An international outbreak of Vero cytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli O157 infection amongst tourists; a challenge for the European infectious disease surveillance network

In March 1997, an outbreak of Vero cytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli O157 (VTEC) infection occurred amongst holidaymakers returning from Fuerteventura, Canary Islands. For the investigation, a confirmed case was an individual staying in Fuerteventura during March 1997, with either E. coli O157 VTEC isolated in stool, HUS or serological evidence of recent infection; a probable case was an individual with bloody diarrhoea without laboratory confirmation. Local and Europe-wide active case finding was undertaken through national centres, Salm-Net and the European Programme of Intervention Epidemiology, followed by a case-control study. Fourteen confirmed and one probable case were identified from England (7), Finland (5), Wales (1), Sweden (1) and Denmark (1) staying in four hotels. Three of the four hotels were supplied with water from a private well which appeared to be the probable vehicle of transmission. The case-control study showed illness was associated with consumption of raw vegetables (OR 8.4, 95% CI 1-5-48.2) which may have been washed in well water. This investigation shows the importance of international collaboration in the detection and investigation of clusters of enteric infection.     

Articular Ultrasound in Asymptomatic Volunteers: Identification of the Worst Measures of Synovial Hypertrophy,Synovial Blood Flow and Joint Damage Among Small-, Medium- and Large-Sized Joints

Articular ultrasound of 6500 joint recesses was performed for the purpose of identifying which joint had the highest measurements among small-sized (SSJ), medium-sized (MSJ) and large-sized (LSJ) joints. Quantitative measurements of synovial hypertrophy (QSR) and semiquantitative measurements of synovial hypertrophy (SSH), power Doppler (SPD) and bone erosion (SBE) (score: 0–3) were made. Higher measurements (p < 0.01) of QSR were obtained in the second metatarsophalangeal joint (MTP), talonavicular joint, and hip. The highest SSH scores (2/3) were obtained in the second MTP, talonavicular joint, hip and knee; the highest SPD scores (1/2/3) in the first MTP, second MTP, dorsal second metacarpophalangeal (MCP) and radiocarpal recesses; and the highest SBE scores (2/3) in the radiocarpal, ulnocarpal and posterior recesses of the glenohumeral joint. In conclusion, higher measurements of synovial hypertrophy were found in the first and second MTPs (SSJ), talonavicular recess (MSJ) and hip (LSJ). Synovial blood flow was frequent in the first MTP and radiocarpal recess. Bone erosion stood out only in the glenohumeral joint.     

Validation of a reference control for an SYBR-Green fluorescence assay-based real-time PCR for detection of bovine herpesvirus 5 in experimentally exposed bovine embryos

The objective of this study was to optimize an internal control to improve SYBR-Green-based qPCR to amplify/detect the BoHV-5 US9 gene in bovine embryos produced in vitro and experimentally exposed to the virus. We designed an SYBR-Green-based binding assay that is quick to perform, reliable, easily optimized and compares well with the published assay. Herein we demonstrated its general applicability to detect BoHV-5 US9 gene in bovine embryos produced in vitro experimentally exposed to BoHV-5. In order to validate the assay, three different reference genes were tested; and the histone 2a gene was shown to be the most adequate for normalizing the qPCR reaction, by considering melting and standard curves (p < 0.05). On the other hand, no differences were found in the development of bovine embryos in vitro whether they were exposed to BoHV-5 reference and field strains comparing to unexposed embryos. The developed qPCR assay may have important field applications as it provides an accurate BoHV-5 US9 gene detection using a proven reference gene and is considerably less expensive than the TaqMan qPCR currently employed in sanitary programs.     

Gait parameters,functional mobility and fall risk in individuals with early to moderate primary open angle glaucoma: a cross-sectional study

Objective

This study investigated the influence of early to moderate primary open angle glaucoma on gait, functional mobility and fall risk.