Although several enteroviruses were circulating in Taiwan during the 1998 epidemic, enterovirus 71 infection was associated with most of the serious clinical manifestations and with nearly all the deaths. Most of those who died were young, and the majority died of pulmonary edema and pulmonary hemorrhage.
The vector competence in Ae. aegypti (L.) and Ae. albopictus (Skuse) from southern Taiwan to the dengue 1 virus was studied to elucidate the distribution of dengue infection during the 1987-1988 outbreak. The brain of Ae. aegypti was infected as early as 3 d after intrathoracic inoculation. The esophagus and the proboscis (tissues within the labium) were infected 5 d after inoculation. The salivary gland was highly susceptible to the virus, but no specific infection site was found. Gangli, muscles, and diverticula within the thorax were not infected. In the abdominal area, the ventral diverticula, Malpighian tubules, ganglia, and the dorsal vessel were not infected. However, the entire gut was susceptible to dengue 1 virus, although it was not infected simultaneously. Only a certain type of midgut epithelial cells was infected by the virus. The ovarioles, oviducts, and accessory glands frequently were infected. However, the spermathecae were not infected, perhaps because of the chitin-rich outer layer. Infections of the testes, vas deferens, seminal vesicles, and accessory glands of males also were detected in this study. The tissues of the proboscis were never infected in Ae. albopictus but frequently were infected in Ae. aegypti, indicating that the virus may escape the salivary gland barrier more efficiently in Ae. aegypti than in Ae. albopictus. When these mosquitoes were fed on hanging drops, the salivary gland infection and transmission rates of Ae. aegypti were always higher than those of Ae. albopictus. On Taiwan, Ae. aegypti appears to be a more competent vector in the transmission of the dengue 1 virus than Ae. albopictus.
The genetic polymorphisms of orosomucoid, ORM1 and ORM2, were analyzed by isoelectric focusing on polyacrylamide gels and subsequent immunoprinting. Sera from 600 unrelated individuals in Taiwan and Japan were examined. Five new alleles, designated ORM1*7, ORM1*8, ORM1*4.2, ORM2*8 and ORM2*10, were observed together with common and rare alleles that have been found in the Japanese and the Filipinos. As compared with the Japanese, the Taiwanese have a higher frequency of ORM1*1, and a significantly lower frequency of ORM1*2.1.
Mice were infected with 50 third stage larvae of Angiostrongylus cantonensis and treated orally with albendazole (Zentel) in dosages of 5, 10, and 25 mg/kg/day begun 5, 10, or 15 days post-infection for 7, 14, or 21 consecutive days. The mice in each group were killed 3 days after cessation of treatment and the brains examined for parasites. Worms were recovered from the brains of all mice treated for 7 days, but recoveries from treated mice were significantly lower than from controls. Worm reduction was nearly 100% in mice treated for 14 days when treatment was initiated 5 and 10 days post-infection. Worms were found in the brain of mice treated for 14 days when treatment began at 15 and 20 days, but recovery rates were significantly lower than in controls. Similar results were obtained in animals treated for 21 days. Worm reduction rates were lower in animals given 5 mg/kg/day, but there was no significant difference in animals given higher dosages. Albendazole was effective in the treatment of A. cantonensis in mice when given within 15 days post-infection.
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