Adherence of Aeromonas hydrophila strains to human enterocyte-like cells pre-infected with Rotavirus

Introduction. The interest grown in these years about emerging pathogens in the onset of intestinal disease showed that the patho- genic mechanism is a multifactorial event. Our objective was to evaluate the role of co-infection with rotavirus in the expression of Aeromonas spp adhesiveness. Methods. The rate of co-infection involves contact of Caco-2 cells with the virus, followed by adsorption for 1 and 2 hours. Aliquots of bacterial suspensions were added to tissue-culture plates. After infection, cell monolayers were lysed; serially diluted lysates were plated to determine the number of bound bacteria by performing colony forming units (CFU) counts. Results. Non-adhesive strains were not subject to variations resulting from co-infection, while those who had medium or high adhesiveness gave rise to an increase of the same. Discussion. Infection with rotavirus promotes the Aeromonas ability to adhere to Caco-2 cells and this effect depends on the duration of infection and on the starting adhesiveness of bacteria strain

Knowledge of sexually transmitted infections among younger subjects of the city of Messina (Sicily)

Introduction. Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are considered a serious public health problem worldwide, affecting especially young people. The international monitoring data indicate that 70% of patients with STIs are aged between 15 and 24 years and the World Health Organization estimates that one out of 20 teenagers contracts an STI each year. We wanted to evaluate, through this work, what high school students of Messina know about the STIs. Material and methods. From February to May 2013 questionnaires were distributed to students of the last three classes of seven high schools, three of which belonging to humanistic area and four to technical area. The completed questionnaires collected were 1588. Results and discussion. The investigation carried out showed a better knowledge of the STIs by students of humanistic schools than students of technical-scientific schools, the percentage of correct answers was 74% and 60% respectively; this probably also depends on the family context, in fact, there is a statistically significant correlation between the percentage of correct answers and parents education level. Young people have a limited knowledge on the subject. We concluded our work by stressing the importance and the need to deepen and improve the training and information of the medical staff, teachers and families, as it is from their knowl- edge and their ability to provide complete and accurate information about the risks posed by STIs that can derive knowledge and choices of appropriate lifestyle between the youth population

Evaluation of the AIDS risk perception among healthcare workers in the hospital University Unit of Messina (Italy)

No Summar

Seroprevalence study on the diffusion of the West Nile Virus among blood donors, healthcare workers, jockeys, grooms and fowlers, veterinary surgeons and hunters in Messina (Italy)

Introduction. West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-transmitted flavivirus widely distributed in Africa, Middle East, Asia, Southern Europe and in 1999 was first identified in the United States as a cause of disease in New York City. It mainly circulates among birds, but can infect many species of mammals. Epidemics can occur in rural as well as urban areas. Methods. 1,280 sera were collected during 2006 from 80 stable workers, as jockey and grooms, 100 fowlers, 500 blood donors, 600 healthcare workers, 100 veterinary surgeons and 100 hunters in the Messina province to evaluate the prevalence of the WNV infection, by ELISA test, in relation to risk exposure or not. Results. None of the 1280 subjects examined has shown positive for antibodies anti WN virus. Conclusion. Among the strategies of control and surveillance, finally, in our opinion, are and will be indispensable the programs of continuous antibody survey in all the risk categories and in the general population in order to succeed to preview which effects could have the presence of infections from WNV, also imported from other zones where the virus is constantly present, in future and which it could be the impact of geographic factors on the epidemic spread of the disease

An evaluation of gambling addiction and video lottery in the South of Italy

Nowadays, pathological gambling is an emerging health problem. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5 (DSM 5) renames it as 'Gambling Disorder' (GD), thus recognising its highly dependent status. A study was conducted from April 2016 to August 2017 to evaluate the prevalence of this phenomenon by administering an ad hoc questionnaire to adult individuals (both sexes) over the age of 18.  We analysed a sample of 562 individuals with DSM 5 criteria. We obtained a score > 4 indicating a possible mild gambling disorder in 1.6% of the sample and a score > 6 corresponding to a moderate GD in 2.3% of the sample. We observed that the main motivations for gambling were “having fun” and “the prospect of winning” and 10.9% of respondents had played more than they intended. Furthermore, "problematic" players showed to be more prone to alcohol abuse than "social" players (p < 0.001). Only 7.5% of respondents had already gambling problems in their family (involving in particular their mothers). The phenomenon is, therefore, quite common in our area and, indeed, 64.1% of the sample believes that gambling is a problem in their own territory, however only 20.6% would know where to find help. In conclusion, given the high socio-economic impact of this phenomenon, we believe that it is imperative to establish structured preventions programs in order to to contain the spread of this phenomenon.  Key words

Vaccination coverage in healthcare workers: a multicenter cross-sectional study in Italy

IntroductionIn recent years, a phenomenon known as "vaccine hesitancy" has spread throughout the world, even among health workers, determining a reduction in vaccination coverage (VC). A study aimed at evaluating VC among healthcare workers (HCWs) in 10 Italian cities (L'Aquila, Genoa, Milan, Palermo, Sassari, Catanzaro, Ferrara, Catania, Naples, Messina) was performed.Materials and methodsAnnex 3 of the Presidential Decree n. 445 of 28 December 2000 was used to collect information on the vaccination status of HCWs. The mean and standard deviation (SD) were calculated with regard to the quantitative variable (age), while absolute and relative frequencies were obtained for categorical data (sex, professional profile, working sector, vaccination status). The connection between VC and the categorical variables was evaluated by chi-square method (statistical significance at p<0.05). The statistical analyses were performed by SPSS and Stata software.ResultsA total of 3,454 HCWs participated in the project: 1,236 males and 2,218 females. The sample comprised: physicians (26.9%), trainee physicians (16.1%), nurses (17.2%) and other professional categories (9.8%). Low VC was generally recorded. Higher VC was found with regard to polio, hepatitis B, tetanus and diphtheria, while coverage was very low for measles, mumps, rubella, pertussis, chickenpox and influenza (20-30%). ConclusionsThis study revealed low VC rates among HCWs for all the vaccinations. Measures to increase VC are therefore necessary in order to prevent HCWs from becoming a source of transmission of infections with high morbidity and/or mortality both within hospitals and outside

Post-graduate medical education in public health: The case of Italy and a call for action

Public health technical expertise is of crucial importance to inform decision makers' action in the field of health and its broader determinants. Improving education and training of public health professionals for both practice and research is the starting point to strengthen the role of public health so that current health challenges can be efficiently tackled. At the Association of Schools of Public Health in the European Region (ASPHER) Deans' & Directors' 2017 Annual Retreat, we presented the structure and management of public health training system in Italy, and we reported recent data on Italian public health specialists' educational experience, employment opportunities and job satisfaction. Public health training in Italy is implemented in the context of the post-graduate medical education residency programme in Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, delivered by 34 University-based Schools of Public Health. We report relatively high employment rates across the county and wide spectrum of career opportunities for young public health specialists. However, job security is low and training expectations only partially met. We call upon other Schools of Public Health to scale up the survey within the broad ASPHER community in a shared and coordinated action of systematically collecting useful data that can inform the development of public health education and training models, their implementation and fruitful interaction with population health, health systems and services