Immunohaematological reference values for HIV-negative healthy adults in Botswana.

Background: Clinical laboratories in Botswana have relied entirely on the reference intervals for normal immunohaematological values provided by manufacturers' kits and textbooks.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the means, medians, 2.5th and 97.

Immunohaematological reference values for HIV-negative healthy adults in Botswana.

Background: Clinical laboratories in Botswana have relied entirely on the reference intervals for normal immunohaematological values provided by manufacturers' kits and textbooks.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the means, medians, 2.5th and 97.

Cryptococcus and lymphocytic meningitis in Botswana.

We retrospectively reviewed microbiological data from a tertiary care hospital in Botswana, and found that Cryptococcus neoformans was cultured from 15% (193/1307) of all cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens submitted for analysis, making it the most common diagnosed cause of meningitis in this population. Moreover, almost 70% of CSF samples with significant lymphocytosis did not yield a pathogen, suggesting that many causes of lymphocytic meningitis go undiagnosed.

Mannan-binding lectin in the sub-Saharan HIV and tuberculosis epidemics.

Inherited deficiency of mannan-binding lectin (MBL) has been shown to predispose to infections. Conversely, it has also been suggested that MBL might facilitate the uptake of certain intracellular microbes. The aim of this study was to investigate whether MBL plays a role in the HIV and tuberculosis epidemics in Africa.

PCR detection of mycobacteraemia in tanzanian patients with extrapulmonary tuberculosis.

In 191 Tanzanian patients admitted to hospital with suspected extrapulmonary tuberculosis (TB), TB was diagnosed in 158 patients; the remaining 33 patients had neither microbiological nor clinical evidence of TB. Mycobacterium tuberculosis was detected in the blood of 25 patients, in 92% by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique and in 52% by culture of buffy coat cells. The presence of mycobacterial DNA or Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria in peripheral blood (positive culture) was significantly associated with HIV infection; it was detected in 22 (21.