The future of paediatric and adolescent gynaecology in Europe.

Paediatric and Adolescent Gynaecology (PAG) is a subspecialty under the umbrella of Obstetrics and Gynaecology but linked to other branches of medicine including Paediatrics, Surgery, Endocrinology and Urology. Therefore future developments in clinical care and education requires a multidisciplinary approach combining aspects of all the above medical specialties, and also with inputs from Public Health, Genetics, Radiology and Psychology. A multidisciplinary collaboration among different specialists is as important as the establishment and adoption of standards in education, training and management. PAG in Europe has evolved from its first steps and it is still growing with the aim of providing increasing protection of the gynaecological and reproductive health of female children and adolescents. In fact, without proper advice and care, inappropriate management of gynaecological issues in childhood and adolescence can be expected to have significant repercussions throughout later years, and into adulthood. The aim of this third paper in this mini-symposium is to explore how PAG should develop in Europe in the near future.

Toxoplasmosis in female high school students, pregnant women and ruminants in Cyprus.

BACKGROUND: The protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii is important to human and animal health worldwide. This is the first study of prevalence of infection with T. gondii and associated risk factors in human populations and small ruminants in Cyprus. METHODS: A random sample of 18 schools out of 46 participated: 1056 girls aged 16 to 18 years completed a questionnaire and were serologically tested for Toxoplasma between 2008 and 2011 (response rate 30%). In addition, infection with T. gondii laboratory results of 23 076 pregnant women tested between 2009 and 2014 were obtained from hospital records. Finally, 163 (out of 3123) farms were randomly sampled and blood samples from 515 sheep and 581 goats were obtained. RESULTS: Estimated seropositivity prevalence in female students was 6.5% (95% CI 4.3 to 8.7%) and 18% (95% CI 17 to 19%) in pregnant women. Overall, 40.1% of the ruminants tested were seropositive (95% CI 37.2% to 43.0%). Seropositivity differed according to geographical region in all three groups. CONCLUSIONS: Further studies are needed to investigate the differences between regions that lead to differing prevalence levels and patterns between ruminants and humans so that health education policies can be developed to help prevent infection and reduce environmental contamination.