Lancet
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A case of monkeypox infection in a six-month-old baby girl who had been bitten by a wild chimpanzee in Kivu, Zaire, was investigated. The child had not been exposed to any monkeypox-like disease and no cases of such disease had occurred in the surrounding area during previous months. The time of onset of rash was consistent with the virus having been transmitted from the chimpanzee. However, it is still not known whether chimpanzees and other primates or lower mammals are the primary reservoir of monkeypox infection.
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A retrospective survey of burn cases admitted to Alotau Hospital, Papua New Guinea, over a four-year period showed that 48% were due to grass-skirt burns. Most of these occurred in young girls and usually caused full-thickness burns of the buttocks and thigh. ⋯ None of the patients were on anticonvulsants. The population needs to be informed of the dangers of leaving children near open fires, of the value of bundling up children whose grass-skirts catch fire to smother the flames, of the importance of anticonvulsants to chronic epileptics, and of the advantages of seeking medical treatment when burns occur.