Studies on diarrhoeal disease were conducted in Ghana to understand the present status and problems of the disease in developing countries. The World Health Organization has been promoting the Programme for Control of Diarrhoeal Diseases in developing countries, however, the results in the studies showed that the treatment of diarrhoea cases with oral rehydration salts may not be well operated because of insufficient education or training to the public. Poverty was also preventing sick children from receiving adequate treatment at health facilities. Mortality due to the disease was closely correlated with the complications such as malnutrition and measles. A survey on enteric pathogen in childhood gastroenteritis demonstrated that singnificantly more rotaviruses were detected in diarrhoea cases than in those without diarrhoea. Enterotoxigenic and enteropathogenic Escherichia Coli, Shigella, Salmonella and Campylobacter were identified as the bacterial enteropathogens, however, statistical difference was not found in detection of any bacterial pathogen between children with and without diarrhoea. The results suggested that intensification of primary health care activities to spread appropriate oral rehydration therapy is important for the successful control of the disease.

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An indirect agglutination test using a Trypanosoma cruzi antigen-coated gelatin particles was employed to diagnose trypanosomiasis in Paraguay. Results with this test were quite comparable to those obtained with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Furthermore, nonspecific reaction to the gelatin particles alone was not found in either acute or chronic infection. This method is more convenient than the ELISA, since the antigen-conjugated particles is stable for at least 1 year at 4°C and since the test itself is short and simple to perform and does not require specialized equipment.

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Serial serum specimens from forty eight dengue patients admitted to the hospital on day 2, day 3, or day 4 post onset were examined sequencially by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for laboratory diagnosis according to the criteria set by Innis et al. (3) Cumulative ELISA positive rates among forty secondary dengue infection patients were 95 % and 100 % at day 6 and day 7 post onset, respectively while the ELISA positive rates at day 3, day 4, and day 5 were 17.5 %, 37.5 %, and 75 %. Cumulative ELISA positive rates among eight primary dengue patients were 87.5 % and 100 % at day 6 and day 7 post onset, while the rates at day 4, and day 5 were 12.5 % and 50 %. Thus, in order to achieve better diagnostic efficiency according to the criteria, convalescent sera should be taken after the 6th day from the onset of the disease. Four out of 74 secondary infection patients, corresponding to 5 % of the patients, showed poor response of dengue-specific IgM antibody (less than 10 units) even when discharged, indicating that both IgG and IgM examinations are necessary in secondary dengue infection.

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Eight hundred and nine patients with the symptom of fever at a rural health complex in southeastern Bangladesh were studied for the presence of malaria : 48.1% were malaria parasite-positive. Of these patients 71.5% had falciparum malaria and 28.5% had vivax malaria. The 5-9 years age group had the highest percentage of malarial parasite positivity (58.6%). Splenomegaly was found more frequently in children than in adults. By occupation, malaria was most prevalent among woodcutters who worked in forests. Forest dwellers in general had a significantly higher (p<0.001) malaria positivity rate than did those persons residing in non-forested areas. Indigenous tribal people had significantly lower (p<0.05) malaria-positivity than did Bengalee settlers. Illiteracy and low incomes, customary reasons for failure to practice prevention, were associated with higher prevalence of malaria.

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