Immunization coverage in the Monkey Bay Head zone Malawi

Hægt er að lesa greinina í heild sinni með því að smella á hlekkinn View/OpenOBJECTIVE: To assess the immunization coverage of children in the Monkey Bay head zone, Malawi where the Icelandic International Development Agency (ICEIDA) has been working to improve health care services in the recent years. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A 30 by 7 cluster sample survey, as defined by WHO's Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) was conducted to estimate immunization coverage of children aged 12-23 months for tuberculosis (BCG), diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP), polio (OPV) and measles immunizations. The Head Zone consists of 97 villages with a population of around 105,000 inhabitants. Five health centres provide immunization services in the area. In total were 217 children in 30 clusters randomly selected and their immunization status by card or history registered. RESULTS: Immunization coverage by card or history was 97% for BCG, and 99%, 95% and 85% for DTP1, DTP2 and DTP3 respectively. Coverage of OPV1, OPV2 and OPV3 by card or history was 99%, 93% and 85% respectively. Coverage for measles by card or history was 78%. Fully immunized children by card or history were 152 or 70%. Two children had not received any immunizations. Drop-out rate from DTP1 to DTP3 vaccination by immunization card or history was 14.5%, and drop-out from DTP1 to Measles by card or history was 21%. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that access to childhood immunization in the Monkey Bay head zone is good while drop-out rate is high. This indicates that access to health services is adequate. However, the coverage of measles appears to be insufficient to prevent outbreaks, and must be improved. The efficacy in delivering immunization can be improved and enhanced utilization of the services offered should be sought.Tilgangur: Að leggja mat á þekjun bólusetningar barna í Monkey Bay héraði í Malaví þar sem að Þróunarsamvinnustofnun Íslands (ÞSSÍ) hefur unnið að uppbyggingu heilsugæslu undanfarin ár. Efniviður og aðferðir: Notast var við aðferðir alþjóðaheilbrigðismálastofnunarinnar (WHO) til þess að meta þekjun bólusetningar barna á aldrinum 12-23 mánaða í Monkey Bay héraði. Í héraðinu búa um það bil 105.000 íbúar í 97 þorpum. Fimm heilsugæslustöðvar veita þjónustu á svæðinu. Börn á svæðinu voru bólusett fyrir berklum (BCG), barnaveiki, stífkrampa og kíghósta (DTP), mænu­veiki (OPV) og mislingum. Ef börn voru ekki bólusett voru ástæður þess skráðar. Valin voru 217 börn af handahófi í 30 þorpum/klösum (clusters) og þekjun metin með skoðun bólusetningarkorta eða samkvæmt heilsufarssögu. Niðurstöður: Þekjun bólusetningar miðað við kort eða sögu var 97% fyrir BCG, og 99%, 95% og 85% fyrir DTP1, DTP2 og DTP3. Þekjun OPV1, OPV2 og OPV3 miðað við kort eða sögu var 99%, 93% og 85%. Þekjun mislinga miðað við kort eða sögu var 78%. Fullbólusett börn miðað við kort eða sögu voru 152, eða 70%. Tvö börn höfðu ekki fengið neinar bólu­setningar. Brottfall milli DTP1 og DTP3 miðað við kort eða sögu var 14,5 prósentustig, og brottfall milli DTP1 og mislinga var 21 prósentustig. Ályktun: Aðgengi að bólusetningu á svæðinu virðist gott. Brottfall frá fyrstu bólusetningu til síðustu er áhyggjuefni, sérstaklega hvað varðar mislinga en sú bólusetning er einnig oft gefin of seint. Því verður að huga að leiðum til þess að auka skilvirkni þeirrar þjónustu sem er í boði

My story is not my own: A qualitative analysis of personal continuity and group narrative

Personal continuity, defined as having a sense of self that persists through time, is central to most theories of identity. People create personal continuity by creating a coherent life story that explains changes and stability in identity over time, commonly referred to as narrative identity. Recent research has begun to broaden the narrative approach to identity to emphasize the role that larger cultural forces play in shaping it. Building on this turn, the current study seeks to address a gap in the literature, exploring the role that social groups and their shared narratives play in personal continuity. This study was qualitative and descriptive, with an aim of theory-building. Thirteen adult children of immigrants, aged 18-52, were interviewed about their personal stories, the stories of their parents, and group narratives. Social constructivist grounded theory was used to analyze the interviews to examine the relationship between personal continuity and group narrative. Results showed that participants can create a sense of personal continuity by seeing themselves as part of a larger, continuously developing group narrative, though there are variations in how that is done, particularly in relation to whether continuity is seen in the past and/or future

Bacteraemia in children in Iceland 1994-2005

Neðst á síðunni er hægt að nálgast greinina í heild sinni með því að smella á hlekkinn View/OpenObjective: Positive blood cultures from children suggest serious bloodstream infections. Quick medical response with targeted therapy is important, taking the child's age and medical history into account. Antibiotic therapy and vaccination programs must be based on accurate knowledge of the prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility of the bacteria. The aim of this study was to investigate epidemiological parameters associated with positive blood cultures in children in Iceland from September 20th 1994 to March 16th 2005. Materials and methods: All positive bacterial blood cultures from children 0-18 years of age identified at the Department of Clinical Microbiology of the Landspitali University Hospital during the study period. Age and sex of the children, bacterial aetiology, date of collection and results of antimicrobial susceptibility tests were registered. The children were divided into four age groups: neonates (Inngangur: Blóðsýkingar barna af völdum baktería geta verið alvarlegar. Skjót greining og viðeigandi meðferð geta skipt sköpum. Mikilvægt er að vita hvaða bakteríur eru algengastar hjá börnum á mismunandi aldri auk þess að þekkja sýklalyfjanæmi þeirra svo unnt sé að beita markvissri meðferð eða forvörnum. Markmið: Að draga fram helstu þætti í faraldsfræði blóðsýkinga barna á Íslandi á tímabilinu 20. september 1994-16. mars 2005. Efniviður og aðferðir: Allar jákvæðar niðurstöður blóðræktana hjá börnum 0-18 ára skráðar á Sýklafræðideild Landspítalans á rannsóknartímabilinu voru skoðaðar. Skráður var aldur og kyn sjúklings, tegund bakteríu sem ræktaðist, dagsetning sýnatöku og niðurstöður næmisprófa. Börnin voru flokkuð í fjóra aldurshópa; nýburar (<=30 daga), ungbörn (30 daga-1 árs), börn á leikskólaaldri (1-6 ára) og börn á skólaaldri (6-18 ára). Niðurstöður blóðræktana voru flokkaðar sem mengun, líkleg mengun, líkleg sýking eða sýking. Niðurstöður: Alls ræktuðust bakteríur í 1253 sýnum frá 974 börnum á tímabilinu, 647 sýni frá drengjum og 606 frá stúlkum. Flestar jákvæðar ræktanir voru hjá börnum á fyrsta aldursári (594; 47,4%) og þar af voru 252 hjá nýburum (42,4% barna á fyrsta aldursári). Kóagúlasaneikvæðir stafýlókokkar ræktuðust í 465 tilfellum. Af þeim ræktunum sem flokkuðust sem sýkingar voru Streptococcus pneumoniae algengastar (103 tilfelli), Staphylococcus aureus (94 tilfelli) og Neisseria meningitidis (72 tilfelli). Ekki ræktaðist N. meningitidis af hjúpgerð C hjá neinu barni eftir að bólusetning barna hófst árið 2002. Algengustu hjúpgerðir pneumókokka hjá börnum á Íslandi voru 23, 6B, 7, 19 og 14. Ónæmi fyrir makrólíðum var hátt hjá pneumókokkum (19%) og streptókokkum af flokki A (33%). Ályktun: Niðurstöðurnar gefa mikilvægar upplýsingar fyrir meðhöndlun barna með alvarlegar sýkingar og fyrirbyggjandi aðgerðir. Vaxandi ónæmi fyrir makrólíðum hindrar notkun þeirra við blinda meðferð hjá börnum með sýklasótt. Niðurstöður rannsóknarinnar sýna frábæran árangur bólusetningar barna gegn meningókokkum C auk þess sem þær gefa vísbendingu um mögulega gagnsemi af bólusetningum gegn ákveðnum hjúpgerðum pneumókokka

Reduction of antimicrobial resistant pneumococci seven years after introduction of pneumococcal vaccine in Iceland.

