[Emergence of dengue hemorrhagic fever in the Americas. Reemergence of dengue]. / La emergencia de la fiebre hemorrágica del dengue en las Américas. Reemergencia del dengue.

Dengue is at present the most important human arbovirosis. It is the main cause of hospitalization and death among children from southeast Asia. Two fifth of the world population live in dengue risk areas. In 1997, over 100 countries reported epidemic and more than 50,000,000 cases and 25,000 deaths were estomated. Nowadays, the Americas is passing through the same situation Asia faced years ago. In 1997, 27 countries reported cases of dengue, and in 14 of them cases of dengue hemorrhagic fever were documented. In all, 387,459 cases of classic dengue and 11,645 of dengue hemorrhagic fever were registered. During the last 2 decades dengue has increased significantly in our region with ups and downs in the annual incidence since 1981. It should be remarked that every 3 or 4 years there is a cyclic decrease and a further increase of the incidence, though it trends to rise. As regards dengue hemorrhagic fever, the situation is not more favorable. The Cuban epidemic that appeared in 1981 was completely untimely in the region. In 1989, 8 years later, the second important dengue hemorrhagic fever epidemic emerged in Venezuela, and from that moment on there has been an increasing tendency of this clinical form of the disease. The factors of the emergence and reemergence are present and rise year after year. The neoliberal policies and the consequent privatization of the health services in most of the countries allow us to watch a gloomy future in relation to the development of dengue and its severe form, the dengue hemorrhagic fever/dengue shock syndrome.

[Inhibition of the multiplication of a Coxsackie A9 strain isolated from a patient with epidemic neuropathy by the interferons alfa and gamma]. / Inhibición de la multiplicación de la cepa de Coxsackie A9 aislada de un paciente con neuropatía epidémica frente a los interferones alfa y gamma.

We present the results of the in vitro action of alpha and gamma interferons and of Intacglobin and Igegam against the 47/93/IPK (Coxsackie A9) strain isolated from the cerebrospinal fluid of a patient with epidemic neuropathy. The in vitro studies showed that the two interferons inhibited the replication of this agent; they also showed the presence of antibodies to it in the Intacglobin and Igegam. The results attained demonstrated that the use of these compounds could be effective for the treatment of this entity.

Aislamiento del virus del dengue 2 en sueros de pacientes utilizando el raton lactante y cultivo de celulas LLCMK2. / Isolation of dengue virus type 2 in serum of patients using suckling mice and LLCMK2 cell cultures

El virus del dengue 2 fue aislado en 22 de 40 sueros de pacientes clinicamente diagnosticados como dengue durante la epidemia de dengue hemorragico de Cuba 1981.Se utilizaron como sistemas de aislamientos el raton lactante y las celulas LLCMK2 demostrandose la mayor sensibilidad de estas al obtener 13 aislamientos mas que en raton lactante. Todas las cepas fueron identificadas como dengue tipo 2