Dengue fever as a cause of acute febrile illness in Sharkiya

The prersent work aimed at detection of dengue as a cause of acute febrile illness in Sharkiya. One hundred patients complaining of fever, headache, myalgia and arthralgia were included in the present study. Acute and convalescent serum samples were collected from each patient and tested by indirect ELISA for the presence of dengue virus immunoglobulin G. Four-fold rise in antibody titre was found in sera eight patients"from acute to convalescent". The eight patients had leucopenia and none of them showed haemorrhagic manifestations. The present study showed that dengue fever can not be ignored as a possible cause of acute febrile illness in Sharkyia. So infection control measures must be taken to prevent its spread, especially in new countries, through people comming from endemic areas. Also, it is recommended to facilitate methods for laboratory diagnosis of dengue fever for early detection and treatment

Role of staphylococcal enterotoxins [superantigens] in allergic rhinitis

Staphylococcal enterotoxins [S. Es.] of type A-D were immunologically detected in liquefied nasal blow washings and homogenized polypi of 20 patients suffering from allergic rhinitis [AR]. Tissue eosinophil count, serum IgE, IL-2 and IL-4 were also determined using ELISA technique, and the results were statistically compared with those obtained from 15 age and sex matched healthy volunteers. Enterotoxin secreting potential of the isolated S. aureus was identified in 17 patients who showed remarkably increased levels of serum IgE, IL-2 and IL-4 and tissue eosinophil count. The results suggested that S. Es. can be incriminated as triggering factors that activate a large population of T-lymphocytes to elaborate interleukins and eventually leading to elevated serum IgE and tissue local eosinophilia in AR patients

Polymerase chain reaction as a diagnostic tool of meningococcal meningitis

To improve the diagnosis of meningococcal meningitis, nPCR was used in cerebrospinal fluid [CSF] samples. NPCR test was based on the gene coding for the pro-A outer membrane protein, a major antigen of N. meningitis. This method was applied on 20 culture positive CSF samples; 9 N. meningitides, 8 Strept. pneumoniae, 2 H. influenza and 1 Strept group B SGB and on 16 culture negative CSF samples. Both sensitivity and specificity of the test were 100% for cases with confirmed meningococcal meningitis. Of the culture negative CSF samples, eight cases were nPCR positive. In conclusion, nPCR is a rapid and sensitive test that may be used to confirm the diagnosis of meningococcal disease of substantial number of patients for whom no other confirmatory laboratory method was available

Bacteriologic contamination during laparoscopy with methylene blue injection

The prevalence and nature of bacterial contamination occurring in the peritoneal cavity after transcervical Methylene blue dye injection during the laparoscopic procedure, was studied in 50 sub-fertile women by culturing samples of peritoneal fluid aspirated before and after injection of Methylene blue dye. In 15 out of the 50 patients endocervical swabs were taken just before the laparoscopic procedure for bacteriological culture. It was found that bacteria were carried with the dye into a previously sterile peritoneal cavity in 30 women [60%], and the source of this bacterial contamination was the lower genital tract. Most of the organisms were present in low concentration not exceeding 10[5] organisms / ml. These findings might explain the absence of cases of acute salpingitis after Methylene blue dye injection in this study, but selective use of antibiotic prophylaxis is recommended