[Outbreak management of measles. Requirement for official measures in light of the judgment of the Supreme Court]. / Ausbruchsmanagement von Masern. Anforderungen an das behördliche Handeln im Lichte höchstrichterlicher Rechtsprechung.

Measles outbreaks can be limited by consistent and timely management by the public health service. The aim of investigating outbreaks in the process of measles elimination is to prevent regional and also international spreading of the disease. The management of outbreaks is even more promising when the immunization coverage is already high. People without immunization can transmit the disease when they have taken contracted the measles virus. Hence, unvaccinated people are the focus of preventive measures according to the Protection Against Infection Act (Infektionsschutzgesetz). A judgment of the Federal Administrative Court of 22 March 2012 stated that individuals suspected of being contagious may be subject to a temporary prohibition of attending school so as to prevent the spread of a communicable disease. The court also pointed out which requirements are to be met by authorities before these measures are carried out. In compliance with the judgment, an outbreak investigation is thus also possible in future incidences of measles. The authority has to prove in each case that an unvaccinated person is suspected of being contagious.

[Vaccination recommendations of the Standing Committee on Vaccination at the Robert Koch Institute. Legal basis and significance]. / Impfempfehlungen der Ständigen Impfkommission beim Robert Koch-Institut. Rechtliche Grundlagen und rechtliche Bedeutung.

The promotion of immunisation in Germany is regulated under Federal and Land (state) law. The Protection against Infection Act (Infektionsschutzgesetz) provides the framework for immunisations as a means of public health protection from vaccine-preventable diseases. Book Five of the Social Code (SGB V) regulates the claim of statutory health insurance members to receive protective vaccinations. Both federal laws stipulate that the health administration and the self-administration organs proceed on the basis of the recommendations issued by the Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO) at the Robert Koch Institute. This ensures homogeneous, evidence-based and comprehensive preventive immunisation coverage and the provision of the corresponding benefits by the statutory health insurance. In the Laender (states), the tasks and possibilities of the public health services vary with respect to preventive immunisations. A future task will be to further intensify cooperation among the institutions of self-administration in the health care system and the authorities at the local, Land (state) and Federal levels. Concerted action can achieve an increase in immunisation participation by the population, especially in regions where levels are moderate.

Altered flavin patterns in photobehavioral mutants of Phycomyces blakesleeanus.

Flavins were extracted from sporangiophores of the lower fungus Phycomyces blakesleeanus and identified by HPLC with fluorescence detection. In the wild-type strain NRRL1555 they were found to be present at the following concentrations: riboflavin (5.5 x 10(-6) M), flavin mononucleotide (FMN) (4.0 x 10(-6) M) and flavin adenine dinucleotide (1.4 x 10(-6) M). The HPLC elution profiles of the wild type were compared to a set of behavioral mutants (genotype mad) with specific defects in their light-transduction pathway. The photoreceptor mutants C109 (madB), C111 (madB) and L1 (madC) had normal amounts of flavins. The most prominent changes were found in single mutants with a defective madA gene which contained about 25% of riboflavin and about 10% of FMN and FAD normally found in the wild type. A hypertropic mutant with a defective madH gene contained instead 80% of riboflavin and 120% of FMN and FAD. The double mutant L52 (madA madC) and the triple mutant L72 (madA madB madC) had normal amounts of FAD and FMN. This indicates that the madC mutation, which itself causes loss of light sensitivity and which affects the near-UV/blue-light receptor (Galland and Lipson, 1985, Photochem. Photobiol. 41, 331-335) functions as a restorer of the flavin content in a genetic madA background. The double mutant L51 (madA madB) had about 40% of FMN and FAD, suggesting that the madB mutation functions as a partial restorer of flavin content. The photogravitropic thresholds (450 nm) reported for the wild type and the madA and madH mutants were positively correlated to the endogeneous concentrations of FMN and FAD.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Altered pterin patterns in photobehavioral mutants of Phycomyces blakesleeanus.

Pterins were extracted with methanol from sporangiophores of the lower fungus Phycomyces blakesleeanus and separated and identified by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection. The following pterins were found and identified for the wild-type strain NRRL1555: carboxypterin (6.7 x 10(-6) M), neopterin (4.2 x 10(-7) M), xanthopterin (5.3 x 10(-6) M), biopterin (3.9 x 10(-7) M), pterin (9.1 x 10(-7) M), and 6,7-dimethylpterin (1.2 x 10(-6) M). The HPLC elution profiles of the wild type were compared to a set of phototropism mutants (genotype mad) with specific defects in the light-transduction pathway. The mutant profiles were qualitatively similar to those of the wild type. Quantitative differences were, however, discerned for madA, madC, and madH mutants. The madA mutation was associated with increased amounts of biopterin and 6,7-dimethylpterin and a reduction of neopterin, pterin, xanthopterin, and unidentified pterins eluting at 14-18 min. The stimulatory effect of the madA mutation on biopterin and 6,7-dimethylpterin appears to be compensated by a secondary mutation (pde) which is responsible for the loss of 75% of adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP)-phosphodiesterase activity. In a madA pde double mutant the amounts of biopterin and 6,7-dimethylpterin fell below the wild-type level. These results suggest that an increased level of endogenous cAMP represses the biosynthesis of these pterins. The madC mutation increased the amounts of biopterin and xanthopterin and that of the unidentified pterins which could be derivatized to carboxypterin. Single madB mutations had, compared to the wild type, two times higher amounts of biopterin and two times lower amounts of neopterin.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)