Socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of Jamaican adolescents with HIV/AIDS

BACKGROUND: Clinical symptomatology and socio-demographic factors have not been characterized in Jamaican adolescents with HIV/AIDS. METHODS: We studied these factors in 25 HIV-positive Jamaican adolescents, 10-19 years of age, who were seen at the Centre for HIV/AIDS Research, Education, and Services (CHARES) between the years 1996 and 2002. Data were collected between June 2003 and August 2003 from CHARES social work files and The University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) medical records. Microsoft Excel was used to compile descriptive statistics for the data. RESULTS: The mean age of HIV diagnosis was 15.6 (+/-3.09) years, and the mean age of enrollment at CHARES was 16.3 (+/- 2.9) years. Consensual sexual intercourse was the most prominent mode of transmission (56), followed by vertical transmission (16), unknown (16), forced sexual intercourse (8), and blood transfusion (4). The predominant clinical presentations among these adolescent patients were generalized dermatitis (77.2) and lymphadenopathy (50). Of the patients for whom clinical status could be determined, 70 were [quot ]Severely Symptomatic [quot]. Of these patients only 14 were recommended for antiretroviral treatment. CONCLUSIONS: These findings reinforce the need to globally incorporate the goal of the 2002 Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) [quot]to provide reproductive health services, including low-cost or free condoms, voluntary counselling and testing, diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases and infections for adolescents in order to effectively prevent HIV infection [quot] (1)

Antibacterial effects of Carica papaya fruit on common wound organisms

The purpose of the study was to investigate antibacterial activity of ripe and unripe Carica papaya on selected micro-organisms. Cultures of micro-organisms were routinely maintained in nutrient agar slants at 4 degrees C. Extracts of immature, mature and ripe Carica papaya fruit were obtained by separately grinding factions of the epicarp, endocarp and seeds and filtering them through gauze. Sensitivity tests were conducted by adding 0.06 ml of extract to agar wells (6 mm diameter) prepared from 20 ml agar seeded with 10(6) cells/ml suspension of one of the eight organisms per plate. The inoculated plates were allowed to equilibrate at 4 degrees C for 1 hour, incubated at 37 degrees C for 24 hours, and zones of inhibition measured in millimetres. Anti-bacterial activity was expressed in terms of the radius of zone of inhibition. Seed extracts from the fruit showed inhibition in the following order: B cereus > E coli > S faecalis > S aureus > P vulgaris > S flexneri. No significant difference was found in bacterial sensitivity between immature, mature and ripe fruits. No inhibition zone was produced by epicarp and endocarp extracts. Carica papaya seeds contain anti-bacterial activity that inhibits growth of gram-positive and gram-negative organisms. Observed activity was independent of stage of fruit maturity. Carica papaya has antibacterial effects that could be useful in treating chronic skin ulcers to promote healing