ABSTRACT
A case control study of locally acquired giardiasis was carried out in a district in East Anglia. Thirty-three primary cases were matched for age and sex with 112 controls selected from Family Health Service Authority registers. An association was shown between giardiasis and contact with farm animals (odds ratio 4.77; confidence interval 1.31-17.38) and pets (odds ratio 14.55; confidence interval 4.18-50.62).
Subject(s)
Giardiasis/epidemiology , Zoonoses/transmission , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Animals , Case-Control Studies , Child , Child, Preschool , Disease Outbreaks , England/epidemiology , Female , Giardiasis/transmission , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Wales/epidemiologyABSTRACT
A total of 1833 out of over 16,000 'initial' isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, submitted by hospital laboratories to the PHLS Regional Tuberculosis Centres in England and Wales between 1982 and 1991, were resistant to one or more first line anti-tuberculosis drugs. Isoniazid resistance was found in 6.1% of these strains, half of which were resistant to isoniazid alone. Resistance to isoniazid and rifampicin, with or without resistance to other drugs, was found in 0.6% of isolates. The proportion of initial isolates resistant to one or more drugs was 9.8%. It ranged from 8.0% to 10.9% between 1982 and 1990, and increased to 14.2% in 1991. The incidence of multiple drug resistance remained very low throughout the period. However, in the light of the problems with tuberculosis and drug resistance emerging elsewhere in the world, vigilance is essential, and enhanced surveillance is being planned in England and Wales.
Subject(s)
Mycobacterium tuberculosis/isolation & purification , Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant/microbiology , Tuberculosis, Pulmonary/microbiology , Adolescent , Adult , Antitubercular Agents/therapeutic use , Child , Child, Preschool , England/epidemiology , Female , Humans , Incidence , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Male , Microbial Sensitivity Tests , Middle Aged , Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant/epidemiology , Tuberculosis, Pulmonary/drug therapy , Tuberculosis, Pulmonary/epidemiology , Wales/epidemiologySubject(s)
Caliciviridae Infections/epidemiology , Cross Infection/epidemiology , Food Microbiology , Food Service, Hospital , Foodborne Diseases/epidemiology , Norwalk virus , Caliciviridae Infections/microbiology , Caliciviridae Infections/prevention & control , Cross Infection/microbiology , Cross Infection/prevention & control , England , Foodborne Diseases/microbiology , Foodborne Diseases/prevention & control , Humans , Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional , Pilot ProjectsABSTRACT
An outbreak of hepatitis A involved more than 50 residents of a group of villages in the late spring and summer of 1989. The only food that was common to all the laboratory-confirmed cases was bread, purchased either unwrapped or as rolls, sandwiches or filled rolls, and supplied either directly from one shop or indirectly through its subsidiary outlets. It was concluded that this bread was the most likely vehicle of transmission of the hepatitis A virus and that the bread was contaminated by soiled hands which were inadequately washed because of painful skin lesions. Comprehensive control measures were successful in limiting further spread of the infection. This outbreak highlights the transmissibility of hepatitis A virus on food. The use of disposable gloves when handling food which is to be consumed without further cooking would prevent transmission of this or other infectious agents by this route.
