Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-21T20:39:14.416Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

High incidence of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis in South India

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 May 2009

V. Saha
Affiliation:
Departments of Virology, Christian Medical College and Hospital, Vellore
T. Jacob John*
Affiliation:
Departments of Virology, Christian Medical College and Hospital, Vellore
P. Mukundan
Affiliation:
Departments of Virology, Christian Medical College and Hospital, Vellore
C. Gnanamuthu
Affiliation:
Departments of Neurology, Christian Medical College and Hospital, Vellore
S. Prabhakar
Affiliation:
Departments of Neurology, Christian Medical College and Hospital, Vellore
G. Arjundas
Affiliation:
Institute of Neurology, Madras Medical College, Madras
Z. A. Sayeed
Affiliation:
Institute of Neurology, Madras Medical College, Madras
G. Kumaresan
Affiliation:
Institute of Neurology, Madras Medical College, Madras
K. Srinivas
Affiliation:
K. Gopalakrishna Department of Neurology, V.H.8. Medical Centre, Madras T. S. Srinivasan Department of Neurology and Research, Public Health Centre, Madras
*
*Professor T.Jacob John, Head, Department of Virology, Christian Medical College and Hospital. Vellore, India632004.
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

During 19837 a clinical diagnosis of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) was confirmed by the detection of measles virus haemagglutination inhibiting antibody in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in 81 subjects resident in Tamilnadu. The antibody titre (reciprocol of the endpoint dilution) in the CSF ranged from 2 to 32 and in the sera from 8 to 2048. The CSF: serum ratios of titres were 1:41:64 in 80 cases and 1:128 in one case. The median age at onset of SSPE was 10 years and 97% of cases were diagnosed at stage 2 and beyond. Based on the geographic distribution of 72 cases in an estimated population of 84 million, the annual incidence of SSPE was calculated to be 214 per million population, or 43 cases per million children below 20 years. Assuming that only 10% of all cases would have reached the level of laboratory diagnosis, the incidence may be as high as 21 cases per million population.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright Cambridge University Press 1990

References

REFERENCES

1.John, TJ, Joseph, A, George, TI, et al. Epidemiology and prevention of measles in rural South India. Ind J Med Res 1980: 72: 1538.Google ScholarPubMed
2.Pereira, SM, Benjamin, V.Measles in a South Indian community. Trop Geograph Med 1972;24: 1247.Google Scholar
3.Siddiqui, N, Ghosh, S, Berry, AM.The natural history of measles in a low income urban community in south Delhi. Ind Pediatr 1974; 11: 55762.Google Scholar
4.John, TJ, Devarajan, LV.Priority for measles vaccine. Ind Pediatr 1973; 10: 578.Google ScholarPubMed
5.Jabbour, JT, Duenas, A, Sever, JL, et al. Epidemiology of subacute sclerosing pan encephalitis. JAMA 1972; 220: 95961.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
6.Soffer, DOV, Raunon, L, Alter, M, et al. Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis an epidemiological study in Israel. Am J Epidemiology 1976; 103: 6774.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7.Robbins, SJ, Fiumara, F, Appleton, B, Burreo, C.Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, a report of 16 cases. Aust NZ J Med 1984; 14: 12630.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8.Dyken, PR, Krawjecki, NS, Durant, RH, et al. The changing clinical expression of SSPE in the USA. Ann Neurol 1982; 14: 5867.Google Scholar
9.Modlin, JF, Halsey, NA, Eddins, DL.Epidemiology of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis. J Pediatr 1979; 94: 2316.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10.Bellman, MH, Dick, G.Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis. Postgrad Med J 1978; 54: 58790.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11.Jabbour, JT, Garcia, JH, Lemmi, H, et al. Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis. A multidisciplinary study of 8 cases. JAMA 1969; 207: 224854.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
12.Cherian, T, Joseph, A, John, TJ.Low antibody response in infants with measles and children with subclinical measles virus infection. J Trop Med Hyg 1984; 87: 2731.Google ScholarPubMed
13.Padmanabha, P. Census of India 1981 part-II special: Report and tables based on 5% sample data. Office of the Registrar General of India, New Delhi; 1983.Google Scholar
14.Muthuswami, AP. Census of India 1981 series 20, Tamilnadu part IIA: General population tables. Office of the Registrar General of India, New Delhi; 1987.Google Scholar
15.Schiff, GM.Measles. In: Lennette, E. H. ed. Laboratory diagnosis of viral infections. New York: Marcel Dekker, 1985; p. 366.Google Scholar
16.World Health Statistics Manual 1987. World Health Organisation, Geneve 1986: 48.Google Scholar
17.Langmuir, AD.Medical importance of measles. Am J Dis Child 1962; 103: 2246.Google ScholarPubMed
18.Kondo, K, Takasu, T, Ahmed, A.Neurological diseases in Karachi, Pakistan - elevated occurrence of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis.Neuroepidemiology 1988; 7: 6680.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
19.Haddad, FS, Riskin, S, Jabbour, JT.Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis in the middle east. Lancet 1974; ii: 1025.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
20.Halsey, NA, Modlin, JF, Jabbour, JT, Dubey, L, Eddins, DL, Ludwig, DD.Risk factors in subacute sclerosing panencephalitis: A case control study. Am J Epidemiol 1980; 111: 1524.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed