Spread of influenzaviruses A/ENGLAND/42/72 AND A/Hong Kong/1/68

Seroconversion for A/England/42/72 (H3N2) virus occurred in a child in Calcutta in August 1971, one month after the virus was first isolated in India. During the following 5 months a small increase was observed in the geometric mean titres (GMT). In mid-1972 the virus was in Kathmandu, Nepal, where the children had a higher GMT than the adults. The GMT increased sharply during 1972 and early 1973 and this increase was accompanied by an increased number of hospital admissions for respiratory diseases. Among the people in the isolated village of Lang Tang (3 500 m elevation), the GMT and prevalence for both A/England/42/72 and A/Hong Kong/1/68 (H3N2) were less than 50% of the Kathmandu values.     

Development and Implementation of A European Guideline and Training Standards for Diabetes Prevention-The IMAGE project

Background The dramatic increase of type 2 diabetes, particularly in younger people, has developed into a major public health concern of the European Union (EU). Several studies have demonstrated that prevention programmes can significantly reduce the risk of developing diabetes. At the EU level, there is a clear consensus that action is needed now to develop targeted prevention management programmes for type 2 diabetes. Currently several prevention management concepts exist in various European countries which can be implemented in clinical practice. Nevertheless, EU-wide strategies are still lacking. Therefore, initiated by the Technical University Dresden, the IMAGE project was submitted to the European Commission under the call for proposals 2006 for the programme of community action in the field of public health (2003–2008) and recommended for co-funding as one of the largest in the public health sector. Methods IMAGE stands for “Development and Implementation of A European Guideline and Training Standards for Diabetes Prevention”. Its general objective is to improve the ability of EU countries to prevent type 2 diabetes in Europe. Within the project, four specific objectives will be developed and implemented into clinical practice: (1) joint European guidelines, (2) a European curriculum for the training of prevention managers, (3) European standards for quality control of diabetes prevention programmes, and (4) a European e-health training portal for prevention managers. Results By now, 32 partners from 13 EU member states plus partners from Serbia-Montenegro, the Ukraine and Israel are involved in the project. The project duration is 3 years, starting in May 2007. The partners who are involved in the IMAGE project, building a consortium of expertise, will work in seven work packages to achieve the project’s objectives. Conclusion The development of competent education programmes, as well as the establishment of quality standards for the primary prevention of type 2 diabetes, will significantly enhance the ability of healthcare professionals to respond swiftly to the drastic increase of type 2 diabetes and its burden to society. Implementing the project achievements will be of major importance in both the prevention of diabetes and the promotion of health through addressing health determinants across all policies and activities in Europe.     

Defibrillator/monitor/pacemakers

Defibrillator/monitors allow operators to assess and monitor a patient's ECG and, when necessary, deliver a defibrillating shock to the heart. When integral noninvasive pacing capability is added, the resulting device is referred to as a defibrillator/monitor/pacemaker. In this Update Evaluation, we present our findings for nine such units, including complete Product Profiles for two newly evaluated models and update information for seven other models evaluated in our May-June 1993 and February 1998 studies. We tested the two newly evaluated models using the same basic protocol as in our previous studies. However, we did add some new tests--and revise some old ones--to account for advances in the technology. These advancements include the increasing use of advisory modes and the increasing availability of expanded monitoring capabilities (which allow units to function, at least to some degree, like a physiologic monitor). As in our previous studies, we rated each model separately for three common defibrillation applications: (1) general crashcart use, (2) in-hospital transport use, and (3) prehospital use by emergency medical services (EMS) personnel. Because each application requires its own set of capabilities, it's not surprising that few models are appropriate for all applications. However, we did identify three models that perform well--earning a rating of either Acceptable or Preferred--in all three areas.     

Defibrillator/monitor/pacemakers

In this Evaluation, we present our test results and ratings for two newly evaluated defibrillator/monitor/pacemakers--the Medtronic ERS Lifepak 20 and the Philips HeartStart MRx. We also summarize and update our findings for eight previously evaluated models that are still on the market. We rate the models based on their desirability for in-hospital applications, such as general crash-cart use and in-hospital transport use, and for prehospital applications, specifically emergency medical service (EMS) use. The primary function of the devices examined in this study is to allow operators to assess and monitor a patient's ECG and, when necessary, deliver a defibrillating shock to the heart. However, currently available models can also be equipped to do much more during a resuscitation attempt - from monitoring multiple physiologic parameters to providing noninvasive pacing capability to functioning as an automated external defibrillator (AED). Our testing examined all these capabilities to help hospital and EMS purchasers make effective selection decisions.