Trends in the Epidemiology of Campylobacteriosis in Israel (1999-2012).

The objective of this study was to examine the recent trends in the epidemiology of campylobacteriosis in Israel. A Sentinel Laboratory-Based Surveillance Network for Bacterial Enteric Diseases was established in Israel by the Israel Center for Disease Control (ICDC). This network generated data on subjects from whom Campylobacter spp. was isolated in community and hospital laboratories. Further characterization of the isolates was done at the Campylobacter National Reference Laboratory. Data from these two sources were integrated and analyzed at the ICDC. Between 1999 and 2012, 40,978 Campylobacter stool isolates were reported to the ICDC by the sentinel laboratories. The incidence rate of campylobacteriosis increased from 65.7 per 100,000 in 1999 to 101.7 per 100,000 in 2012. This increase resulted from a significant rise in the incidence of campylobacteriosis in the Jewish population which, since 2009, surpassed the consistent higher incidence of the disease in Israeli Arabs. The peak morbidity in Israel consistently occurred in late spring, with a risk excess in males compared with females, in younger age groups and earlier in the life span among Arabs than among Jews and others. These results suggest that further analytical studies should be carried out to identify risk factors responsible for the increased incidence of campylobacteriosis and better direct prevention and control of the disease in Israel.

Vitamin B12 and folate serum levels in newly admitted psychiatric patients.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Deficiencies of cobalamin and folate may play a causal role in the development or exacerbation of psychiatric illnesses. We compared cobalamin and folate levels in newly admitted psychiatric patients to mentally healthy controls and assessed their correlation with various psychiatric conditions. METHODS: All patients consecutively admitted to a psychiatric hospital were examined for serum cobalamin and folate levels. Controls were obtained from a population with no known mental illness. Values were considered to be below normal if cobalamin was <223 pg/ml and folate <3.1 ng/ml. RESULTS: The 224 newly admitted patients did not differ significantly from controls, both with regard to the mean cobalamin level and to the prevalence of lower than normal levels. About 30% of patients had low folate values compared to 2.5% in the control group (P<0.0001). Mean folate level in controls was significantly higher than in patients (P<0.0001), where a positive correlation was found between low folate levels and depression. CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study suggest that folate levels be assessed in patients admitted to psychiatric wards, especially in those with depression. Further study is needed to evaluate the role of folate and cobalamin in psychiatric illness.