Cluster of Botulism among dutch tourists in Turkey, june 2008

In June 2008, three Dutch tourists participating in a mini-cruise in Turkey needed urgent repatriation for antitoxin treatment because of symptoms of botulism. Because there was a shortage of antitoxin in the Netherlands, an emergency delivery was requested from the manufacturer in Germany. An outbreak investigation was initiated into all nine cruise members, eight of whom developed symptoms. C. botulinum type B was isolated in stool culture from four of them. No other patients were notified locally. Food histories revealed locally purchased unprocessed black olives, consumed on board of the ship, as most likely source, but no leftovers were available for investigation. C. botulinum type D was detected in locally purchased canned peas, and whilst type D is not known to be a cause of human intoxication, its presence in a canned food product indicates an inadequate preserving process. With increasing tourism to areas where food-borne botulism is reported regularly special requests for botulism antitoxin may become necessary. Preparing an inventory of available reserve stock in Europe would appear to be a necessary and valuable undertaking

Reduction of Coxiella burnetii prevalence by vaccination of goats and sheep, the Netherlands

Recently, the number of human Q fever cases in the Netherlands increased dramatically. In response to this increase, dairy goats and dairy sheep were vaccinated against Coxiella burnetii. All pregnant dairy goats and dairy sheep in herds positive for Q fever were culled. We identified the effect of vaccination on bacterial shedding by small ruminants. On the day of culling, samples of uterine fluid, vaginal mucus, and milk were obtained from 957 pregnant animals in 13 herds. Prevalence and bacterial load were reduced in vaccinated animals compared with unvaccinated animals. These effects were most pronounced in animals during their first pregnancy. Results indicate that vaccination may reduce bacterial load in the environment and human exposure to C. burnetii

Paraoxonase (PON1) and the risk for coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction in a general population of Dutch women.

Contains fulltext : 71536.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access)There is strong evidence from both animal- and in vitro-models that paraoxonase (PON1) is involved in the onset of cardiovascular disease. In humans there is no consensus on this issue and therefore we investigated the effect of PON1 genotype and activity on the incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in a large prospective cohort of 17,357 middle-aged women. We applied a case-cohort design using the CHD (n=211) and AMI cases (n=71) and a random sample from the baseline cohort (n=1527). A weighted Cox proportional hazards model was used to estimate age- and multivariate-adjusted hazard ratios (HR) for the PON1 genetic variants (192Q > R and -107C > T) and tertiles of the PON1 arylesterase- and paraoxonase activities. Neither the PON1 genetic variants, nor the PON1 activities affected the incidence of CHD in general, but, an increased paraoxonase activity was associated with a higher risk of AMI: the second and third tertile HR were 1.31 and 2.07, respectively (P-trend=0.029, multivariate model). In the subgroup of never-smokers, paraoxonase activity was associated with an increased risk for AMI: the second and third tertile HR were 4.1 and 4.7, respectively (P-trend=0.009, multivariate model). Additionally, when compared to the lowest paraoxonase tertile in never-smokers, the highest paraoxonase tertile in current-smokers showed a 19.2-fold higher risk for AMI (95%CI: 5.3-69.5, P < 0.0001, multivariate model). In conclusion, this study shows that in middle-aged women paraoxonase activity was associated with an increased risk for AMI and that the risk was modified by the effects of smoking

Спосіб фіксації гістологічних блоків для виготовлення багатоплощинних зрізів мозочка

В статье описывается способ фиксации гистологических блоков для изготовления многоплоскостных срезов мозжечка, который можно также использовать для гистологического изучения других тканей. Дано подробное описание способа. Обоснованы преимущества его применения. Приведены графические изображения.In article the fixation mode of histological block for preparation of multiplane sections of cerebellum is described. The positive characteristics are well-grounded

Long-Term Follow-Up Study on the Uptake of Genetic Counseling and Predictive DNA Testing in Inherited Cardiac Conditions

BACKGROUND: Inherited cardiac conditions present with a wide range of symptoms and may even result in sudden cardiac death. Relatives of probands with a confirmed pathogenic genetic variant are advised predictive DNA testing to enable prevention and treatment. In 2 previous cohort studies of 115 probands with a pathogenic variant, family uptake of genetic counseling was assessed in the first year(s) after test result disclosure to the proband. This study assesses uptake in these cohorts in the 14 to 23 years following disclosure. METHODS: Uptake was determined retrospectively using patient records. First-degree relatives, and second-degree relatives of a deceased first-degree relative suspected of having an inherited cardiac condition, were considered eligible. RESULTS: Of 717 eligible relatives (598 first-degree and 119 second-degree relatives), 60% attended genetic counseling. Most of them (68.6%) attended genetic counseling in the first year. A total of 98.4% of counseled relatives pursued predictive DNA testing. A total of 49.2% was identified as carrier. Median time between disclosure to the proband and counseling of relatives was 6 months (range: 0-187 months). Attending genetic counseling was observed more frequently in first-degree relatives, female relatives, primary arrhythmia syndromes, relatives with manifest inherited cardiac condition, relatives without children and families with sudden cardiac death in first-degree relatives <40 years. CONCLUSIONS: During median follow-up of 16 years, 60.0% of relatives attended genetic counseling, with 41.0% in the first year. Our results may suggest that some relatives are not or inadequately informed or that barriers against genetic counseling are present. Further research is needed into interventions facilitating family communication, increasing awareness among families and healthcare professionals, and lowering thresholds for genetic counseling

The Impact of Socioeconomic Status, Surgical Resection and Type of Hospital on Survival in Patients with Pancreatic Cancer:A Population-Based Study in The Netherlands

The influence of socioeconomic inequalities in pancreatic cancer patients and especially its effect in patients who had a resection is not known. Hospital type in which resection is performed might also influence outcome. Patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer from 1989 to 2011 (n = 34,757) were selected from the population-based Netherlands Cancer Registry. Postal code was used to determine SES. Multivariable survival analyses using Cox regression were conducted to discriminate independent risk factors for death. Patients living in a high SES neighborhood more often underwent resection and more often were operated in a university hospital. After adjustment for clinicopathological factors, risk of dying was increased independently for patients with intermediate and low SES compared to patients with high SES. After resection, no survival difference was found among patients in the three SES groups. However, survival was better for patients treated in university hospitals compared to patients treated in non-university hospitals. Low SES was an independent risk factor for poor survival in patients with pancreatic cancer. SES was not an adverse risk factor after resection. Resection in non-university hospitals was associated with a worse prognosis.</p