Incidence of rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and polymyalgia rheumatica in an inland area of central Italy: results of the CAMPO-RHE study.

Objective: The aim of the CAMPO-RHE study was to determine the incidence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) in patients attending a rheumatologic outpatient's clinic of a new institution in Campobasso, Italy.

Methods: Campobasso is a small town of approximately 50,000 inhabitants located in the inland territory of central Italy (Molise), and Public Health is managed from a single health authority. In Italy, all citizens are registered with a National Health System of General Practitioner (GP) Physicians.

Prevalence and biomolecular characterization of Campylobacter spp. isolated from retail meat.

We estimated the prevalence of Campylobacter spp. in retail meat (n = 352 samples; 104 chicken, 106 pork, and 142 beef) collected in Campobasso, Italy, comparing two microbiological methods. All the isolates were characterized by biomolecular techniques for epidemiological purposes.

Detection of Cryptosporidium spp. from human faeces by PCR-RFLP, cloning and sequencing.

In this study, we compared and validated a nested ABC polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) assay to amplify Cryptosporidium parvum oocyst wall protein (COWP) gene fragment with a previous nested PCR-RFLP method. When RFLP of COWP gene did not provide clear results, we further analysed samples by cloning and sequencing for species and genotype identification. ABC-PCR was performed on DNA extracted from human faecal samples collected in England where Cryptosporidium was previously detected by conventional methods.

[Aquaculture in Italy. An integrated model of product quality control].

Aquaculture is becoming increasingly diffuse even in Italy. The increased production introduces new problems such as product quality control and process safety. This article presents the results of a research project, funded by the Ministry of the Environment, whose aim was to evaluate and promote aquaculture product quality and safety in an environmentally responsible way.

Prevalence of Salmonellae, Listeriae, and Yersiniae in the Slaughterhouse Environment and on Work Surfaces, Equipment, and Workers.

In 1995 and 1996 a nine-month study was carried out in 11 pig abattoirs located in the Molise region (Italy) to evaluate the degree of contamination of- the slaughterhouse environment, work surfaces, equipment, and personnel by Salmonella spp., Listeria spp., and Yersinia spp.