Lutembachers syndrome is a very rare form of congenital heart disease that affects one of the chambers of the heart (commonly the atria) as well as a valve (commonly the mitral valve). It is commonly known as both congenital atrial septal defect (ASD) and acquired mitral stenosis (MS). Congenital (at birth) atrial septal defect refers to a hole being in the septum or wall that separates the two atria; this condition is usually seen in fetuses and infants. Mitral stenosis refers to mitral valve leaflets (or valve flaps) sticking to each other making the opening for blood to pass from the atrium to the ventricles very small. With the valve being so small, blood has difficulty passing from the left atrium into the left ventricle. Septal defects that may occur with Lutembachers syndrome include: Ostium primum atrial septal defect or ostium secundum which is more prevalent.Lutembachers syndrome affects females more often than males. It can affect children or adults; the person can either be born with the disorder or develop it later in life. The syndrome was first described by René Lutembacher (1884–1968) of Paris in 1916.To correct Lutembachers syndrome, surgery is often done. There are several types of surgeries depending on the cause of Lutembachers syndrome (ASD Primum or ASD Ostium Secundum with Mitral Stenosis):

Suturing (stitching) or placing a patch of tissue (similar to skin grafting) over the hole to completely close the opening
Reconstructing of the mitral and tricuspid valve while patching any holes in the heart
Device closure of ASD (e.g.
Neorickettsia helminthoeca is a bacterium in the Neorickettsia genus that causes Salmon poisoning disease. Salmon poisoning disease
Salmon poisoning disease (SPD) is a fatal disease of dogs and other canids caused by a rickettsial bacterium, Neorickettsia helminthoeca. It results from eating raw salmon, trout, or salamander and is common in the Pacific Northwest. These fish and amphibians are infected with the larvae of a fluke, Nanophyetus salmincola through an intermediate host, the snail Oxytrema plicifer. The larvae attaches to the intestine of the dog and the rickettsial bacteria are released, causing severe gastrointestinal disease and systemic infection. Neorickettsia elokominica, carried by the same fluke, causes a similar disease known as Elokomin fluke fever (EFF) in canids, bears, raccoons, and ferrets. Symptoms
Symptoms of SPD begin about one week after eating the salmon and include vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, depression, high fever, and enlarged lymph nodes. Untreated, mortality reaches 90 percent. Death occurs seven to ten days after symptoms begin.EFF has less severe symptoms than SPD, with less gastrointestinal signs and more lymph node involvement. The mortality in untreated cases is about 10 percent.A similar disease has been identified in Brazil. Diagnosis
Diagnosis is through finding the fluke eggs microscopically in a stool sample. A needle aspiration biopsy of an enlarged lymph node will reveal rickettsial organisms within macrophages in many cases. The rickettsial infection can be successfully treated with tetracycline, and the fluke infection can be treated with fenbendazole. == References ==