Susceptibility and serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates in invasive pneumococcal disease: a study from Kerala, South India.

Invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) is a major burden causing significant mortality and morbidity. This study was conducted to ascertain the magnitude of the problem of drug resistance, the pneumococcal serotypes that are prevalent in our area, and whether current pneumococcal vaccines are able to cover the prevalent serotypes adequately. A retrospective study was done by reviewing the microbiology registry of our hospital.

Pattern of varicella and associated complications in children in Unite Arab Emirates: 5-year descriptive study.

The objective of this study was to characterize the epidemiology of varicella and varicella-associated complications in Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates (UAE) during 2000-04. The annual number of reported cases varied from 373 to 790 per 100 000 population. Most (89%) occurred in children < 15 years old.

Clinical utility of a new rapid test for the detection of group A Streptococcus and discriminate use of antibiotics for bacterial pharyngitis in an outpatient setting.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical usefulness of the Diaquick Strep. A Test (SAT) as a rapid streptococcal antigen test, and its effect on antibiotic use in children.

Methods: This was a prospective study of children with acute catarrh, fever, and acutely inflamed throat/tonsils.

Prevalence of headache and migraine in schoolchildren in the United Arab Emirates.

Background: The aim of this report was to study the prevalence of headache and migraine among schoolchildren in the United Arab Emirates, and to determine the relationship between headache and various factors, with special emphasis on migraine, and the impact of headache on school attendance.

Materials And Methods: A cross-section population study was performed over a period between October 1995 and June 1996. Subjects were selected by multistage stratified sampling procedure.

Varicella susceptibility among children and healthy adults in the United Arab Emirates.

The serological evidence of varicella zoster virus infection was determined among healthy individuals from infancy to 47 years of age living in this region. Of 648 people, 126 (19.4%) had no detectable antibody and were susceptible to infection.

Haemophilus influenzae type b diseases in children: a pre-vaccination study.

Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) can now be prevented by vaccination. We present the clinical and laboratory characteristics of acute invasive H. influenzae diseases in children admitted over a 4-year period to a tertiary paediatric ward of the Al-Ain medical district hospital, before vaccination became available in the United Arab Emirates.

Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection among low socio-economic workers.

Epidemiological studies have shown that the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in a community and occupational health are closely related to lifestyle and socio-economic status. There is little information on H. pylori profile in industrial workers in the literature.

Eradication of Cryptosporidium in four children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Four children on chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia presented with severe diarrhea and dehydration. Cryptosporidium was identified in the stools using modified Ziehl-Neelsen stain. Two of them received paromomycin and responded well.

An outbreak of Serratia marcescens infection in a special-care baby unit of a community hospital in United Arab Emirates: the importance of the air conditioner duct as a nosocomial reservoir.

We report an outbreak of Serratia marcescens infection in a special-care baby unit (SCBU) of a university-affiliated community hospital in the United Arab Emirates. The outbreak involved 36 infants and lasted for 20 weeks. Seven of the colonized infants developed invasive illnesses in the form of bacteraemia (four cases), bacteraemic meningitis (two) and clinical sepsis (one).

Group B streptococcal serotype distribution of isolates from colonized pregnant women at the time of delivery in United Arab Emirates.

Objective: To determine the maternal colonization rate with group B streptococcus (GBS) and to identify the most frequent GBS serotypes occurring in UAE women during labour.

Study Design: From February 1998 to January 1999, five hundred and sixty three pregnant women from a similar socio-economic and ethnic population were enrolled for the study. High vaginal swab cultures for GBS were obtained at the time of admission for delivery.

Sero-prevalence and mother-to-infant transmission of hepatitis E virus among pregnant women in the United Arab Emirates.

Objectives: (1) To study the prevalence of HEV infection in a cohort of pregnant women in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). (2) The rate of mother-to-infant transmission.

