Search results for "Population surveillance"
showing 10 items of 167 documents
Fast and low-cost decentralized surveillance of transmission of tuberculosis based on strain-specific PCRs tailored from whole genome sequencing data…
2015
Molecular epidemiology has transformed our knowledge of how tuberculosis (TB) is transmitted. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) has reached unprecedented levels of accuracy. However, it has increased technical requirements and costs, and analysis of data delays results. Our objective was to find a way to reconcile speed and ease of implementation with the high resolution of WGS. The targeted regional allele-specific oligonucleotide PCR (TRAP) assay presented here is based on allele-specific PCR targeting strain-specific single nucleotide polymorphisms, identified from WGS, and makes it possible to track actively transmitted Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains. A TRAP assay was optimized to track…
Increase in norovirus activity reported in Europe.
2006
A large increase in norovirus outbreaks in Hungary and Germany was reported to European national health authorities via the Foodborne Viruses in Europe network
The impact of polypharmacy and drug interactions among the elderly population in Western Sicily, Italy.
2017
Aim: Primary endpoint was to report polypharmacy distribution in the general population vs ≥65 years old people and to examine the frequency of drug–drug interactions (DDIs) in the Health Local Unit of Palermo, Italy, in relationship with patients’ age. Methods: Drug prescription data for the year 2014 were extracted from the database of the Local Health Unit of Palermo Province, Italy. Patients were divided into five age groups (0–13, 14–64, 65–69, 70–74, and ≥75 year old). The detection of potential DDIs in polypharmacy profiles was performed with NavFarma software (Infologic srl, Padova, Italia), with DDI classification provided by tool Micromedex Drug Reax (Truven Health Analitics, Mich…
Evaluation of Internet Social Networks using Net scoring Tool: A Case Study in Adverse Drug Reaction Mining
2015
Suspected adverse drug reactions (ADR) reported by patients through social media can be a complementary tool to already existing ADRs signal detection processes. However, several studies have shown that the quality of medical information published online varies drastically whatever the health topic addressed. The aim of this study is to use an existing rating tool on a set of social network web sites in order to assess the capabilities of these tools to guide experts for selecting the most adapted social network web site to mine ADRs.First, we reviewed and rated 132 Internet forums and social networks according to three major criteria: the number of visits, the notoriety of the forum and th…
Paper 6: EUROCAT member registries: organization and activities.
2011
BACKGROUND: EUROCAT is a network of population-based congenital anomaly registries providing standardized epidemiologic information on congenital anomalies in Europe. There are three types of EUROCAT membership: full, associate, or affiliate. Full member registries send individual records of all congenital anomalies covered by their region. Associate members transmit aggregate case counts for each EUROCAT anomaly subgroup by year and by type of birth. This article describes the organization and activities of each of the current 29 full member and 6 associate member registries of EUROCAT. METHODS: Each registry description provides information on the history and funding of the registry, popu…
What is the impact of rerouting a cancer diagnosis from emergency presentation to GP referral on resource use and survival? Evidence from a populatio…
2018
Background Studies on alternative routes to diagnosis stimulated successful policy interventions reducing the number of emergency diagnoses and associated mortality risk. A dearth of evidence on the costs of such interventions might prevent new policies from achieving more ambitious targets. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study on the population of colorectal (88,051), breast (90,387), prostate (96,219), and lung (97,696) cancer patients diagnosed after a GP referral or an emergency presentation and reported in the Cancer Registry of England. Resource use and survival were compared 1 year before and 5 years after diagnosis (3 years for lung), including the costs of GP referrals…
Inequalities in mortality in small areas of eleven Spanish cities (the multicenter MEDEA project)
2009
The objectives of this study are to identify inequalities in mortality among census tracts of 11 Spanish cities in the period 1996-2003 and to analyse the relationship between these geographical inequalities and socioeconomic deprivation. It is a cross-sectional ecological study where the units of analysis are census tracts. We obtained an index of socioeconomic deprivation and estimated SMR by each census tract using hierarchical Bayesian models which take into account the spatial structure. In the majority of the cities geographical patterns in total mortality were found in both sexes, which were similar to those for the index of socioeconomic deprivation. Among men, four specific causes …
Geographical spread of influenza incidence in Spain during the 2009 A(H1N1) pandemic wave and the two succeeding influenza seasons
2014
SUMMARYThe aim of this study was to monitor the spatio-temporal spread of influenza incidence in Spain during the 2009 pandemic and the following two influenza seasons 2010–2011 and 2011–2012 using a Bayesian Poisson mixed regression model; and implement this model of geographical analysis in the Spanish Influenza Surveillance System to obtain maps of influenza incidence for every week. In the pandemic wave the maps showed influenza activity spreading from west to east. The 2010–2011 influenza epidemic wave plotted a north-west/south-east pattern of spread. During the 2011–2012 season the spread of influenza was geographically heterogeneous. The most important source of variability in the m…
Association of maternal prenatal smoking GFI1-locus and cardio-metabolic phenotypes in 18,212 adults
2018
Background: DNA methylation at the GFI1-locus has been repeatedly associated with exposure to smoking from the foetal period onwards. We explored whether DNA methylation may be a mechanism that links exposure to maternal prenatal smoking with offspring's adult cardio-metabolic health.Methods: We meta-analysed the association between DNA methylation at GFI1-locus with maternal prenatal smoking, adult own smoking, and cardio-metabolic phenotypes in 22 population-based studies from Europe, Australia, and USA (n= 18,212). DNA methylation at the GFI1-locus was measured in whole-blood. Multivariable regression models were fitted to examine its association with exposure to prenatal and own adult s…
Modelling the spatial-temporal progression of the 2009 A/H1N1 influenza pandemic in Chile
2016
A spatial-temporal transmission model of 2009 A/H1N1 pandemic influenza across Chile, a country that spans a large latitudinal range, is developed to characterize the spatial variation in peak timing of that pandemic as a function of local transmission rates, spatial connectivity assumptions for Chilean regions, and the putative location of introduction of the novel virus into the country. Specifically, a metapopulation SEIR (susceptible-exposed-infected-removed) compartmental model that tracks the transmission dynamics of influenza in 15 Chilean regions is calibrated. The model incorporates population mobility among neighboring regions and indirect mobility to and from other regions via th…