ABSTRACT
Beatrix, Carthage, Daegal, Dulcie, Fancypants, Fenn, Inca, Naira, and Robyn are newly isolated bacteriophages capable of infecting Mycolicibacterium smegmatis mc2 155. We discovered, sequenced, and annotated these New Zealand bacteriophages. These phages illustrate that New Zealand harbors a selection of the highly diverse and distributed mycobacteriophage clusters found globally.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The Tonga Asthma Self-management Project assessed whether the introduction of an asthma self-management plan would reduce asthma morbidity. METHODS: The project involved a 'before and after' trial, with each participant serving as his/her own control. Asthma patients used the self-management plan to manage their asthma medication or obtain medical help based on their peak expiratory flow (PEF) rate and/or asthma symptoms. RESULTS: The 110 participants initially had relatively high asthma morbidity: 68% had had an emergency medical visit for asthma in the previous 12 months. Ninety-two (84%) completed the 12-month programme. Emergency doctor visits fell from 66% in the previous 12 months to 18% (P < 0.001) in the following 12 months. Other measures also improved, including hospital admissions (from 19% to 3%, P = 0.001), having 14 days or more 'out of action' (from 29% to 4%, P < 0.001), waking > or = 2 nights a week (from 40% to 13%, P < 0.001), severe asthma attacks (from 54% to 18%, P < 0.001) and mean PEF rates (from 341 l/min to 417 l/min, a 22% increase, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The potential benefits of asthma self-management plans and community-based asthma education are supported by the findings of the Tonga study. Their implementation is essential in the resource-scarce Pacific health setting.
