Stolen children and international adoption.
This article brings the broad picture of international adoptions up to its main locus at present, in this hemisphere, with particular emphasis on Ecuador and illegal operations.
Adoption↗
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[Prenatal care in Latin America].
Available data on the coverage of prenatal care in Latin America were reviewed. In recent years, only Bolivia had a coverage of prenatal care of less than 50 per cent. More than 90 per cent of pregnant women received prenatal care in Chile, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. Prenatal care increased between the 1970 and 1980 in the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Peru. The coverage of prenatal care decreased in Bolivia and Colombia. The mean number of visits increased in Cuba and Puerto Rico. The increase of prenatal care in Guatemala and Honduras is due to increased care by traditional birth attendants, compared to the role of health care institutions. We compared the more recent data on tetanus immunization of pregnant women to the more recent data on prenatal care. The rates of tetanus immunization are always lower than the rates of prenatal care attendance, except in Costa Rica. The rates of tetanus immunization was less than half as compared to the rates of prenatal care in Bolivia, Guatemala, and Peru. To improve the content of prenatal care should be an objective complementary to the increase of the number of attending women.
Female↗
[Serologic response to a DNA recombinant vaccine against hepatitis B in natives of the Peruvian Amazonian jungle].
Large areas of the Amazon basin in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and in the nonoriental region of the peruvian jungle have been found to be hyperendemic to Hepatitis B with high prevalence of asymptomatic carriers (11 to 25%) and, in more selected areas, Hepatitis Delta has been also reported. In the present report, we have studied 108 volunteers from six different Jivaroes communities living in a hyperendemic Hepatitis B area. They received 2 doses of DNA recombinant yeast derivated HBV vaccine. All the selected persons were HBsAb negatives, but many (80%) had antibodies to HBc. Following immunization schedule, 80% responded with the formation of HBsAb; a better seroconversion was achieved in those negatives to anticore IgG compared with those having HBcAb. We obtained 90% of seroconversion in spite of the fact that our vaccination schedule was prolonged up to 10 months from the one recommended by the manufacturer. The vaccination schedule 0,4, 14 months, and the schedule 0,4 months, had 76 and 29% of seroconversion, respectively. We want to point out three observations: 1) It is quite possible that many of the Anti-core positives, that did not respond to vaccination were carriers of HBsAg undetectable by the conventional EIA test carried out; 2) The seroconversion rate in these natives was low (up to six months after the vaccination schedule); and 3) Many of the HBcAb were false positives and many of them were recently infected. We conclude: A) It is highly important to assess the anti-HBs hyperendemic areas before attempting vaccinations; B) All persons negative to anti-HBs should be vaccinated in spite to anticore antibodies; C) Areas with difficult access could be vaccinated even until 10 months without affecting good results, and D) DNA recombinant vaccine (ENGERIX B) was well tolerated. No side effects were observed.
Adolescent↗
Polystoma cuvieri n. sp. (Monogenea: Polystomatidae), a parasite of the urinary bladder of the leptodactylid frog Physalaemus cuvieri in Paraguay.
A new species of polystomatid monogenean, Polystoma cuvieri, is described from the urinary bladder of the leptodactylid frog Physalaemus cuvieri Fitzinger in Paraguay. This new species possesses a reticulated intestine and hamuli of about 350 microns long. The closest species is Polystoma napoensis Vaucher, 1987, described from Osteocephalus spp. in Ecuador. The Paraguayan material is distinguished by the blade size of the hamuli. The hamuli blades appear to be useful in Polystoma systematics.
Animals↗
[Trends in and effects of smoking in the world].
Smoking is undoubtedly a major cause of illness and premature death. It is responsible for as much as 90% of all cases of lung cancer, 75% of chronic bronchitis and emphysema and 25% of cases of ischaemic heart disease in men under 65 years, as well as for a number of other types of cancer, pregnancy complications and more frequent respiratory ailments in children from smoking families. In South-East Asia, tobacco chewing is estimated to cause about 90% of the deaths due to oral cancer. Worldwide, cigarette consumption per adult has increased only very slightly, by 7.1%, between 1970 and 1985. It fell in many industrial countries, e.g. by 9% in the United States of America and Canada, 6% in Australia and New Zealand, and by as much as 25% in the United Kingdom. On the contrary, in many developing countries adult per capita cigarette consumption has increased markedly, e.g. by 42% in Africa, 24% in Latin America and 22% in Asia. In many industrialized countries, the percentage of smokers has started to fall in recent years. For instance, in the United Kingdom, the percentage of male smokers fell from 65% to 45% and that of female smokers from 45% to 34%. In the United States, male prevalence decreased from 54% to 29% and female prevalence from 36% to 24%. In Norway, male smoking prevalence decreased from 53% to 42%, in Australia from 72% to 33% and in Canada from 44% to 35%. On the contrary, in developing countries prevalence of smoking is frequently higher than in the affluent countries. In Tunisia, for instance, 60% of the men smoke. Smoking-related diseases account for 7% of all deaths in Chile and Ecuador and 24% in Venezuela, 30% in Cuba, 10% in France, 17% in Canada, 15-20% in the United Kingdom, and up to 35% among white South-Africans. It has been calculated that 600,000 new cases of lung cancer occur worldwide every year, most of them due to smoking. Projections show that by the year 2000 the yearly number of new lung-cancer cases worldwide may be as high as 2 million. 500,000 deaths are attributable to smoking in Europe, at least 630,000 in India, 10,000 in South Africa, 23,000 in Australia, 30,000 in Canada, 19,000 in Venezuela and about 400,000 in the United States in 1980. The hypermorbidity of smokers causes an extra need for medical care.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Adult↗
[Neurocysticercosis].
