growth aspects ; Environment ; Child

A mycological medium was developed for primary isolation and culture of lipophilic yeasts. It was initially based on published information of nutrients and trace components that would promote the growth of these yeasts. It was subsequently modified and adjusted to specifically promote the growth of lipophilic yeasts and simultaneously avoid the luxurious growth of other fungi and bacteria. With this medium, the conventional bacteriological procedures such as microbial streaking for pure culture and anti-microbial sensitivity testing could be carried out for these lipophilic yeasts.
Cultural ; isolation aspects ; growth aspects ; microbial ; Malassezia furfur

The growth of children in Tari is poorer than the growth of children in two-thirds of the highlands districts of Papua New Guinea. The important proximal determinants of these levels of growth in Tari are birthweight, food and nutrient intake and disease episodes. Birthweights in Tari are lower than in a number of other highlands centres and this is likely to be an important determinant of postnatal growth and disease, particularly for those whose birthweights are below 2500g. The overall effect of child feeding practices in Tari is that energy and protein intakes may be marginal after the first few months of life and contribute to the low levels of growth. Episodes of illness (young children experience an average of 4 episodes in the first year) decrease nutrient intake and increase nutrient requirements; this, combined with the failure to increase food intake during the convalescent period, means that the overall result of an episode of disease is a decrease in growth. There are functional consequences of this pattern of growth in Tari: low-birthweight children and those who are malnourished have a higher mortality rate than those of normal birthweight and growth, and short children have delays in achieving gross motor development milestones.
growth aspects ; Child ; Birth Weight ; Feeding and dietary regimes ; seconds

A 2-year-old boy with underlying congenital cyanotic heart disease presented with seizures and fever and was found to have bilateral parietal cerebral abscesses. Drainage of the pus from the abscesses was done in stages; on the day of admission, four days after admission and 3 weeks after admission. Although the pus from the first drainage did not grow any organisms, the pus from the second drainage on the fourth day of admission yielded a mixed growth of Eikenella corrodens and Streptococcus milleri. Following the second drainage of pus, the child was noted to have mild weakness (grade 3/5) and increased tone in the left upper limb. Three weeks after admission, due to recurring fever, further neurological signs and findings of an enlarging right cerebral abscess on a repeat CT scan, a third drainage was carried out. However no growth was obtained from this specimen. This patient was managed both surgically and with appropriate antibiotics. Over the next four months, serial CT scans revealed gradual resolution of the abscesses with disappearance of the surrounding oedema. The child showed gradual recovery of his left sided weakness with resolution of tone and reflexes to normal.
Discharge, Body Substance ; Eikenella corrodens ; week ; Cerebral Abscess ; growth aspects