Climate variations and salmonellosis transmission in Adelaide, South Australia: a comparison between regression models.

This is the first study to identify appropriate regression models for the association between climate variation and salmonellosis transmission. A comparison between different regression models was conducted using surveillance data in Adelaide, South Australia. By using notified salmonellosis cases and climatic variables from the Adelaide metropolitan area over the period 1990-2003, four regression methods were examined: standard Poisson regression, autoregressive adjusted Poisson regression, multiple linear regression, and a seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA) model.

Climate variations and bacillary dysentery in northern and southern cities of China.

Objectives: This paper was aimed at examining the relationship between meteorological variables and bacillary dysentery in different climatic and geographic areas in China.

Methods: Jinan in northern China, with a temperate climate, and Baoan in southern China, with a subtropical climate were chosen as study areas. Spearman correlations and seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) models were used to quantify the association between meteorological variables and dysentery.

Estimating the population of female sex workers in two Chinese cities on the basis of the HIV/AIDS behavioural surveillance approach combined with a multiplier method.

Objective: To estimate the size of the population of female sex workers (FSWs) on the basis of the HIV/AIDS behavioural surveillance approach in two Chinese cities, using a multiplier method.

Method: Relevant questions were inserted into the questionnaires given to two behavioural surveillance groups-female attendees of sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinics and FSWs. The size of the FSW population was derived by multiplying the number of FSWs in selected STD clinics during the study period by the proportion of FSW population who reported having attended the selected STD clinics during the same period.

El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and dysentery in Shandong province, China.

To investigate the impact of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on dysentery transmission, the relationship between monthly dysentery cases in Shandong Province of China and the monthly Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), a broad index of ENSO, was examined over the period 1991-2003. Spearman correlations and generalized linear models were calculated to detect the association between the SOI and dysentery cases. Data from 1991 to 2001 were used to estimate the parameters, while data from 2002 to 2003 were used to test the forecasting ability of the model.

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction of the ZO-binding domain of human occludin.

Occludin is a tight-junction protein controlling the integrity of endothelial and epithelial cell layers. It forms complexes with the cytoplasmic proteins ZO-1, ZO-2 and ZO-3. The ZO-binding domain in the C-terminal cytoplasmic region of human occludin has previously been isolated and identified.

The incidence of Ross River virus disease in South Australia, 1992 to 2003.

Ross River virus (RRV) disease is the most frequently notified arboviral disease in Australia, and the burden of this disease to Australian society is significant. We have studied the incidence of RRV disease between 1992 and 2003 in South Australia. Our findings suggest that the incidence of the disease in South Australia over the study period was relatively stable.

El Nino-Southern Oscillation and vector-borne diseases in Anhui, China.

This paper examines the relationship between monthly Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) and monthly incidences of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) and malaria in Anhui Province, China, over the periods 1971-1992 and 1966-1987, respectively. On the basis of monthly data over a 22-year period, results indicated that there were positive and negative relationships, respectively, between the SOI and monthly incidences of malaria and HFRS. The results suggest that the SOI could be used as an index in the study of the association of climate variability with the transmission of such diseases, particularly over larger areas, such as at a provincial or even state level, where averaging rainfall or temperature data across regions is inappropriate.

Secular trends in mortality rates for diabetes in Australia, 1907-1998.

Aims: To characterise long-term mortality trends for diabetes in Australia during the 20th century, and to provide suggestions to health policy-makers.

Methods: A descriptive study was conducted using existing dataset. Deaths due to diabetes, as underlying cause of death, from 1907 to 1998 were tallied, according to the ICD-9.

Co-existing conditions for deaths from infectious and parasitic diseases in Australia.

Objective: To examine the frequency distribution of co-existing conditions for deaths where the underlying cause was infectious and parasitic diseases.

Materials And Methods: Besides the underlying cause of death, the distributions of co-existing conditions for deaths from infectious and parasitic diseases were examined in total and by various age and sex groups, at individual and chapter levels, using 1998 Australian mortality data.

Results: In addition to the underlying cause of death, the average number of reported co-existing conditions for a single infectious and parasitic death was 1.

Climate variability and transmission of Japanese encephalitis in eastern China.

A time-series analysis was conducted to study the impact of climate variability on the transmission of Japanese encephalitis in eastern China. Correlation and regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between monthly climatic variables and monthly incidence of Japanese encephalitis in Jieshou County, China over the period 1980-96. Spearman's correlation analysis showed that maximum and minimum temperatures and rainfall were all associated with the transmission of Japanese encephalitis in the county.

Climatic variables and transmission of malaria: a 12-year data analysis in Shuchen County, China.

Objective: The objective of this study was to explore the impact of climate variability on the transmission of malaria, a vector-borne disease, in a county of China and provide suggestions to similar regions for disease prevention.

Methods: A time-series analysis was conducted using data on monthly climatic variables and monthly incidence of malaria in Shuchen County, China, for the period 1980-1991.

Results: Spearman's correlation analysis showed that monthly mean maximum and minimum temperatures, two measures of monthly mean relative humidity, and monthly amount of precipitation were positively correlated with the monthly incidence of malaria in the county.

Climatic, reservoir and occupational variables and the transmission of haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in China.

Background: Being a zoonosis, the transmission of haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) is influenced by climatic, reservoir and occupational factors. This paper has quantified the incidence and potential risk factors of HFRS in Yingshang County, a low-lying epidemic focus of the disease in China.

Methods: Correlation and regression analyses were conducted among climatic variables, the density of mice, autumn crop production and annual incidence of HFRS during the autumn-winter seasons in the County over the period 1980-1996.