National Variability in Prion Disease-Related Safety Policies for Neurologic Procedures.

Prion diseases are fatal neurodegenerative disorders that can be transmitted via contact with infective tissue. Variability in hospital safety policies related to prion disease may place health-care workers at risk. We sought to assess variability of safety policies related to prion disease for neurosurgical procedures and lumbar punctures among neurological institutions in the United States.

Evaluation of the WHO 2009 classification for diagnosis of acute dengue in a large cohort of adults and children in Sri Lanka during a dengue-1 epidemic.

Background: Dengue is a leading cause of fever and mimics other acute febrile illnesses (AFI). In 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) revised criteria for clinical diagnosis of dengue.

Methodology/principal Findings: The new WHO 2009 classification of dengue divides suspected cases into three categories: dengue without warning signs, dengue with warning signs and severe dengue.

Emergence of Epidemic Dengue-1 Virus in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka.

Background: Dengue is a frequent cause of acute febrile illness with an expanding global distribution. Since the 1960s, dengue in Sri Lanka has been documented primarily along the heavily urbanized western coast with periodic shifting of serotypes. Outbreaks from 2005-2008 were attributed to a new clade of DENV-3 and more recently to a newly introduced genotype of DENV-1.