[Epidemic outbreak of meningitis due to Echovirus type 13 on the island of Gran Canaria (Spain)].

Introduction: Since the implementation of routine vaccination against mumps, enteroviruses have become the commonest cause of viral meningitis. In Spain the most frequently isolated echoviruses are serotypes 30, 9, 6 and 4.Objectives.

Mannose binding lectin polymorphisms as a disease-modulating factor in women with systemic lupus erythematosus from Canary Islands, Spain.

Objective: To determine whether mannose binding lectin (MBL) polymorphisms are associated with clinical characteristics and with susceptibility to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in women from the Canary Islands, Spain.

Methods: MBL alleles and genotypes were determined by polymerase chain reaction in 89 female patients and 188 female controls.

Results: No differences in the allelic or genotypic frequencies were observed between patients and controls.