A report is presented on a 30-year-old Ecuadorian and a 40-year-old Sicilian with ventricular neurocysticercosis. The disease was manifested as occlusive hydrocephalus with signs of acute augmentation of intracranial pressure requiring emergency ventricular drainage. Subsequently several cysts were removed from the ventricles of both patients by craniotomy. One of the patients was discharged and left for Ecuador after operation while the other received antiparasitic therapy with praziquantel; this did not, however, contribute to an improvement of the symptoms. The diagnosis, differential diagnosis and therapy of neurocysticercosis are discussed.
Adult↗
Visual characteristics of rural Central and South Americans.
Rural inhabitants of Venezuela, Ecuador and Honduras were examined by volunteer optometry student interns. The resulting data indicate significantly lower best-corrected distance visual acuities, a greater prevalence of many ocular pathologies, less frequent occurrence of myopia, and an earlier onset of presbyopia than is found in the general United States population.
Adult↗
Fundoplication as treatment for gastroesophageal reflux in children.
Esophageal stricture resulting from gastroesophageal reflux is common among children in Ecuador. The sequence of events is vomiting, recurrent pneumonia, failure to thrive and stricture with resulting malnutrition. The diagnosis is confirmed by barium meal and esophagoscopy. The age of the affected population ranges from one month to 12 years. In the past, surgical treatment included esophageal replacement but the most appropriate current treatment is Nissen fundoplication to restore the gastroesophageal sphincter function.
Child↗
A survey of clinical trials with fenbufen.
To date, the efficacy and safety of gamma-oxo(1,1'-biphenyl)-4-butanoic acid (fenbufen) have been evaluated in over 200 clinical trials involving several thousand patients. The program of clinical investigation consisted of open dose ranging studies in patients; short-term, double-blind controlled studies of both cross-over and parallel group design to evaluate efficacy and safety compared to placebo and active reference drugs; long-term, double-blind controlled studies of parallel group design versus an active reference agent; open studies to evaluate the long-term efficacy and safety of fenbufen; and special studies to investigate possible effects on eyes, ears and heart. The overall experience with fenbufen in 60 US and 37 foreign clinical trials is summarized in this report with respect to the following: therapeutic efficacy and safety in rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, analgesia and gout. The age range covered in these studies was 13 to 87 years, and included 206 patients over the age of 70. 3457 patients received fenbufen in all phases of these clinical trials, including short-term and long-term studies. The patient total includes: 1462 patients (664 US, 798 foreign) with rheumatoid arthritis, 1225 (420 US, 805 foreign) with osteoarthritis, 55 (19 US, 36 foreign) with ankylosing spondylitis, 39 (foreign) with gout, and 676 patients (103 US, 573 (foreign) who participated in analgesia studies. The worldwide clinical studies have demonstrated very good clinical efficacy of fenbufen in comparison to other non-steroidal antirheumatic (nsa) drugs. The tolerance was much better in many cases compared with tolerance levels of other nsa-drugs. The good results were confirmed by new papers presented during IX International Congress of Rheumatology, Wiesbaden/FR Germany, September 1979. Fenbufen is currently marketed in Brazil, Columbia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Great Britain, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Ireland, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Rhodesia, Spain, South Africa, Switzerland, Trinidad and FR Germany.
Anti-Inflammatory Agents↗
Inbreeding in a South-American newborn series.
