Background: Acute meningoencephalitis is an important cause of morbidity and mortality around the globe. The objective of this study was to examine the distribution of acute meningoencephalitis and its aetiological agents among children admitted to a tertiary hospital in southern Bangladesh. Methods: This prospective study was carried out in Khulna Medical College Hospital from 2007 to 2009. All of the admitted children between 1 month and 12 years of age were enrolled over a 2-year period if they met the inclusion criteria of having an acute onset of fever (≤ 14 days) and any of the following 3 signs: neck stiffness, convulsion, or altered mental status. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was collected within hours and sent to the laboratory for cytological and biochemical analyses. CSF was examined by Gram staining and a latex agglutination test to detect common bacteria. Serum and CSF were also tested for Japanese encephalitis virus antibodies. Results: A total of 140 children were included in the study, which accounted for 2.5% of admissions between 2007 and 2009. The number of acute meningoencephalitis cases was relatively higher (37.9%) during the monsoon season. The CSF report revealed a pyogenic form in 24 (18.5%) and a viral form in 13 (10.0%) cases. Altered mental status was significantly less frequent (P < 0.001) in cases of pyogenic meningoencephalitis (62.5%) than in cases of non-pyogenic meningoencephalitis (93.4%). Bacterial causes were identified in 11 (8.5%) children; the causative agents included Streptococcus pneumoniae (n = 8), Neisseria meningitides (n = 2), and Haemophilus influenzae (n = 1). Three (2.3%) patients were positive for Japanese encephalitis virus. Conclusion: S. pneumoniae was the most common bacteria causing acute meningoencephalitis among the study subjects, and Japanese encephalitis virus was present in few patients.

Aims: Bordetella bronchiseptica is an etiologic agent of bronchopneumonia and progressive atrophic rhinitis (PAR) in swine. Both toxigenic and nontoxigenic B. bronchiseptica strains have been associated with bronchopneumonia. Monitoring and investigation of outbreaks involving these bacteria require sensitive and accurate identification and reliable determination of the isolates. In the present study, we report the development, optimization and performance characteristics of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for B. bronchiseptica strains. Methodology and Results: A total of 47 isolates of B. bronchiseptica were biochemically identified from 90 pigs suffering from bronchopneumonia maintained in a semi intensive rearing system of organized piggery in Meghalaya. PCR was employed with filamentous hemagglutinin toxin genes (fhaB and fhaC) and fimbrial toxin genes (fim2 and fim3) primers to identify the specific toxin types of B. bronchiseptica. All the 47 isolates were positive for all the toxin genes. The specifity of designed primer pairs was tested by screening some common bacterial species related to the respiratory tract namely, Pasteurella multocida, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus spp. No DNA amplifications of the organisms tested could be seen in the specificity test. Amplicon mobility in agarose gels indicate the amplicons are highly stable. Conclusion, significance and impact of study: The data presented, establish this PCR as a reliable method for identification and study of adhesins of B. bronchiseptica that may greatly simplify investigations of swine bronchopneumonia and PAR for Indian isolates.