Epidemiological investigation of an outbreak of acute diarrhoeal disease using geographic information systems

An outbreak of acute diarrhoeal disease in a village in southern India was investigated through personal interviews of all households. Maps were drawn using geographic information system (GIS) tools of the water supply system, sewage channels and areas with observed faecal contamination of soil within and around the village. Geographic coordinates for each house in the village were extracted from a central database from the healthcare service provider for the village. Geographical clustering of cases was looked for using the SaTScan software, and diarrhoeal disease attack rates were calculated. Diarrhoeal disease occurred uniformly throughout the village without clustering in any area. All ages and both sexes were affected, but extremes of ages were at higher risk. Water samples collected for microbiological examination after instituting control measures showed high coliform counts. Chlorine levels in the water tested were found to be inadequate to decontaminate common pathogens. Local cultural practices such as indiscriminate defecation in public places, washing clothes and cleaning utensils from water taps where the community collected its drinking water, and poor engineering design and maintenance of the water supply system were the risk factors that could have contributed to this outbreak

Non-active surgical implants - joint replacement implants - specifice requirements for knee-joint replacement implants (ISO 21536:2007, IDT)

ISO 21536:2007 provides specific requirements for knee joint replacement implants. With regard to safety, this International Standard specifies requirements for intended performance, design attributes, materials, design evaluation, manufacture, sterilization, packaging, information supplied by the manufacturer and methods of test

Implants for surgery - hydroxyapatite - part 2: coatings of hydroxyapatite (ISO 13779-2:2008, IDT)

ISO 13779-2:2008 specifies requirements for ceramic hydroxyapatite coatings applied to metallic or non-metallic surgical implants. ISO 13779-2:2008 does not cover coatings made from glasses, glass ceramics, alpha- and beta-calcium orthophosphate or other forms of calcium phosphate, nor does it cover coatings in which the hydroxyapatite is present in a powder form

Implants for surgery - hydroxyapatite - part 3: chemical analysis and characterization of crystallinity and phase purity (ISO 13779-3:2008, IDT)

ISO 13779-3:2008 specifies methods of test for the chemical analysis and assessment of crystallinity and phase composition of hydroxyapatite-based materials such as coatings and sintered products

Implants for surgery - in vitro evaluation for apatite-forming ability of implant materials (ISO 23317:2007, IDT)

This Malaysian Standard describes the method for detecting apatite formed on a surface of a material in simulated body fluid (SBF)

Implants for surgery - Measurements of open-circuit potential to assess corrosion behaviour of metallic implantable materials and medical devices over extended time periods (ISO 16429:2004, IDT)

ISO 16429:2004 specifies a test method for measurements over extended time periods of the open-circuit potential of implant materials and surgically implantable devices immersed in a test environment related to body fluid, using a standard corrosion test cell to study the electrochemical corrosion properties of the devices. This method of monitoring the open-circuit potential can also be combined with mechanical static or dynamic loading tests. ISO 16429:2004 is applicable in particular to metallic materials which form passive layers with protective properties against corrosion, as typical for surgical implant materials. This test method is intended for the investigation of single metallic materials or alloys. It is not applicable to dissimilar material combinations, which require particular considerations in measuring and interpreting the results

Implants for surgery - Ceramic materials based on yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia (Y-TZP) (ISO 13356:2008, IDT)

ISO 13356:2015 specifies the requirements and corresponding test methods for a biocompatible and biostable ceramic bone-substitute material based on yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia (yttria tetragonal zirconia polycrystal, Y-TZP) for use as a material for surgical implants

Implants for surgery - skeletal pins and wires - part 3: Kirschner skeletal wires (ISO 5838-3:1993, MOD)

Specifies the characteristics (dimensions, ends, marking and packaging) of Kirschner wires. Material and mechanical requirements are covered by ISO 5838-1