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G Berry

Publications and source records attributed to G Berry.

195 records · Page 11Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

The epidemiology of leprosy in a high prevalence village in Papua New Guinea.

In a village of about 1000 people in Papua New Guinea the prevalence of clinical leprosy was 8.6% compared to about 3% in surrounding villages. This exceptionally high prevalence could not be explained by recent introduction of the disease or by social factors. Dapsone-resistant disease and faulty compliance with treatment are considered to be contributory to persistent infectivity of old cases which, together with the presence of 20 previously undiagnosed cases, comprised a large infective source. Social ostracism of cases was not observed and the extensive social mixing of all ages would facilitate widespread dissemination of infection. A high prevalence, particularly in children, of elevated levels of IgM antibody to phenolic glycolipid-1 Mycobacterium leprae specific antigen suggests frequent subclinical infection. The greater prevalence of clinical leprosy following childhood in the village favours altered susceptibility following exposure in childhood. There was a higher prevalence of leprosy in close relatives of cases when compared with the same relatives of age and sex matched leprosy-free controls. The occurrence of familial clustering of leprosy in a hyperendemic area with intense transmission suggests that unidentified inherited factors influence susceptibility to clinical leprosy. It is suggested that the clustering of adverse inherited traits through intermarriage may explain this hyperendemic focus on leprosy.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

An unusual cause of cervical lymphadenitis: Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease.

Cervical lymphadenitis may be the result of diverse conditions in a patient. Clinical and epidemiologic information about cervical lymphadenitis can often lead to a presumptive diagnosis and, thus, limit the number of studies required as well as direct the type of initial therapy administered. We report a case of cervical lymphadenitis in a Vietnamese woman for whom a presumptive diagnosis of tuberculosis was made and antituberculous therapy was started. Pathologic examination of an excised lymph node revealed the correct diagnosis--histiocytic necrotizing lymphadenitis, or Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease. We review the clinical, epidemiologic, and pathologic features of this recently recognized disease. Careful examination of excised material from the lymph nodes should prevent patients who have Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease from receiving unnecessary treatment.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Mesotheliomas and asbestos type in asbestos textile workers: a study of lung contents.

The asbestos contents of the lungs of former employees of an asbestos textile factory were determined at necropsy using a transmission electron microscope. Those who had died of mesothelioma were compared with a matched sample of those who had died of other causes. The predominant fibre processed in the factory was chrysotile, but crocidolite had also been used. The lung content was consistent with the known exposure to chrysotile, but the crocidolite content was also high, being about 300 times that of the general population of the United Kingdom. The lungs of those with mesothelioma did not contain more of either chrysotile or crocidolite than the lungs of the controls, so no particular type of asbestos could be implicated in causing the mesotheliomas. The evidence of substantial exposure to crocidolite means that the mesotheliomas that occurred in this factory could not be attributed with any certainty to the exposure to chrysotile.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The prevalence of nosocomial and community-acquired infections in Australian hospitals.

The first national survey of the prevalence of nosocomial and community-acquired infections in Australian hospitals was carried out during July 1984. Data were collected on 28,643 patients in rural and metropolitan, public and private acute-care hospitals. The over-all adjusted prevalence of nosocomial infections was 6.3%; the prevalence of community-acquired infection was 9.7%. A total of 5940 infections occurred; 39% were hospital-acquired infections and 61% were community-acquired infections. These occurred at the following sites: the respiratory tract, 35.4% (2100 infections; contributing 19% of hospital-acquired infections and 46% of community-acquired infections); the urinary tract, 15.1% (896 infections; contributing 22% of hospital-acquired infections and 11% of community-acquired infections); surgical wounds, 13.4% (797 infections; contributing 34% of hospital-acquired infections); the gastrointestinal tract, 7.8% (466 infections; contributing 3.4% of hospital-acquired infections and 11% of community-acquired infections); skin, 6.3% (376 infections; contributing 4.4% of hospital-acquired infections and 8% of community-acquired infections); abscesses, 1.9% (113 infections; contributing 0.9% of hospital-acquired infections and 2% of community-acquired infections); traumatic wounds, 1.5% (90 infections; contributing 0.9% of hospital-acquired infections and 2% of community-acquired infections); bacteraemia, 1.5% (89 infections; contributing 1.6% of hospital-acquired infections and 1% of community-acquired infections); burns, 0.2% (14 infections; contributing 0.3% of hospital-acquired infections and 0.2% of community-acquired infections); and other, 16.8% (999 infections; contributing 13.4% of hospital-acquired infections and 19% of community-acquired infections). There was a significant association between hospital size and infection rates. The nosocomial infection prevalence rate increased from 4.2% in hospitals with 50-99 beds to 7.6% in hospitals with 500 or more beds. The prevalence of community-acquired infections was higher in rural (11.5%) than in metropolitan (8.7%) hospitals. After adjusting for hospital size, public hospitals had significantly-higher prevalences of nosocomial (6.7%) and community-acquired (10.6%) infection than did private hospitals (nosocomial infection, 4.8%; community-acquired infection, 6.3%).

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Predictors of surgical wound infection in Australia: a national study.

In July 1984, the first national Australian Nosocomial Prevalence Survey collected data on 12,742 surgical patients from 265 hospitals. This sample represented 59% of public and private hospitals with 50 or more acute-care beds in Australia. The infection control officers at each hospital provided data on patients in a random sample of beds. The over-all surgical wound infection rate was 4.6%. The surgical wound infection rate was twice (5.4%) as high in public than in private (2.8%) hospitals. The infection rates were greater in larger hospitals in both the public and private sector. However, after adjusting for the other predictor factors that are noted below the infection rate did not show any particular pattern for the size of hospital. Clean surgery had a higher (4.8%) infection rate than did clean-contaminated surgery (2.9%). The infection rate for contaminated surgery was 15.0%. Men were found to have nearly twice (6.5%) the infection rate of women (3.4%). Infection rates were lowest in the 15-to-34 years' age-group and highest in those of over 55 years of age. These trends remained even after adjusting for the other risk factors for infection. The cost of surgical wound infections for all hospitals during the year of 1984 was estimated at approximately $60 million. We suggest that a concerted effort should be made to attempt to reduce the infection rate for clean surgery to 1% or less.

Adolescent↗