2010年全国新报告HIV感染者/AIDS病例生存时间及其相关因素分析

目的 分析全国2010年新报告HIV感染者/AIDS病例（HIV/AIDS）生存时间及影响因素。方法 使用艾滋病综合防治数据信息系统截至2015年12月31日的病例报告历史卡片和随访定时数据库,筛选出2010年新报告HIV/AIDS并整理出随访结局数据,以寿命表法计算其生存率,采用Kaplan-Meier法拟合不同状态下的生存曲线,Cox比例风险模型分析HIV/AIDS生存时间的影响因素。结果 40 335例HIV/AIDS中,11 975例因艾滋病及相关疾病死亡;截至观察终点时,中位生存时间为63.1（95%CI：63.0~63.2）个月,1年和5年生存率分别为81.2%和69.9%;多因素Cox比例风险模型分析结果显示,艾滋病死亡的风险随年龄增加而增加,25~34、35~44、45~54和≥55岁组因艾滋病死亡的风险分别是15~24岁组的1.41倍（95%CI：1.29~1.54）、1.90倍（95%CI：1.74~2.07）、2.24倍（95%CI：2.04~2.46）和2.81倍（95%CI：2.57~3.08）;HIV/AIDS首次检测CD₄^＋T淋巴细胞（CD₄）值≥500个/μl是CD₄值<200个/μl 的0.12倍（95%CI：0.11~0.13）;接受抗病毒治疗者是未接受治疗者的0.11倍（95%CI：0.10~0.12）。结论 确诊时年龄、确诊时CD₄值水平、是否接受抗病毒治疗是HIV/AIDS生存时间的主要影响因素,应及早进行艾滋病检测、接受抗病毒治疗,以延长HIV/AIDS生存时间。     

贵州省1996－2015年注射吸毒人群HIV/AIDS死亡率及其影响因素分析

目的 了解贵州省注射吸毒人群中HIV/AIDS死亡情况及其影响因素,为降低HIV/AIDS死亡率提供参考依据。方法 采用回顾性队列研究方法,以我国艾滋病防治基本信息系统中1996－2015年贵州省注射吸毒人群HIV/AIDS为研究对象,应用Cox比例风险回归模型分析其死亡的影响因素。结果 共有3 958例注射吸毒HIV/AIDS纳入分析,全死因的死亡比例为44.01%（1 742/3 958）,总死亡率为7.80/100人年,生存时间M=8.08年;抗病毒治疗（ART）组死亡率为3.57/100人年,美沙酮维持治疗（MMT）组死亡率为4.08/100人年。多因素Cox回归分析结果显示,研究对象的死亡与性别、民族、确认HIV阳性时年龄、确认HIV阳性后首次CD₄⁺T淋巴细胞计数（CD₄）、ART和MMT有关;女性的死亡风险是男性的0.82倍（95% CI：0.69～0.98）;少数民族的死亡风险是汉族的1.39倍（95% CI：1.21～1.60）;确认HIV阳性时年龄≥50岁的死亡风险是<20岁的2.44倍（95% CI：1.07～5.56）;确认HIV阳性后首次CD₄≥500个/μl组的死亡风险是CD₄<200个/μl组的0.27倍（95% CI：0.22～0.32）;未参加ART的死亡风险是参加者的2.83倍（95% CI：2.45～3.26）;未参加MMT的死亡风险是参加者的1.35倍（95% CI：1.15～1.59）。结论 1996－2015年贵州省注射吸毒人群HIV/AIDS中,男性、确认HIV阳性时年龄较大者、确认HIV阳性后首次CD₄较低、未参加ART和MMT的病例,死亡风险较高。     