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked DownloadBackground: Penicillin non-susceptible (PNSP) and multi-resistant pneumococci have been prevalent in Iceland since early nineties, mainly causing problems in treatment of acute otitis media. The 10-valent protein conjugated pneumococcal vaccine (PHiD-CV) was introduced into the childhood vaccination program in 2011. The aim of the study was to investigate the changes in antimicrobial susceptibility and serotype distribution of penicillin non-susceptible pneumococci (PNSP) in Iceland 2011-2017. Methods and findings: All pneumococcal isolates identified at the Landspítali University Hospital in 2011-2017, excluding isolates from the nasopharynx and throat were studied. Susceptibility testing was done according to the EUCAST guidelines using disk diffusion with chloramphenicol, erythromycin, clindamycin, tetracycline, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and oxacillin for PNSP screening. Penicillin and ceftriaxone minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were measured for oxacillin resistant isolates using the E-test. Serotyping was done using latex agglutination and/or multiplex PCR. The total number of pneumococcal isolates that met the study criteria was 1,706, of which 516 (30.2%) were PNSP, and declining with time. PNSP isolates of PHiD-CV vaccine serotypes (VT) were 362/516 (70.2%) declining with time, 132/143 (92.3%) in 2011 and 17/54 (31.5%) in 2017. PNSP were most commonly of serotype 19F, 317/516 isolates declining with time, 124/143 in 2011 and 15/54 in 2017. Their number decreased in all age groups, but mainly in the youngest children. PNSP isolates of non PHiD-CV vaccine serotypes (NVT) were 154/516, increasing with time, 11/14, in 2011 and 37/54 in 2017. The most common emerging NVTs in 2011 and 2017 were 6C, 1/143 and 10/54 respectively. Conclusions: PNSP of VTs have virtually disappeared from children with pneumococcal diseases after the initiation of pneumococcal vaccination in Iceland and a clear herd effect was observed. This was mainly driven by a decrease of PNSP isolates belonging to a serotype 19F multi-resistant lineage. However, emerging multi-resistant NVT isolates are of concern.Landspitali University Hospital Research Fun

