The presence of several infections was determined in tissue and serum samples from 34 cases and 23 controls seen in 1984-85 at Mulago Hospital in Kampala, Uganda. When assessing single infections, association with cervical cancer could be shown for 5 agents, namely by Southern blot assay for human papillomavirus types 16 and 18 (HPV), and by serological tests at varying levels of antibody titres, for herpes simplex virus type I and/or 2 (HSV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr virus, viral capsid antigen (EBV-VCA), and Chlamydia trachomatis (CLT). Due to interaction, HSV and CMV were associated with cervical cancer only when infection by both of these agents was demonstrable. In the assessment of the simultaneous presence of these 5 infections, moderately high antibody titres were taken as the cut-off point for infection by HSV, CMV, EBV-VCA, and CLT. This showed that 3 and 4 infections at a time were seen in the majority of the cases in contrast to the controls with essentially no more than 2 such infections. A linear trend in the rise of risk for cervical cancer was noted with increasing number of infections.

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The pathological features of 14 cases of human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) occurring in Uganda over an 8 year period are described. Three cases were clinically proven and in all 14 cases a chronic meningoencephalitis was found. In 2 cases there was histological evidence of ganglion radiculitis and in one of these chronic choroiditis and peripheral neuritis associated with chronic myositis were present. The cardiac lesions consisted of a chronic pancarditis of varying degree in 8 cases and in 3 a generalized valvulitis was observed. In 2 cases, specially investigated, generalized lesions of the conducting system were noticed. Previous histopathological descriptions of HAT are briefly reviewed. The present findings are compared with some of those recorded in human american trypanosomiasis and experimental African trypanosomiasis.

Twelve cases of childhood Kaposi's sarcoma seen at the Uganda Cancer Institute over the last 7 years are reported. The disease presents mainly as generalized lymphadenopathy, with sparsely and anomalously distributed cutaneous nodules, and has a higher proportion of females with the disease than in the adult form. The histology is usually of mixed cell type. If not treated, childhood Kaposi's sarcoma runs a fulminating course, but disease control with chemotherapy is associated with prolonged survival. Images Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3 Fig. 4