Using European travellers as an early alert to detect emerging pathogens in countries with limited laboratory resources

BACKGROUND: The volume, extent and speed of travel have dramatically increased in the past decades, providing the potential for an infectious disease to spread through the transportation network. By collecting information on the suspected place of infection, existing surveillance systems in industrialized countries may provide timely information for areas of the world without adequate surveillance currently in place. We present the results of a case study using reported cases of Shigella dysenteriae serotype 1 (Sd1) in European travellers to detect "events" of Sd1, related to either epidemic cases or endemic cases in developing countries. METHODS: We identified papers from a Medline search for reported events of Sd1 from 1940 to 2002. We requested data on shigella infections reported to the responsible surveillance entities in 17 European countries. Reports of Sd1 from the published literature were then compared with Sd1 notified cases among European travellers from 1990 to 2002. RESULTS: Prior to a large epidemic in 1999–2000, no cases of Sd1 had been identified in West Africa. However, if travellers had been used as an early warning, Sd1 could have been identified in this region as earlier as 1992. CONCLUSION: This project demonstrates that tracking diseases in European travellers could be used to detect emerging disease in developing countries. This approach should be further tested with a view to the continuous improvement of national health surveillance systems and existing European networks, and may play a significant role in aiding the international public health community to improve infectious disease control

Amérique latine-Europe :500 ans après. et après?

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Pratiques et dépenses pour la protection contre les moustiques dans les ménages à Kinshasa, Zaïre

An investigation on the knowledge, behaviour and practices regarding the protection against mosquitoes was carried out in June 1990 among 420 households in six districts of urban Kinshasa. Most of the surveyed families (92.4%) consider mosquitoes as a nuisance and 83.8% say to do something about it. Among the latter, 43.5% spend money for their protection: incense coils (85.6%), insecticide sprays (55.5%), bednets (38.6%). In May 1990, families have spent a median sum of US$5.00, which was at that time about the price of an impregnated bednet. 89.5$ 4.00 is judged as acceptable). Impregnated bednets being an efficient method of malaria control, financially accessible and acceptable, their utilization should be further encouraged by the national programme of malaria control and primary health care.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

[Methods and Expenditure for Protection Against Mosquitos in Households of Kinshasa, Zaire]

An investigation on the knowledge, behaviour and practices regarding the protection against mosquitoes was carried out in June 1990 among 420 households in six districts of urban Kinshasa. Most of the surveyed families (92.4 %) consider mosquitoes as a nuisance and 83.8 % say to do something about it. Among the latter, 43,5 % spend money for their protection: incense coils (85.6 %), insecticide sprays (55.5 %), bednets (38.6 %). In May 1990, families have spent a median sum of US$5.00, which was at that time about the price of an impregnated bednet. 89.5$ 4.00 is judged as acceptable). Impregnated bednets being an efficient method of malaria control, financially accessible and acceptable, their utilization should be further encouraged by the national programme of malaria control and primary health care