Cent Eur J Public Health 1999, 7(3)

Present state of tuberculosis in the Czech Republic and in central European and Baltic countries

Kubín M., Príkazský V., Havelková M., ©vandová E., Levina K., Kurve A., Leimans J.

Cent Eur J Public Health 1999, 7(3):109-115

The Central Europe forms a buffer zone between the countries of the European West reporting tuberculosis notification rates lower than 20 per 100,000, the cut-off set between low and high incidence areas, and the Eastern European countries including the republics of the former USSR, Russia and the Baltic States. The Czech Republic holds an intermediate place between these two territories with the total notification rate of tuberculosis cases 18.8, 9.7 bacteriologically verified and 5.7 positive in direct smear per 100,000 in 1996. Data on drug resistance obtained from the WHO/IUATLD Global Project on Anti-Tuberculosis Drug Resistance Surveillance were...

Selected results of the tuberculosis control program in the Czech Republic

Príkazský V., Kubín M., Pikhartová J.

Cent Eur J Public Health 1999, 7(3):116-121

There are probably several causes why steady decrease of tuberculosis incidence stopped. The aim of our work was to investigate a possible relation of tuberculosis incidence in smaller administrative areas with several social and economic characteristics. The individual data were taken from the Information System of Bacillary Tuberculosis, based on laboratory reporting network. Tuberculosis incidence dropped to 19.8/100,000 in 1987 and since then it fluctuates around that level. The levels in districts ranged from 1.9 to 45.6 in 1997. The social status, overcrowding, air pollution and unemployment rates are weakly correlated with tuberculosis incidence....

Ischaemic heart disease as an effect of obesity-related metabolic disturbances

Indulski J.A., Lutz W.

Cent Eur J Public Health 1999, 7(3):122-129

Obesity results from excessive accumulation of fats in adipose tissue and constitutes one of the essential sources of increased incidence of some diseases harassing the highly industrialized and urbanized societies. Obesity-related metabolic disorders may be associated with the risk of circulatory diseases. The mechanism causing that obesity enhances the incidence of the metabolic disorders have not been explained to the full extent. Hyperinsulinaemia is one of effects of obesity and of the associated presence of excessive blood fatty acid levels. Overloading of the organism with fatty acids changes the function pancreatic beta cells. Insulin resistance...

Reduction of microorganisms in sewage effluent using hypochlorite and peracetic acid as disinfectants

Bonadonna L., Della Libera S., Veschetti E., Cutilli D., Ottaviani M., Divizia M., Donia D., Gabrieli R., Panà A., Martini C., Anastasi P.

Cent Eur J Public Health 1999, 7(3):130-132

A comparative study on peracetic acid and sodium hypochlorite in inactivating bacteria and viruses was carried out. Therefore the disinfection actions of peracetic acid, in comparison with sodium hypochlorite, was evaluated against the usual indicators of faecal contamination, the pathogen Salmonella, Pseudomonas spp., bacteriophages anti-Escherichia coli, F+/phage and the phage of Bactericides fragilis B40-8 and enteroviruses. Under the experimental conditions, no representative results were obtained for enteroviruses and phages because of their low concentration in the sewage effluent. On the other hand, the indicator organisms were reduced substantially...

Pharmacovigilance: characteristics of the most widely used drugs in Bulgaria

Getov I., Dimitrova Z.

Cent Eur J Public Health 1999, 7(3):133-136

In the present study we analysed registered adverse drug reactions caused by 19 most used drugs in Bulgaria during three-year period. The cases were assembled from the spontaneous reporting system operated in our country. We described demographic characteristics of the patients, clinical diagnosis and reporting rates per 100,000 inhabitants for each drug. The data for antibiotics were compared with the results of our previous research. We analysed 188 adverse drug reactions i.e. 21 % of all reports received in the Centre for Drug Safety of the National Drug Institute. Adverse drug reactions type B such as oedema, allergy, coma, etc. predominate. The...

The antimicrobial efficiency of Piper betle Linn leaf (stalk) against human pathogenic bacteria and phytopathogenic fungi

Shitut S., Pandit V., Mehta B.K.

