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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Polyarthritis of pigs in western Australia: the role of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae.

A 3-month survey of polyarthritis in pigs was carried out at 3 metropolitan abattoirs in Western Australia. The incidence of total carcass condemnations for polyarthritis was 0.46% and partial condemnation for "arthritis" 1.66% of 15,919 pigs. It was demonstrated that the majority of joint lesions found in either total or partial condemnations were identical pathological conditions, usually differing only in the number of joints involved. Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae was isolated from the joints of 63% of pigs condemned for polyarthritis; it appears that this organism is the most significant aetiological agent of polyarthritis in Western Australia. The role of mycoplasmas has not been determined. The groww and microscopic lesions seen in affected joints were those of a non-suppurative proliferative polysynovitis. The stifle and elbow joints showed the highest incidence of the most severe lesions. Pigs condemned for polyarthritis over a 6-month period were traced back to 125 farms. Eighty per cent of pigs that had been condemned for polyarthritis had not been vaccinated against erysipelas or were of doubtful vaccination status. Only 3% of pigs had been vaccinated as recommended. The results would suggest that erysipelas vaccine is not directly implicated in the pathogenesis of polyarthritis. The majority of pigs condemned for polyarthritis originated from poorly managed small piggeries run as sideline enterprises. There was no significant pattern to the geographical distribution of polyarthritis cases in Western Australia. Likewise, no significant realtionship was established between polyarthritis condemnations and either breed, sex or bodyweight of thepigs involved.

Animals

An epidemiological study of cerebral palsy in Western Australia, 1956-1975. I: Changes in total incidence of cerebral palsy and associated factors.

Patterns in the incidence of cerebral palsy are described over a 20-year period in Western Australia. The incidence rose to a peak between 1966 and 1970, then fell again. This pattern was particularly marked in the spastic syndromes and was seen in both sexes, in each maternal age and parity group, in each IQ group, in both multiple and single births, and in infants born in metropolitan (but not rural) areas. Improvement was more marked in heavier than in lighter infants. Since 1968 the male rate has fallen more quickly than that for females. The risk of cerebral palsy with high maternal age declined, but it remained high in relation to high parities. There were marked reductions in the proportions of older and higher-parity mothers in Western Australia over the study period, and in the proportion of multiple births. There was also a shift toward heavier babies from 1968 to 1975. Social-class information was not available. The data indicate that factors in addition to changes in perinatal care were operating to improve neonatal outcome in terms of long-term handicap in Western Australia.

Adult

Down's syndrome in Western Australia: mortality and survival.

An epidemiological investigation of 231 cases of Down's Syndrome born in Western Australia between 1966 and 1976 confirmed the importance of congenital heart disease as a determinant of early mortality. An unexplained and hitherto unreported high incidence of Sudden Death in Infancy Syndrome if survival rates with those of other investigators show, that mortality amongst cases of Down's Syndrome with no congential heart defect has decreased and longevity is no longer a rate occurrence. As a result of these changes, and despite a demonstrable fall in the incidence of Down Syndrome in Western Australia, the prevalence of the condition is expected to rise.

Australia

Mortality in gold and coal miners in Western Australia with special reference to lung cancer.

Cohorts of 1974 gold miners and 213 coal miners in Western Australia surveyed for respiratory symptoms, smoking habits, occupational history and radiographic evidence of pneumoconiosis have been followed up for 13-14 years. Overall, neither group had a significantly higher mortality than expected from the experience of Western Australian men in general. Lung cancer mortality was relatively high in the gold miners (59 deaths observed, 40.8 expected) but weakly and inconclusively related to the extent of their underground mining experience. Cigarette smoking may explain the excess of lung cancer in the gold miners because the prevalence of the habit in the latter (66.3%) was higher than in the coal miners (58.7%) or in other men in Western Australia (53.2%). Radiographic evidence of silicosis was present in 21.7% of the gold miners but did not appear to have contributed substantially to their mortality. The coal miners showed a lower than expected rate of lung cancer but an excess of deaths from all other forms of cancer (11 observed, 5.6 expected). This excess was not attributable to any one cancer site and cannot be explained readily.

Australia

White muscle disease of sheep and associated tissue selenium levels in Western Australia.