甘肃省1997-2018年HIV/AIDS生存时间及影响因素分析

目的 了解1997-2018年甘肃省HIV/AIDS生存时间与影响因素。方法 利用国家艾滋病防治基本信息系统1997-2018年甘肃省疫情资料,采用回顾性队列研究方法,用寿命表法计算生存率,用Kaplan-Meier法绘制生存曲线并计算平均生存时间,用Cox比例风险回归模型分析HIV/AIDS的艾滋病相关死亡的影响因素。结果 6 813例HIV/AIDS中,715例（10.5%）死于艾滋病相关疾病,平均生存时间为195.9（95%CI：189.7~202.2）个月,12、60、120和180个月的累积生存率分别为91.5%、86.1%、79.9%和73.8%。Cox比例风险回归模型分析结果显示,在艾滋病相关死亡风险方面,诊断时的年龄≥ 51岁组是≤ 25岁组的1.906倍（95%CI：1.353~2.685）;其他传播途径病例是同性性传播病例的1.593倍（95%CI：1.226~2.069）;通过入院就诊、受血/血制品及术前检测发现的病例是通过出入境、婚/孕前检测及新兵体检发现病例的5.113倍（95%CI：2.083~12.547）;诊断时病程阶段为艾滋病的病例是HIV感染病例的4.012倍（95%CI：3.401~4.732）;未检测CD₄⁺T淋巴细胞（CD₄）的病例是首次CD₄值≥ 350个/μl病例的5.446倍（95%CI：3.835~7.732）;未接受抗病毒治疗的病例是已接受抗病毒治疗病例的12.019倍（95%CI：9.861~14.648）。结论 1997-2018年甘肃省HIV/AIDS平均生存时间超过16年。诊断时年龄≥ 51岁、通过入院就诊、受血/血制品及术前检测发现、诊断时病程阶段为艾滋病、未检测CD₄、未接受抗病毒治疗的HIV/AIDS死亡风险更高。应早发现、早诊断、早治疗,提高CD₄检测率及治疗率,延长HIV/AIDS的生存时间。     

台州市2006-2019年艾滋病抗病毒治疗免疫学失败风险分析

目的 分析台州市2006-2019年HIV/AIDS抗病毒治疗免疫学失败情况、基线贫血与免疫学失败关联及其影响因素。方法 采用回顾性队列研究设计和Cox回归分析免疫学失败的影响因素,采用logistic回归分析HIV/AIDS基线贫血的影响因素。结果 共纳入2 904例HIV/AIDS,抗病毒治疗随访时间中位数为28（P₂₅～P₇₅：12～53）个月。抗病毒治疗免疫学失败177例（占6.1%）,失败率为2.17人/100人年,第1、3、5和10年免疫学失败累积发生率分别为5.49%、6.94%、7.30%和8.82%。多因素logistic回归分析结果显示,HIV/AIDS基线贫血的影响因素中,≥66岁组是18～25岁组的4.17倍（95% CI：1.68～10.33）、男性是女性的0.67倍（95% CI：0.50～0.89）、CD₄<200个/μl是CD₄≥350个/μl的4.35倍（95% CI：2.81～6.72）、基线白细胞计数<4.0×10⁹/L是4.0×10⁹/L～9.9×10⁹/L的1.73倍（95% CI：1.31～2.29）、基线血小板计数<100×10⁹/L和>300×10⁹/L分别是100×10⁹/L～299×10⁹/L的2.02倍（95% CI：1.36～3.01）和4.45倍（95% CI：3.05～6.50）、WHO临床Ⅲ/Ⅳ期是Ⅰ/Ⅱ期的2.15倍（95% CI：1.61～2.87）、异性性传播是同性性传播的2.03倍（95% CI：1.42～2.92）。多因素Cox比例风险回归分析结果显示,HIV/AIDS抗病毒治疗免疫学失败的影响因素中,基线贫血是无贫血的1.77倍（95% CI：1.20～2.60）、WHO临床Ⅲ/Ⅳ期是Ⅰ/Ⅱ期的1.66倍（95% CI：1.10～2.48）、随访状态为退出和死亡分别是在治的3.18倍（95% CI：1.96～5.19）和4.61倍（95% CI：2.98～7.13）。结论 台州市HIV/AIDS抗病毒治疗免疫学效果受贫血、临床分期、随访状态等因素影响。应加强HIV/AIDS基线贫血监测,及时纠正老年贫血等危险因素,以进一步提高抗病毒治疗效果。     

