M. tuberculosis strains were isolated from clinically and bacteriologically confirmed patients to evaluate the susceptibility of clinical M. tuberculosis isolates to fluoroquinolone and to obtain molecular epidemiological information in Zambia,. The pathogens were subjected to susceptibility testing with isoniazid, rifampicin, ethambutol and streptomycin. The minimum inhibitory concentrations to ciprofloxacin, sparfloxacin and levofloxacin were also evaluated. The gyrA, fluoroquinolone resistance-determining region (QRDR), was sequenced and analysed. As a result, three of the 16 strains examined were resistant to isoniazid, rifampicin and⁄or streptomycin. All of the strains were susceptible to ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin and sparfloxacin. However, a unique gyrA gene variation of M. tuberculosis was identified in the isolates. One strain had a mutation (T73A) in QRDR. Additionally, 81.25% (13⁄16) of the strains tested had Thr at codon 88. Several variations of gyrA gene have been reported in relation to drug resistance. The gyrA variation data will be useful as epidemiological information. It may be important to monitor fluoroquinolone susceptibility even in developing countries for use against resistant M. tuberculosis infection, even though no fluoroquinolone resistance was observed in this study.

View full abstract

Simulium (Simulium) phukaense sp. nov. is described on the basis of the observation of females and males (both sexes of adults reared from pupae) and pupae collected in Nan Province, northern Thailand. This new species is assigned to the griseifrons species-group of the subgenus Simulium (Simulium) and is easily distinguished from other known species of this species-group by the simple shoe-shaped cocoon, as well as the arrangement of the six gill filaments.

View full abstract

Nusa Tengara Barat (NTB) province consists of two main islands, Lombok and Sumbawa, to the east of Bali Island, Indonesia. Most of the area is known to be moderately malaria endemic, but the exact malaria epidemiology has not been elucidated. At least 30 deaths per year are thought to be caused by falciparum malaria in Lombok alone, judging from the hospital data. According to the Gebrak Malaria Team in West Lombok, the annual incidence in the district of West Lombok from 1996 to 1999 was consistently over 40‰.
In the present report, we describe the small malaria endemic foci in the West Lombok and Sumbawa districts. Falciparum malaria is predominant over vivax malaria and other types of malaria. There are 11 species of Anopheles vector, but three of these species, An. subpictus, An. maculates and An. barbirostris, are of primary importance in malaria transmission and An. sundaicus and An. aconitus are of secondary importance. Our data from Sekotong, West Lombok, and Sumbawa supported the importance of An. subpictus in coastal areas but suggested the existence of different transmission peaks according to environmental conditions. The usual transmission peak comes in the dry season but is affected by climatic and geographical conditions. Although there were many malaria endemic foci along the coast, the width and grade of the foci varied widely. The presence of malaria endemic foci inland, although likely, has not been definitively reported to date.

View full abstract