Effectiveness of acellular pertussis vaccine and evolution of pertussis incidence in the community of Madrid from 1998 to 2015.

INTRODUCTION: Pertussis is a communicable disease that primarily affects infants. Vaccination has led to an important reduction in the incidence of the disease, however, resurgence of the disease has been observed. This study aimed to analyze the incidence of pertussis and assess the vaccination effectiveness (VE) of different schedules of acellular pertussis vaccination in the community of Madrid. METHODS: Pertussis cases notified to the Mandatory Disease Reporting System from 1998 to 2015 were analyzed. Five comparison periods were created: 1998-2001 (reference), 2002-2005, 2006-2009, 2010-2012 and 2013-2015. The incidence ratio (IR) between inter-epidemic periods was analyzed using a Poisson regression. VE was calculated using the screening method. Vaccine status data were collected from the vaccine registry. RESULTS: In total, 3855 cases were notified. Inter-epidemic periods were observed every 3-4 years. The incidence increased (IR: 5.99, p < 0.05) in the 2013-2015 period, particularly among infants younger than 1 month (IR: 32.41, p < 0.05). Vaccination data were available in 89% of cases. For those receiving the last dose at ≤6-month VE was 89.9% (95% confidence interval (CI): 87.3-92.0) after one year of follow-up, and 85.5% (95% CI: 82.4-88.1) after 11 years of follow-up. For those receiving the last dose at 18-months VE decreased from 98.8% (95% CI: 98.3-99.1) to 85.1% (95% CI: 81.9-87.7) in the same period, and for those receiving the last dose at 4-year VE decreased from 99.6% (95% CI: 99.3-99.7) to 79.3% (95% CI: 74.6-83.1). CONCLUSIONS: B. pertussis is circulating in our population, as shown by the epidemic peaks and increased incidence of pertussis in recent years. VE increased with the number of doses and decreased with the follow-up period. The effect of this and other vaccination strategies must be monitored to control the disease.

[Familial microepidemic of food-borne botulism in the Region of Madrid]. / Microepidemia familiar de botulismo alimentario en la Comunidad de Madrid.

INTRODUCTION: Botulism is a syndrome caused by the toxin of the bacillus Clostridium botulinum. The toxin acts by blocking the presynaptic cholinergic endings of the neuromuscular junction and of the parasympathetic nervous system, and gives rise to a flaccid paralysis and parasympathetic failure. The most common way to catch the disease is by ingestion of the preformed toxin present in badly sterilised home-made preserves, although other mechanisms are also possible. Its incidence in Spain today is very low. CASE REPORTS: We report the case of three members of a family living together who presented a clinical picture of food-borne botulism. The initial clinical symptoms showed a predilection for ocular paresis and for dysautonomic symptoms of little specificity, and the familial aggregation was the fundamental evidence that suggested the diagnosis. Later, the patients' state got worse and two of them presented involvement of the respiratory function and required a lengthy stay in the intensive care unit. After a period of convalescence the three patients recovered without any sequelae. Botulinum toxin was detected by bioassay in some food samples, which allowed the diagnosis to be categorised as confirmed. CONCLUSIONS: The familial microepidemic reported here is a case of predominantly ocular and dysautonomic involvement. Likewise, it illustrates several aspects that are typical of the disease: the suspected diagnosis in cohabiting patients who visit at the same time for a similar clinical picture, the characteristic complications of the process and its treatment, the laboratory diagnosis and its natural history towards resolution.

TITLE: Microepidemia familiar de botulismo alimentario en la Comunidad de Madrid.Introduccion. El botulismo es un sindrome causado por la toxina del bacilo Clostridium botulinum. La toxina actua bloqueando las terminaciones colinergicas presinapticas de la placa motora y del sistema nervioso parasimpatico, y ocasiona una paralisis flacida y un fallo parasimpatico. El modo mas habitual de adquisicion de la enfermedad es por ingesta de toxina preformada presente en las conservas caseras mal esterilizadas, aunque otros mecanismos son posibles. Su incidencia actual en Espana es muy baja. Casos clinicos. Se describen tres miembros convivientes de una familia que presentaron un cuadro de botulismo alimentario. Las manifestaciones clinicas iniciales mostraron predileccion por la paresia ocular y por sintomatologia disautonomica de escasa especificidad, y la agregacion familiar fue el indicio fundamental que sugirio el diagnostico. Posteriormente, los pacientes empeoraron y dos de ellos presentaron afectacion de la funcion respiratoria y precisaron ingreso prolongado en la unidad de cuidados intensivos. Los tres pacientes convalecieron y se recuperaron sin secuelas. Se consiguio detectar la toxina botulinica por bioensayo en los restos de alimentos, lo que confiere al caso la categoria diagnostica de confirmado. Conclusiones. La microepidemia familiar presentada constituye un caso de afectacion inicial predominantemente ocular y disautonomica. Asimismo, ilustra varios aspectos tipicos de la enfermedad: la sospecha diagnostica ante pacientes convivientes que acuden simultaneamente por clinica similar, las complicaciones caracteristicas del proceso y su tratamiento, el diagnostico de laboratorio y su historia natural hacia la resolucion.

Gastric cancer in the European Union (1968-1992): mortality trends and cohort effect.

PURPOSE: To analyze patterns and trends in gastric cancer mortality in the European Union (EU) over the period 1968-1992, paying special attention to changes associated with birth cohort. METHODS: Poisson log-linear models were used to quantify geographic differences and relative annual changes. To assess trends associated with birth cohort, invariant parameters from sex-specific age-period-chohort models (net drift and curvature), for each country, were used to choose a restricted slope range for cohort effect. RESULTS: Gastric cancer mortality declined throughout the EU. The male-to-female ratio stood at around 2 in all countries, yet showed a slight rise over time. Portugal reported the highest age-adjusted rates for men and women (45.63 and 23.31 per 100,000 person-years, respectively). The rate ratio between two extreme countries (Portugal/Denmark) exceeded 3. Quantitative intercountry differences were found in trend slopes, with a decrease of 5% per annum in Finland. Risk of dying associated with birth cohort decreased over successive generations. Small local rises in risk, in almost all countries among generations born around the 1940s, support the importance of diet early in life in the etiology of gastric cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the substantial decline in gastric cancer mortality witnessed in the EU, stress must be accounted for the wide differences among countries and the smaller decline in the youngest generations, particularly among women. This latter finding suggests a possible stabilization or even a rise in the rates in future, rendering it important for these trends to be monitored over the next few years.