Norovirus GI and GII and hepatitis A virus in berries and pomegranate arils in Canada.

Between 2016 and 2021, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) collected 4218 samples of fresh and frozen berries (blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and mixed berries) and pomegranate arils at retail across 11 major cities in Canada and tested these samples for the presence of norovirus GI, norovirus GII and hepatitis A virus RNA. The purpose of this testing was to provide information on the prevalence of these viruses in berries and pomegranate arils on the Canadian marketplace. Of the 926 fresh fruit samples tested, norovirus GI RNA was detected in one raspberry sample and norovirus GII RNA was detected in one strawberry sample.

Microbiological Survey of Wheat Flour Sold at Retail in Canada, 2018 to 2019.

Abstract: Following two O121 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) outbreaks linked to wheat flour, this study was conducted to gain baseline information on the occurrence of bacterial pathogens and levels of indicator organisms in wheat flour in Canada. A total of 347 prepackaged wheat flour samples were analyzed for Salmonella species, STEC, Listeria monocytogenes, aerobic colony count (ACC), total coliforms, and Escherichia coli. Salmonella spp.

Microbial safety of cheese in Canada.

A profile of the microbial safety of cheese in Canada was established based on the analysis of 2955 pasteurized and raw-milk cheeses tested under Canada's National Microbiological Monitoring Program (NMMP) and 2009 raw-milk cheeses tested under the Targeted Survey Program. 97.8% of NMMP and 99.

Associations of processing level variables with Salmonella prevalence and concentration on broiler chicken carcasses and parts in Canada.

A national baseline study was conducted between December 2012 and December 2013 to determine the pre-packaging prevalence and concentration of foodborne pathogens on broiler chicken carcasses and parts at processing; a survey was implemented simultaneously to collect data on the processing practices used to control these pathogens. Thirty federally-registered Canadian poultry processing establishments completed the questionnaire. A total of 2,732 samples of carcasses and parts (breast and thigh pieces) were collected over the study period from these establishments.

A cluster of acute rheumatic fever cases among Aboriginal Australians in a remote community with high baseline incidence.

Objectives: We report a cluster of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) cases and the public health response in a high-burden Australian setting.

Methods: The public health unit was notified of an increase in ARF cases in a remote Australian Aboriginal community. A multi-disciplinary group coordinated the response.

Four-Weekly Benzathine Penicillin G Provides Inadequate Protection against Acute Rheumatic Fever in Some Children.

This study aimed to identify recurrent acute rheumatic fever (ARF) episodes which occurred despite adherence to prophylactic benzathine penicillin G (BPG). Data from Australia's Northern Territory were analyzed; ARF recurrences between 2012 and 2017 diagnosed while the person was prescribed BPG were identified. Days at risk (DAR)-median and interquartile range-preceding ARF onset were calculated.

Rheumatic Heart Disease Prophylaxis in Older Patients: A Register-Based Audit of Adherence to Guidelines.

Background: Prevention of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) remains challenging in high-burden settings globally. After acute rheumatic fever (ARF), secondary antibiotic prophylaxis is required to prevent RHD. International guidelines on recommended durations of secondary prophylaxis differ, with scope for clinician discretion.

Enhanced surveillance during a public health emergency in a resource-limited setting: Experience from a large dengue outbreak in Solomon Islands, 2016-17.

Between August-2016 and April-2017, Solomon Islands experienced the largest and longest-running dengue outbreak on record in the country, with 12,329 suspected cases, 877 hospitalisations and 16 deaths. We conducted a retrospective review of related data and documents, and conducted key informant interviews to characterise the event and investigate the adaptability of syndromic surveillance for enhanced and expanded data collection during a public health emergency in a low resource country setting. While the outbreak quickly consumed available public and clinical resources, we found that authorities were able to scale up the conventional national syndrome-based early warning surveillance system to support the increased information demands during the event demonstrating the flexibility of the system and syndromic surveillance more broadly.

Lessons learnt from a three-year pilot field epidemiology training programme.

Problem: The Pacific region has widely dispersed populations, limited financial and human resources and a high burden of disease. There is an urgent need to improve the availability, reliability and timeliness of useable health data.

Context: The purpose of this paper is to share lessons learnt from a three-year pilot field epidemiology training programme that was designed to respond to these Pacific health challenges.

Risk posed by the Ebola epidemic to the Pacific islands: findings of a recent World Health Organization assessment.

Objective: To assess the public health risk posed by the ongoing Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic in West Africa to Pacific island countries and areas and to highlight priority risk management actions for preparedness and response.

Method: The likelihood of EVD importation and the magnitude of public health impact in Pacific island countries and areas were assessed to determine overall risk. Literature about the hazard, epidemiology, exposure and contextual factors associated with EVD was collected and reviewed.

