Three Arab children with neonatal brucellosis are described. The first presented with late neonatal hyperbilirubinaemia, the second with a septicoemia-like picture and the third was born prematurely and presented with respiratory distress. The diagnosis of brucellosis was based on a positive blood culture and on a high or rising titre of antibodies to the Brucella organism. All the three neonates responded well to antibiotic therapy as monitored by a Brucella titre of less than 1:40 and a negative blood culture 10 weeks after the onset of therapy. The three mothers had Brucella infections during pregnancy and the Brucella agglutination titre of the breast milk was high. No Brucella microorganism was isolated from the breast milk. The mode of transmission of brucellosis in neonates is discussed.

Between 1978 and 1988 congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) was diagnosed in 60 children in Kuwait with an estimated prevalence of 1:9,000 livebirths, which is higher than that reported from Europe and Canada. In addition, there was presumptive evidence of CAH resulting in the death of 20 other children, giving a prevalence figure of 1:7000. There were 41 girls (68%) and 19 boys (32%). Thirty-one of the girls (75.6%) and 11 of the boys (57.9%) were saltlosers. Fifty-four patients (90%) were diagnosed as 21-hydroxylase deficient, 3 patients (5%) had a deficiency of the 3 beta-hydroxy-steroid dehydrogenase enzyme, and 3 patients (5%) showed a deficiency of 11 beta-hydroxylase.

A case of primary hypomagnesaemia with secondary hypocalcaemia in an Arab girl of consanguineous parents is reported. She presented at the age of 3 weeks with generalised convulsions, was treated with magnesium supplements and followed up for 5 years during which she showed normal physical and psychomotor development. In view of the striking male preponderance among the reported cases and the presence of parental consanguinity in a few, the inheritance is discussed and genetic heterogeneity is suggested.