宁波市2004-2015年抗病毒治疗HIV/AIDS患者生存分析

目的 了解2004-2015年宁波市接受抗病毒治疗的HIV/AIDS患者流行病学特征及生存情况。方法 采用回顾性队列研究方法,对研究对象的流行病学特征进行描述性分析,利用寿命表法计算生存率、Kaplan-Meier法绘制生存曲线、Cox比例风险回归模型分析影响死亡的危险因素。结果 2 347例研究对象中,接受抗病毒初始治疗的年龄中位数为35（IQR：27～45）岁,以男性、本地、已婚或同居、异性性传播、基线CD₄⁺T淋巴细胞计数（CD₄）≤200个/μl、WHO分期Ⅰ期为主。第1、5、7、10年的累计生存率分别为96.75%、92.36%、91.87%、90.02%。多因素Cox比例风险回归模型分析显示,年龄越大死亡危险度越高,接受抗病毒治疗的>60岁HIV/AIDS患者是≤20岁组的17.34倍（95% CI：2.11～142.71）;基线WHO临床分期Ⅳ期患者死亡危险是Ⅰ期的2.83倍（95% CI：1.67～4.80）;耐药患者死亡风险是不耐药患者死亡风险的3.26倍（95% CI：1.77～6.01）;相较于同性性传播途径,血液传播是患者死亡的危险因素;CD₄值越低,死亡风险越大;BMI<18.5 kg/m²、未婚是患者死亡的独立危险因素。结论 宁波市HIV/AIDS患者抗病毒治疗效果显著,生存率较高。关爱老年人群,针对流行病学特征加强宣传教育,扩大监测范围,早发现早诊断早治疗,提高抗病毒治疗者的依从性是降低病死率的有效措施。     

凉山彝族自治州布拖县2010-2019年抗病毒治疗HIV/AIDS死亡的影响因素分析

目的 分析2010-2019年凉山彝族自治州布拖县抗病毒治疗HIV/AIDS的死亡影响因素,为今后制定可持续的抗病毒治疗策略提供参考依据。方法 采用病例对照研究方法,收集2010-2019年布拖县接受抗病毒治疗HIV/AIDS与死亡者基本和随访信息,按病例数2倍抽样组成对照组,采用logistic回归模型分析其死亡的影响因素。结果 研究对象为抗病毒治疗的HIV/AIDS 3 355例,死亡组1 179例,对照组共2 176例。其中,30~49岁占81.34%,男性占69.09%,彝族占99.55%,已婚或同居占91.12%,初中及以下文化程度占95.77%,农民占88.41%。多因素logistic回归分析结果显示,研究对象的死亡风险因素中,年龄≥50岁是18~29岁的5.08倍（95%CI：3.05~8.48）、女性是男性的0.70倍（95%CI：0.52~0.94）、注射吸毒传播途径是异性性传播途径的1.43倍（95%CI：1.06~1.91）、治疗前CD4⁺T淋巴细胞计数（CD4）≥350个/μl是CD4<200个/μl的0.38倍（95%CI：0.30~0.48）、最近1次使用含洛匹那韦/利托那韦（LPV/r）抗病毒治疗方案是司他夫定（d4T）+拉米夫定（3TC）+奈韦拉平（NVP）/依非韦伦（EFV）方案的0.04倍（95%CI：0.01~0.18）、耐药是不耐药的3.40倍（95%CI：2.13~5.42）,无病毒载量结果且未做耐药检测是不耐药的12.98倍（95%CI：10.28~16.40）。结论 年龄、性别、传播途径、治疗前CD4、最近1次抗病毒治疗方案、抗病毒治疗后耐药检测情况是布拖县接受抗病毒治疗HIV/AIDS的死亡影响因素。应扩大病毒载量和耐药检测覆盖面,科学更换抗病毒治疗方案,开展依从性教育和医务人员培训,降低抗病毒治疗HIV/AIDS死亡率。     