White Muscle Disease of sheep occurs in Western Australia as distinct syndromes in lambs and weaner sheep. Mean liver selenium concentrations of lambs and weaners with WMD and unaffected by WMD were 0.19 and 0.46 ppm, and 0.20 and 0.41 ppm (dry weight) respectively. There was considerable overlap between levels suggesting that selenium status was not the only factor involved in the development of WMD.

Animals

Epidemiological studies of Epstein-Barr herpesvirus infection in Western Australia.

In a study of a Caucasian population in Western Australia the prevalence of antibodies to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) was 41% in the 9- to 10-year age group, 80% in the 16 to 19-year age group and 92% in young adults. The age-specific annual seroconversion rates indicated two peaks of primary EBV infection in the population studied - one under 5 years of age and the other at adolescence. The geometric mean titre rose with age, from 23 at 5-6 years to 53 at 36-40 years. It was shown that in 73 families studied there was evidence of probable spread of EBV infection among siblings, particularly between those of the same sex. Serological study of patients with infectious mononucleosis indicated that 100% of those examined had antibody to EBV and the geometric mean titre was elevated to 210. Rising titres and seroconversion was demonstrated in these patients together with successful establishment of EBV-carrying cell lines from the peripheral blood in two-thirds of the cases.

Adolescent

Genetic screening in Western Australia.

The wider application of genetic screening is described in four Western Australian populations. Counselling with prenatal diagnosis of Down's syndrome was offered to 57 women over the age of 35 years and less than 16 weeks' gestation who attended an antenatal outpatients department. Forty-four women consented to amniocentesis and two affected fetuses were found. Both public and private patients can be screened to detect fetuses with Down's syndrome. In a population of 200 pregnant girls whose infants were intended for adoption, a specially designed family history form aided identification of genetic disorders in 32 families. Counselling was offered to the biological parents, to the adoptive parents, and, prospectively, to the child in later years. The effectiveness of the family history as a screening device is illustrated in this adoption sample. Counselling of parents of 20 decreased malformed infants initiated the genetic counselling clinic in Western Australia and led to subsequent referral of 92 similar cases by the family doctors. It was found that parents who gave birth to malformed infants welcome information and risk figures. Diagnostic screening in a population of 6000 intellectually handicapped individuals yielded 1372 cases (23%) with Mendelian, multifactorial, or chromosomal modes of inheritance. This screening enabled patients with inherited causes for their intellectual handicap to be identified and placed on a register for health planning.

Abortion, Induced

Schistosome dermatitis in the Swan Estuary, Western Australia.

The avian blood fluke, Austrobilharzia terrigalensis (Trematoda: Schistosomatidae), is recorded in Western Australia for the first time, and is implicated as the cause of dermatitis among users of the Swan estuary in Perth. Quantitative data provided by a questionnaire sent to affected people showed that infection occurred from November to March in the shallows throughout the "middle" estuary and that children from five to 14 years old were most frequently affected. Most cases of dermatitis were contracted between 11 a.m. and 12 noon--the time of day when the emergence of A. terrigalensis cercariae from the intermediate host, Velacumantus australis, reaches a peak. Exposure times varied considerably, but were generally between 30 and 90 minutes, with dermatitis appearing 12 to 24 hours later. The lesions, which were sometimes widespread over the body and itched severely, persisted for one to two weeks and longer if they were secondarily infected. Approximately 38% of affected people consulted doctors about their condition. These results are discussed in relation to findings on the ecology of the parasite's intermediate and definitive hosts.

Adolescent

A gunflint-type microbiota from the Duck Creek dolomite, western Australia.

Two billion year old black chert lenses from the Duck Creek formation, northwestern Western Australia, contain abundant organically preserved microorganisms which are morphologically similar to fossils of approximately the same age from the Gunflint formation, Ontario. Entities include: a relatively small (5-15mum) coccoid taxon morphologically comparable to Huroniospora Barghoorn, a larger coccoid form comparable to an apparently planktonic alga from the Gunflint, Gunflintia Baghoorn, and Eoastrion Barghoorn (Metallogenium Perfil'ev). Gunflint-type assemblages had a wide geographic distribution in middle Precambrian times, and these assemblages may eventually prove useful as biostratigraphic indices.

Australia

Pulmonary diseases of cattle in the Kimberley District of Western Australia.

