Faculty Bibliography

Scientists have detected two cases in which the AIDS virus has been transmitted from one child and one adolescent to others but apparently not by the usual routes. The most likely cause is believed to be that infected blood from one entered the other through a cut or disease that broke the skin. Although the cases can be expected to raise questions about the policy of admitting infected children to schools and day-care centers, experts familiar with the two cases say they strongly believe that there is no reason to change public policy because of the rarity of such transmission. In each case, the child and adolescent are believed to have acquired HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, from another child or teenager living in the same household

Scientists have detected two cases in which HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, has been transmitted from one child and one adolescent to others but apparently not by the usual routes. In each case, the child and adolescent is believed to have acquired HIV from another child or teen-ager living in the same household. The most likely cause is believed to be that infected blood from one entered the other through a cut or disease that broke the skin

Experts point to more than a dozen careful studies reported in medical journals that have shown that HIV does not spread among members of the same household except through the established routes of transmission, such as sexual intercourse and sharing contaminated needles. These studies followed 1,100 family members for an average of more than a year. The National Institutes of Health, a federal agency, said, 'Studies of families of HIV-infected people have clearly shown that HIV is not spread through casual contact such as the sharing of food utensils, towels and bedding, swimming pools, telephones, or toilet seats.' The experts have also considered another possibility: That HIV, a virus that is mutating all the time, might have developed a form that is more easily transmitted. But experts said there is no evidence from laboratory studies that the HIV strains in the two cases are substantially different from other strains

In the New Jersey case, the older, infected child had frequent nosebleeds and the younger child had dermatitis, a condition that breaks the surface of the skin. The infected boy had a cut at one point, which might have served as a source of virus-laden blood. Also, though probably less important, the boys slept in the same bed and sometimes shared a toothbrush. The New Jersey boys are not biologically related. The older boy was infected by his mother at the time of birth. Shortly after birth, the younger boy tested positive for HIV, but the test became negative as the infant grew older. The virus could not be detected by culture and by a special technique known as polymerase chain reaction. In the case of the two brothers with hemophilia, the older boy was known to have been infected in 1985 through a hemophilia drug that was processed before the HIV test was marketed. The younger boy, who received a heat-treated drug that is believed to be free of HIV, remained HIV negative until two years ago. Tests showed the two brothers had virtually the same virus

Scientists have detected two cases in which the AIDS virus has been transmitted from one child and one adolescent to others by other than the usual routes. The most likely cause is believed to be that infected blood from one entered the other through a cut or disease that broke the skin. Although the cases can be expected to raise questions about infected children being in day cares or schools, experts say they believe there is no reason to change public policy because of the rarity of such transmission

In a report to be published on Dec 4, 1993 in the Lancet, a team of scientists says it has discovered the cause of Kawasaki syndrome, an ailment that often leads to heart disease in children. Experts estimate there are 5,000 cases of the disease each year in the US and many more elsewhere

The report attributes the cause of Kawasaki syndrome to toxins produced by two strains of widely prevalent bacteria: a novel strain of staphylococcus and a streptococcus. If the team of scientists headed by Dr. Donald Leung of the National Jewish Center for Immunology and Respiratory Medicine in Denver is correct, Kawasaki syndrome will turn out to be similar to toxic shock syndrome, which is caused by another toxin produced by staph and strep bacteria

Dr. [Judith Swazey]'s Wellesley professor scolded the author, a rising young expert in glandular function at a medical center in Boston, but brought no charges against him. In an interview last week, Dr. Swazey declined to identify him beyond saying that 'he is a well-known figure today' in endocrinology. Their unwillingness was part of a general tendency among scientists to refuse to acknowledge, discuss or study misconduct. Dr. Swazey and her longtime research colleague, Dr. Renee Fox of the University of Pennsylvania, have described the pattern as 'structured silence.' The institute is based in a spacious old Bar Harbor home where Dr. Swazey lives and works with Labrador puppies yelping at her side. 'The joys of home offices,' Dr. Swazey said with a laugh

Alexander D. Langmuir, a leader in public health who is credited with saving hundreds of thousands of lives through his innovations in controlling epidemics, died of kidney cancer on Nov 22, 1993 at the age of 83