湖北省荆州市1996-2021年HIV/AIDS病死率及其影响因素回顾性队列研究

目的 分析荆州市HIV/AIDS病死率及其影响因素。方法 资料来源于中国疾病预防控制信息系统的艾滋病综合防治信息系统,选取现住址为荆州市、确诊时年龄≥15岁、确诊时间为1996-2021年的HIV/AIDS作为研究对象。采用乘积极限法绘制死亡曲线,Cox比例风险回归模型识别死亡的影响因素。结果 HIV/AIDS共3 304例,随访16 091.5人年,死亡893例,病死率为5.5/100人年。HIV/AIDS确诊后1、5和10年的累积死亡概率分别为15.4%、25.0%和34.6%,参加抗病毒治疗者1、5和10年的累积死亡概率为6.9%、14.4%和23.7%,未参加抗病毒治疗者1、5和10年的累积死亡概率为68.0%、90.1%和98.7%。Cox比例风险回归模型分析结果显示,未参加抗病毒治疗者的死亡风险高于参加抗病毒治疗者（aHR=9.85,95%CI：8.19~11.85）;参加抗病毒治疗者死亡的危险因素包括男性（aHR=1.64,95%CI：1.29~2.08）、确诊时年龄≥60岁（aHR=3.52,95%CI：2.38~5.20）、注射吸毒/其他途径感染（aHR=2.38,95%CI：1.30~4.34）、医疗机构发现（aHR=1.53,95%CI：1.11~2.11）和首次CD4⁺T淋巴细胞（CD4）计数<50个/μl（aHR=2.58,95%CI：1.87~3.58）,死亡的保护因素是较高文化程度（高中/中专：aHR=0.64,95%CI：0.46~0.90;大专及以上：aHR=0.42,95%CI：0.24~0.73）。未参加抗病毒治疗者死亡的危险因素包括确诊时年龄较大（30~岁：aHR=2.32,95%CI：1.40~3.84;45~岁：aHR=2.61：95%CI：1.59~4.27;≥60岁：aHR=3.31,95%CI：2.01~5.47）、首次CD4计数较低（<50个/μl：aHR=10.47,95%CI：6.47~16.56;50~199个/μl：aHR=2.31,95%CI：1.08~4.94;200~349个/μl：aHR=2.35,95%CI：1.46~3.79）。结论 1996-2021年荆州市HIV/AIDS病死率较高,首次CD4计数、抗病毒治疗和确诊时年龄是影响HIV/AIDS死亡的主要因素,应进一步坚持扩大检测和“发现即治疗”政策,提升抗病毒治疗效果和HIV/AIDS生存率。     

山东省抗病毒治疗HIV/AIDS生存状况及影响因素分析

目的 了解山东省抗病毒治疗HIV/AIDS的生存状况及影响因素。方法 运用Kaplan-Meier（K-M）法及累积发生函数（CIF）估算2003-2015年山东省抗病毒治疗HIV/AIDS的艾滋病相关死亡发生率、部分分布比例风险回归模型（F-G模型）分析生存状况及影响因素。结果 竞争风险存在时,K-M法计算艾滋病相关死亡累积发生率高于CIF。CIF估算5 593例治疗HIV/AIDS随访1、3、5、10年艾滋病相关死亡累积发生率分别为3.08%、4.21%、5.37%和7.59%。大专及以上文化程度（HR=0.40,95% CI：0.24~0.65）HIV/AIDS的艾滋病相关死亡发生危险较低,现住址在鲁西地区（HR=1.33,95% CI：1.01~1.89）、医疗机构检测发现（HR=1.39,95% CI：1.06~1.80）、治疗基线方案含NVP（HR=1.36,95% CI：1.03~1.88）、治疗基线临床症状Ⅲ/Ⅳ期（HR=2.61,95% CI：1.94~3.53）、诊断1年后接受随访（HR=2.02,95% CI：1.30~3.15）、诊断基线CD₄⁺T淋巴细胞计数（CD₄）≤ 200个/μl（HR=3.41,95% CI：2.59~4.59）、治疗基线CD₄ ≤ 350个/μl（HR=5.48,95% CI：2.32~12.72）的HIV/AIDS发生艾滋病相关死亡风险高。结论 竞争风险存在时,K-M法高估艾滋病相关死亡累积发生率,优选竞争风险模型进行生存分析;早诊断、及时随访、早治疗可降低HIV/AIDS艾滋病相关死亡。     

