Interview with Harry Dalton

In his May 12, 2015 interview with Rebecca Masters, Harry Dalton shares his time at Winthrop as a student from 1976-1986 and how he remained involved with Winthrop ever since. Recalled are the accomplishments of DiGiorgio, Dalton’s thoughts on President Mahony, and how Winthrop has changed from his time as a student. This interview was conducted for inclusion into the Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections Oral History Program.https://digitalcommons.winthrop.edu/oralhistoryprogram/1302/thumbnail.jp

Microbial Monitoring

The need for monitoring both areas for alteration in microbial flora, which may result in invasion or adverse effect on internal organs of the host, has been an accepted scientific fact of modern medicine for years. Questions remain, however, on how much monitoring needs to be done. What areas of the patients and the environment should be tested, and what are the practical uses of the results of such monitoring? Before attempting to answer these questions, let me give you an overview of how microbial monitoring has been used at the Medical College of Virginia hospitals and other institutions to identify and solve problems related to nosocomial and opportunistic infection

The Documentation of Communicable Diseases in Peruvian Mummies

Communicable disease in Egyptian mummies was documented by Ruffer and Ferguson when early in this century they reported a case of smallpox. A case of schistosomiasis was also reported by Ruffer. Various intestinal parasites have been reported from mummies, and suggestive evidence has been presented for poliomyelitis and tuberculosis. Much of this work was done at a time when good laboratory techniques were not available

A Review of Some Aspects of L-Forms and Gonococci

Systemic manifestations of gonococcal disease, such as arthritis, are often sterile on the usual culture methods used to grow gonococci. Allergic mechanisms have been invoked to explain this but with little evidence to support the concept. With the report by Holmes et al., that L-forms of gonococci were isolated from joint fluid of a patient with gonococcal arthritis, we decided to investigate the possible role of L-forms in gonococcal disease

Vaginal Flora in Postmenopausal Women: The Effect of Estrogen Replacement

Objective:To determine the effect of estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) on the vaginal flora of postmenopausal women

Hepatitis E: an underestimated emerging threat.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is the most common cause of viral hepatitis in the world. It is estimated that millions of people are infected every year, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths. However, these estimates do not include industrialized regions and are based on studies which employ assays now known to have inferior sensitivity. As such, this is likely to represent a massive underestimate of the true global burden of disease. In the developing world, HEV causes large outbreaks and presents a significant public-health problem. Until recently HEV was thought to be uncommon in industrialized countries, and of little relevance to clinicians in these settings. We now know that this is incorrect, and that HEV is actually very common in developed regions. HEV has proved difficult to study in vitro, with reliable models only recently becoming available. Our understanding of the lifecycle of HEV is therefore incomplete. Routes of transmission vary by genotype and location: endemic regions experience large waterborne epidemics, while sporadic cases in industrialized regions are zoonotic infections likely spread via the food chain. Both acute and chronic infection has been observed, and a wide range of extrahepatic manifestations have been reported. This includes neurological, haematological and renal conditions. As the complete clinical phenotype of HEV infection is yet to be characterized, a large proportion of cases go unrecognized or misdiagnosed. In many cases HEV infection does not feature in the differential diagnosis due to a lack of knowledge and awareness of the disease amongst clinicians. In combination, these factors have contributed to an underestimation of the threat posed by HEV. Improvements are required in terms of recognition and diagnosis of HEV infection if we are to understand the natural history of the disease, improve management and reduce the burden of disease around the world