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To investigate the major primary and contributory causes of death among HIV patients in Singapore. A retrospective observational cohort study of all adult patients seen at the national referral centre for HIV in Singapore between 1985 and 2001. Data were extracted from the patients' records by 10 trained health care workers. AIDS-defining conditions were established using predefined criteria. For each case, a single principal cause of death and up to three contributory causes were identified. A total of 1504 patients aged 17 years or over were seen before the end of 2001, of whom 504 have died. The most frequent principal causes of death were Mycobacterium avium (17.5%), Mycobacterium tuberculosis (9.7%), pneumonia (cause unknown) (6.5%) and Cryptococcus neoformans (6.7%). Three hundred and eighteen patients (63.1%) died from an AIDS-defining condition. The causes of death were similar to those found in Western cohorts, except that disseminated M. avium was a more frequent cause of death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Setting: The small urban country of Singapore., Objectives: To investigate the relationships between Mycobacterium tuberculosis genotypes and drug-resistant phenotypes and to analyse the transmission of drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB)., Design: A 29-month population-based study comparing drug-resistant and drug-susceptible M. tuberculosis isolates., Results: We found that multidrug-resistant (MDR) isolates (n = 41, OR 2.66, 95%CI 1.28-5.50), rifampicin-resistant isolates (n = 48, OR 2.88, 95%CI 1.44-5.76), and streptomycin (SM) resistant isolates (n = 103, OR 3.35, 95%CI 1.99-5.62) were more common among Beijing genotype strains than among non-Beijing strains, while SM-resistant isolates were less common in East-African-Indian (EAI) genotype strains than in non-EAI strains (OR 0.30, 95%CI 0.14-0.64). Based on clustering analysis and drug-resistant patterns, 22 of 230 drug-resistant isolates were found to have likely resulted from recent transmission. The estimated transmission rate of DR-TB was 9.6% and that of MDR-TB was 7.7%. The transmission rate of DR-TB was significantly higher among Beijing genotype strains than non-Beijing strains (12.9% vs. 4.4%; P = 0.034)., Conclusions: Compared to other genotypes, Beijing genotype strains are associated with a higher frequency of drug resistance, including multidrug resistance, and are more transmissible. However, the overall transmission rate of DR-TB in Singapore is low.

Background: The impact that malnutrition at the time of starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) has on survival and the CD4 count response is not known., Methods: A retrospective cohort study of patients attending the national HIV referral centre in Singapore who had a CD4 count less than 250 cells/microL and a measurement of body weight performed at the time of starting ART was carried out. Demographic and clinical variables were extracted from an existing database. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated from the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in metres. Moderate to severe malnutrition was defined as BMI less than 17 kg/m(2). Intent-to-treat Cox models were used to determine the predictors of survival., Results: A total of 394 patients were included in the analysis, of whom 79 died during a median study follow-up of 2.4 years. Moderate to severe malnutrition was present in 16% of patients at the time of starting ART, and was found to be a significant independent predictor of death [hazard ratio (HR) 2.19, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.29-3.73, P=0.004 for those with BMI<17 compared with those with BMI>18.5] as were stage of disease (HR 2.47, 95% CI 1.20-5.07, P=0.014 for those who were at stage C compared with those at stage A) and the type of ART [HR 0.50, 95% CI 0.27-0.93, P=0.03 for highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) compared with non-HAART treatment]. Malnutrition did not impair the magnitude of the increase in CD4 count at 6 or 12 months., Conclusions: Malnutrition at the time of starting ART was significantly associated with decreased survival, but the effect appeared not to be mediated by impaired immune reconstitution. Given the increasing access to ART in developing countries and the high frequency of HIV-associated wasting, studies of nutritional therapy as an adjunct to the initiation of HAART are urgently needed.

The relationship of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Beijing genotype with tuberculosis relapse was examined. Beijing strains were detected from 32 out of 45 (71%) relapsed cases and 148 out of 290 (51%) non-relapsed cases. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that Beijing genotype was significantly associated with tuberculosis relapse (OR 2.64, 95% CI 1.30-5.34, P=0.005).