北京市1995-2015年艾滋病病例诊断后生存时间与影响因素分析

目的 分析1995-2015年北京市HIV感染者/AIDS患者（HIV/AIDS）诊断后生存时间及影响因素。方法 运用回顾性队列研究方法,对1995-2015年中国艾滋病综合防治信息系统中报告的12 874例HIV/AIDS的数据资料进行分析,应用寿命表法计算生存率,采用Cox比例风险模型分析生存时间的相关因素。结果 12 874例HIV/AIDS中,303例（2.4%）死于艾滋病及相关疾病,接受抗病毒治疗9 346例（72.6%）。平均生存时间为226.5个月（95% CI：223.0~230.1）,1、5、10、15年生存率分别为98.2%、96.4%、93.2%、91.9%。Cox比例风险模型分析结果显示,艾滋病死亡风险较高的因素包括诊断时为艾滋病患者（比HIV感染者,HR=1.439,95% CI：1.041~1.989）;异性传播（比同性传播,HR=1.646,95% CI：1.184~2.289）;现有或曾有配偶（比未婚,HR=2.186,95% CI：1.510~3.164）;诊断时年龄≥ 60岁（比≤ 30岁,HR=6.608,95% CI：3.546~12.316）;诊断后首次CD₄⁺T淋巴细胞计数（CD₄）<350个/μl（比≥ 350个/μl,HR=8.711,95% CI：5.757~13.181）;未抗病毒治疗（比抗病毒治疗,HR=18.223,95% CI：13.317~24.937）。结论 1995-2015年北京市HIV/AIDS诊断后的平均生存时间为226.5个月。诊断为HIV感染、同性传播、未婚、≤ 30岁、首次CD₄ ≥ 350个/μl、接受抗病毒治疗的HIV/AIDS生存时间较长。相反,诊断为AIDS、异性传播、现有或曾有配偶、年龄≥ 60岁、CD₄<350个/μl、未抗病毒治疗的死亡风险较高。     

浙江省有HIV传播风险的HIV感染者梅毒感染情况及影响因素

目的 了解浙江省有HIV传播风险的HIV感染者梅毒感染情况及相关因素。方法 资料来源于中国疾病预防控制信息系统截至2018年12月31日浙江省现存活、HIV确证时间>1年、未接受抗病毒治疗或HIV病毒载量≥50拷贝数/ml、年龄≥15岁的HIV感染者，收集其人口学特征、性行为特征、抗病毒治疗和梅毒血清学检测结果等信息，采用logistic回归模型分析梅毒感染及影响因素。采用SPSS 19.0软件进行统计学分析。结果 浙江省HIV感染者中，2 275例有HIV传播风险，75.5%（1 717/2 275）进行了梅毒血清学检测，梅毒感染率为8.7%（150/1 717）。在梅毒感染的HIV感染者中，未接受抗病毒治疗占11.3%（17/150），病毒载量为50~999拷贝数/ml占38.7%（58/150）和≥1 000拷贝数/ml占50.0%（75/150）。多因素分析结果显示，男性（aOR=2.04，95%CI：1.06~3.96）、同性性传播（aOR=1.53，95%CI：1.04~2.27）、HIV确证前性病史（aOR=1.98，95%CI：1.35~2.92）和病毒载量≥1 000拷贝数/ml（aOR=1.90，95%CI：1.09~3.30）为梅毒感染危险因素，已婚（aOR=0.47，95%CI：0.29~0.76）是梅毒感染的保护因素。结论 浙江省有HIV传播风险的HIV感染者的梅毒感染率较高，亟须开展HIV感染者分类管理和针对性强化干预，探索开展多病共防共治，加强HIV感染者梅毒筛查和治疗，降低HIV和梅毒传播风险。     

Calcium intake in the elderly: validation of a dietary questionnaire

Epidemiological studies of calcium and osteoporosis have been hampered by the lack of a suitable tool for assessing calcium intake. This report describes a new frequency and amount questionnaire for measuring present and past calcium intake in the elderly. The validity of the questionnaire was tested against two commonly used standards of dietary assessment, five-day duplicate diets and seven-day weighed dietary inventories. The resulting correlation coefficients were, respectively, r = 0.76 and r = 0.69, while that for repeatability was r = 0.84. Furthermore, the questionnaire categorized subjects into thirds of the distribution of intake with almost no gross misclassification. It is suggested that the present findings may be extended to the majority of normal, healthy elderly subjects, implying wide application for the questionnaire in the assessment of calcium intake in the elderly.     

