The Medical journal of Australia
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Men whose female sexual partners showed histological evidence of human papillomavirus infection were examined. Human papillomavirus DNA was identified in 29 of 35 biopsy samples of colposcopically-identified penile lesions. ⋯ Measurement of human papillomavirus DNA in lesions by the filter in-situ hybridization technique more-frequently indicated human papillomavirus infection (29 of 35 lesions) than did conventional histopathological assessment (21 of 35 lesions) in this "high-risk" group. We conclude that colposcopically-identifiable lesions in male sexual partners are likely to contain human papillomavirus DNA, even if is no definite histological evidence of human papillomavirus infection is present, and that such lesions frequently contain strains of human papillomavirus that have been associated with the development of anogenital carcinoma.
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A seroepidemiological study of markers of infection with hepatitis B virus was conducted in Brewarrina, a mixed-race township in north-western New South Wales. Six hundred and forty-three subjects, who represented 41.5% of the town's population, were screened for a range of serological markers of hepatitis B virus infection. Of the Aboriginal subjects, 72% had markers which indicated previous infection with hepatitis B virus, with 19.2% of subjects being identified as hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-seropositive. ⋯ Furthermore, the risk of infection to non-Aborigines is unlikely to be spread evenly across the non-Aboriginal community. The cost of vaccine remains high, and until further data become available, mass vaccination of the population probably is not warranted. Initially, control measures should concentrate on the reduction of hepatitis B virus infection in the Aboriginal population and in non-Aboriginal households which contain a HBsAg-seropositive member.
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Data on 33 Aboriginal children with rheumatic heart disease who attended the Royal Darwin Hospital over a four-year period were examined. Mitral-valve incompetence was the most-common valvular lesion that occurred as a result of rheumatic heart disease and was present in 30 children. ⋯ Five children died in the period of the study and four of these had mitral stenosis as part of their valvular abnormality. Rheumatic heart disease is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in Aboriginal children in the Northern Territory.