ABSTRACT
Foodborne outbreaks of cryptosporidiosis are uncommon. In Denmark human cases are generally infrequently diagnosed. In 2005 an outbreak of diarrhoea affected company employees near Copenhagen. In all 99 employees were reported ill; 13 were positive for Cryptosporidium hominis infection. Two analytical epidemiological studies were performed; an initial case-control study followed by a cohort study using an electronic questionnaire. Disease was associated with eating from the canteen salad bar on one, possibly two, specific weekdays [relative risk 4.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.1-8.3]. Three separate salad bar ingredients were found to be likely sources: peeled whole carrots served in a bowl of water, grated carrots, and red peppers (in multivariate analysis, whole carrots: OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.1-4.0; grated carrots: OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.2-3.9; peppers: OR 3.3, 95% CI 1.7-6.6). We speculate that a person excreting the parasite may have contaminated the salad buffet.
Subject(s)
Cryptosporidiosis/epidemiology , Cryptosporidium/isolation & purification , Disease Outbreaks , Food Microbiology , Foodborne Diseases/epidemiology , Foodborne Diseases/parasitology , Adult , Animals , Case-Control Studies , Chi-Square Distribution , Denmark/epidemiology , Female , Food Contamination , Food Handling , Fruit/parasitology , Humans , Logistic Models , Male , Polymerase Chain Reaction , Surveys and Questionnaires , Vegetables/parasitologyABSTRACT
Hepatitis B continues to be a worldwide threat to human health, especially if infection occurs in childhood. Universal vaccination is recommended by WHO, but has not been implemented in the Scandinavian countries, Holland and UK, because of a low incidence rate. However, clinically overt infections are rare in childhood. We therefore performed a nation wide serosurvey for HBV markers in 2428 children aged primarily 6-16 years from 16 primary schools in Denmark. Anti-HBc was found in altogether 20 children (0.8%), 12 of whom were among 144 immigrant children (8.3%) compared to 8 (0.4%) in those born in Denmark. Three of the children, all immigrants, were HBsAg positive indicating chronic infection. At school level no relation of anti-HBc in Danish born children was found to schools with high number of immigrant children or schools with HBsAg positive children indicating a low risk of Hepatitis B transmission in this setting. The results do not support implementation of general vaccination, but stress the need for HBV screening in immigrants as it provides a mean for immunization of close contacts at risk and information on prevention.
Subject(s)
Emigration and Immigration , Hepatitis B/epidemiology , Adolescent , Adult , Child , Cross-Sectional Studies , Denmark/epidemiology , Female , Hepatitis B/blood , Humans , Male , Prevalence , Seroepidemiologic StudiesABSTRACT
Japanese encephalitis (JE) vaccine has been used for childhood immunization programmes in Asia since the 1960s. Also, travellers from other parts of the world have been vaccinated before travelling to Asian countries. Some JE vaccines are produced from infected mouse brains and contain small amounts of myelin basic protein. Neurological side effects in larger vaccine trials in Asia have been reported in 1-2.3 per million vaccinees. Statens Serum Institut is the only distributor of JE vaccine in Denmark, delivering 384 000 doses from 1983-96. In 1996, evaluation of initial symptoms and findings in 10 adult travellers from Denmark, who developed moderate-severe neurological symptoms within a few weeks of JE vaccination, was performed as well as follow-up magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and clinical neurological examination. Three patients initially had symptoms varying from severe encephalitis-like illness to paraesthesia, double vision or parkinsonian gait disturbance. MRI showed severe atrophy of the corpus callosum with altered signal intensity indicating gliosis in one patient, another patient had several hyperintense spots located periventricularly in the white matter, while a third patient had spots with increased signals in the pons, the right substantia nigra and the occipital region. Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) is a possible explanation for these MRI changes, although multiple sclerosis is an alternative diagnosis in one or two of the patients. Another three patients had long-lasting headache, concentration difficulty or intellectual reduction. One man had afebrile convulsions, another gait instability and depression and one parkinsonism. A woman developed myelitis. If these findings are due to JE vaccination the frequency of neurological reactions to the vaccine is considerably higher than previously reported and in the future any minor neurological complaints occurring shortly after vaccination should lead to neurological examination and acute MRI scan should be considered. Copyright 1998 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
