ABSTRACT
Four lines of evidence suggest that the recent outbreak strains of Vibrio cholerae O139 could have emerged from serogroup O1 strains typified by isolates M01 and M0477 described in this paper, which are neither truly classical nor truly E1 Tor in their biotype attributes. Firstly, like all O139 isolates, these O1 strains, isolated in Madras during and before the O139 outbreak, were resistant not only to polymyxin B but also to all biotype-specific choleraphages, i.e. classical phage phi 149 and E1 Tor phages e4 and e5. Secondly, the restriction fragment pattern (RFP) polymorphism displayed by these strains for the cholera toxin (ctx) gene, were identical with those produced by O139 isolates but were different from those of O1 type strains, namely V. cholerae 569B (classical) and V. cholerae MAK757 (E1 Tor). Thirdly, all the O139 isolates and the two O1 isolates carried an identical large number of copies of cholera toxin gene in their chromosomes. Finally, the outer-membrane protein profiles of strains M01 and M0477 were identical to those of O139 isolates but were different from those displayed by strains 569B and MAK757.
Subject(s)
Cholera/microbiology , Disease Outbreaks , Vibrio cholerae/classification , Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins/analysis , Bacteriophages , Bangladesh/epidemiology , Blotting, Southern , Cholera/epidemiology , Cholera Toxin/genetics , DNA, Bacterial/analysis , Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel , Genes, Bacterial , Humans , India/epidemiology , Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length , Polymyxin B/pharmacology , Serotyping , Vibrio cholerae/drug effects , Vibrio cholerae/geneticsABSTRACT
A dually HIV- and HTLV-infected ARC patient was found by serological studies in South India. These viruses were isolated and molecular study showed that the patient had both HIV-1 and HTLV-I but not HIV-2 and HTLV-II. In addition to this, 9 other dually infected persons which include another full-blown AIDS case have been identified as on July 1993 in South India. Our findings provide an opportunity to clarify geographical distribution of these human retroviruses.
Subject(s)
AIDS-Related Complex/microbiology , HIV-1/isolation & purification , Human T-lymphotropic virus 1/isolation & purification , Adult , Base Sequence , Female , HIV-1/genetics , HIV-2/isolation & purification , Human T-lymphotropic virus 1/genetics , Human T-lymphotropic virus 2/isolation & purification , Humans , India , Molecular Sequence Data , Polymerase Chain ReactionABSTRACT
EIGHTYFIVE HIV SEROPOSITIVE SUBJECTS (M: 42;F:43) were compared with an equal number STD subjects negative for HIV. They formed 1.6% of the total number (N =5287) screened in the STD OP. Heterosexual transmission was predominant. A significantly higher promiscuity and a larger number of sex partners and contacts were observed in the female but not the male HIV subjects. The ages at first coital experience were similar in both the groups. There was no difference in the occurrence of either STDs or psychiatric illness at index examination between the two groups. The symptom profile of psychiatric illness in the HIV subjects did not differ from that of the controls. The HIV subjects had more of physical diagnoses than the controls. The psychological responses to the 'disclosure' of seropositivity were noted. The closeness of HIV and STD groups on many factors and its implication for management and health education are commented upon.
