Rotavirus infection in infants and young children in Makkah, Saudi Arabia

To determine the prevalence of rotavirus in infants and young children in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. A population-based prevalence study was done in randomly selected infants and young children suffering from acute diarrhoea. Faecal specimens were collected from 479 patients. A latex agglutination test was used for rotavirus detection. All positive and 10 negative samples for rotavirus by latex agglutination were also tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay [ELISA]. Rotavirus was detected in 48 [10%] patients using latex agglutination test. ELISA detected 46/48 positive samples. Ten samples that tested negative with latex test were also negative with ELISA. Infection with rotavirus was more frequent among infants and children < 2 years old, with a maximum incidence among children 0-12 months. Rotavirus infection was 3.1% in Saudi nationals, compared to 6.9% in other nationalities. In this study the prevalence rate of 10% was low compared to other studies done in different regions of Saudi Arabia. This low rate could be due to the geographical location of Makkah with very hot and dry summer, and mild winter and almost no rain throughout the year

Use of thymidine labelled vector [T-vector] for cloning and sequencing of enzymatically amplified ribosomal RNA genes of helicobacter pylori

Part of the 16S RNA [rRNA] genes of Helicobacter pylori was amplified by using polymerase chain reaction. Amplified product was cloned into modified bactreiophage vector M13mp18 [called T vector]. Nineteen potentially recombinant clones were obtained, out of which eleven have shown the definite presence of DNA of interest, and evidenced the successful cloning of amplified product. Single stranded DNA from these recombined clones were extracted and used for sequencing. Sequencing of cloned DNA was performed in both orientations using M13 universal primer and other sequencing primers generally used for eubacterial species. Complete nucleotide of the cloned fragment has shown 77% homology with the same region of 16S rRNA gene of Escherichia coli. The method used in this study is very general so that a single batch of prepared vector can be used for cloning of any PCR product. The method is also applicable for plasmid vectors

Aetiological agents of viral diarrhoea

Acute diarrhoeal diseases have been recognized as a major public health problem, which occurs in both epidemic it and endemic forms. The paper presents results of the aetiological agents of viral diarrhoea from a two year study on the aetology of diarrhoea in the first three years of life. Viral agents were found in 22.2§ of the total diarrhoea cases. Major viral agents were Rotavirus 13.9% Adenovirus 5.9% small round virus [SRV] 3% and corona viruses in 0.4% of the cases. In the control group, Rota virus was present in 3.8% followed by Adenovirus 2.7% and SRV in 917 of the total cases

Gastroenteritis due to vibrio cholerae El Tor ogawa

An outbreak of gastroenteritis occurred in District Mansehra of N.W.F.P., Pakistan. Clinically, the cases did not present with a typical picture of cholera. Cases were sporadic with occasional fatal outcome in adults possibly due to treatment failure. Causative agent was identified as V. cholerae El Tor ogawa