A partnership in burn care education - Nepal and australia

This paper describes some of the issues related to an education partnership which has been developed over the last four years between the Royal Perth Hospital Burn Team in Australia and the Bir Hospital Burn Team in Kathmandu, Nepal. The paper provides an insight into the preparation and collaboration required from both teams and describes some practical ideas to assist those who may be considering educating others in a developing burn service outside their catchment area.

THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF LEPTOSPIROSIS IN NORTH QUEENSLAND. II. FURTHER OBSERVATIONS ON THE HOSTS IN THE MOSSMAN DISTRICT

Investigations in the Mossman districts of North Queensland showed the maintaining hosts of leptospiral serotypemedanensisto bePerameles nasutaandIsoodon macrourusin canefields, secondary woodland and rain forest.Rattus sordidus conatusis the maintaining host ofgrippotyphosain canefields. The host range of six serotypes was extended by the cultural studies.

We would like to express our thanks to Dr G. Alberts, superintendent of Mossman District Hospital, for his co-operation, and also to Miss H. MacDonald and Mr A. Wood for technical assistance.

THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF LEPTOSPIROSIS IN NORTH QUEENSLAND. I. GENERAL SURGERY OF ANIMAL HOSTS

Leptospirosis is a zoonosis that causes appreciable ill health and economic loss in North Queensland. Fourteen serotypes ofLeptospirawere known to infect man in the area, and information on their local distribution and seasonal and occupational incidence had been obtained. The next step in the investigation was to determine the reservoir hosts and estimate their significance.

Wild animals examined comprised 5 monotremes, 643 marsupials, 2355 rodents, 67 bats, 30 birds, 28 reptiles, and 21 toads. Evidence of leptospiral infection was obtained from 223 marsupials, 309 rodents, and 6 fruit-bats. Analysis indicated that the principal maintaining hosts were:Peremeles nasuta—ofL. kremastos(and possiblyL. mini) in canefields and rain forest.

Isoodon macrourus—ofL. broomi, L. mini, andL. kremastosin canefields.

Rattus rattus, R. norvegicus(focal), andMus musculus(focal)—ofL. zanoniin town and canefields.

Rattus sordidus conatus—ofL. australisin canefields.

Rattus assimilis—of foci ofL. australis, a variant ofL. pomona, and probably ofL. hyosin rain forests.

Random infections were also encountered, but the maintaining hosts of the other serotypes known to infect man in the area (icterohaemorrhagiae, canicola, bindjei, robinsoni, bratislava, grippotyphosa, medanensis, celledoni) were not determined.

Domestic animals examined included 137 cattle, 54 pigs, 7 sheep, 34 dogs, 31 cats, and a dairy herd in which there was an epizootic ofpomonaleptospirosis. Again, there was a wide scatter of infection, but, apart from the long-known association ofL. pomonaandL. hyoswith cattle and pigs, there was no evidence of maintaining hosts in this series.

As indicated in the Introduction, the work reported here was part of a planned investigation into the epidemiology of leptospirosis. Some of the early material was collected by Dr M. J. Mackerras, Dr R. L. Doherty, Mrs D. G. Delamoir, and Miss C. J. Ross, who had previously been stationed at the Institute's Field Station, and we are indebted to Mr D. W. Lavers, Mr S. G. Knott, and Mr R. E. Dunham, of the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Stock, for a number of sera from domestic animals. Many of the mammals were identified by Dr W. A. McDougall, of the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Stock, Mr E. le G. Troughton, then of the Australian Museum, Sydney, Mr B. J. Marlow, then of the C.S.I.R.O. Wildlife Section, Canberra, and by Dr J. L. Harrison, Dr M. J. Mackerras, and Mr R. Domrow of the Institute. We are indebted also to Mrs M. Macgregor, Librarian of the Institute, for considerable help with the literature.

COCCIDIA IN WILD POPULATIONS OF THE RED KANGAROO, MEGALEIA RUFA (DESMAREST), AND THE GREY KANGAROO, MACROPUS CANGURU (MUUELLER)

The incidence and prevalence of coccidia have been studied in populations of free-living red kangaroos, Megaleia rufa, and grey kangaroos, Macropus canguru, in four geographically distinct areas in Australia.

Two new species of Eimeria—E. wilcanniensis and E. toganmainensis—are described from M. rufa, and five—E. cunnamullensis, E. gungahlinensis, E. purchasei, E. kogoni, and E. hestermani—from M. canguru.

The incidence of coccidia ranged from 6 to 14% in populations of M. rufa and from 26 to 70% in M. canguru. The susceptibility of the animals to coccidia was analysed in relation to the tibia length. Red kangaroos with tibia approximately 360 mm. long and corresponding to an age of about 12 months were found to be most susceptible. No clinical cases of coccidiosis were seen in the field.

Special thanks are due to the owners or managers of the properties on which the kangaroos were sampled; to members of the staff of the Regional Pastoral Laboratory ‘Gilruth Plains’ for their assistance in sampling, and to Messrs E. R. Hesterman, C. Kogon, and D. Purchase, who assisted in the field and the laboratory. Three species of Eimeria have been named after them in acknowledgement of their work. Messrs B. V. Fennessy and J. H. Calaby of this Division kindly read the manuscript.

I wish to thank Dr G. B. Sharman for his permission to work with captive kangaroos in Canberra, and Mr E. Slater who took the photographs.