lanka. | a histological technique was used to detect the multiple blood-feeding of female mosquitoes, within the same gonotrophic cycle, in field populations of the malaria vectors anopheles culicifacies and an. subpictus (diptera: culicidae) at a village in the low country of sri lanka, during 1994-96. among 3306 an. culicifacies and 871 an. subpictus engorged females examined, respectively, 34.4% and 30.4% were multiple-fed. in these two species, double meals accounted for 92.7% and 89.5%, and triple m ... | 1999 | 10484158 |
| patterns of alcohol consumption in the seychelles islands (indian ocean). | self-reported drinking habits were examined in a random sample of 1067 persons aged 25-64 years in the seychelles, a country in epidemiological transition where consumption of home-brewed, mostly unregistered beverages has been traditionally high. alcohol consumption was calculated from respondents reporting at least one drink per week ('regular drinkers'). among men, 51.1% were regular drinkers and had average intake of 112.1 ml alcohol a day. among women, 5.9% were regular drinkers and had 49. ... | 1999 | 10528821 |
| health in the huxleyan tropical island of pala. | huxley's island: a novel (1962) is a parable on "realistic idealism"--set in an imaginary island situated in the indian ocean between sri lanka and sumatra, called pala. the characters in the story include a doctor, a nurse and several patients. the general importance of health as a basic human need is well recognised. vis medicatrix naturae, the natural healing powers of the body, are taken account of, along with psychotherapy and drugs. prevention of illness is emphasised and doctors get paid ... | 2001 | 11570002 |
| sri lanka medical association adopts declaration on health. | | 1998 | 11658042 |
| a genome-wide scan for coronary heart disease suggests in indo-mauritians a susceptibility locus on chromosome 16p13 and replicates linkage with the metabolic syndrome on 3q27. | prevalence of coronary heart disease (chd), of type 2 diabetes (t2dm) and of the metabolic syndrome are in mauritius amongst the highest in the world. as t2dm and chd are closely associated and have both a polygenic basis, we conducted a 10 cm genome scan with 403 microsatellite markers in 99 independent families of north-eastern indian origin including 535 individuals. families were ascertained through a proband with chd before 52 years of age and additional sibs with myocardial infarction (mi) ... | 2001 | 11734540 |
| modulation of the multidrug-resistance phenotype by new tropane alkaloid aromatic esters from erythroxylum pervillei. | nine tropane alkaloid aromatic esters (1-9) were isolated from the roots of erythroxylum pervillei by following their potential to reverse multidrug-resistance with vinblastine-resistant oral epidermoid carcinoma (kb-v1) cells. all isolates, including seven new structures (3-9), were evaluated against a panel of human cancer cell lines, and it was found that alkaloids 3 and 5-9 showed the greatest activity with kb-v1 cells assessed in the presence of vinblastine, suggesting that these new compou ... | 2001 | 11754602 |
| [the campaign against malaria in central western madagascar: comparison of the efficacy of lambda-cyhalothrin and ddt house spraying. i--entomological study]. | for malaria vector control in madagascar, the efficacy of lambda-cyhalothrin 10% wettable powder (icon 10 wp) was compared with ddt 75% wp for house-spraying. this evaluation was conducted from november 1997 to september 1998 in highland villages of vakinankaratra region, at the fringe of the malaria epidemic zone, outside the zone covered by routine ddt house-spraying (opération de pulvérisation intro-domiciliaire de ddt: opid zone). treatments were compared by house-spraying in four areas: 1) ... | 2001 | 11802266 |
| coral gardener of the maldives. | abdul azeez abdul hakeem is a man with a vision. he is 53 years old, with a degree in agronomy and an idea, if not an obsession: to nurse and propagate corals on a large scale. his motive, however, is not to provide for the international marine aquarium trade but as a safeguard for the livelihood of his country, the maldives. | 2002 | 11932501 |
| characterization of sri lanka rabies virus isolates using nucleotide sequence analysis of nucleoprotein gene. | thirty-four suspected rabid brain samples from 2 humans, 24 dogs, 4 cats, 2 mongooses, i jackal and i water buffalo were collected in 1995-1996 in sri lanka. total rna was extracted directly from brain suspensions and examined using a one-step reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (rt-pcr) for the rabies virus nucleoprotein (n) gene. twenty-eight samples were found positive for the virus n gene by rt-pcr and also for the virus antigens by fluorescent antibody (fa) test. rabies virus is ... | 2001 | 12083333 |
| serotyping and rapd profiles of salmonella enterica isolates from mauritius. | the genus salmonella is a common agent of gastroenteritis in mauritius, generating more cases of the disease during summer than during winter. the aims of this study were to assess the genetic diversity of isolates of salmonella enterica by rapd fingerprinting, and to establish the relationship between human and chicken isolates. | 2002 | 12100591 |
| isoenzymes of human lice: pediculus humanus and p. capitis. | human lice (phthiraptera: pediculidae) from africa, america and europe were electrophoresed for 28 enzymes, with special interest in metabolic factors likely to be involved with insecticide resistance. zymogram profiles of the body louse (pediculus humanus l. from france and u.s.a.) and the head louse (p. capitis degeer from france, madagascar, mali & senegal) were compared. only esterase two enzymes, phosphoglucomutase (pgm) and 3 (est-3), showed electrophoretic variation. in our starch gel ele ... | 2000 | 11129706 |
| selenium and iodine in soil, rice and drinking water in relation to endemic goitre in sri lanka. | endemic goitre has been reported in the climatic wet zone of south-west sri lanka for the past 50 years, but rarely occurs in the northern dry zone. despite government-sponsored iodised salt programmes, endemic goitre is still prevalent. in recent years, it has been suggested that se deficiency may be an important factor in the onset of goitre and other iodine deficiency disorders (idd). prior to the present study, environmental concentrations of se in sri lanka and the possible relationships be ... | 2000 | 11194147 |
| programme's research on determinants of abortion has impact on policy. | induced abortion remains a relatively uncharted research topic in medical demography, social science, and to a lesser extent, in epidemiology. up to 20% of the 500,000 maternal deaths which occur annually throughout the world, however, may be a consequence of complications of unsafe abortion procedures. the undp/unfpa/who/world bank special program of research, development, and research training in human reproduction started a number of studies in 1989 in developing countries on the determinan ... | 1994 | 12287984 |