THE SIGNIFICANCE OF FOOD ANALYSIS IN PUBLIC HEALTH

Food poisoning is the most commonly seen acute problem among the health problems caused by foods

Surveillance and Oseltamivir Resistance of Human Influenza A Virus in Turkey During the 2007-2008 Season

Monitoring the activity of influenza viruses is important for establishing the circulating types and for detection of the emergence of novel sub-types and antiviral resistant strains. This is the first report from Turkey on the surveillance and oseltamivir resistance of influenza viruses in 2007-2008. Five hundred twenty-four nasal swabs were tested from different geographical regions in Turkey during November 2007-April 2008. One hundred sixty-three (31%) samples were positive for influenza viruses of which 111 (68%) were influenza A, 52 (31%) influenza B using an immuno-capture ELISA. Forty isolates were selected at random from influenza A positive samples and grown in MDCK cell cultures. The supernatant of the cell cultures was used for RNA extraction followed by RT-PCR to detect the sub-types. Sub-typing revealed all samples as A/H1N1. The N1 gene segment of 30 A/H1N1 samples was sequenced in part, from the 201st to 365th residue, which included the critical region for oseltamivir resistance. Then resulting sequences were analyzed with oseltamivir sensitive and resistant strains obtained from National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) GenBank by CLC Main Workbench Software. H275Y (H274Y according to N2 numbering) mutation, which is known to confer resistance to oseltamivir, was detected in 6 out of 30 (20%) H1N1 isolates from four cities (Istanbul, Bursa, Ankara, and Izmir). The D354G mutation was observed in all oseltamivir resistant H1N1 isolates but not in the oseltamivir sensitive isolates. Assay of neuraminidase activity revealed that these isolates were resistant to oseltamivir, but sensitive to zanamivir. J. Med Virol. 81:1645-1651, 2009. (C) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc

Foetal cardiac function in third trimester pregnancies with reduced fetal movements

*Gül, Murat ( Aksaray, Yazar )The objective of our study was to investigate the possible relationship between poor perinatal outcome and foetal cardiac functions in pregnant women with reduced foetal movements (RFM). This cross-sectional study included 126 pregnant women with normal foetal movements (Group 1, Controls) and 42 pregnant women over 32 weeks gestation with RFM (Group 2). Group 2 was further divided into two subgroups according to their perinatal outcome: normal perinatal outcome (Group 2a) and poor perinatal outcome (Group 2b). Cardiotocography, the E/A ratio in both atrioventricular valves, myocardial performance index (MPI) and foetal tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (f-TAPSE) were evaluated. Foetuses with poor perinatal outcome had a higher MPI (p =.003), higher tricuspid and mitral E/A (p <.001), and lower f-TAPSE values (p <.001). In regression analysis, f-TAPSE was the only parameter (p =.04) independently associated with poor perinatal outcome. İn conclusion, examining f-TAPSE may predict adverse perinatal outcome in pregnancies with RFM.IMPACT STATEMENTWhat is already known on this subject? Reduced foetal movement (RFM) is associated with adverse pregnancy outcome. Cardiotocography, amniotic fluid assessment, estimated birthweight, foetal Doppler and formal foetal movement count (kick chart) are generally used in the clinical assessment of pregnancies with reduced foetal movements. These tests, we currently use to assess foetal wellbeing in women with reduced foetal movements, have limited sensitivity in predicting foetal compromise. What do the results of this study add? Foetal cardiac Doppler may potentially be used as an important adjunct to the conventional management of women with a perception of reduced foetal movements. What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? Foetal echocardiographic evaluation, such as f-TAPSE, may influence clinical practice by enabling improved risk stratification for poor perinatal outcome, thus allowing more timely definitive intervention. This could help to decrease the rate of stillbirth related to reduced foetal movements. The few established echocardiographically derived parameters, which can asses global right ventricle function, are not always easy to obtain, however, f-TAPSE is easily obtainable using ultrasound and it appears to be a clinically useful echocardiographic measurement of right ventricular function

The Turkish perspective on apheresis activity: The Turkish apheresis registry report

Therapeutic apheresis is an extracorporeal treatment that selectively removes abnormal cells or harmful substances in the blood that are associated with or cause certain diseases. During the last decades the application of therapeutic apheresis has expanded to a broad spectrum of hematological and non-hematological diseases due to various studies on the clinical efficacy of this procedure. In this context there are more than 30 centers performing therapeutic apheresis and registered in the apheresis database in Turkey. Herein, we, The Turkish Apheresis Registry, aimed to analyze some key articles published so far from Turkey regarding the use of apheresis for various indications