Cent Eur J Public Health 1999, 7(3):137-139

The in vitro antimicrobial activity of different varieties of Piper betle Linn, leaf stalk extracts were studied against human pathogenic bacteria and phytopathogenic fungi by comparing the results with standard microbial susceptibility testing biodiscs. The ethyl acetate and ethanol extracts of all the four varieties have shown significant activity against bacteria Vibrio cholerae ogawa, Staphylococcus aureus, Diplococcus pneumoniae and Klebsiella aerogenes. The hexane and benzene extracts have shown moderate activity, while other extracts have shown poor or no activity. In the same way ethyl acetate and ethanol extracts of all the varieties have...

Epidemiological analysis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains isolated from a selected patient population in Brno, Czech Republic

Sekaninová G., Kolářová M., Seménka J., Zajícová V., Burgetová D., Svoboda J., ©vihálková A.

Cent Eur J Public Health 1999, 7(3):140-144

In the 1996/97 period, 1,413 Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) strains were isolated from 843 patients of the Brno teaching hospitals of St. Anne and Bohunice together with small groups from other hospitals. In the same period, 203 PA strains, used as controls, were isolated from 187 patients treated outside hospitals. Statistical evaluation was based on 1,023 hospital isolates and 189 control strains. A total of 16 isolates were recovered from the hospital environments and two from therapeutic swimming pools. The epidemiological analysis of these PA strains was based on pyocin typing, serological typing and phage typing. The most frequently occurring pyocin...

The isolation of certain pathogen microorganisms from raw milk

Uraz G., Yücel N.

Cent Eur J Public Health 1999, 7(3):145-148

In this research, a total of 211 raw milk samples in different areas of Ankara were collected from various dairy plants. Each of these samples was tested for the presence of Yersinia enterocolitica, Listeria monocytogenes and Campylobacter spp. From a total of 14 (6.63 %) Y. enterocolitica and Y. enterocolitica-like organisms were isolated. 8 (3.79 %) of the total isolation were identified as Y. enterocolitica whereas 6 (2.84 %) of these were found to be Y. enterocolitica-like organisms. In addition L. monocytogenes and Campylobacter were detected in 2 (0.94 %) and 17 (8.05 %) same raw milk samples. Distribution of these patogenic microorganisms was...

Effect of vibrations on male reproductive system and function

Penkov A., Tzvetkov D.

Cent Eur J Public Health 1999, 7(3):149-154

From data in the literature, the potential risk of mechanical vibrations on reproduction in experimental, clinical and epidemiological studies (in experimental animals, men occupied in transport and industry), as well as the influence on sexuality are summarised. Results of the authors own experimental and clinical studies on the influence of the vibration on the male reproductive system are also presented. In male rats, decreased sperm counts, spermatogenesis index and size of testes, changed character of their motion, chronic venous stagnation and dystrophic alterations in tubuli contorti, changed ScDH, ATP-ase, LDH and GL-6-PDH activity, germ cells...

Lead risk assessment for children in Hungary by predicting their blood lead levels using US EPA integrated Exposure Uptake Biokinetic model

Hassanien M.A., Horváth A.

Cent Eur J Public Health 1999, 7(3):155-159

The US EPA integrated Exposure Uptake Biokinetic (IEUBK 0.99d) lead exposure for children was validated, updated, and applied to predict mean blood lead levels based on lead uptake from multiple sources and provide assessment of risk. Surveys were carried out around houses in a polluted area (Heves, Hungary) in 1995. The collected data from that area have shown very high levels of lead in soil. In some cases the level of lead in soil has reached more than 1000 times the allowable limit value used (100 mg/kg) in Hungary. Moreover, the concentration of lead in air was measured and the concentration of lead in air varied from 0.05-1.83 micrograms/m3....

News and Notes

WHO guidelines address risk of tuberculosis transmission during air travel.

Cent Eur J Public Health 1999, 7(3):144, 154

Talking to local authorities: WHO presents a new format of information for non-specialists.

Cent Eur J Public Health 1999, 7(3):160-161

Epidemic meningococcal disease.

Cent Eur J Public Health 1999, 7(3):162