Investigation of an outbreak of bloody diarrhea complicated with hemolytic uremic syndrome.

In July-August 2009, eight patients with bloody diarrhea complicated by hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) were admitted to hospitals in Tbilisi, Georgia. We started active surveillance in two regions for bloody diarrhea and post-diarrheal HUS. Of 25 case-patients who developed HUS, including the initial 8 cases, half were ⩾15 years old, 67% were female and seven (28%) died.

A large outbreak of hepatitis B virus infections associated with frequent injections at a physician's office.

Objectives: To determine whether hepatitis B virus (HBV) transmission occurred among patients visiting a physician's office and to evaluate potential transmission mechanisms.

Design: Serologic survey, retrospective cohort study, and observation of infection control practices.

Setting: Private medical office.

Unsuspected recent transmission of tuberculosis among high-risk groups: implications of universal tuberculosis genotyping in its detection.

Background: The initiation of universal genotyping revealed 3 clusters of 19 patients with tuberculosis (TB) in Wisconsin, with no apparent epidemiologic links among most of them. An epidemiologic investigation was conducted to determine whether genotype clustering resulted from recent transmission.

Methods: We conducted additional interviews with patients and reviewed medical records.

Development of a rubella vaccination strategy: contribution of a rubella susceptibility study of women of childbearing age in Kyrgyzstan, 2001.

To contribute to the development of a rubella vaccination strategy, we conducted a study to determine age-specific susceptibility among women aged 15-39 years by testing for rubella-specific IgG antibodies. Of 964 women, 13% were found to be susceptible to rubella. Significantly higher susceptibility among women >25 years old was observed.

Outbreak of amebiasis in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia, 1998.

In 1998, we investigated a suspected outbreak of amebic liver abscesses caused by Entamoeba histolytica in the Republic of Georgia, using a case-control study. A questionnaire was administered and blood samples were obtained from cases and controls for serologic diagnosis. Medical records showed that E.