[HIV, HCV, HBV and syphilis infections among blood donors in Germany 2006. Report from the Robert Koch Institute in accordance with Article 22 of the Transfusion Act].

The Robert Koch Institute collects and evaluates data on the prevalence and incidence of HIV, hepatitis C (HCV), hepatitis B (HBV) and syphilis infections among blood and plasma donors in Germany according to Article 22 of the Transfusion Act. The surveillance data permit an assessment of the occurrence of infections in the blood donor population and consequently the safety of the collected donations. This report includes data from all blood donation services in Germany for 2006.

Psychiatric comorbidity and work disability in patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases.

Objective: To determine the relative contribution of psychiatric comorbidity to work disability in patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases (IRD). Parallel analyses were also performed in a matched control group with no diagnosis of IRD to investigate if predictors of work disability in medical patients are independent from the presence of IRD.

Method: The patient group with IRD (73.