Mercury, lead and cadmium in human milk in relation to diet, lifestyle habits and sociodemographic variables in Madrid (Spain).

Background: Although breastfeeding is the ideal way of nurturing infants, it can be a source of exposure to toxicants. This study reports the concentration of Hg, Pb and Cd in breast milk from a sample of women drawn from the general population of the Madrid Region, and explores the association between metal levels and socio-demographic factors, lifestyle habits, diet and environmental exposures, including tobacco smoke, exposure at home and occupational exposures.

Methods: Breast milk was obtained from 100 women (20 mL) at around the third week postpartum.

Epidemic intelligence and travel-related diseases: ECDC experience and further developments.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) started to work on information gathering for early detection of public health threats in June 2005. Since then, based on a framework including events and data-based surveillance, EDCD has been learning by doing. The internal tools and procedures for epidemic intelligence (EI) were developed while screening signals.

[Evaluation of management of infarction in the Franche Comté province by the use of the Franche Comté Cardiology Registry, May 2005-May 2006].

Rationale: The management of acute infarction often necessitates a network of organisation between different centres, thus making it the object of an evaluation of professional practices (EPP). We report the experience in the Franche Comté province of an EPP at a regional level in the management of infarction.

Methods: All of the patients admitted to 10 of the 11 centres in the region were included in a prospective survey.

[EpiData: the natural heir to EpiInfo 6?].

EpiData is an epidemiological software developed by the EpiData Association (www.epidata.dk).