Etiology and Risk Factors of Acute Gastroenteritis in a Taipei Emergency Department: Clinical Features for Bacterial Gastroenteritis.

Background: The causative pathogen is rarely identified in the emergency department (ED), since the results of cultures are usually unavailable. As a result, antimicrobial treatment may be overused. The aim of our study was to investigate the pathogens, risk factors of acute gastroenteritis, and predictors of acute bacterial gastroenteritis in the ED.

Prevalence and characterization of enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis and toxigenic Clostridium difficile in a Taipei emergency department.

Background/purpose: Enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis (ETBF) and toxin-encoding Clostridium difficile (TXCD) are associated with gastroenteritis. Routine anaerobic blood culture for recovery of these anaerobic pathogens is not used for the detection of their toxins, especially for toxin-variant TXCD. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of the genotypes of these anaerobes in patients with acute diarrheal illnesses.

A norovirus outbreak in a nursing home: norovirus shedding time associated with age.

Background: Norovirus (NoV) GII.4 has been identified as predominant in outbreaks in the long-term health-care facilities.

Objectives: NoV excretion during an outbreak of gastroenteritis affecting 19/42 residents and 12/33 employees was investigated in a Taiwan nursing home.

An outbreak of varicella among schoolchildren in Taipei.

Background: The reported cases with varicella have not decreased and outbreaks of varicella among vaccinated children continue to be reported 9 years after the public vaccination program in Taipei. We investigated an outbreak to determine varicella vaccine coverage and effectiveness.

Methods: An outbreak occurred in an elementary school which located in southern Taipei from April 2007 through May 2007.

Using the Health Belief Model to understand caregiver factors influencing childhood influenza vaccinations.

Objective: This study applied the Health Belief Model to investigate factors in the decision by caregivers to vaccinate their children for influenza.

Design: Cross-sectional study. SAMPLE AND MEASUREMENTS: Purposive sampling obtained 2,778 useable responses to surveys of 33 public health centers and 40 medical institutions participating in vaccination programs in southern Taiwan.

Evaluation of a new single-tube multiprobe real-time PCR for diagnosis of Entamoeba histolytica and Entamoeba dispar.

A single-tube multiprobe real-time PCR assay for simultaneous detection of Entamoeba histolytica and Entamoeba dispar was developed. One primer pair with 2 species-specific probes was designed based on new SSU RNA regions of the ribosomal DNA-containing episome. The sensitivity is 1 parasite per milliliter of feces and thus superior to the conventional nested PCR and comparable to other published real-time PCR protocols.

Impact of HAART therapy on co-infection of tuberculosis and HIV cases for 9 years in Taiwan.

Free highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) was made available by The Department of Health since April 1997. As a result, the incidence rate of tuberculosis (TB)/human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) co-infection among HIV cases rose from 1.90% to 3.

Unexplained deaths and critical illnesses of suspected infectious cause, Taiwan, 2000-2005.

We report 5 years' surveillance data from the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control on unexplained deaths and critical illnesses suspected of being caused by infection. A total of 130 cases were reported; the incidence rate was 0.12 per 100,000 person-years; and infectious causes were identified for 81 cases (62%).

Prevalence of obesity and its association with cardiovascular disease risk factors in adolescent girls from a college in central Taiwan.

Although obesity is associated with important hemodynamic disturbances, little data exists on population-wide cardiovascular risk factors in obese adolescent girls in Taiwan. This study measured the prevalence of overweight/obesity and related cardiovascular disease risk factors in adolescent females. This was a school-based survey of a representative sample of 291 females aged 15 and 18 years in a public college in Central Taiwan.

Survey of the status of self-paid varicella vaccination among children one to six years of age in Taiwan.

Background And Purpose: Prior to 2004, the mass immunization program in Taiwan did not include varicella vaccine; however, parents could have their children vaccinated by the self-payment option.

Methods: In April 2002, we distributed 1271 questionnaires to the caregivers of children aged 1 to 6 years in Taoyuan county, Taiwan, to survey the status of vaccination rate against varicella, parental attitudes toward self-paid varicella vaccine, and the demographic characteristics of the family.

Results: Based on the answers provided in the questionnaires (99% response rate), we learned that until April 2002, the vaccination rate against varicella was 26%.

Prognostic factors of organophosphate poisoning between the death and survival groups.

In this prospective case series study, we consider the different factors between death and survival groups of organophosphate poisoning. Patients in tertiary-care medical center who had been exposed to organophosphate were included in the study. Pralidoxime (PAM) was discontinued after atropine had controlled the clinical situation.

Outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome in southern Taiwan, 2003.

This study describes the epidemiologic features of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in southern Taiwan in 2003. According to the official files of reported cases of SARS from February 21 to June 19, 2003, there were 586 cases in southern Taiwan. Symptom onset occurred between February 21 and June 19 in reported cases, between March 13 and May 30 in probable cases, and between March 17 and May 23 in polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-positive probable cases.

Transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome on aircraft.

Background: The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) spread rapidly around the world, largely because persons infected with the SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) traveled on aircraft to distant cities. Although many infected persons traveled on commercial aircraft, the risk, if any, of in-flight transmission is unknown.

Methods: We attempted to interview passengers and crew members at least 10 days after they had taken one of three flights that transported a patient or patients with SARS.

Acute poisonings with Breynia officinalis--an outbreak of hepatotoxicity.

Background: In combination with other traditional Chinese medicines, Breynia officinalis, a species of Euphorbiaceae, has long been used to treat contusions, heart failure, venereal diseases, growth retardation, and conjunctivitis. B. officinalis, regarded as a poison, was mistaken for a similar plant, Securinega suffruticosa, and cooked in a soup used for the treatment of muscle soreness, lumbago, and as a tonic in this outbreak.

Paraoxonase activities in Minnan and Hakka.

Three phenotypes of paraoxonase (PON) have been found in population studies. The B type gene frequency varies among different populations. The Singaporean Chinese gene frequency is trimodal.

Relationship of paraoxonase and serum lipids in Taiwan.

Paraoxonase (PON) is structurally associated with the high-density lipoprotein fraction of serum, suggesting a role for this enzyme in lipoprotein metabolism. In Chinese Singaporeans, triglycerides (TG) had significant positive correlation with PON but high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) did not. Our paper investigates the influence of PON on serum lipids under controlling confounding factors in Taiwanese.