The occurrence of antimicrobial substances in toilet,sink and shower drainpipes of clinical units: A neglected source of antibiotic residues

Antibiotics represent one of the most important drug groups used in the management of bacterial infections in humans and animals. Due to the increasing problem of antibiotic resistance, assurance of the antibacterial effectiveness of these substances has moved into the focus of public health. The reduction in antibiotic residues in wastewater and the environment may play a decisive role in the development of increasing rates of antibiotic resistance. The present study examines the wastewater of 31 patient rooms of various German clinics for possible residues of antibiotics, as well as the wastewater of five private households as a reference.To the best of our knowledge, this study shows for the first time that in hospitals with high antibiotic consumption rates, residues of these drugs can be regularly detected in toilets, sink siphons and shower drains at concentrations ranging from 0.02?μg·L^?1 to a maximum of 79?mg·L^?1. After complete flushing of the wastewater siphons, antibiotics are no longer detectable, but after temporal stagnation, the concentration of the active substances in the water phases of respective siphons increases again, suggesting that antibiotics persist through the washing process in biofilms. This study demonstrates that clinical wastewater systems offer further possibilities for the optimization of antibiotic resistance surveillance.     

The human drama of genetics: 'hard' and 'soft' media representations of inherited breast cancer

This paper examines media coverage of 'breast cancer genetics', and explores its implications for public understanding. We present a content analysis of coverage in British newspapers and look at a variety of popular forms, including women's magazines, television soap opera and radio drama. Genetic/inherited risk receives a great deal of coverage across a wide range of media formats and outlets. Much of this attention has focused on individuals from 'high risk families' and dilemmas around prophylactic mastectomies. Through examining media coverage, combined with interviews with media personnel and their sources, we show why this story proved so attractive to the media and highlight the different production values which influence coverage. Finally, we introduce preliminary findings from focus group discussions to demonstrate how such 'human interest' framing has engaged audience attention and influenced public understandings. The paper concludes by highlighting the implications for analysing, predicting, and engaging with, media representations of science.     

Fatigue and health in a seafaring population

Background Occupational fatigue is relatively common withinthe general population and has been linked to reduced performance,injury and longer term ill-health. Despite growing acknowledgementof this problem in the maritime sector, little research hasbeen conducted into the risk factors, prevalence and consequencesof seafarers' fatigue. Aims To examine the prevalence of fatigue among seafarers, identifypotential risk factors and assess possible links with poor performanceand ill-health. Methods Cross-sectional questionnaire survey of seafarers workingin the offshore oil support, short-sea and deep-sea shippingindustries. A number of tools were used including the fatiguesubscale of the profile of fatigue-related symptoms, the CognitiveFailures Questionnaire, the General Health Questionnaire andthe SF36 General Health scale. Results In all, 1855 questionnaires were completed giving anoverall response rate of 20%. Fatigue symptoms were associatedwith a range of occupational and environmental factors, manyunique to seafaring. Reporting a greater number of risk factorswas associated with greater fatigue [e.g. OR = 2.53 (1.90–3.35)for those with three or four risk factors and OR = 9.54 (6.95–13.09)for those with five or more risk factors]. There was also astrong link between fatigue and poorer cognitive and healthoutcomes, with fatigue the most important of a number of riskfactors, accounting for 10–14% of the variance. Conclusions Seafarers' fatigue could impact on safety withinthe industry and may be linked to longer term individual ill-health.It can only be addressed by considering how multiple factorscombine to contribute to fatigue.     

