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Retrospective and prospective studies were done on children with wheezing bronchitis on the small Pacific island of Niue. Wheezing bronchitis was found to be a common cause of morbidity, but not mortality in these children. Episodes of the disease were most common in children under the age of 4 years and tended to disappear as they became older. A case-control study indicated smoking by the mother (P less than 0.0001), positive stool examination for parasites (P less than 0.001), mother with a history of wheezing bronchitis (P less than 0.01) and father smoking (P less than 0.05) were all correlated with wheezing bronchitis. Skin testing and serologic results indicated that hypersensitivity to house dust mite (Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus) and plantain (Plantago lanceolata) antigens were also associated with having wheezing bronchitis. This study demonstrates the multifactorial etiology of wheezing bronchitis on a Pacific island.

An extensive epidemic of dengue type 1 infection with a high incidence of hemorrhagic manifestations occurred on the island of Viti Levu, Fiji beginning early in 1975. Previous dengue outbreaks in this population were such that in 1975 two types of dengue patients were observed, one group of patients experienced primary dengue type 1 infection, whereas another experienced their dengue type 1 infection approximately 4 years after a dengue type 2 infection. Clinical and laboratory findings for the two forms of infection were assessed in patients hospitalized for their disease, usually with hemorrhage. With the exception of virologic and serologic findings, no important differences between these two groups were noted with respect to incidence and nature of hemorrhage and other clinical and laboratory findings. Both types of infection sometimes were associated with thrombocytopenia and low serum levels of the C3 component of complement. Virus was more easily isolated from the primary infection patients and the magnitude of their viremia also was higher. No significant differences were noted in a comparison of the ease of virus isolation from serum or plasma.

Dengue antigen could be demonstrated by a direct fluorescent antibody technique in simple head squashes of either male or female Aedes albopictus mosquitoes infected with any of the four dengue serotypes. Dengue viruses can be isolated rapidly and simply by combining this technique with that of parenteral inoculation of mosquitoes with test material.