The Medical journal of Australia
-
Acute obstructive suppurative cholangitis is an uncommon condition which, if unrecognized, carries a high rate of mortality. This study of 12 patients highlights the clinical features as well as the poor outcome of delayed surgical decompression. Endoscopic and percutaneous drainage of the obstructed biliary tree in acutely ill patients may improve the results of subsequent surgery.
-
During March, 1981, a number of cases of dengue fever occurred in Cairns and Townsville, northern Queensland. From October, 1981, an outbreak of the infection was recognized on Thursday Island and, by May 1982, an estimated 38% of residents had been infected. Isolated cases were reported from other towns in northern Queensland and from other islands in the Torres Strait. ⋯ No deaths were reported. Entomological surveys indicated that the domestic breeding vector of dengue, Aedes aegypti, is widely distributed throughout Queensland - southwards to Dirranbandi and westwards to Mornington Island. In some localities, the indices of Ae. aegypti abundance are alarmingly high, but at least in some suburbs of Townsville, it has been effectively controlled.