A Large Outbreak of Hepatitis E Among a Displaced Population in Darfur, Sudan, 2004: The Role of Water Treatment Methods.

BACKGROUND: The conflict in Darfur, Sudan, was responsible for the displacement of 1.8 million civilians. We investigated a large outbreak of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection in Mornay camp (78,800 inhabitants) in western Darfur. METHODS: To describe the outbreak, we used clinical and demographic information from cases recorded at the camp between 26 July and 31 December 2004. We conducted a case-cohort study and a retrospective cohort study to identify risk factors for clinical and asymptomatic hepatitis E, respectively. We collected stool and serum samples from animals and performed a bacteriological analysis of water samples. Human samples were tested for immunoglobulin G and immunoglobulin M antibody to HEV (for serum samples) and for amplification of the HEV genome (for serum and stool samples). RESULTS: In 6 months, 2621 hepatitis E cases were recorded (attack rate, 3.3%), with a case-fatality rate of 1.7% (45 deaths, 19 of which involved were pregnant women). Risk factors for clinical HEV infection included age of 15-45 years (odds ratio, 2.13; 95% confidence interval, 1.02-4.46) and drinking chlorinated surface water (odds ratio, 2.49; 95% confidence interval, 1.22-5.08). Both factors were also suggestive of increased risk for asymptomatic HEV infection, although this was not found to be statistically significant. HEV RNA was positively identified in serum samples obtained from 2 donkeys. No bacteria were identified from any sample of chlorinated water tested. CONCLUSIONS: Current recommendations to ensure a safe water supply may have been insufficient to inactivate HEV and control this epidemic. This research highlights the need to evaluate current water treatment methods and to identify alternative solutions adapted to complex emergencies

Catalog of Radio Galaxies with z>0.3. I:Construction of the Sample

The procedure of the construction of a sample of distant ($z>0.3$) radio galaxies using NED, SDSS, and CATS databases for further application in statistical tests is described. The sample is assumed to be cleaned from objects with quasar properties. Primary statistical analysis of the list is performed and the regression dependence of the spectral index on redshift is found.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, 2 table

Superhumps in Cataclysmic Binaries. XXIV. Twenty More Dwarf Novae

We report precise measures of the orbital and superhump period in twenty more dwarf novae. For ten stars, we report new and confirmed spectroscopic periods - signifying the orbital period P_o - as well as the superhump period P_sh. These are GX Cas, HO Del, HS Vir, BC UMa, RZ Leo, KV Dra, KS UMa, TU Crt, QW Ser, and RZ Sge. For the remaining ten, we report a medley of P_o and P_sh measurements from photometry; most are new, with some confirmations of previous values. These are KV And, LL And, WX Cet, MM Hya, AO Oct, V2051 Oph, NY Ser, KK Tel, HV Vir, and RX J1155.4-5641. Periods, as usual, can be measured to high accuracy, and these are of special interest since they carry dynamical information about the binary. We still have not quite learned how to read the music, but a few things are clear. The fractional superhump excess epsilon [=(P_sh-P_o)/P_o] varies smoothly with P_o. The scatter of the points about that smooth curve is quite low, and can be used to limit the intrinsic scatter in M_1, the white dwarf mass, and the mass-radius relation of the secondary. The dispersion in M_1 does not exceed 24%, and the secondary-star radii scatter by no more than 11% from a fixed mass-radius relation. For the well-behaved part of epsilon(P_o) space, we estimate from superhump theory that the secondaries are 18+-6% larger than theoretical ZAMS stars. This affects some other testable predictions about the secondaries: at a fixed P_o, it suggests that the secondaries are (compared with ZAMS predictions) 40+-14% less massive, 12+-4% smaller, 19+-6% cooler, and less luminous by a factor 2.5(7). The presence of a well-defined mass-radius relation, reflected in a well-defined epsilon(P_o) relation, strongly limits effects of nuclear evolution in the secondaries.Comment: PDF, 62 pages, 7 tables, 21 figures; accepted, in press, to appear November 2003, PASP; more info at http://cba.phys.columbia.edu

Cultural drivers and health-seeking behaviours that impact on the transmission of pig-associated zoonoses in Lao People's Democratic Republic

Pig rearing is an important income source in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR), with many smallholder farmers using traditional free-range pig production systems. Despite the potentially significant health risks posed by pig production regarding pig-associated zoonoses, information on the sociocultural drivers of these zoonoses is significantly lacking. This review summarises the existing sociocultural knowledge on eight pig-associated zoonoses suspected to be endemic in Southeast Asia: brucellosis, Q fever (Coxiella burnetii), trichinellosis, hepatitis E virus, leptospirosis, Japanese encephalitis, Streptococcus suis and Taenia solium taeniasis-cysticercosis. It summarises current knowledge on these diseases grouped according to their clinical manifestations in humans to highlight the propensity for underreporting. A literature search was conducted across multiple databases for publications from 1990 to the present day related to the eight pig-associated zoonoses and the risk and impact connected with them, with Lao PDR as a case study. Many of these pig-associated zoonoses have similar presentations and are often diagnosed as clinical syndromes. Misdiagnosis and underreporting are, therefore, substantial and emphasise the need for more robust diagnostics and appropriate surveillance systems. While some reports exist in other countries in the region, information is significantly lacking in Lao PDR with existing information coming mainly from the capital, Vientiane. The disease burden imposed by these zoonoses is not only characterised by morbidity and mortality, but directly impacts on livelihoods through income reduction and production losses, and indirectly through treatment costs and lost work opportunities. Other factors crucial to understanding and controlling these diseases are the influence of ethnicity and culture on food-consumption practices, pig rearing and slaughter practices, hygiene and sanitation, health-seeking behaviours and, therefore, risk factors for disease transmission. Published information on the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of people regarding pig zoonoses and their risk factors is also extremely limited in Lao PDR and the broader Southeast Asian region. The need for more transdisciplinary research, using a One Health approach, in order to understand the underlining social determinants of health and their impacts on health-seeking behaviours, disease transmission and, ultimately, disease reporting, cannot be more emphasized

АКТУАЛЬНОСТЬ ИЗУЧЕНИЯ ОСНОВ МЕЖНАЦИОНАЛЬНОЙ ТОЛЕРАНТНОСТИ В РАМКАХ ПРЕДМЕТА «ОСНОВЫ БЕЗОПАСНОСТИ ЖИЗНЕДЕЯТЕЛЬНОСТИ»

Learning the basics of inter-ethnic tolerance is an actual problem of modern, multicultural space. This work should be organized in educational institutions, as an ordered totality and unity of the elements of the educational process, allowing to successfully solve the problem of formation of ethnic tolerance in the framework of the subject “Basics of life safety”.Изучение основ межнациональной толерантности является актуальной проблемой современного поликультурного пространства. Эта работа должна быть организована в образовательных организациях, как упорядоченная совокупность и единство элементов учебно-воспитательного процесса, позволяющих успешно решать задачи формирования межнациональной толерантности, в рамках предмета «Основы безопасности жизнедеятельности»