Operation crash and surge: lessons learned from a region-wide exercise.

The Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) provides base guidance for planning all levels of public safety exercises, from simple seminars to complex full-scale exercises. However, the recent emphasis placed on the Federal Emergency Response Agency Whole Community approach to emergency management involves broadening the spectrum of participants to include multiple community partners. The magnitude and complexity of these exercises necessitates the incorporation of additional planning strategies beyond HSEEP guidance.

Ethical considerations for vaccination programmes in acute humanitarian emergencies.

Humanitarian emergencies result in a breakdown of critical health-care services and often make vulnerable communities dependent on external agencies for care. In resource-constrained settings, this may occur against a backdrop of extreme poverty, malnutrition, insecurity, low literacy and poor infrastructure. Under these circumstances, providing food, water and shelter and limiting communicable disease outbreaks become primary concerns.

Becoming a global citizen through nursing education: lessons learned in developing evaluation tools.

While global health practica are being increasingly described in nursing education literature, course evaluation of same receives comparatively less attention. In this article, authors report on an evaluation project, undertaken to rigorously examine the existing evaluation methods for an elective global health practicum with placements in India and northern Canada. Sixteen students were interviewed and course evaluation tools were reviewed.

Trends in incidence and outcome of stroke in Perth, Western Australia during 1989 to 2001: the Perth Community Stroke Study.

Background And Purpose: We studied temporal trends in major stroke outcomes in Perth, Western Australia (WA), comparing 3 12-month periods, roughly 5 years apart, between 1989 and 2001.

Methods: The Perth Community Stroke Study (PCSS) used uniform definitions and procedures in a representative segment (approximately 143,000 people in the year 2000) of Perth, WA. Crude and age-standardized incidence and 28-day case fatality for stroke in the different study periods were compared using Poisson regression.

Apparent involvement of a beta1 type integrin in coral fertilization.

Integrins are involved in a wide variety of cell adhesion processes, and have roles in gamete binding and fusion in mammals. Integrins have been also discovered in the scleractinian coral Acropora millepora (Cnidaria: Anthozoa). As a first step toward understanding the molecular basis of fertilization in corals, we examined the effect of polyclonal antisera raised against recombinant coral integrins on gamete interactions in A.

Trends in five-year survival and risk of recurrent stroke after first-ever stroke in the Perth Community Stroke Study.

Background: Few studies provide information on trends in the long-term outcome of stroke. We aimed to determine trends in survival and recurrent stroke, over 5 years after first-ever stroke, for 2 cohorts of patients enrolled in the Perth Community Stroke Study in 1989-90 and 1995-96.

Methods: For 12-month periods beginning February 1989 and February 1995, all individuals with an acute stroke who were resident in a geographically-defined and representative region of Perth, Western Australia, were registered and followed-up prospectively 5 years after the index event.

Ten-year risk of first recurrent stroke and disability after first-ever stroke in the Perth Community Stroke Study.

Background And Purpose: Limited information exists on the long-term prognosis after first-ever stroke. We aimed to determine the absolute frequency of first recurrent stroke and disability and the relative frequency of recurrent stroke over 10 years after first-ever stroke in Perth, Western Australia.

Methods: For a 12-month period beginning February 1989, all individuals with suspected acute stroke or transient ischemic attack who lived in a geographically defined and representative region of Perth were registered prospectively.

Interactions of the QacR multidrug-binding protein with structurally diverse ligands: implications for the evolution of the binding pocket.

The QacR multidrug-binding repressor protein regulates the expression of the Staphylococcus aureus qacA gene, a multidrug resistance (MDR) locus that is prevalent in clinical isolates of this important human pathogen. In this paper we demonstrate that the range of structurally diverse compounds capable of inducing qacA transcription is significantly more varied than previously appreciated, particularly in relation to bivalent cations. For all of the newly identified inducing compounds, induction of qacAexpression was correlated with a matching ability to dissociate QacR from operator DNA.

Ten-year survival after first-ever stroke in the perth community stroke study.

Background And Purpose: Very few studies have provided information regarding long-term prognosis after stroke. We aimed to determine the absolute and relative survival over 10 years among patients with first-ever stroke from a population-based study in Perth, Western Australia.

Methods: For a 12-month period beginning February 1989, all individuals with a suspected acute stroke or transient ischemic attack who were resident in a geographically defined and representative region of Perth, Western Australia, were registered prospectively and assessed according to standardized diagnostic criteria.

Stable low-copy-number Staphylococcus aureus shuttle vectors.

A series of Staphylococcus aureus-Escherichia coli shuttle vectors were constructed which contained the replication and maintenance functions of the S. aureus theta-mode multiresistance plasmid pSK1. The utility of the newly constructed vectors was demonstrated by the successful cloning and expression of several genes that had previously proven difficult to express in S.