A survey of pulmonary disease in cattle slaughtered in the Kimberley district of Western Australia, incidental to the monitoring of lungs for contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP), was initiated in 1969. The results of the first 3 years are reported and indicate the complete absence of CBPP, the occurrence of actinobacillosis as the most common pulmonary lesion, the existence of phycomycosis in a few lungs each year, the frequent presence of subacute and chronic bronchopneumonias and interstitial pneumonias possibly as sequelae of actinobacillosis, tuberculosis and the pneumomycoses, and the relatively low incidence of fibrinous and necrotic pneumonias of other bacterial origin.

Actinobacillosis

Epidemics of procedures: growth in admissions to hospital in Western Australia, 1972 to 1977.

Admissions to hospital, associated with procedures, increased by 20% in Western Australia between 1972 and 1977. This increase in hospital-based procedures appeared to be widespread, both in terms of types of procedures and in terms of age groups of patients. For some procedures the increase was so large as to imitate an "epidemic". Manpower data indicate a parallel growth in practising clinical specialists and the increase in admissions to hospitals. Some suggestions are made about this association and possible causal factors.

Adolescent

Cutaneous leishmaniasis in Western Australia.

A case of cutaneous leishmaniasis, which was successfully treated with metronidazole, is reported from Western Australia. Transmission is unlikely to occur in this country, but it is important to be aware that it may present in migrants or in travellers from endemic areas up to four years after inoculation of the parasite.

Adult

A residential and employment centre for the spinal disabled in Perth, Western Australia.

In 1969 a Residential and Employment Centre for the spinal disabled was established in Perth, Western Australia, entitled the Quadriplegic Centre. In the past 9 years this has expanded to provide residential accommodation for 75 persons with anticipated accommodation for a total of 95 residents by the end of 1978. In the employment area the number of employees has risen from 10 in 1970 to 190 in 1977, and their production has risen from $10,700 to over half a million dollars Australian in the same period.

Australia

Early psychiatry in Western Australia: Dr. Nicholas Langley--a born loser.

Dr. Nicholas Langley was the first recorded "psychiatric" patient in Western Australia. His story provides an insight into the difficulty experienced in managing cases of violent behaviour in a small, isolated group without facilities or expertise. Langley recovered from his symptoms, and was accepted into the local community without undue stigma. He practised as a surgeon in Fremantle, and died at the age of 35, from what was apparently a cerebrovascular accident.

Adult

The cytology of malignant mesothelioma in Western Australia.

The cytology of malignant mesothelioma seen in 12 patients associated with the mining of crocidolite asbestos in Western Australia is described. Two main patterns of mesothelioma were observed: the spindle cell and epithelial varieties. In the more common epithelial variety, five features were found to be of particular value in making a cytologic diagnosis. These include the finding of cell aggregates, multinucleation, the presence of brush-like borders, the close apposition of cell borders, and a characteristic cytoplasm. A diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma may be established by cytologic examination of effusions. The awareness of the possible occurrence of such a primary malignant neoplasm with the features outlined may be helpful in this regard.

Asbestos

Meningeal cysticercosis diagnosed in Western Australia.

Two cases of the relatively unusual meningeal form of intracranial cysticercosis are described in adult Italian immigrants to Western Australia. Each presented solely with raised intracranial pressure caused by communicating hydrocephalus in association with chronic meningitis, characterized by a very low cerebrospinal fluid glucose level. The diagnosis was confirmed histologically on tissue obtained fortuitously at lumbar puncture. These cases draw attention to the epidemiological implications of cysticercosis in the Australian scene. As well, they demonstrate that repeated cerebrospinal fluid analysis may result in diagnostic confirmation of intracerebral cysticercosis of the racemose type.

Adult

Nutrient consumption patterns of families in Busselton, Western Australia.

Nutrient consumption data were obtained from 211 members of 41 families living in the coastal town of Busselton, Western Australia. It was found that food consumption patterns were similar in boys and girls up to the age of 11 years. After that, as expected, males consumed more food than females. There was a general tendency for daily kilojoule intakes to be considerably less than the Australian Dietary Allowances for all age groups with the exception of males aged from 35 to 55 years. There was a significant prevalence of obesity in the subjects who were studied, particularly in the older groups of both sexes. The results suggest that, in the older adult groups, failure to make concessions to decreased levels of physical activity by modifying appetite and customary eating practices is a major factor which contributes to obesity.

Adolescent