I tumori in Emilia-Romagna 3

Il presente volume, in continuità con le precedenti pubblicazioni, si propone di offrire uno strumento di agile consultazione dei dati di incidenza, mortalità, sopravvivenza e prevalenza tratti dai cinque Registri generali di popolazione. L'ampia copertura della popolazione regionale da cui i dati provengono rappresenta la base di dati che fornisce solidità alle stime relative all'intera regione e consente un affidabile riferimento anche per studi comparativi relativi a sub-aree regionali o a periodi diversi da quello considerato. Nel presente volume sono inoltre forniti alcuni approfondimenti tematici relativi agli screening oncologici attualmente attivi in Regione ed all'epidemiologia dei mesoteliomi, il cui Registro regionale rappresenta un'articolazione del più ampio Registro nazionale

Persistence of anti–chikungunya virus–specific antibodies in a cohort of patients followed from the acute phase of infection after the 2007 outbreak in Italy

Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne infection of humans, and its diffusion has increased worldwide. In 2007 an outbreak occurred in Italy. In this study, the antibody response of 133 patients followed up starting from the acute phase of infection was investigated. Antibody titres were periodically scored up to 1 year since the infection: 82.7% of the IgM antibody disappeared within 12 months, and the IgG response lasted longer than 12 months. Nevertheless, the IgG mean titre was lower in 95.5% of patients at the end of follow-up, thus suggesting a decrease within a relatively short period

Knowledge, attitudes and practices survey after an outbreak of chikungunya infections

In 2007, the first chikungunya outbreak ever occurring in a temperate area of the Northern Hemisphere was reported in Emilia-Romagna, Italy. The present study aims to evaluate knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding chikungunya infection. Information was collected by standardised telephone questionnaire, administered to 325 people during a seroprevalence survey performed in the outbreak area. Most people (61%) knew that Chikungunya virus is transmitted through mosquito bites. A significant proportion of respondents perceived chikungunya infection as a high-risk disease (49.8%) and declared their intention to use mosquito repellents in the future (47.4%). Willingness to use skin repellents was more often declared by women, residents in households with children and people who knew infection transmission routes, while perception of high risk related to Chikungunya did not influence claimed future behaviour. Knowledge of the mechanisms of infection transmission was inversely related to risk perception: elderly people were less likely to know the disease than young people, but ranked the risk highest compared to younger age groups. Less educated residents were much more likely to perceive a high risk. After a chikungunya infection outbreak in a temperate area, where mosquito-borne infections have not been previously reported, only half of the study participants declared their intention to use individual protection in the future. Anticipated behaviour was not explained by the level of risk perception, but was associated with knowledge of the disease and demographic characteristics

Imported cases of dengue virus infection: Emilia-Romagna, Italy, 2010.

Dengue is a significant mosquito-borne infection in humans, and its worldwide prevalence is rapidly increasing. In 2010, 83 serum samples from febrile travellers returning from dengue-endemic countries to a region in north-eastern Italy, densely infested with Aedes albopictus, were analysed for dengue virus (DENV). DENV RNA was detected in 20.5% of patients. By RT-PCR, DENV serotypes 1 and 3 were the most common. DENV must be identified early in symptomatic travellers returning from high-risk countries, to prevent outbreaks where potential vectors exis

Imported cases of dengue virus infection: Emilia-Romagna, Italy, 2010

AbstractDengue is a significant mosquito-borne infection in humans, and its worldwide prevalence is rapidly increasing. In 2010, 83 serum samples from febrile travellers returning from dengue-endemic countries to a region in north-eastern Italy, densely infested with Aedes albopictus, were analysed for dengue virus (DENV). DENV RNA was detected in 20.5% of patients. By RT-PCR, DENV serotypes 1 and 3 were the most common. DENV must be identified early in symptomatic travellers returning from high-risk countries, to prevent outbreaks where potential vectors exist

Seroprevalence of West Nile virus-specific antibodies in a cohort of blood donors in northeastern Italy

IgG and IgM levels against West Nile virus (WNV) were measured in 20,033 serum samples that were obtained between October 2008 to September 2009 from 9913 blood donors in the district of Ferrara, northeastern Italy. As confirmatory test, a microneutralization assay was used to detect the presence of neutralizing antibodies against WNV. Sixty-eight subjects (0.69%) were positive for anti-WNV by immunofluorescence assay. Large differences in the prevalence of antibodies to WNV were noted between towns in the area evaluated

Human infection with highly pathogenic a(H7N7) avian influenza virus, Italy, 2013

During an influenza A(H7N7) virus outbreak among poultry in Italy during August-September 2013, infection with a highly pathogenic A(H7N7) avian influenza virus was diagnosed for 3 poultry workers with conjunctivitis. Genetic analyses revealed that the viruses from the humans were closely related to those from chickens on affected farms