Sudden death of a child associated with invasive non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae infection with underlying IgG subclass deficiency.

Haemophilus influenzae can be divided into typeable and non-typeable strains. Although non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is less likely to be a fatal bacterium, invasive NTHi infection has been reported to increase worldwide. This study presents a case of sudden death of a child with invasive NTHi infection and underlying immunoglobulin G2 (IgG) deficiency.

Real-time PCR assay for the detection of picoplankton DNA distribution in the tissues of drowned rabbits.

The detection of plankton DNA is one of the important methods for the diagnosis of drowning from postmortem tissues. This study investigated the quantities of picoplankton (Cyanobacteria) DNA in the lung, liver, kidney tissues and blood of drowned and non-drowned rabbits, and the sensitivity of detection of picoplankton DNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detect for the diagnosis of death from drowning. For this purpose, the DNA of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene of picoplankton was quantitatively assayed from the tissues of drowned and non-drowned rabbits immersed in water after death.

Direct and rapid PCR amplification using digested tissues for the diagnosis of drowning.

We developed a direct and rapid method for the diagnosis of death by drowning by PCR amplification of phytoplankton DNA using human tissues. The primers were designed based on the DNA sequence of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene (16S rDNA) of Cyanobacterium. Samples of lung, liver and kidney tissues were collected from 53 autopsied individuals diagnosed as death by drowning.

An autopsy case of miliary tuberculosis in a young adult.

A 23-year-old woman who had worked as a hostess at a nightclub was found dead in her house. The cause of death was diagnosed as miliary tuberculosis from the findings of medico-legal autopsy. Recently, tuberculosis (TB) has re-emerged as a health problem due to recurrence in the aged, and infections among health care workers and young adults like the present case.