To describe the patterns of isolation of Aeromonas spp. and the resulting spectrum of infection, intestinal and extra-intestinal,from infants and children in an urban area in a hot and humid country from SoutheastAsia.
In both African and Asian colonies until the late 19th century, colonial medicine operated pragmatically to meet the medical needs first of colonial officers and troops, immigrant settlers, and laborers responsible for economic development, then of indigenous populations when their ill health threatened the well-being of the expatriate population. Since the turn of the century, however, the consequences of colonial expansion and development for indigenous people's health had become increasingly apparent, and disease control and public health programs were expanded in this light. These programs increased government surveillance of populations at both community and household levels. As a consequence, colonial states extended institutional oversight and induced dependency through public health measures. Drawing on my own work on colonial Malaya, I illustrate developments in public health and their links to the moral logic of colonialism and its complementarity to the political economy.
The Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) is a chartered international organization for the promotion of regional cooperation in education, science, technology and culture. The Regional Tropical Medicine and Public Health Network (TROPMED) operates through four specialized Centers in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, with a coordinating unit, the TROPMED Central Office in Bangkok, Thailand. In line with the overall mission of SEAMEO, the role of TROPMED is to promote health and to prevent or control disease, thus improving the quality of life of people in the Asia-Pacific Region. Toward this end, SEAMEO TROPMED serves to facilitate the strengthening of national and institutional capabilities in research and training through postgraduate academic programs; short-term training courses; scientific fora; publications and information dissemination and as such, has been in the mainstream of health human resources development since its inception in 1967. To date, a total of 3,353 TROPMED alumni have benefited from training in 26 regular course offerings; of these, 1,596 were females and 1,757, males. From 1991 to 1995, a total of 434 key health personnel have attended short-term training courses, with increasing attendance from Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam. TROPMED's effectiveness comes from the collective strength of and the spirit of cooperation among its host institutions and partners. Faced with a health scenario of both developing and developed economies, SEAMEO TROPMED aims to further its role as an international forum for health development thus, addressing the need for effective strategies for health sector reform and advocacy of relevant health, environmental and development policies through its various programs and activities.
In the present study on the life-cycle of Blomia tropicalis, freshly laid eggs were observed until they developed into adults; the development periods between stages were recorded. The eggs took an average of 22.9 +/- 6.4 days to develop to adults. For longevity experiments, newly emerged adults were kept at 25 degrees C and observed until they died. There was no significant difference in longevities of the different sexes (p = 0.053). Production of eggs by mated females were monitored until egg production stopped and the female died. Mated females and males survived an average of 32.2 +/- 15.4 and 30.9 +/- 17.7 days respectively. The difference in longevity of the mated females, and males was not significant (p = 0.747). Longevity of the mated females was found to be significantly (p < 0.05) shorter than unmated females.
The term 'tropical' refers to the region of the Earth lying between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. Located between these equatorial parallels demarcating the Torrid Zone are several underdeveloped and developing countries: Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, southern India, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Cuba, Ethiopia, Sudan and Nigeria, to name but a few considered to be 'tropical'. The climate in most of these countries is characterized by high temperatures and high humidity. The tropical climate and general state of socio-economic underdevelopment in such countries provide an ideal environment for pathogenic organisms, their vectors and intermediate hosts to flourish. Furthermore, the cultural habits and educational background of the people living in such countries expose them to pathogens and, when these people become infected, they readily become reservoirs for, or carriers of, those organisms. Ultimately, the adverse socioeconomic conditions of underdeveloped countries impede attempts to eradicate or control tropical diseases.
Four cases of tropical myositis seen over a period of four months at the Penang General Hospital are reported here. All were young local residents in whom large amounts of pus were found deep within skeletal muscles without an obvious aetiological factor.
This report highlights some of the educational aspects on nutrition and tropical diseases. Health conditions in most of the countries in this region has improved but not at the same pace as the progress in medical sciences. The slow progress in tackling this problem has been partly due to the failure of understanding psycho-social, cultural and economic patterns. Many of the health workers and educators who are involved in the control of tropical diseases emphasize on practice rather than research. Due emphasis should be given to training and research in health education involving not only the professionals and auxiliary staff but also political leaders, policy makers and community leaders at grassroot level.
As part of a research programme concerned with the need to lighten the load carried by soldiers engaged in long foot patrols, a field experiment was undertaken in West Malaysia. For 12 d a group of 15 men consumed 7.4 MJ/d (1770 kcal/d) whilst a control group of 14 men ate 12.9 MJ/d (3080 kcal/d); both groups expended on average about 15.8 MJ/d (3770 kcal/d). The low-energy group incurred an energy deficit of 98 MJ (23 410 kcal) with a weight loss of 3.9 kg, whereas corresponding figures for the control group were 37 MJ (8840 kcal) and 2.4 kg. Before, during and after the energy deprivation phase, assessment was made of work capacity (estimated VO2 max), vigilance and military skills but no difference was found between the groups.