Volume 18, Number 9—September 2012
Letter
Severe Measles, Vitamin A Deficiency, and the Roma Community in Europe
Clea Melenotte, Philippe Brouqui, and Elisabeth Botelho-Nevers
Table
Characteristics of 6 measles case-patients and 2 control patients with vitamin A deficiency, Roma community, France*
| Participant | Age, y/ sex | Signs and symptoms | Defining characteristics | Vitamin A level, mg/L† | Outcome | No. days in hospital |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case-patient 1 | 21/M | Rash, meningo-encephalitis | Positive PCR results for pharyngeal and urinary samples | 0.31 | Recovered | 12 |
| Case-patient 2 | 25/M | Rash, hepatitis, keratitis | Positive PCR result for pharyngeal and urinary samples | 0.20 | Recovered | 4 |
| Case-patient 3 | 26/M | Rash | Positive PCR result for pharyngeal sample | 0.27 | Recovered | 2 |
| Case-patient 4 | 22/M | Rash | Positive PCR result for urinary, nasal, and pharyngeal samples; Positive serologic test result | 0.27 | Recovered | 3 |
| Case-patient 5 | 15/M | Rash | Positive PCR result for nasal sample | 0.16 | Recovered | 1 |
| Case-patient 6 | 17/M | Rash, hepatitis, Koplik spots | Clinical signs | 0.34 | Recovered | 2 |
| Control 1 | 34/F | None | NA | 0.46 | NA | NA |
| Control 2 | 12/M | None | NA | 0.36 | NA | NA |
*Control participants did not have measles. NA, not applicable.
†Reference range 0.5–0.8 mg/L.
Page created: August 17, 2012
Page updated: August 17, 2012
Page reviewed: August 17, 2012
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