Singapore remains vulnerable to the introduction of infectious diseases from other countries due to the high traffic of migrant labour and other visitors. We describe seven cases of migrant workers from West Africa who entered Singapore carrying loaisis, a helminthic infection. The clinical presentation, treatment using single dose ivermectin, potential for transmission, and the need for screening of this infection in Singapore are discussed.

We studied the prevalence of and risk factors for Staphylococcus aureus nasal colonization in HIV-positive outpatients in Singapore. Overall prevalence was 23% (45 of 195), with 3% (6 of 195) being MRSA. Recent antibiotic use and hospitalization were independent predictors of MRSA colonization. Isolates were genotypically identical to our hospital's inpatient circulating strain.

The Nipah virus is a newly identified paramyxovirus responsible for an outbreak of fatal encephalitis in Malaysia and Singapore. This paper reports the follow up clinical and magnetic resonance imaging findings in 22 affected subjects. Of 13 patients with encephalitis, one died, one was lost to follow up, and seven recovered. Among the four remaining patients, one had residual sixth nerve palsy, another suffered from severe clinical depression, and a third patient had evidence of retinal artery occlusion. One patient with delayed onset Horner syndrome had a single lesion in the cervical spinal cord. The brain magnetic resonance findings were stable or improved in nine patients over 18 months of follow up. Among a second group of nine asymptomatic seropositive abattoir workers, magnetic resonance examination in seven subjects revealed discrete small lesions in the brain; similar to those detected in encephalitis patients. These findings suggest that in addition to encephalitis, the newly discovered Nipah virus affects the spinal cord and the retina. Late clinical and radiological findings can occur in Nipah virus infections as with other paramyxoviruses.

Following the Nipah virus (NV) outbreak in March 1999 in Singapore, a serological survey was undertaken to screen individuals potentially exposed to NV. Blood samples were tested for NV IgM, IgG and neutralizing antibodies. Twenty-two (1.5%) of 1469 people tested had antibodies suggesting NV infection. Although 12 of the 22 infected people (54.6%) were symptomatic, the remaining 10 (45.4%) were clinically well and had no past history of compatible pulmonary or neurological disease. Clinical and serological findings suggested three people had been infected with NV before the outbreak was recognized. All those who were infected were male abattoir workers. None of the people who had contact with horses, and no healthcare workers exposed to infected patients and their specimens had detectable antibodies. This study provides evidence that NV causes asymptomatic infection. All of the antibody positive individuals had direct contact with pigs and there was no evidence of human to human transmission.

Background: In March 1999, an outbreak of encephalitis and pneumonia occurred in workers at an abattoir in Singapore. We describe the clinical presentation and the results of investigations in these patients., Methods: Clinical and laboratory data were collected by systemic review of the case records. Serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples were tested for IgM antibodies to Nipah virus with an IgM capture ELISA. Reverse-transcriptase PCR was done on the CSF and tissue samples from one patient who died., Findings: Eleven patients were confirmed to have acute Nipah-virus infection based on raised IgM in serum. Nipah virus was identified by reverse transcriptase PCR in the CSF and tissue of the patient who died. The patients were all men, with a median age of 44 years. The commonest presenting symptoms were fever, headache, and drowsiness. Eight patients presented with signs of encephalitis (decreased level of consciousness or focal neurological signs). Three patients presented with atypical pneumonia, but one later developed hallucinations and had evidence of encephalitis on CSF examination. Abnormal laboratory findings included a low lymphocyte count (nine patients), low platelet count, low serum sodium, and high aspartate aminostransferase concentration (each observed in five patients). The CSF protein was high in eight patients and white-blood-cell count was high in seven. Chest radiography showed mild interstitial shadowing in eight patients. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed focal areas of increased signal intensity in the cortical white marker in all eight patients who were scanned. The nine patients with encephalitis received empirical treatment with intravenous aciclovir and eight survived., Interpretation: Infection with Nipah virus caused an encephalitis illness with characteristic focal areas of increased intensity seen on MRI. Lung involvement was also common, and the disease may present as an atypical pneumonia.