Bactrial osteomyelitis and arthritis in Icelandic children 1996-2005

Neðst á síðunni er hægt að nálgast greinina í heild sinni með því að smella á hlekkinn Skoða/Opna(view/open)Objective: The main objective was to determine the incidence and causative pathogens of osteomyelitis and septic arthritis in Icelandic children, as well as presenting symptoms and diagnosis. Methods: A nationwide retrospective review was done of all children <18 year old, 1996-2005. Subjects were divided into three equal age groups, 0-5, 6-11 and 12-17 years old. Cultures were reviewed and postive and negative cases compared. Results: Over the study period 220 cases were identified, 161 osteomyelitis and 59 septic arthritis cases. The incidence increased significantly over the period (p=0.019), mostly in the youngest age group (p<0.001) with osteomyelitis. Incidence of cases with a pathogen identified was unchanged over the period while culture negative cases increased significantly (p<0.001). Median age for osteomyelitis (6,1 years) was higher than in cases of septic arthitis (1,8 years) (p=0.003). A pathogen was identified in 59% of cases with osteomyelitis and 44% with septic arthritis. S. aureus was most common (65% and 27%, respectively) and K. kingae was second most common pathogen (7% and 11%, respectively). Methicillin resistant S. aureus was not identified. The tibia and knee were the predominant sites for osteomyelitis and septic arthritis respectively. Conclusions: An increased incidence was found in the youngest age group with osteomyelitis, especially in cases without a pathogen identified. The most commonly cultured pathogen was S. aureus, followed by K. kingae. A more sensitive technique to identify pathogens might be indicated in culture negative cases.Tilgangur: Markmið rannsóknarinnar var að kanna nýgengi, sýkingarvalda, einkenni og greiningaraðferðir beina- og liðasýkinga í börnum á Íslandi. Efniviður og aðferðir: Rannsóknin var afturskyggn og náði til barna yngri en 18 ára sem lögðust inn vegna sýkinganna á tímabilinu 1996-2005. Upplýsingum var safnað úr sjúkraskrám. Tilfellum var skipt í þrjá jafna aldurshópa, 0-5 ára, 6-11 ára og 12-17 ára. Niðurstöður ræktana voru metnar og einnig breytingar á nýgengi á tímabilinu. Niðurstöður: Á tímabilinu greindust 220 tilfelli, 161 með beinasýkingu og 59 með liðasýkingu. Nýgengi jókst marktækt á tímabilinu (p=0,019). Nýgengisaukningin var nær eingöngu bundin við beinasýkingar hjá yngsta aldurshópnum. Nýgengi þar sem ræktun var jákvæð breyttist ekki en nýgengi með neikvæða ræktun jókst marktækt (p<0,001). Miðgildi aldurs sjúklinga með beinasýkingar (6,1 ára) var hærri en þeirra með liðasýkingar (1,8 ára) (p=0,003). Í 59% beinasýkinga og 44% liðasýkinga greindist baktería, S. aureus var algengust (65% beinasýkinga og 27% liðasýkinga), því næst K. kingae (7% beinasýkinga og 11% liðasýkinga). Methicillin- ónæmir S. aureus greindust ekki. Sköflungur (20%) og hnéliður (47%) voru algengustu staðir sýkinganna. Ályktanir: Rannsóknin varpar ljósi á mikilvæga þætti beina- og liðasýkinga á Íslandi. Nýgengið vex í yngsta aldurshópnum, einkum þar sem ræktun er neikvæð. Algengasti orsakavaldur er S. aureus,svo K. kingae. Meðalaldur, kynjahlutfall og staðsetning sýkinga er sambærilegt við erlendar rannsóknir. Þörf er á næmari sýklafræðilegum greiningaraðferðum hjá þeim sem eru með neikvæðar ræktanir

The Paranormal is (Still) Normal: The Sociological Implications of a Survey of Paranormal Experiences in Great Britain

Historically, there has been limited sociological interest in the paranormal and no systematic study of reported paranormal experiences. There are also few medium-to-large-scale survey results with nationally representative populations focusing on paranormal experiences. This paper provides details of an exploratory survey conducted in 2009 with a nationally representative sample of 4,096 adults aged 16 years and over across Great Britain. Our findings show that 37% of British adults report at least one paranormal experience and that women, those who are middle-aged or individuals resident in the South West are more likely to report such experiences. These results establish incidence levels of reported paranormal experiences in contemporary Britain. We argue also that they merit a more sustained sociological consideration of the paranormal. In this respect we renew and update the robust justification and call for serious research positioning the paranormal as a social phenomenon, originally proposed well over thirty years ago by Greeley (1975)

Putatively novel serotypes and the potential for reduced vaccine effectiveness: capsular locus diversity revealed among 5405 pneumococcal genomes.

