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Humbert et al.1 have described a six-year-old girl who periodically had a fishy odor associated with increased excretion of trimethylamine in her urine. The three cases reported below occurred in a...

Outbreaks of so-called “fishy eggs” have been a troublesome experience with many poultrymen who sell eggs at retail. Vondell (1933) reported a type of off-flavor eggs having an odor of a fishy nature. Experimental work showed that the off-flavor was an individual hen characteristic. Feeding as high as fifteen percent fish meal in the laying mash, where both mash and grain was fed in equal amounts, failed to produce fishy flavored eggs. Also, feeding a moderate amount of fresh fish daily had no effect in producing a fishy odor in eggs. Robertson and Wilhelm (1940) did not obtain a fishy flavor in eggs when fish meal was fed to the extent of twenty-eight percent of the ration. “Fishy eggs” have been reported in flocks of Rhode Island Reds, New Hampshires and Barred Plymouth Rocks. The fact that “fishy eggs” are not laid consistently by individuals, or flocks, poses a problem . . .

In most published studies an etiology has been defined in less than half of cases of vulvovaginitis in prepubertal girls. NSV,a synergistic infection involving Gardnerella vaginalis and anaerobic bacteria, is a common cause of vaginitis in adults, but has not been described in children. We studied 17 girls, age 2-11 yrs. (mean-5-5 yr), who presented because of vulvovaginitis; 5 of these girls were known or suspected of to have been sexually abused. Cultures were examined for bacteria, including Chlamydia trachomatis, viruses, yeasts and Trichompnas vaginalis. In addition, a vaginal wash specimen was also examined. NSV was diagnosed if the wash contained “clue cells” and gave off a fishy odor when 10% KOH was added. We were able to make a microbial diagnosis in 11/17 (65%) pts: 3 of 4 girls with NSV were successfully treated with metronidazole with reversion of the vaginal wash to normal. NSV was the most frequent identifiable cause of vaginitis in these children. The results of this study also illustrated the value of the vaginal wash specimen for the diagnosis of vaginitis in prepubertal girls.