Salivery gland lesions: a Jamaican perspective

A retrospective analysis of the spectrum and relative frequency of salivary gland lesions diagnosed inthe Department of Pathology, University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica between 1965 and 1994, is reported. Four hundred and sixty-four salivary gland biopsies were received. Of these 99 (21.3 percent) were non-neoplastic and the remaining 365 (78.7 percent) were neoplasm: 261 (71.5 percent) were benign and 104 (28.5 percent) malignant. Benign mixed tumour (BTM)/ pleomomorphic adenoma (PA) was the most common neoplasm (63.3 percent) while mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) was the most common malignant neoplasm (9.6 percent), followed by adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) (7.4 percent). The increased frequency of MEC over ACC is at variance with other reported series but the preponderance of pleomorphic adenoma is consistent. In the major salivary glands, benign neoplasms predominate at a rotio of 3:1, while a higher proportion of minor salivary gland neoplasms was malignant, ratio 1.2:1 (p=0.003). These data represent the first attemp to document the spectrum of disease related to oral and maxillofacial pathology in jamaica. (AU)

Isolation of Rio Bravo and a hitherto undescribed agent, tamana bat virus, from insectivorous bats in Trinidad, with serological evidence of infection in bats and man

Between 1972 and 1974, 3,278 bats of 28 species were processed for virus isolation by suckling mouse (SM) inoculation. Two strains each of two related viruses, not hitherto reported from Trinidad, were isolated from insectovorous bats. Rio Bravo (RB) virus was isolated from salivary glands and saliva of the house bat, Molossus ater. The other virus, isolated from salivary glands, saliva and spleen of the molustache bat, Pteronotus parnollii, is a hitherto undescribed agent herein named Tamana bat virus (TBV). This virus has arbovirus characteristics: sensitivity to ether, pathogenicity for SM, and ability to hemagglutinate goose erythrocytes, but no serological relationship with known arboviruses and other viruses could be detected. In inoculation experiments with TBV, fatal illness was produced only in infant mice and rats, salivary virus excretion was demonstrated in a monkey and in Phyllostomus hastatus bats, and virus was passed in bats by subcutaneous inoculation of infected saliva. Sera of humans and 39 species of bats were tested for hemagglutination inhibition (HI): 46 out of 169 human and 125 out of 887 bat sera reacted with RB antigen, and of the positive bat sera reacted with TBV antigen, positives occurring in 15 bat species comprising insectovorous, fruit-eating and vampire bats, with highest incidence in cave-roosting species. In SM neutralization tests, 18 out of 27 HI-positive human sera protected against RB, 1 out of 10 against TBV; bat sera protective against RB were found in 4 insectovorous species, and against TBV in 8 species including the vampire bat, Desmodus rotundus. No evidence of arthropod transmission of either virus was found (AU)

Gross and microscopic anatomy of the major salivary glands of the ferret

The gross and microscopic anatomy of the major salivary glands of the ferret was studied. There were 5 pairs of major salivary glands, parotid, submandibular, sublingual, molar and zygomatic. They were of compound tubuloacinar type and consisted of numerous lobes and lobules. The parotid gland was grossly similar to the parotids in other mammals but histologically it was seromucous as in the carnivores dog and cat. The parotid duct opened into the vestibule of the mouth opposite the upper third premolar tooth. The submandibular gland was single on each side, oval in shape and cervical in position. Histologically it was entirely mucous. The submandibular duct opened at a sublingual papilla in the oral cavity at the side of the frenulum of the tongue. The sublingual gland was the smallest of the major salivary glands. It was single on each side and lay deep to the digastric muscle. It opened by several small ductules into the submandibular duct. It was mainly mucous and did not contain intercalated and striated ducts. The molar gland was located superficially near the angle of the mouth. It was irregularly pyramidal and opened by several small ducts into the vestibule opposite the lower molar teeth. It was predominantly mucous. There were no intercalated or striated ducts. The zygomatic gland was present deep to the masseter and related to the orbit in the infratemporal fossa. The gland opened by several small ducts into the vestibule opposite the upper molar teeth. It was also predominantly mucous and there were no intercalated or striated ducts (AU)

Tacaribe virus, a new agent isolated from Artibeus bats and mosquitoes in Trinidad, West Indies

Isolation of a new entity, Tacaribe virus, from Artibeus bats and from mosquitoes, in Trinidad, is described. The agent is pathogenic for baby and adult mice and is inactivated by incubation with sodium desoxycholate. It is proposed for inclusion in the group of arthropod-borne viruses (Summary)