An epidemic associated with echovirus type 18

During the period October 1968 to March 1969 echovirus type 18 was isolated from 83 patients investigated at Fairfield Hospital for Communicable Diseases, Melbourne. The illnesses most commonly associated with these isolations were aseptic meningitis, and fever with rash.We believe that this is the first report of an epidemic due to echovirus type 18 and the first occasion on which this virus has been shown to produce disease in adults.

Urinary tract infections presenting with jaundice

Six cases are presented in which jaundice was the prominent feature in acute urinary tract infection. 4 of the 6 cases had positive blood cultures. The source of the infection could not be traced, but all were male infants of social grade V families, and poor hygiene was a common factor. Appropriate antibiotics were given early in the course of the disease, and the infection and jaundice cleared; there were no sequelae. The jaundice was due mainly to hepatocellular impairment, with varying degrees of haemolysis and cholestasis. A comprehensive bacteriological examination is recommended in any case presenting with jaundice and pyrexia.

The excretion of two virulent strains of African swine fever virus by domestic pigs

Daily observations were made on the excretion of African swine fever (ASF) virus by pigs infected intranasally or by contact. Two strains of virus having mean death times of approximately 3 and 6 days were used, the latter being recently isolated from a warthog.First excretion usually occurred by the nasopharyngeal route, as early as 1 or 2 days before the onset of fever in many cases. The titres of pharyngeal and nasal swabs rose rapidly to reach mean levels of about 10(4)-10(5) HAD 50 at 48-72 hr. following the onset of pyrexia. Virus in the secretions of the conjunctiva or lower urogenital tract appeared later and did not attain such high levels. Faecal and urinary excretion was of relatively little significance, except in slower infections caused by the recent warthog virus.These results are discussed in relation to the known failure of infected pigs to transmit the disease to stallmates during the first 12-24 hr. of pyrexia and also in relation to recent work on the pathogenesis of ASF in domestic swine.

Neurological, electroencephalographic, and virological findings in febrile cheldren

Investigations were made of 78 febrile children, 53 with fits and 25 without fits. 53% of the children with fits had viral illnesses. Severe fits were commoner in these children than in those with negative viral findings. Permanent neurological damage and prolonged EEG abnormalities were found significantly more often in children with, than in those without, viral disease, whether or not fits had occurred. The long-term implications are discussed. In addition to viral agents already described as causing neurological complications, the following organisms were found in association with central nervous system disorder: adenovirus 7, respiratory syncytial virus, parainfluenza 2, and C. burnetii (Q fever).

Nasal bacterial flora of calves in healthy and in pneumonia-prone herds

An enclosed swab assembly was employed in a survey of 790 samples of nasal mucus collected from calves in 12 herds. It was possible to classify the nasal bacterial flora of calves in three components, basal, supplementary and transient. The potential pathogens, P. multocia, and P.hemolytica, together with micrococci, saprophytic Neisseria and a Streptococcus composed the basal flora and were judged to be widely distributed in the cattle population.A special bacteriological-statistical formula was employed to quantitatively classify the populations of several bacterial species. Enzootic pneumonia of calves was not found to be associated with a characteristic nasal bacterial flora; in contrast, cases of bacterial pneumonia in a well-managed "pool" herd of young bulls were regularly associated with the isolation of P. hemolytica from the nasal secretion. Pasteurella species were capable of dominating the flora for periods of several days at a time in what was judged to be a state of active colonization of the nasal muscosa with shedding of the organisms in large numbers. This state of active colonization did not fore-tell the likelihood of the development of pneumonia in affected calves; periodic suppression of P. hemolytica was observed in closely studied calves.