Method: Sera of 469 pregnant women residing in the UAE was tested for anti-HEV with ELISA and for HEV-RNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Haemophilus influenzae type b still remains a leading cause of meningitis among unvaccinated children--a prospective CSF analysis study.

A prospective, hospital-based cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis study was undertaken in 65 children who had diagnostic lumbar puncture on admission for suspected central nervous system infections. Twenty-three children were clinically diagnosed to have had sepsis and/or meningitis. CSF bacterial culture grew Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) in four cases and Streptococcus pneumonia (SP) was cultured in another child.

The prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii specific IgG and IgM antibodies in blood donors in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates indicates a potential risk to recipients.

The results of a prospective cross-sectional study on the anti-toxoplasma IgG and IgM specific antibody profile among blood donors in Al Ain United Arab Emirates are presented. The overall infection rate was 34%. Based on IgM specific antibody positive rate, acute toxoplasmosis was evident among 3% of the blood donors studied.

Genetic and environmental factors associated with migraine in schoolchildren.

Objective: The aim of this study was to find the prevalence of migraine and headache in schoolchildren in the United Arab Emirates and to determine the genetic and environmental factors associated with these conditions.

Methods: A cross-sectional population study was performed from October 1995 to June 1996. Subjects were selected by a multistage stratified sampling procedure.

Inhibition of rotavirus infection in vitro and in vivo by a synthetic peptide from VP4.

A synthetic peptide corresponding to bovine rotavirus C486 (BRV) VP4 amino acid sequence 232-255 (VP4-peptide) was studied with the objective of defining the origin of the protective immune response reported previously by Ijaz et al. (J. Virol.

Toxoplasma antibody prevalence among healthy adults in United Arab Emirates.

Full text is available as a scanned copy of the original print version.

Gestational and neonatal toxoplasmosis: regional seroprevalence in the United Arab Emirates.

Paired maternal/cord blood samples were tested for anti-Toxoplasma IgG or IgM antibodies using Biomerieux Micro-EIA2 IgG and IgM test kits. Of the 1503 women tested at the time of delivery, 344 (22.9%) were IgG seropositive.

Impact of pregnancy on maternal AIDS.

Objective: To assess the impact of pregnancy on maternal acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) among tribal women in India.

Study Design: From February 1992 to February 1996, 71 tribal women from Manipur, India, with AIDS (Centers for Disease Control stage iii/iv), matched for age, parity, CD4 lymphocyte count and demographic characteristics, were recruited into a prospective study. Thirty-two (49%) of these women were pregnant (8-10 weeks) (group A) and 38 (51%) nonpregnant (group B).

Respiratory syncytial virus infection among hospitalized young children with acute lower respiratory illnesses in Al Ain, UAE.

To establish the frequency and clinical pattern of Respiratory Syncytial virus (RSV) infection in the region, children under 3 years of age admitted for acute lower respiratory illness during two winter seasons of the years 1993-94 and 1994-95 were studied prospectively. Seventy two cases were diagnosed to have RSV infection among the 252 studied, representing 28.57% of these patients.

Neonatal BCG vaccination and tuberculin skin sensitivity among schoolchildren of the United Arab Emirates.

A cross-sectional survey of 785 schoolchildren living in the Al Ain region was undertaken between January and June 1994 to assess the effect of neonatal BCG vaccination on tuberculin sensitivity and to study the risk of exposure to tuberculosis in the same population. A documented history of BCG vaccination was obtained in 547 (69.7%) schoolchildren.

Factors associated with tuberculin reactivity among children in United Arab Emirates.

A cross-sectional survey of tuberculin skin reactivity was conducted in Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.

A prospective study of mother-to-infant HIV transmission in tribal women from India.

The transmission of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 from infected mothers to their babies was assessed by serologic, virologic, and clinical means. Of the 160 antibody-positive women enrolled at the beginning of the study, 13 had overt clinical symptoms (CDC stage III/IV). Termination of pregnancy was done, on request, in seven of these cases.