ABSTRACT
Surveillance was enhanced and a retrospective interview study performed in 1998-99 to determine incidence, causes, and costs of foodborne illnesses in Uppsala, Sweden. Sixty-eight percent of the detected foodborne illness incidents were single cases, and 32% were outbreaks. Most (85%) of the incidents came to the attention of the municipal authorities through telephone calls from affected persons. Calicivirus, Campylobacter spp., and Staphyloccocus aureus were the most common etiological agents; meat, meat products, and mixed dishes were the most implicated food categories. The incidence of foodborne illness was estimated to be 38 cases per 1,000 inhabitants per year. The estimated average costs per illness were 2,164 Swedish Krona (SEK) ($246) to society and 500 SEK ($57) to the patient. The annual cost of foodborne illnesses in Sweden was estimated to be 1,082 million SEK ($123 million).
Subject(s)
Disease Outbreaks , Foodborne Diseases/epidemiology , Foodborne Diseases/etiology , Adolescent , Bacterial Infections/epidemiology , Bacterial Infections/microbiology , Foodborne Diseases/economics , Humans , Incidence , Meat/microbiology , Meat Products/microbiology , Population Surveillance , Retrospective Studies , Sweden/epidemiology , Urban Population , Virus Diseases/epidemiology , Virus Diseases/virologySubject(s)
Antimalarials/administration & dosage , Malaria/prevention & control , Adolescent , Adult , Antimalarials/adverse effects , Child , Child, Preschool , Drug Resistance, Microbial , Female , Humans , Male , Pregnancy , TravelABSTRACT
This study was performed to investigate the efficiency of 5 ml of 16.5% immunoglobulin (Ig) with an antibody titer against hepatitis A (anti-HAV) of 1:4000, using the HAVAB RIA technique, as pre-infection prophylaxis in 610 Swedish UN soldiers stationed in Sinai for 6 months. Sera were collected from 553 of these soldiers before, during, and after their service and were tested by the HAVAB technique for anti-HAV. Only 13 of 553 (2.4%) were immune before their service. During the first 5 months in Sinai, only one subclinical case of hepatitis A occurred among the men. Thereafter, two subclinical and four clinical cases occurred, although one of the subclinical cases and the four clinical ones did not occur until after the 6-month period. Thus, the Ig prophylaxis scheme used seems to offer almost complete passive protection for 5 months.
