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Halofantrine is a 9-phenanthrene-methanol effective against multiresistant strains of Plasmodium falciparum. It is extremely effective and well-tolerated in treating cases of malaria imported into France. 1,500 mg in 3 doses at 8 hour intervals produced 100% cure rate in semi-immune patients. This dosage could be repeated after 14 days in order to obtain the same cure rate in non-immune patients. Side-effects are minor and include epigastric pain, nausea and one case of skin rash.

The relationship between fulminant viral hepatitis (FVH) and pregnancy was compared in Algeria and France. This comparison was based on the study of 22 Algerian and 77 French pregnant and non-pregnant women, aged 15 to 49 years, consecutively admitted for FVH to the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, Constantine, Algeria, or to Hôpital Beaujon, Clichy, France. The observed and expected (calculated from demographic data) percentage of pregnant women was significantly different among the Algerian patients with FVH (45.5% v. 24.9%, P less than 0.03), but not among the French patients (3.9% v. 5.8%). Hepatitis A was the cause of FVH in none of the Algerian patients, but in eight French patients, none of whom was pregnant. Hepatitis B was the cause of FVH in one non-pregnant Algerian patient and in 49 French patients, two of whom (4.1%) were pregnant. Hepatitis non-A, non-B was the cause of FVH in 21 Algerian patients, ten of whom (47.6%, a percentage significantly higher than expected, P less than 0.04) were pregnant, and in 19 French patients, one of whom (5.3%, a percentage similar to that expected) was pregnant. In conclusion, (1) there is a relationship between FVH and pregnancy in Algeria, but not in France, and (2) this difference is mainly or exclusively attributable to infection with a non-A, non-B virus affecting the Algerian population, but which is much less common or absent in France.

Rhinoscleroma, an inflammatory tumour due to Klebsiella rhinoscleromatis, is rare in France but the few known cases have been observed among immigrants. A case of a Malian is reported here; to our knowledge this is the first described case from Mali. The clinical, histological and epidemiological aspects of the disease in Africans is reviewed.

Serum IgG subclass levels were measured by an indirect competitive immunoenzymatic assay with monoclonal antibodies in 61 adult patients of different geographic origins affected either with the lymphoadenopathy syndrome (LAS, 46 cases) or with the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS, 15 cases). In spite of considerable variations from patient to patient, IgG-1 and IgG-3 levels were higher than in normal Caucasians, with IgG-1 levels much more elevated in LAS than in AIDS patients. In Caucasians with AIDS or LAS, IgG-4 levels were low. IgG-2 levels tended to be low and correlated negatively with IgG-1 levels. IgG subclass imbalances were especially striking in patients with lymphoid interstitial pneumonitis. The results suggest that the IgG increase predominantly affects the less T-dependent subclasses. The low levels of the more T-dependent isotypes do not appear to play a clear role in the occurrence of pyogenic infections in certain patients.

An anti-erythrocyte autoimmunization with anti-I specificity was shown in patients previously exposed to malaria (falciparum malaria in 98.7% of cases). An anti-I antibody was eluted from red cells in 14.6% of 41 patients with an acute P. falciparum infection. The frequency of the anti-I immunisation was found to be correlated to the rate of the antimalarial antibodies among the 152 patients without parasitaemia, coming from areas endemic for falciparum malaria: this frequency was 5.2% for a rate below 1/64, 9.7% for a rate between 1/64 and 1/256, and 34% for a rate above 1/1,024. Anti-I antibodies were more often noted in African patients coming from forest areas, considered as chronically infected with P. falciparum, and in other patients who have been in France for less than a month. No anti-I antibodies were found in the control group, composed of 52 Caucasian healthy subjects with no previous exposure to malaria. This anti-I immunisation was transitory and its disappearance was usually accompanied by a lowering of anti-malarial antibodies.

Halofantrine is a 9-phenanthrenemethanol which is effective against multi-drug resistant strains of Plasmodium falciparum. It has been shown to be highly effective and extremely well tolerated in the treatment of imported cases of falciparum malaria in France. A total of 1,500 mg administered in three 500 mg doses at six-hour intervals results in a 100% cure rate in semi-immune subjects. This dosage should be repeated after 14 days to obtain the same cure rate in non-immune patients. Minor clinical side effects included epigastric pains, nausea and, in one case, a skin rash.