The Journal of tropical medicine and hygiene 

About: The Journal of tropical medicine and hygiene is an academic journal. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Population & Malaria. It has an ISSN identifier of 0022-5304. Over the lifetime, 2623 publications have been published receiving 25872 citations.

Detection of Brucella melitensis and Brucella abortus by DNA amplification.

Abstract: Suitable reaction conditions and oligonucleotide primers were sought for the detection of Brucella melitensis and Brucella abortus by the polymerase chain reaction. Primers were chosen from within the coding sequence of a gene encoding a 31 kDa B. abortus antigen. The test was shown to be sensitive, and specificity was demonstrated using DNA derived from a panel of Gram-negative pathogens. There was no detectable difference between B. melitensis and B. abortus in the sensitivity of the reaction or in the size of the amplification product. The technique should be applicable in the diagnosis of brucellosis.

The cofactor effect of genital ulcers on the per-exposure risk of HIV transmission in sub-Saharan Africa.

Abstract: The goal was to estimate the cofactor effect of genital ulcer disease (GUD) on the risk of HIV transmission during a single heterosexual exposure. The relation between the risk ratio observed in an epidemiological study and the per-exposure cofactor effect was investigated. Given simple assumptions, we show that observed risk ratios are expected to be very much smaller than per-exposure cofactor effects and to decrease as the observation period increases. Data from longitudinal studies of female commercial sex workers and men in Nairobi were reanalysed. The data are consistent with GUD cofactor effects per sexual exposure of 10-50 for male to female transmission, and of 50-300 for female to male transmission. Although subject to wide margins of error, these estimates indicate that GUD may be responsible for a high proportion of heterosexually acquired HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa, supporting the potential role of STD control as an effective intervention strategy against HIV.

The nature of the gastrointestinal lesion in Asiatic cholera and its relation to pathogenesis: a biopsy study.

Abstract: 9 patients with Asiatic cholera were studied to determine the pathology of the gastrointestinal tract during this disease. Serial intestinal biopsies demonstrated that the intestinal epithelium was intact contrary to the classical textbook concept that a mucolytic enzyme causes desquamation of the epithelium. Histological abnormalities of the small bowel in cholera showed an acute enteritis manifested by mononuclear cell inflammatory exudate vascular congestion marked goblet cell hyperplasia with eventual exhaustion and atrophy and increased turnover of epithelial cells. The lesion in cholera could not be differentiated from that in cases of nonspecific diarrhea. A separate underlying chronic atropic enteritis was also found suggesting that a dietary or nutritional factor may be import in predisposing an individual to cholera. Mucus rather than desquamated cells leads to the rice-water stool characteristic of cholera.

Treatment of malaria outside the formal health services.

Abstract: Self-medication for malaria is widely practised around the world, and although many home treatment episodes are successful, the risk of under or over-dosing is always present. Reasons for the widespread use of self-medication range from the distance and cost of seeking care from the formal health services to cultural beliefs which suggest that traditional care is more appropriate, and even that modern care may be fatal. But self-medication constitutes an important resource for malaria treatment, and much could be done to improve the self-medication practices of the population. Measures to be taken include dissemination of clear messages about malaria as a part of health education, formulation of realistic treatment policies which take account of resource constraints, lowering or removal of economic barriers, especially user charges, and further research into cultural beliefs about malaria and ways to promote compatibility of beliefs with appropriate treatment. If these suggestions could be taken into account in developing malaria treatment strategies, the chances of success would be greatly enhanced.