Parental consanguinity was investigated in a series of 16, 137 non-malformed newborn infants, ascertained in 64 hospitals, of 27 cities, in seven South-American countries. Parental consanguinity was detected in 135 (0.84%) newborns, giving a mean inbreeding coefficient (a) of 0.00053. The subsamples for five of the seven countries (Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Uruguay, Venezuela) showed similar consanguinity rates, of about one per cent, an a ranging from 0.00040 to 0.00070, approximately. One country, Argentina, had a three times lower value for both indicators: consanguinity rate: 0.3%, a: 0.00011. Another country, Peru, could not be individually analyzed because of its small sample size. Considering the whole South-American sample, first cousin represented 60% of all consanguineous matings. Significantly more female than male intermediate ancestors were counted in the specified total of consanguineous matings, suggesting a preferential consanguineous mating pattern for urban South-American populations.
Chromosome Aberrations↗
[Current situation of yellow fever in Latin America].
Yellow fever endemicity is currently stabilized in South America: an average of 115 cases has officially been notified each year since 25 years (between 12 and 304 annual cases). These figures are underevaluated but no epidemic has been observed since 1983. Only sporadic or limited grouped cases have been reported. All declared cases correspond to people who have been infected within sylvatic areas, mainly adult forestmen. Within the last years, the majority of cases have occurred in Peru and Bolivia; the other cases have been observed in Brazil, in Columbia, in Ecuador and in French Guiana (imported strains from Surinam). This apparently low virus circulation may be due to massive campaigns of vaccination and to mosquito vector control. But this situation could suddenly reverse as observed in the past with yellow fever and the spring of the urban Aedes aegypti vector. Genetic and immunochemical heterogeneity has been demonstrated between South American and African yellow fever strains, which may reveal evolutionary divergence due to different ecological environment between the two continents. Yellow fever definitely remains a topical disease which requires a constant surveillance.
Aedes↗
[Vitamin A deficiency and actions for its prevention and control in Latin America and the Caribbean, 1994].
Since the 1970s, the prevalence of protein-energy malnutrition has declined in the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. However, micronutrient deficiencies, especially of iodine, iron, and vitamin A, have not diminished to the same extent. Based on clinical criteria, vitamin A deficiency continues to be a public health problem in Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, and Nicaragua. This deficiency is also common in poor communities in Bolivia, in some parts of Mexico and Peru, and among indigenous groups in Panama. Trends in general health and nutrition indicators in Colombia, Cuba, Guyana, Paraguay, and Venezuela suggest the need to update information on vitamin A deficiency in those countries. At the close of the 1980s, increasing interest was manifested in reducing vitamin A deficiency in the Region of the Americas; this interest has led to epidemiologic studies, national and regional meetings, and the implementation of plans and interventions at the local, national, and regional levels. In the medium and long term, a permanent solution to the problem of vitamin A deficiency can be attained through sustained economic and social development, accompanied by specific actions to diversify diets in order to increase consumption of foods rich in vitamin A, fortification of popular foods, and nutritional education. In the short term, temporary measures--such as periodic administration of vitamin A supplements to high-risk groups--can be applied.
Caribbean Region↗
[A comparative study of the macro- and trace element composition of the head hair in the inhabitants of Latin America and the population of the Russian Federation from the forensic medical aspect].
The purpose of this study was analysis of forensic medical aspects of macro- and trace element composition of hairs of the head in the residents of Mexico, Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil, Columbia and changes in this characteristic during adaptation to conditions of Central Russia. One of our tasks was to define expert criteria for differentiation between the hairs belonging to residents of these countries and Russia. A total of 136 hairs were examined by spectral approximated quantitative analysis using DFS-13 spectrographer. The detected regularity consisted in the following: adaptation of residents of Latin America to conditions of Central Russia was associated with disappearance of some elements and appearance of other ones characteristic of residents of Central Russia (Byelorussians, Russians, Ukrainians).
Adaptation, Physiological↗
Altitude correction for hemoglobin.
OBJECTIVE: To propose a correction for the hemoglobin (Hb) increase induced by altitude-associated hypoxia. DESIGN: Part of a national study of nutrition and health of preschool children (0-59 months), based on a stratified, probabilistic, cluster sample. SETTING: Coastal and Andean regions of Ecuador, comprising about 97% of the population, living at altitudes ranging from sea level to 3400 m. SUBJECTS: Subsample of 469 girls and boys, 6-59 months old, with normal iron (Fe) status parameters, i.e serum ferritin > or = 10 micrograms/l, transferrin saturation > or = 12%, zinc protoporphyrin < or = 2.8 micrograms/g Hb. RESULTS: Exponential regression curves are adapted through the Hb values of the children, grouped by altitude ranges, and through the data reported by Hurtado in 1945 for male adults. From these exponential curves, correction factors for Hb are derived for altitudes ranging from sea level to 3400 m. CONCLUSION: The striking parallelism between the hypoxia-induced hemoglobin increase with altitude in young children (girls and boys) and that in male adults strongly suggests that the proposed correction factors for Hb are applicable for all ages and possibly both genders, at least in the Andes.
