World climate changes due to global warming causes increasing concern because of its impact on health and particularly its influence on the so called emerging infections. A poorly understood aspect of emerging infections is changes in virulence and clinical manifestations of known pathogens. The Talara province epidemic with a great number of children deaths during the 1997-1998 El Niño phenomenon was produced by an unusual clinical disease with quick progression and high mortality. The clinical symptoms sequence, physical examination and laboratory data showed a viral infection pattern. The clinical neurological symptoms was due to encephalitis, and cerebral edema was the cause of death of these children. Many known viruses were probably responsible like arboviruses, influenza viruses, parainfluenza, adenoviruses, echoviruses, coxsackie, enteroviruses, and others, with mainly neurologi...

Objective: To determine prevalence and types of malnutrition in children with cerebral palsy (CP) and to identify determinant problems. Design: Descriptive clinical study. Setting: Children's Medicine and Rehabilitation Centre ARIE, Villa El Salvador district. Patients: Fifty three children with CP receiving rehabilitation treatment. Interventions: Clinical information was obtained directly from the child's mother. Waterlow´s classification was used for nutritional status evaluation. Anemia was determined by hemoglobin and hematocrit levels and intestinal parasitosis by feces examination and Graham's test. Data was processed with SPSS 11,0. Main outcome measures: Malnutrition, feeding problems, gastroesophageal reflux, anemia, intestinal parasitosis. Results: Prevalence of malnutrition was 81,1% and chronic malnutrition was the most frequent diagnosis, in 43,5%. Disorders associated wit...