The pneumococcus is a leading global pathogen and a key virulence factor possessed by the majority of pneumococci is an antigenic polysaccharide capsule ('serotype'), which is encoded by the capsular (cps) locus. Approximately 100 different serotypes are known, but the extent of sequence diversity within the cps loci of individual serotypes is not well understood. Investigating serotype-specific sequence variation is crucial to the design of sequence-based serotyping methodology, understanding pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) effectiveness and the design of future PCVs. The availability of large genome datasets makes it possible to assess population-level variation among pneumococcal serotypes and in this study 5405 pneumococcal genomes were used to investigate cps locus diversity among 49 different serotypes. Pneumococci had been recovered between 1916 and 2014 from people of all ages living in 51 countries. Serotypes were deduced bioinformatically, cps locus sequences were extracted and variation was assessed within the cps locus, in the context of pneumococcal genetic lineages. Overall, cps locus sequence diversity varied markedly: low to moderate diversity was revealed among serogroups/types 1, 3, 7, 9, 11 and 22; whereas serogroups/types 6, 19, 23, 14, 15, 18, 33 and 35 displayed high diversity. Putative novel and/or hybrid cps loci were identified among all serogroups/types apart from 1, 3 and 9. This study demonstrated that cps locus sequence diversity varied widely between serogroups/types. Investigation of the biochemical structure of the polysaccharide capsule of major variants, particularly PCV-related serotypes and those that appear to be novel or hybrids, is warranted.This work was supported by a Wellcome Trust Biomedical Research Fund award (04992/Z/14/Z) to M. J. C. M., K. A. J., and A. B. B.; a Wellcome Trust career development fellowship (083511/Z/07/Z) to A. B. B; and a University of Oxford John Fell Fund award (123/734) to A. B. B. Core funding for the Sanger Institute was provided by the Wellcome Trust (098051). Funding for the Icelandic vaccine impact study was provided by GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals SA and the Landspítali University Hospital Research Fund to K. G. K., A. H., H. E., S. D. B., and A. B. B

Vernix caseosa as a multi-component defence system based on polypeptides, lipids and their interactions

To access publisher full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links fieldVernix caseosa is a white cream-like substance that covers the skin of the foetus and the newborn baby. Recently, we discovered antimicrobial peptides/proteins such as LL-37 in vernix, suggesting host defence functions of vernix. In a proteomic approach, we have continued to characterize proteins in vernix and have identified 20 proteins, plus additional variant forms. The novel proteins identified, considered to be involved in host defence, are cystatin A, UGRP-1, and calgranulin A, B and C. These proteins add protective functions to vernix such as antifungal activity, opsonizing capacity, protease inhibition and parasite inactivation. The composition of the lipids in vernix has also been characterized and among these compounds the free fatty acids were found to exhibit antimicrobial activity. Interestingly, the vernix lipids enhance the antimicrobial activity of LL-37 in vitro, indicating interactions between lipids and antimicrobial peptides in vernix. In conclusion, vernix is a balanced cream of compounds involved in host defence, protecting the foetus and newborn against infection

Genomics Reveals the Worldwide Distribution of Multidrug-Resistant Serotype 6E Pneumococci.

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked Files. This article is open access.The pneumococcus is a leading pathogen infecting children and adults. Safe, effective vaccines exist, and they work by inducing antibodies to the polysaccharide capsule (unique for each serotype) that surrounds the cell; however, current vaccines are limited by the fact that only a few of the nearly 100 antigenically distinct serotypes are included in the formulations. Within the serotypes, serogroup 6 pneumococci are a frequent cause of serious disease and common colonizers of the nasopharynx in children. Serotype 6E was first reported in 2004 but was thought to be rare; however, we and others have detected serotype 6E among recent pneumococcal collections. Therefore, we analyzed a diverse data set of ∼1,000 serogroup 6 genomes, assessed the prevalence and distribution of serotype 6E, analyzed the genetic diversity among serogroup 6 pneumococci, and investigated whether pneumococcal conjugate vaccine-induced serotype 6A and 6B antibodies mediate the killing of serotype 6E pneumococci. We found that 43% of all genomes were of serotype 6E, and they were recovered worldwide from healthy children and patients of all ages with pneumococcal disease. Four genetic lineages, three of which were multidrug resistant, described ∼90% of the serotype 6E pneumococci. Serological assays demonstrated that vaccine-induced serotype 6B antibodies were able to elicit killing of serotype 6E pneumococci. We also revealed three major genetic clusters of serotype 6A capsular sequences, discovered a new hybrid 6C/6E serotype, and identified 44 examples of serotype switching. Therefore, while vaccines appear to offer protection against serotype 6E, genetic variants may reduce vaccine efficacy in the longer term because of the emergence of serotypes that can evade vaccine-induced immunity