Herpes simplex virus 2 infection: a risk factor for HIV infection in heterosexuals.

BACKGROUND: Genital ulcerative disease is one of the risk factors for acquisition of HIV. As HSV-2 infection is currently the most common cause of genital ulcerative disease, it acts as a potential risk factor for HIV infection. The present study was undertaken to know the seroprevalence of antibodies to HSV-2 in HIV seropositive individuals and in the general population, and to ascertain if HSV-2 is a risk factor for developing HIV infection. METHODS: The study group included one hundred new HIV seropositive persons irrespective of active genital herpes or history of genital herpes. Fifty age- and sex- matched healthy volunteers were included as controls. In all patients and controls, diagnostic serology was done for HSV-2 using HSV-2-specific glycoprotein IgG2 by indirect immunoassay using the ELISA test. Statistical value 'P' was calculated using the Chi-squared test. RESULTS: Out of the 100 HIV seropositives, 66 were males and 34 were females with an age range of 20-54 years. In only 22 (19 males and 3 females) of these, positive history of genital herpes was obtained. In 49 out of the 100 HIV seropositives, IgG2 antibodies against HSV-2 were detected. In the control group, 11 out of 50 controls were seropositive for HSV-2 IgG2 antibody. There was a statistically significant association between HSV-2 and HIV seropositivity with 'P' value CONCLUSION: The high prevalence of HSV-2 seropositivity in the HIV-infected group (49%) as compared to normal controls (22%) was statistically significant. Prior HSV-2 infection could be an important risk factor for acquisition of HIV in our patients.

Efficacy of lincomycin against the strains of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from various types of pyodermas in children : in vitro and in vivo study.

Lincomycin is chemically distinct from all other available antibiotics except its semi-synthetic derivative clindamycin. Though it has been in the market for over three decades, there were not many clinical studies in India. This study has been undertaken to know its efficacy against Staphylococcus aureus, commonest organism of pyodermas in children. Material was taken from the lesions of 100 fresh cases of various types of pyodermas in children and studied by Gram stain and in 50% human blood agar and nutrient agar according to standard methods. The staphylococci thus isolated were tested for linocomycin susceptibility by using the disc diffusion technique. Lincomycin was given to all these children in a daily dose of 30 mg/kg 5 - 10 days. Treatment failure was defined as persistence of lesions after 10 days of treatment. 75% strains of staphylococci were susceptible to lincomycin in vitro and 95% of the patients responded to 5-10 days treatment. Five out of 100 children did not respond to treatment even after 10 days. No case of relapse was noticed among these 95 children for a period of 2 weeks. No side effects were observed and the drug was very well tolerated. Being highly effective and least toxic linomycin deserves a place in the antimicrobial arsenal of the modern dermatologists.

Bacteriological Study of 100 Cases of Pyodermas with Special Reference to Staphylococci, Their Antibiotic Sensitivity and Phage Pattern.

One hundred new cases of pyodenna attending King George Hospital, Vishakhapatnam were investigated bacteriologically with antibiotic sensitivity of all the strains isolated and phage typing of coagulm positive staphylocci. Among these 50 had impetigo and 15 each ahd furunculosis and fouiculitis. The remaining included various other clinical entities. Children under 10 years were observed to have high incidence of pyoderma. A total of 88 strains of staphylococci (77 coagulase positive and 11 coagulase negative strains) 25 strains of beta haemolytic streptococci and 3 strains of Klebsiella were isolated. Staphylococci were found to be the commonest aetiological agents either single or in association with other organisms. Of the 76 strains of coagulase positive staphylococci 32 strains were not phage typable and among the 44 typable strains 17 (38%) belonged to group III and 15 (36.5%) to mixed group. Coagulase positive staphylococci showed high sensitivity to garamycin, kanamycin and erythromycin and high resistance to penicillin and streptomycin. Multiple drug resistance was also high among these strains. Coagulase negative staphylococci were found to be more sensitive with less incidence of multiple drug resistance. Most of multiple drug resistant strains belonged to group III phage types. Beta haemolytic streptococci were found to be highly sensitive to all the antibiotics tested.