The impact of new national guidance for the public health management of enteric fever in England.

Objectives: New guidance was published in England in February 2012 to support the public health management of enteric fever and reduce the risks of secondary transmission. The new guidance was evaluated to assess: STUDY DESIGN: Quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the implementation of new public health guidance.

Methods: A qualitative review of all non-travel-related cases from February 2010 to January 2014 to compare the risk of secondary transmission before and after the guidance introduction; an audit of clearance sampling for each case and their contacts reported in London from February 2012-January 2015 to compare with a previous London audit; and an online user survey in November 2014.

Guidelines for the public health management of typhoid and paratyphoid in England: practice guidelines from the National Typhoid and Paratyphoid Reference Group.

Objectives: The Typhoid and Paratyphoid Reference Group (TPRG) was convened by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) and the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) to revise guidelines for public health management of enteric fever. This paper presents the new guidelines for England and their rationale.

Methods: Methods include literature reviews including grey literature such as audit data and case studies; analysis of enhanced surveillance data from England, Wales and Northern Ireland; review of clearance and screening schedules in use in other non-endemic areas; and expert consensus.

Value of case studies in disaster assessment?

Case studies can be useful in assessing and learning lessons from emergency situations. In this paper, different uses for disaster case studies, are explored with identification of potential pitfalls that should be avoided. In addition, ways to improve the rigor and significance of case studies are suggested.