Seroepidemiological Survey of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) and Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Infections among The Hill Tribes in Northern Thailand

We report the results of seroepidemiological survey of Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections among the Karen, La-Wah and Lahu-Na, designated as the hill tribes, in northern Thailand. Some of these hill tribes are living in the remote and isolated mountain areas, settling their own communities. Anti-HIV seropositive cases were found only in the Lahu-Na (2.6%). The highest incidence of Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBs-Ag) positive was found in the Karen (13.2%), followed by the Lahu-Na (2.6%) and the La-Wah (1.7%). The highest incidence of anti-Hepatitis C virus antibody (anti-HCV) positive was found in the La-Wah (3.3%), followed by the Karen and the Lahu-Na (2.6%, respectively). Two out of nine anti-HCV positive cases were from seven and 11 year-old Karenean girls, who had no previous history of surgery, blood transfusion, intravenous medication, vaccination and dental therapy. These results suggest that HIV infections have not yet reached to the hill tribes, except the Lahu-Na. One of the possible transmission routes of HCV infection is a vertical or intrahhousehold infection among the hill tribes in northern Thailand

A High Prevalence of Hepatitis C Virus Infection Among The Human Immunodeficiency Virus Seropositive Blood Donors in Chiang Mai, Thailand

We report the results of serological survey of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections among the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) seropositive and seronegative blood donors in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Anti-HCV were positive in 17 out of 276 anti-HIV seropositive blood donors (6.2%) and six out of 844 anti-HIV seronegative blood donors (0.7%). HBs-Ag were positive in 20 out of 276 anti-HIV seropositive blood donors (7.2%) and 68 out of 844 anti-HIV seronegative blood donors (8.1%). These findings suggest that anti-HIV seropositive population belongs to a high risk group of HCV infection and there are similar transmission routes between HIV and HCV infections

A comparison of epidemiologic, histologic, and virologic studies on Hodgkin\u27s disease in western Kenya and Nagasaki, Japan

Rapid progress in molecular technologies has enabled the detection of several oncogenic viruses in various types of tumors. The pathogenesis of Hodgkin\u27s disease is suggested to have a strong association with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). However, Hodgkin\u27s disease related to EBV shows a wide geographic variation in epidemiology. These variations among different populations suggest an interaction of environmental factors and a direct role of EBV infection. Therefore, we performed a comparative study on epidemiologic, histologic, and virologic features of Hodgkin\u27s disease among those in the western part of Kenya and in Nagasaki, Japan. The age distribution of Hodgkin\u27s disease showed a distinct peak in the 0-9-year-old age group in Kenya, and a higher and lower peak in the 60-69- and 30-39-year-old age groups, respectively, in Japan. The most common subtype of Hodgkin\u27s disease in both countries was mixed cellularity, followed by nodular sclerosis, lymphocyte depletion, and lymphocyte predominance. Mixed cellularity showed a significantly high prevalence among Kenyan children nine years of age or younger. Using the in situ hybridization method, EBV-encoded RNA (EBER-1) was detected in 79% of the Kenyan cases and 59% of the Japanese cases, with the mixed cellularity subtype showing a strong correlation with EBER-1. There was 100% positivity in both countries in those less than nine years old. These results suggest that EBV plays a more direct role in the pathogenesis of Hodgkin\u27s diseases in Kenya, especially in cases among young children and also in Japanese children. Environmental and/or genetic factors may have a role, in addition to EBV, in the pathogenesis of Hodgkin\u27s disease, especially in Nagasaki, Japan

平成15年度厚生労働科学研究(医療技術評価総合研究事業)医療安全に資する標準化に関する研究

医療環境整備は医療の安全と信頼を確保するために不可欠であり、その対策の1つとして看護技術を標準化がある。しかし、医療内容の高度化に伴い急速に発展してきたNICU(新生児集中治療室)看護においては、看護基礎教育での系統的教育が十分ではないことも手伝い、看護技術や手順が施設間で著しく異なっている。このような状況に対して、日本新生児看護学会は平成13年に「新生児看護技術の標準化に関する検討委員会」を立ち上げ、平成15年4月から質問紙による実態調査に着手した。本研究では、平成15年度に日本新生児看護学会が収集したNICU看護技術に関する情報を、医療事故予防や安全確保の観点から分析し、標準化のための課題を明らかにすることを目的とした