Parasitological and clinical studies of Wuchereria Bancrofti and Mansonella Ozzardi in coastal North Trinidad, West Indies

A parasitology and clinical survey of Wuchereria bancrofti and Mansonella ozzardi was conducted in Blanchisseuse, an isolated rural community of 650 people in coastal north Trinidad. W. bancrofti microfilariae were found in 15 percent of the resident population and the prevalence was higher in males (19 percent) than in females (12 percent). Microfilaraemias were undetected in children under 5 years of age but 12 percent of children and adolescents between 5 and 19 years of age were positive. Microfilaraemias were most common in males aged 40-59 years (34 percent) and in females in the same age group (21 percent). Whereas geometric mean microfilaria densities were generally higher in females than in males under 40 years old, in the older age groups the pattern was reversed, the difference being especially pronounced in the over sixties. There were more than twice as many males with M. ozzardi microfilariae (35 percent) than there were females (15 percent). The prevalence was low in children and young adults but increased with age thereafter. In the older age groups microfilaria densities followed a similar trend. Genital signs compatiable with lymphatic filarial disease were seen in 29 percent of males; these included hydrocoele (15 percent) and elephantiasis of the scrotum (1 percent). Most signs were seen in persons over 50 years of age. Six per cent of females had lymphoedema of the leg(s), and in four cases (2.3 percent) this had progressed to elephantiasis. A positive association was found between M. ozzardi microfilaraemia and clinical history of articular pain (p<0.001). The findings suggest that both filarial species are some public health significance in at least one rural area in Trinidad, and they provide a basis for the development of a lymphatic filariasis control strategy in the community (AU)

A malaria outbreak due to Plasmodium malariae on the island of Grenada

An outbreak of Plasmodium malariae malaria occurred in Grenada some 16 years after the end of the malaria eradication campaign, probably due to renewal of transmission from recrudescent cases. Serological studies were used in addition to blood film surveys in defining the outbreak, and their value in such surveillance situations is emphasised (AU)

The Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC)

The Caribbean Epidemiology Centre began operating on 1 January 1975 under the adminstrative management of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) at the request of the Caribbean Health Ministers' Conference held in the Bahamas in 1974. This presentation outlines the events leading to formation of the Centre and describes its structure, objectives, and development from January 1975 through 1978 (AU)

Centro de Epidemiología del Caribe (CAREC): Informe de actividades / Caribbean Epidemiology Centre: report on the work of the Centre

Reunión del Comité Asesor sobre Investigaciones Médicas, 16. Organización Panamericana de la Salud; 11-26 jul. 1977

Caribbean Epidemiology Centre

Meeting of the Advisory Committee on Medical Research, 15. Pan American Health Organization; Jun. 13-17, 1976