Significance of norovirus in occupational health: a review of published norovirus outbreaks in Central and Northern Europe.

Objectives: Globally, norovirus (NoV) is the leading cause of gastroenteritis infection among all ages. The development of prevention strategies in the field of occupational health requires a detailed knowledge about the impact of the disease on employees. This review article aims not only at evaluating the burden of NoV outbreaks on staff but also at discussing implications for future prevention strategies.

[On Statistical Underreporting of Norovirus-Infections: Insights from Register Data of Two Local Public Health Authorities].

Background: Only laboratory-confirmed norovirus (NoV) cases have to be notified to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) since 2011, but not other, e. g. clinical-epidemiological cases.

Challenges in Infection Epidemiology: On the Underreporting of Norovirus Gastroenteritis Cases in Germany.

Unlabelled: It is commonly accepted that the number of officially reported incidences of norovirus (NoV) according to the German Protection against Infection Act () does not reflect the 'true' incidence of NoV in Germany. This study aims to reveal the reasons for the underreporting of NoV cases by comparing secondary data.

Methods: NoV incidence (cases per 100,000 reference persons) in the age group 18-65 was derived from register data of four different sources in the German public health system (2011-2015): Statutory health insurance in the federal state of Lower Saxony (AOK; in- and outpatient cases), the Research Institute of Ambulatory Health Care in Germany (ZI; outpatient cases), the German Federal Statistical Office (inpatient cases; DESTATIS), and the Robert Koch Institute (RKI SurvStat; health reporting data).

[Glove Disinfection: Knowledge, Experiences and Attitudes of Hygiene Team Members and Company Physicians].

Background: Chemical-resistant single-use gloves allow the practice of glove disinfection. However, there are different recommendations for their use.

Material And Methods: We conducted a standardized survey during an infection control meeting and an occupational health symposium in order to gain data on knowledge, experiences and attitudes of hygiene team members and occupational health physicians in hospitals with regard to glove disinfection by group comparison.

Do Occupational Risks for Low Back Pain Differ From Risks for Specific Lumbar Disc Diseases?: Results of the German Lumbar Spine Study (EPILIFT).

Study Design: A multicenter, population based, case-control study.

Objective: The aim of the present analysis is to clarify potential differences in the "occupational risk profiles" of structural lumbar disc diseases on the one hand, and low back pain (LBP) on the other hand.

Summary Of Background Data: Physical workplace factors seem to play an important etiological role.

Mucocutaneous blood contact: blood release behavior of safety peripheral intravenous catheters.

Background: Protection against needlestick injuries has significantly improved in recent years thanks to so-called "safety devices." However, a potential drawback occasionally reported by users is a risk of blood splashing. If this blood comes in contact with the mucous membranes, it could lead to an infection.

Insulin leakage value in relation to pen needle length and administered dose after subcutaneous injection.

Objective: During a subcutaneous injection with commonly used pen needles, the safety of drug administration plays an essential role. Today short needles with a length of 5.0 mm are increasingly being used.

Comparison of 4 different types of surgical gloves used for preventing blood contact.

Background: Needlestick injuries are always associated with a risk of infection, because these types of punctures may expose healthcare workers to a patient's blood and/or body fluids.

Objective: To compare the efficacy of 4 different types of surgical gloves for preventing exposure to blood as a result of needlestick injury.

Methods: For simulation of needlestick injury, a circular sample of pork skin was tightened onto a bracket, and a single finger from a medical glove was stretched over the sample.

Cumulative occupational lumbar load and lumbar disc disease--results of a German multi-center case-control study (EPILIFT).

Background: The to date evidence for a dose-response relationship between physical workload and the development of lumbar disc diseases is limited. We therefore investigated the possible etiologic relevance of cumulative occupational lumbar load to lumbar disc diseases in a multi-center case-control study.

Methods: In four study regions in Germany (Frankfurt/Main, Freiburg, Halle/Saale, Regensburg), patients seeking medical care for pain associated with clinically and radiologically verified lumbar disc herniation (286 males, 278 females) or symptomatic lumbar disc narrowing (145 males, 206 females) were prospectively recruited.

Study of blood contact in simulated surgical needlestick injuries with single or double latex gloving.

Objective: Needlestick injuries are the most common injuries that occur among operation room personnel in the health care service. The risk of infection after a needlestick injury during surgery greatly depends on the quantity of pathogenic germs transferred at the point of injury. The aim of this study was to measure the quantity of blood transferred at the point of a percutaneous injury by using radioactively labeled blood.

Environmentally and occupationally acquired diseases in adolescents and adulthood: control of diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, and poliomyelitis through regular booster vaccinations--a European perspective.

Despite the success of childhood vaccination in industrialized countries, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), and poliomyelitis (polio) still affect adults and adolescents whose immunity has waned. The resurgence in the 1990s of diphtheria in the area of the former Soviet Union and its subsequent control with immunization campaigns, demonstrates the value of continued adult vaccination. Tetanus cannot be eradicated from the soil reservoir, necessitating routine primary vaccination and regular booster doses to maintain protective immunity.

Measuring psychological stress and strain at work - Evaluation of the COPSOQ Questionnaire in Germany.

The undisputed increase of the relevance of mental work load is confronted with a lack of qualified or at least well documented measuring instruments covering all important aspects.The COPSOQ (Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire), a comprehensive instrument for the assessment of psychosocial factors at work, was tested in a partly modified version in a large German sample (N = 2561 employees). The aims of the study were the detailed investigation of the psychometric measurement properties, and based on these results, the development of an abbreviated version of the instrument.

Simultaneous vaccination against hepatitis A and B: results of an open, randomized study from the occupational health point of view.

Objectives: The primary objective of the study was to evaluate the immunogenicity of a combined hepatitis A and hepatitis B vaccine compared to the effect of the administration of two monovalent hepatitis A and B vaccines by quantitative measurements of the anti-HBs antibody levels at month 2 of the vaccination course. Secondary objectives were to assess immunogenicity of the vaccines investigated at other time points in the vaccination course (months 1, 6 and 7), including the comparison of quantitative measurements results as well as to evaluate seroconversion and seroprotection rates.

Materials And Methods: The study was designed as open, controlled, randomized, monocentric study with two parallel groups.

Glove perforation in outpatient dermatologic surgery.

Background: Intact surgical gloves ensure protection of health-care employees and health-care recipients. Nevertheless, glove perforation is very common and puncture rates above 50% have been published in the literature.

Objective: It was our aim to evaluate the perforation rate of surgical gloves in outpatient dermatologic surgery.

Continuity between waking activities and dream activities.

Empirical studies largely support the continuity hypothesis of dreaming. Despite of previous research efforts, the exact formulation of the continuity hypothesis remains vague. The present paper focuses on two aspects: (1) the differential incorporation rate of different waking-life activities and (2) the magnitude of which interindividual differences in waking-life activities are reflected in corresponding differences in dream content.

Low back pain and lumbago-sciatica in nurses and a reference group of clerks: results of a comparative prevalence study in Germany.

Objectives: To gain more conclusive evidence on the question of work-related low-back disorders in German nurses, a comprehensive study with several methodological approaches was performed.

Methods: As part of this project, a cross-sectional study on working conditions and prevalence of low back pain, a sample of 3,332 nurses and 1,720 clerks as reference group was investigated by a questionnaire. In this article, final results referring to a sub-sample of 2,207 nurses and 1,177 clerks who had always worked in their profession, so that we could exclude confounding effects of former occupations, will be presented.