"Epidemic" of bronchial asthma in one of the regions of Yakutia
Vasil'ev, E.P.; Bezrodnykh, A.A.; Baranova, V.V.; Barashkova, N.N.
Terapevticheskii Arkhiv 54(4): 61-64
1982
ISSN/ISBN: 0040-3660 PMID: 7101160 Document Number: 196995
An outbreak of bronchial asthma in 20 persons living in the Northern region of Yakutia was studied. The disease occurred at the same time and coincided with a spring flood that flooded the settlement. The following forms of bronchial asthma were detected: atopic bronchial asthma and asthmatic bronchitis (as an equivalent of the former) were diagnosed in 11 subjects; the infectious-allergic form in 5 and the mixed form of bronchial asthma in 4 patients. To specify the etiopathogenesis of pulmonary allergies in the patients kept under observation, the data on the sputum microbial flora pattern were compared with the level of antibodies to O-streptolysin, streptococcal hyaluronidse and serum staphylococcal .alpha.-toxin. A study was made of the quantitative characteristics of serum IgA, IgM and IgG. The following data were obtained: the mixed bacterial flora (streptococcus and staphylococcus) were isolated from the patients with infectious-allergic bronchial asthma. These patients also showed a statistically significant increase in the level of antibodies to O-streptolysin (up to 353.85 .+-. 78.37, the normal being 98.89 .+-. 9.17) and the lowered concentrations of IgG and IgM (IgG, 765 .+-. 130 mg/100 ml and IgM, 70 .+-. 14 mg/100 ml, the normal being 1181 .+-. 89 mg/ml and 110 .+-. 10 mg/100 ml for IgG and IgM, respectively, P. < 0.02). Thus, the development of bronchial asthma in one of the settlements of the Extreme North was characterized by dissimilarity of the clinicopathogenetic forms regardless of the analogous factors that caused the disease (prolonged stay in water and becoming chilled).