Epidemiological investigation of a case of nosocomial Legionnaires' disease in Taiwan: implications for routine environmental surveillance.

An epidemiological investigation with Legionella and molecular subtyping was conducted to determine the source of a case of nosocomial Legionnaires' disease (LD) who was hospitalized in three hospitals within a month. Legionella pneumophila serogroup 3, an uncommon serogroup for infection, was isolated from the patient's sputum. Environmental surveillance revealed Legionella colonization in all three hospitals; the patient isolate matched the isolate from the first hospital by molecular typing. Culturing the hospital water supply for Legionella is a pro-active strategy for detection of nosocomial LD even in hospitals experiencing no previous cases.

Blood surveillance and detection on platelet bacterial contamination associated with septic events.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the risk of transfusion-associated septic events in Taiwan. In Taiwan, most blood components are provided from blood centres; so platelet (PLT) bacterial contaminations are rarely reported. The study's aim is to investigate the prevalence of PLT bacterial contamination in Kaoshiung Armed Forces General Hospital by using BacT/ALERT system for routine screening. A total of 82 apheresis and 2256 whole blood-derived PLT units were tested. A measured quantity of 1 mL aliquots were taken as samplings from all blood bag tubing of PLT units, and then further incubated in a bacterial detection system (BacT/ALERT). The subcultures of true-positive bottles underwent bacterial identification by using Vitek system, microscopic observation and culture-based methods. Eight units (0.34%, 8 of 2338) were found to have bacterial contamination. The true-positive rate of the whole blood-derived and apheresis PLTs was 0.31% (7 of 2256) and 1.22% (1 of 82), respectively. Six microorganisms were identified with the most dominate being Staphylococcus epidermidis. One case of transfusion-associated sepsis was confirmed; in addition, the holding period of PLTs (F = 4.522, P = 0.034) and positive detection of PLT bacterial contamination (F = 46.605,P < 0.001) were associated with post-transfusion sepsis. Thus, in this study, although the transfusion-associated septic event was rarely found and PLT units were provided from blood centres, bacterial screening was necessary to safely quarantine the transfusion. The holding period of PLT units should be no more than 4 days in order to avoid possible bacterial contamination.

[An exploratory study of job mobility for reworking women in Taiwan].

PIP: "It is shown that around one seventh of married women has experienced returning [to the] labor market. Among them, more than half did not move up or down relative to their former occupational status. In multiple covariate analyses, we found schooling is the most essential factor explaining the changes of occupational statuses." The authors analyze the determinants of women returning to the labor force after marriage and childbirth, using data from a 1993 survey in Taiwan. (EXCERPT)^ieng

Sibling models of socioeconomic effects on the timing of first premarital birth.

Data on 1,000 pairs of sisters from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth are used to estimate the effects of observed individual-level factors, common family-level variables, and shared unobserved family-level traits on the timing of premarital births. Results show a moderate correlated risk of premarital childbearing among siblings after controlling for the effects of measured covariates. The effect of older sisters' out-of-wedlock childbearing on the timing of younger sisters' premarital birth is overestimated when shared unmeasured family-level traits are ignored. Public policy measures designed to reduce premarital births have a smaller multiplier effect via reduced younger sisters' premarital births because unmeasured family-level factors are less amenable to policy measures. However, because the older-sibling effect is large when other sources of variability in premarital birth timing are controlled, interventions may be effective in reducing premarital births among young women in high-risk families.