Dysentry can be a substantial cause of death in newborn and young children in developing countries, it is a condition occurring sporadically in developed countries. The information below is from a WHO Factsheet on dysentry.
Dysentry can be a substantial cause of death in newborn and young children in developing countries, it is a condition occurring sporadically in developed countries. The information below is from a WHO Factsheet on dysentry.
Dysentery may be simply defined as diarrhoea containing blood. Although several organisms can cause dysentery, Shigella are the most important. Shigella dysenteriae type 1 (Sd1), also known as the Shiga bacillus, is the most virulent of the four serogroups of Shigella. Sd1 is the only cause of epidemic dysentery. In addition to bloody diarrhoea, the illness caused by Sd1 often includes abdominal cramps, fever and rectal pain. Less frequent complications of infection with Sd1 include sepsis, seizures, renal failure and the haemolytic uraemic syndrome. Approximately 5-15% of Sd1 cases are fatal.
Sd1 has caused epidemics of dysentery throughout the world. It caused a 4-year epidemic in Central America beginning in 1968 that resulted in more than 500 000 cases and at least 20 000 deaths. No epidemics have occurred in the region since then, but Sd1 continues to occur sporadically in the Western hemisphere. In Africa, epidemic dysentery due to Sd1 appeared in eastern Zaire in 1979 and has subsequently been confirmed in Angola, Burundi, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sao TomÈ and Principe, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Few studies have been done to determine how dysentery is spread. The most likely modes of transmission are person-to-person contact, and contaminated water and food. Epidemics of Sd1 usually occur in impoverished areas. They affect people of all ages, with the highest age-specific incidence occurring among adults and the highest case fatality rates occurring among children.
(from WHO Fact Sheet N° 108, Revised October 1996)
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Autism, or autism spectrum disorder, is a neurological disorder in children showing deficiencies in communication and reciprocal social interactions, often accompanied by restricted or repetitive interests and behaviors.
A recent study (AJHG, Nov2005) has demonstrated a link between between autism and the Engrailed 2 (EN2) gene, which may contribute to up to 40% of autism cases in the general population. EN2 is involved in normal neural development. Support for the Homeobox Transcription Factor Gene ENGRAILED 2 as an Autism Spectrum Disorder Susceptibility Locus ".....Together, these data provide further genetic evidence that EN2 might act as an ASD susceptibility locus, and they suggest that a risk allele that perturbs the spatial/temporal expression of EN2 could significantly alter normal brain development." (Am. J. Hum. Genet., 77:851-868, November 2005) (More? Neural Development)
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Dev Biol (Gilbert)
We have come a long way from just observing development to now wanting to understand how the complex program of development is controlled. Using new research tools and some excellent animal models researchers have discovered common themes and mechanisms that tie all embryonic development together.
Molecular mechanisms of development is an exciting area and requires a variety of different skills. This page introduces only a few examples and should give you a feel for the topic.
Please email Dr Mark Hill if you wish to make a comment about this current project.