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Query: UMLS:C0024530 (malaria)
 44,886 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We performed a series of studies to examine the sequential development of nephritis during murine malaria infections and to define the role of DNA-binding antibodies in the associated pathology. Serum levels of these antibodies were assessed throughout acute and chronic malaria infections. Increased levels of double-stranded DNA- and single-stranded DNA-binding antibodies were initially detected in mice infected with Plasmodium vinckei or Plasmodium yoelii nigeriensis during the middle stages of infection, and these levels were maintained until death. Infection with the more chronic organism Plasmodium berghei clone RC also resulted in increased single-stranded DNA-binding antibody titers, which fluctuated as the infection progressed. All three species caused kidney damage and dysfunction, as assessed by changes in morphology, blood urea nitrogen, and excreted albumin; this damage correlated with the extent of parasitemia and was observed before the levels of DNA-binding antibodies were detectably elevated in the serum. However, the results of immunohistochemical studies demonstrated that DNA-binding monoclonal antibodies bound ex vivo to glomeruli within kidneys prepared from mice at late stages of infection, after the initial damage had been incurred. Our findings suggest how DNA-binding antibodies could contribute to the kidney pathology associated with both malaria and certain autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus.
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PMID:Role of DNA-binding antibodies in kidney pathology associated with murine malaria infections. 236 56

The author reports observations made during a visit with colleagues in Ethiopia. On the heels of the country's famine, she was surprised to see fertile land on an excursion 3 hours north of Addis Ababa. The harvest was expected to suffice for a 3-month period. While foreign technical and financial aid no doubt helped save countless lives during the famine, other serious health problems still remain in the country. In particular, the writer notes the ongoing high rates of maternal and infant mortality (IMR). The national IMR of 168/1000 live births is heavily fueled by diarrheal illness, infectious disease, and malaria. Nationally, only 15% of 2 year olds have completed an immunization program. Women have a 1:30 chance of dying in pregnancy or during childbirth, with over 1/2 due to illegal abortions and other maternal health problems. While family planning may be available, cultural norms limit the number of subscribers. Leprosy remains a significant problem, and AIDS was gaining notice in 1989. Moreover, drug supply constraints and the paucity of national medical doctors help stymie any efforts toward positive change. The writer encourages continued foreign aid.
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PMID:Ethiopia between famines. 238 25

A 12 amino-acid synthetic peptide (NANP)3 comprising the immunodominant epitope of Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite protein was conjugated to tetanus toxoid (TT), adjuvanted with aluminium hydroxide, and administered intramuscularly in three doses at monthly intervals to 35 healthy males as a malaria vaccine. No significant adverse reactions were noted, with mild soreness at the injection site the only common symptom. Seroconversions against NANP occurred in 53% and 71% of recipients of 100 or 160 micrograms, respectively, measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Most ELISA-positive sera reacted with sporozoites by indirect immunofluorescence (IFA). Three vaccinees with the highest ELISA and IFA titres and four unimmunized controls were challenged with P. falciparum sporozoites introduced via the bites of infective Anopheles mosquitoes. Blood stage parasites were detected in all controls by 10 days (mean 8.5 days, range 7-10). In contrast, the two vaccinees who became infected did not manifest parasitaemia until day 11 and the third vacinee showed neither parasites nor symptoms during the 29 day observation period. This first synthetic peptide parenteral vaccine against a communicable disease tested in man is safe and stimulates biologically active antibodies. These observations encourage the development of improved vaccine formulations which, by enhancing immunogenicity, may lead to practical vaccines to assist in the control of falciparum malaria.
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PMID:Safety and immunogenicity in man of a synthetic peptide malaria vaccine against Plasmodium falciparum sporozoites. 243 20