深圳公立医院管理体制改革制度设计

深圳公立医院管理体制改革实行政事分开、管办分开,在理事会架构下按法定机构模式组建市医管中心,落实公立医院运营管理自主权.作者从当前公立医院管理体制的弊端入手,介绍了深圳市进行公立医院管理体制改革的基本思路及改革方案设计的主要举措,深入剖析了的改革方案的特点,并对改革效果进行了预测.     

Self-reported health problems among Swedish miners one year after unemployment

Unemployment is considered to be a public health concern sincedeterioration in the health of the unemployed is often anticipated.However, for some groups, such as miners, unemployment mightimprove health due to a cessation of potentially harmful occupationalexposures. This study evaluates the health of 79 miners in oneSwedish iron-ore mine, and 226 age-matched controls from thegeneral population, during one year after the closure of themine. The participants received a questionnaire regarding medicalhistory and subjective symptoms at the beginning of the studyperiod, and after one year. Statistically significant negativeeffects on self-reported health attributable to unemploymentwere not found, although neuropsychiatric symptoms were morecommon among the unemployed miners. The miners reported a statisticallysignificant improvement in grip force (p=0.031). They had asignificantly higher prevalence of symptoms associated withmining related exposures when compared with the population controls;pain in the upper extremities [relative risk (RR)=2.27, 95%confidence interval (Cl)=1.44–3.59), back pain (RR=1.84;Cl=1.237–2.75), vasospastic disease of the fingers (RR=2.05;Cl=1.18–3.57) and obstructive respiratory symptoms (attacksof dyspnea and wheezing: RR=3.67; Cl=1.167–11.6).     

Excès de cas humains et animaux de tularémie en France au cours de l’hiver 2007–2008 : émergence ou phénomène isolé ?

Context

Tularemia is a zoonosis affecting humans and hares in France. We describe the results of surveillance in both species, in 2007 and 2008.

Methods

Human tularemia cases are mandatorily notifiable in France since 2003. In hares, surveillance relies on volunteer hunter associations in all districts of the country. Data from mandatory reports and volunteer surveillance in 2007/2008 were analyzed and compared with previous results.

Results

In 2007/2008, 144 cases were reported in humans and 117 cases in hares. This was a 100% increase compared to previous years. Human cases differed from those of previous years only by the frequency of contact with breeding animals. Human cases without any documented risk exposure were also more frequent.

Conclusion

An increase of tularemia cases occurred in 2007/2008 in both species. Complementary studies are needed to identify the species reservoir in France to understand the causes of this peak of cases.     

Effects of nitrogen dioxide on red blood cells of rats: Changes in components of red cell membranes during in vivo exposure to NO2

Red cell membranes, prepared from red blood cells of rats exposed to 4, 10, or 20 ppm nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) for 1 to 10 days, were examined for evidence of changes in membrane components. Appreciable changes were not found in contents of phospholipid and cholesterol during exposure to 10 ppm NO₂. By contrast, protein content altered with the time of exposure. Moreover, changes in protein composition were observed by employing sodium dodecyl sulfate — polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Twenty-four-hour exposure to NO₂ at the concentration above 10 ppm resulted in a marked increase in the percentage of lysophosphatidylethanolamine (LysoPE) to the total phospholipids. The prolonged exposure to 10 ppm NO₂ gave rise to a further increase in LysoPE, whereas the percentage of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) showed a gradual decrease. A 1-day exposure to 4.0 ppm NO₂ also caused an increase in sialic acid content and decreases in those of PE and hexose. In addition to contents of these components the percentage of LysoPE increased 5 days after exposure and the elevated values were maintained up to the end of exposure period. These results demonstrate that red blood cells in circulation exhibit different membrane properties in terms of lipid and carbohydrate composition during 10 days of exposure to 4.0 ppm NO₂.     

Occupational health hazards in mining: an overview

This review article outlines the physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic and psychosocial occupational health hazards of mining and associated metallurgical processes. Mining remains an important industrial sector in many parts of the world and although substantial progress has been made in the control of occupational health hazards, there remains room for further risk reduction. This applies particularly to traumatic injury hazards, ergonomic hazards and noise. Vigilance is also required to ensure exposures to coal dust and crystalline silica remain effectively controlled.