Recurring bacterial infection in a teenager: an Ethiopian case of common variable immunodeficiency revealed by the occurrence of rheumatoid arthritis.

A case of common variable immunodeficiency observed in an Ethiopian 13 year old girl who, from the age of 9 months, suffered from repeated, severe bacterial infections, but overcame viral infections normally, is reported. The immune defect bore upon the terminal stage of the differentiation of the B-lymphocytes, whose number was normal but which were unable to synthesize immunoglobulin in vitro. Replacement therapy with gammaglobulins controlled infection. The differential diagnosis of recurrent bacterial infection in the tropical context and means of early diagnosis are discussed.