The registry of patients at the hospital of Kampene, Zaire, covering the period 1986-87 was examined to determine the hospital's rate of utilization and accessibility, to evaluate mortality, and to ascertain the prevalence of infectious diseases. The 1986 data of the hospital laboratory indicated a high incidence of infectious and parasitic diseases: ancylostomiasis (33.6%); ascariasis (22.9%); schistosomiasis (3.4%); multiple intestinal parasitic infections (10.9%); malaria (43%), often chloroquine-resistant; filariasis (70.8%); and alcohol-acid resistant tuberculosis bacilli (15%). Sexually-transmitted diseases such as vaginitis (80%) were caused by polygamy, prostitution, and promiscuity, HIV serodiagnosis could not be performed because of a lack of equipment. A high infant mortality rate was caused by neonatal tetanus, toxic gastroenteritis, measles (5.1% lethality: 2 died out of 39 cases), and epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis. Malnutrition caused kwashiorkor and avitaminosis. 792 births were registered at the maternity ward in 1986: 52.8% were male and 47.2% were female; 48 (6.1%) were stillborn or died in the following days; 104 (13.1%) were born prematurely; and 24 (3.1%) were twins. Cesarean section was performed in 43 cases (5.4%). There was a total of 15,099 outpatient visits during a 1-year period. The bed occupancy rate of the surgical ward ranged between .7 and .8 during 1987. Recovery and hospitalization days per doctor or health assistant were very high compared to Italian standards. The lethality of malaria was a high 1.8%, but malnutrition rated even higher: 21.4%. The utilization of the hospital was high, Maternal-child protection measures, especially in the area of nutrition, require the training of community health workers and traditional birth attendants; however, cost-benefit considerations limit resources and the implementation of primary health care is curtailed by economic and cultural factors.
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PMID:[Health care organization and health in a region of Zaire]. 248 74

In Germany, the last period of the Second World War and the following years were characterized by deficiencies of hygiene which had not occurred previously in Middle Europe during the 20th century. There were focuses of typhus, typhoid fever, tuberculosis, diphtheria, scarlet fever, and meningitis. Insufficiencies in the removal of faeces caused high incidences of shigellosis, hepatitis A, and ascariasis. As a result of insufficient body care, many people were infested with fleas, lice and scabies. The migration of large proportions of the population resulted in an increasing prevalence of syphilis an gonorrhea. As the population resettled, the first steps towards reorganization of public health could be done. The spread of typhoid fever was controlled by drinking-water disinfection with chlorine, repair of sewage systems, and patient isolation. The application of DDT helped to reduce scabies and pediculosis, resulting in decreasing typhus risks. During the first two decades after the war, there was a steady decrease of the incidence of infectious diseases. The reconstruction of the towns resulted in improved housing conditions and a decreasing number of persons per housing area, reducing the intensity of physical contacts of the inhabitants with each other. The nutrition and clothing situation of the population improved, which, in addition to a general rise of the standards of hygiene, brought about an increase of the individual resistance to infection. A further reduction of sporadic and epidemic outbreaks of infectious diseases was achieved by the introduction of chemotherapy and antibiotics. Increasing prosperity was accompanied by new problems of hygiene. Infectious diseases almost eradicated in West Germany, were imported by air travellers. Ten imported cases of smallpox were reported between 1957 and 1972, eight of which originated from Southeast Asia. Malaria, imported by German and foreign soldiers, had not been uncommon after the end of the war but had been easy to control by insecticides and antimalarials. As tourism expanded, a new wave of imported malaria cases was reported. In West Germany there is, however, no more spread of the disease under present conditions, cholera caused similar problems. The 1961 cholera epidemic started in Southeast Asia and caused minor outbreaks in Mediterranean countries like Italy and Spain. A significant spread of the disease throughout Europe was prevented by generally high standards of drinking water and sewage treatment. Sporadic cases of typhoid fever were imported from countries with low standards of hygiene.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:[The success of hygiene in the last 40 years]. 250 Jul 98

During the past eight decades, a large number of studies have examined the possible relationship between blood type and infection. Many publications reflect uncritical attempts to mathematically link unstratified or random data. The interaction of pathogen and erythrocyte membrane may reflect antigenic similarity, adhesion through specific receptors, or modulation of antibody response. Anthropological surveys suggest that the geographic and racial distribution of human blood groups reflects susceptibility of populations with specific blood types to the plague, cholera, smallpox, malaria and other infectious diseases.
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PMID:Relationship between infectious diseases and human blood type. 250 33

The authors used 1987 data from the Epidemiologic Surveillance Project (ESP) of the Centers for Disease Control to examine the completeness of race-ethnicity reporting in the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System. And, to the extent possible, they used ESP to assess racial and ethnic disparities in the occurrence of selected notifiable infectious diseases. For the 30 reporting areas (29 States and the District of Columbia) that provided data to ESP for all of calendar year 1987, approximately 60 percent of case reports were accompanied by specified race-ethnicity for affected persons. This percentage varied widely by disease and State. In general, non-Hispanic whites had morbidity rates (cases per 100,000 population per year) that were among the lowest compared with rates for other groups, and Native Americans commonly had rates that were among the highest. The ranking of morbidity rates among blacks, Hispanics, and Asians and Pacific Islanders varied by disease, although the last group had strikingly higher rates for malaria and tuberculosis. The age distribution of persons with cases was often lower among minority groups than among non-Hispanic whites, but the authors were unable to calculate age-specific or age-adjusted rates. Potential biases that limit interpretation of the findings are reviewed. Efforts to eliminate racial-ethnic disparities in the occurrence of infectious diseases would be aided by effective surveillance data. For the ESP to meet its potential in this regard, however, substantial improvements in the reporting of race-ethnicity for notifiable diseases are needed.
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PMID:The reporting of race and ethnicity in the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System. 210 98

