Cowpox infection transmitted from a domestic cat.

A 21-year-old immunocompetent woman developed a cowpox infec-tion,while working as a veterinarian's assistant in a rural area. She had never received vaccinia immunization and came in contact with a fatally-infected house cat. Under symptomatic treatment, the infection remained localized to one cheek and cleared over 3 weeks with substantial dermal-subcutaneous tissue destruction.

[Meningococcal carriers in high school students and possible risk factors].

From August 2004 to January 2005 a cluster of 7 cases of serogroup B meningococcal disease occurred in the state of Saxony-Anhalt in the town of Sangerhausen and the surrounding area. This led to an investigation of meningococcal carriage in 816 high school students (grades 9 to 13). The students were also asked to fill out a questionnaire regarding possible risk factors for carriage.

[Responsibilities of the German public health service with regard to environmental medicine].

In 1999, the Special Committee for Environmental Medicine affiliated to the Federal Association of Doctors in the German public health service, prepared a consensus paper on the latter's request entitled "Environmental medicine in the public health service -- a social role and its consequences: propositions with regard to the situation, aims, strategies, and opportunities for action". The propositions provide guidelines to public health departments for implementing the "Environment and Health" action programme launched by the Federal Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Federal Ministry of Health. Joint action by health and environmental authorities on the municipal, state and federal levels is considered essential.

[Complementary to notification required by the national Protection against Infection Act. State-specific mandatory infectious disease notification in Saxony-Anhalt].

In May 1991 a decree supplementing the federal Epidemic Law concerning the mandatory notification of communicable diseases was implemented by the Ministry of Health in Saxony-Anhalt. This was updated and newly implemented in 1997. With implementation of the national Protection against Infection Act in 2001 further amendment of the state regulation (published in April 2005) be came necessary.

[Garbage incineration plants -- planning, organisation and operation from health point of view].

The Waste Disposal Regulation which became effective March 1, 2001 stipulates that from June 1, 2005 biodegradable residential household and commercial waste may only be deposited on landfills after thermal or mechanical-biological pre-treatment. The Regulation aims at preventing generation of landfill gases that are detrimental to health and climate, and discharge of pollutants from landfills into the groundwater. Waste calculations for the year 2005 predict a volume of 28 million tons.