Adult↗
Canestriniid mites (Acari, Astigmata, Canestriniidae) occurring on chrysomelidae (Insecta, Coleoptera) in neotropical region. II. Genera Ovarrothiana n. gen., Ennodithiana n. gen.
Two genera Ovarrothiana, Ennodithiana and 10 species are described as new: Ovarrothiana nikodemi from Peru, Brazil, O. erazmi from French Guiana, Brazil, O. ozannae from Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, O. ludomiri and O. leopoldi from Bolivia, Ennodithiana messalinae from Costa Rica, Cuba, E. maniusi from Brazil, Mexico, E. penelopae from Surinam, Brazil, E. medoni and E. megesi from Brazil.
Animals↗
Some factors affecting the secondary sex ratio in a Latin American sample.
A sample based on hospital birth records from the Latin American Collaborative Study on Congenital Malformations (ECLAMC) was used in this study. ECLAMC, which covers 11 countries (Uruguay, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Paraguay, Ecuador, Venezuela, Colombia, and Costa Rica), registered 1,037,272 live births in the period 1982-1986. We applied several multivariate analysis models to the data and found that the sex ratio was significantly affected by secular, spatial (countries), biological (maternal age, birth order, and ethnic group), and socioeconomic (evaluated by hospital payment) variables. The black ethnic component carried sufficient weight to remove the spatial effect (Brazil and Venezuela) in certain cases. The Amerindian admixture effect on the sex ratio was negative and significant.
Birth Certificates↗
Breast-feeding patterns in nine Latin American and Caribbean countries.
This article uses data from demographic and health surveys carried out in nine Latin American and Caribbean countries between 1984 and 1988 to compare breast-feeding patterns in those countries, where findings indicate that 6% to 23% of the infants are not breast-fed beyond two months of age. Although wide variations in breast-feeding patterns occurred, a number of general trends were noted. To begin with, the mean rate of breast-feeding declined relatively fast in one group of countries (Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Trinidad and Tobago), where half the infants surveyed had been weaned from the breast well before their first birthday. This differs from the situation found in the other four countries (Bolivia, Guatemala, Ecuador, and Peru), where half the infants were still being breast-fed during their second year of life. Within each of the nine countries, the mean breast-feeding duration was longer in rural than in urban areas and among women with relatively low levels of education. The direction of these relationships was similar when analyses were performed across countries. In addition, a strong inverse relationship was found between the percentage of births attended by health workers in the countries surveyed and the mean duration of breast-feeding in those countries.
Breast Feeding↗
Molecular analysis of a RAPD marker (B20) reveals two microsatellites and differential mRNA expression in Penaeus vannamei.
We previously reported a population-specific DNA fragment (B20) in Penaeus vannamei shrimp, fragment found using the randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) procedure, that was present in Population 2 but not in Populations 1 and 4. The specific objectives of this study were to clone and sequence this genetic marker, determine if all or part of this cloned sequence could be found in any of the other populations in which this marker could not be amplified, and examine if this marker represents a functional gene by examining the steady-state levels of mRNA expression using Northern blot hybridization. Sequence information of the 1259-bp B20 clone revealed two microsatellites and two candidate open reading frames. Although the entire B20 sequence could only be amplified in Population 2 (from Ecuador), Population 3 (a hybrid of Populations 1 and 2), and a few individuals from wild Ecuadorian shrimp samples, portions of the B20 DNA could be amplified in individuals from Populations 1, 2, 3, candidate Population 4, and wild Ecuadorian samples. These microsatellites vary in size between populations and families. Northern blot hybridization analysis using radiolabeled B20 probe detected two mRNA transcripts of approximately 1.5 and 2.0 kb. Expression data throughout development indicated that these transcripts were present at low levels in nauplii from two of the three crosses examined using broodstocks of Population 1. Higher levels were observed in postlarvae (PL) 6, PL8, and PL10 in one of the three crosses. Individuals from all crosses showed higher levels of expression in the juvenile tail muscle. The mRNA transcript levels were undetected in zoea 3, PL2, and PL4 stages of development and broodstock tail muscle. The levels of expression of B20 mRNA transcripts varied significantly between Populations 1, 2, 3, 4, and wild Ecuadorian individuals as well as between families and within individuals representative of seven families from Population 1. In summary, the B20 clone revealed the presence of two microsatellites that vary in size between populations. These microsatellites will be useful for estimating genetic diversity within and between populations, identifying family-specific markers, and mapping loci responsible for economically important traits in penaeid shrimp. The mRNA levels detected by the B20 clone showed differential expression during development, and the pattern of expression was influenced by the genetic background of the parental crosses used.
Animals↗