Neonatal and perinatal mortality is directly linked to the health of the mother immediately after birth. Numerous international scientific meetings among them the 45th session of the Mixed Committee of WHO in January 1985, have dealt with this issue. Maternal mortality is defined as the death of the mother 42 days after delivery. Perinatal mortality includes delayed fetal death and early neonatal death. Delayed fetal death often occurs in newborns weighing under 1000 gm. Usually perinatal mortality is defined as the number of delayed fetal deaths and early neonatal deaths among those weighing over 1000 gm/1000 live births. The neonatal mortality level corresponds to the number of deaths of children born alive at 4 weeks/1000 live births. Postnatal mortality means the death of children born live up to 1 year of age. Infant death means death under age 1. Infant mortality level is defined as deaths of infants that survive for a whole year. The major problems of infant health include diarrheal diseases normally requiring vaccination and malnutrition during the first month of life. In Bangladesh, Lesotho, and Mexico, the mortality level ranges between 32.8 to 135/1000 live births. Neonatal mortality makes u 42-63% of infant mortality. The perinatal period comprises the period between 28th week of pregnancy and the 7th day of life. Diarrhea and respiratory infections contribute to perinatal mortality. In developing countries, maternal mortality related to pregnancy of women aged 15-45 occurs most often. 2-10 maternal deaths/1000 live births to as high as 20/1000 are current estimates. In Nigeria, among adolescents, the rate is 50-70 deaths/1000 live births. 124 perinatal deaths that occurred in 1970 and 1973 in India were analyzed yielding these percentages: insufficient birth weight 32%, asphyxia 19%, obstetrical trauma 18%, congenital anomalies 7%, tetanus of the newborn 3%, and others 21%. In Africa and Southeast Asia tetanus-related neonatal mortality amounts to 10-30/1000 live births and the total annual toll reaches 750,000 to 1 million globally mostly because of nonsterile instruments. 90% of tetanus incidence in Romania was eradicated by vaccination. Preventive measures can reduce mortality: education of women on health and hygiene, avoidance of heavy labor during pregnancy, family planning services, aseptic techniques, vaccination against tetanus and other infectious diseases, chemical prophylaxis against malaria, improved obstetrical care, consolidated support system, and community participation.
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PMID:[The role of maternal care in reducing perinatal and neonatal mortality in developing countries]. 251 16

Infection with Plasmodium falciparum induces marked disturbances in normal immunoregulatory functions. Antigen-specific immunosuppression is a feature of acute malaria and has been linked to activation of CD8+ T suppressor cells. Among immune adults, cell-mediated immune responses to malaria antigens are extremely variable when measured in vitro, and there is no obvious relation between responsiveness and resistance to clinical disease. In this study, when CD8+ cells were removed from peripheral blood mononuclear cell preparations obtained from individuals who responded poorly to a soluble malaria antigen preparation, both lymphoproliferation and gamma interferon production were significantly enhanced, but responses to other soluble antigens and mitogen were unaffected. No effect of CD8+ cell depletion was seen in individuals whose undepleted mononuclear cells gave a high response to the malaria antigen. This suggests that for some malaria-exposed individuals, CD8+ cells activated in vitro by exposure to malaria antigens suppress other cellular responses and may obscure the presence of potentially protective immune mechanisms.
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PMID:CD8+ T cells inhibit Plasmodium falciparum-induced lymphoproliferation and gamma interferon production in cell preparations from some malaria-immune individuals. 252 21

Despite Burma being one of the potentially wealthiest nations in Asia, it is one of the poorest countries in the world. Although health care is free in theory, in reality it must be paid for or purchased on the black market. Many of the hospitals are great distances from the villages; patients end up being housed with their families and sometimes livestock as well. Since family planning is against the law, items like contraceptives can only be purchased on the black market. Burmese life is centered around folk traditions; even births are influenced by the days that they fall on. Malaria, diarrhea, and other infectious disease are the main cause of death of children under 5. UNESCO and other non- governmental agencies assist Burmese villages in setting up health programs and relief programs. Despite overwhelming poverty and disease, the Burmese people still remain friendly and generous.
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PMID:Burma: the royal and golden country. 252 35


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