[Influenza vaccination from this autumn for all pregnant women: less influenza infections among neonates and pregnant women].

Both pregnant women and their newborns have a higher risk to be admitted to hospital because of complications of an influenza infection. Especially newborns under six months of age are at an increased risk to be admitted with complications of an influenza infection. In pregnant women, hospital admittance in case of influenza infection is two to threefold increased as compared to non-pregnant women.

Influenza vaccination of school teachers: A scoping review and an impact estimation.

Introduction: Influenza vaccination, besides protecting traditional risk groups, can protect employees and reduce illness-related absence, which is especially relevant in sectors with staff shortages. This study describes current knowledge of influenza vaccination in teachers and estimates its potential impact.

Methods: We conducted a scoping review of the considerations for and impact of influenza vaccination of schoolteachers (grey and scientific literature up to 2020 March, complemented with interviews).

Abandon of intramuscular administration of rabies immunoglobulin for post-exposure prophylaxis in the revised guidelines in the Netherlands in 2018: cost and volume savings.

The World Health Organization (WHO) issued an updated position paper on rabies in 2018, mainly focusing on simplification of vaccination schedules and use of rabies immunoglobulin (RIG). The maximum amount of RIG anatomically feasible should be infiltrated exclusively in and around the wound and will no longer be calculated solely based on body weight. We describe the practical guideline implementing the revised RIG policy in the Netherlands on how to determine the amount of RIG for local administration.

[Revision of the rabies policy in the Netherlands].

Revision of the rabies policy in the Netherlands The WHO aims to eliminate dog-transmitted rabies deaths in humans by 2030 ('zero by 30'). The Dutch rabies policy advisory board has revised its national rabies guidelines on the basis of the WHO guidelines revised in 2018. In the revised Dutch guidelines, there is increased focus on the importance of instant wound care after potential exposure to the rabies virus.

[Revised prevention strategies for persons with (functional) hypo- or asplenie].

The Dutch guideline for the preventions of infections in persons with (functional) hypo- or asplenie has been revised, recommending adjustments for the use of vaccinations and antibiotics. The spleen has an important function in the defence against infections. Around 1,000 splenectomies are performed in the Netherlands every year.

[Influenza vaccination of patients with solid tumours during chemotherapy: efficacy and safety].

- Adult patients with solid tumours receiving chemotherapy have reduced immunity against infections and are at increased risk of influenza infection and its complications. However, many of said patients are not vaccinated for influenza.- Limited observational research in this patient group has given some indication of the protective effects of the influenza vaccine on clinical outcome measures.

Influenza vaccination in adult patients with solid tumours treated with chemotherapy.

Patients with solid tumours receiving chemotherapy are at risk for influenza complications. Yearly influenza vaccination is recommended to patients treated with chemotherapy. However, adherence to vaccination is low, most likely due to lack of data on efficacy, optimal timing and safety of vaccination.

[Imported Zika virus infection in the Netherlands].

Since mid-2015, a rapidly expanding outbreak of Zika virus infection is spreading across Latin America and the Caribbean. Although Zika virus infection usually causes only mild disease, the World Health Organization has declared the epidemiological association with the occurrence of congenital microcephaly and neurological complications a 'Public Health Emergency of International Concern' and urged the international community to mount a coordinated international response aimed to protect people at risk, especially pregnant women. In December 2015, the first case of imported Zika virus infection in the Netherlands was diagnosed in a returned traveler from Surinam.

Changing Patterns of Undiagnosed HIV Infection in the Netherlands: Who Benefits Most from Intensified HIV Test and Treat Policies?

Objectives: To estimate HIV prevalence, the number of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and the undiagnosed proportion in the Netherlands for 2012, and to compare these with published 2007 estimates.

Design: Synthesis of all available data sources.

Methods: Multi-Parameter Evidence Synthesis (MPES) was used to obtain estimates in mutually exclusive key populations at higher risk in three geographical regions (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, rest of the Netherlands).

Current practices of partner notification among MSM with HIV, gonorrhoea and syphilis in the Netherlands: an urgent need for improvement.

Background: Partner notification (PN) among individuals newly diagnosed with HIV/STI is seen as a vital tool to identify others at risk of infection. However, hardly any data are available on the effectiveness of PN on HIV/STI transmission in the Netherlands. This study aims to fill this gap by assessing current PN practices, case-finding effectiveness, and determinants of being notified among men having sex with men (MSM) in the Netherlands.

The contribution of adult attachment and perceived social support to depressive symptoms in patients with HIV.

The present study investigated the relationship between adult attachment style and depressive symptomatology in patients with HIV. Moreover, perceived social support was investigated as a potential mediator between adult attachment and depressive symptoms. A sample of 233 HIV-infected patients (90% male) completed questionnaires assessing adult attachment style (Relationship Questionnaire), depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory), and perceived social support (Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey).

Seroprevalence of HIV, hepatitis b, and hepatitis c among opioid drug users on methadone treatment in the netherlands.

Background: Injecting drug users (IDU) remain an important population at risk for blood-borne infections such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV). In the Netherlands, a program is being implemented to offer annual voluntary screening for these infections to opioid drug users (ODUs) screened in methadone care. At two care sites where the program is now operating, our study aimed to estimate the seroprevalence among ODUs screened for HIV, HBV and HCV; to evaluate HBV vaccination coverage; and to assess the feasibility of monitoring seroprevalence trends by using routine annual screening data.

Low HIV testing rates among tuberculosis patients in Kampala, Uganda.

Background: HIV testing among tuberculosis patients is critical in improving morbidity and mortality as those found to be HIV positive will be offered a continuum of care including ART if indicated. We conducted a cross-sectional study in three Kampala City primary care clinics: to assess the level of HIV test uptake among newly diagnosed pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) patients; to assess patient and health worker factors associated with HIV test uptake; and to determine factors associated with HIV test uptake at the primary care clinics

Methods: Adult patients who had been diagnosed with smear-positive PTB at a primary care clinic or at the referral hospital and who were being treated at any of the three clinics were interviewed. Associations between having taken the test as the main outcome and explanatory variables were assessed by multivariate logistic regression.

Laboratory procedures used to select an unrelated HLA matched bone marrow donor.

Selecting an HLA matched unrelated bone marrow donor is a labour-intensive step-by-step procedure, with highly specialized techniques. To be successful immunohematologists and clinicians have to work closely together. Because so much is still unknown lymphocytes and serum of patient and donor should be stored to enable future analyses.

A mouse monoclonal antibody detecting a DR-related MT2-like specificity: serology and biochemistry.

A mouse monoclonal antibody (7.3.19.

Familial benign hypercalcaemia (FBH; McK. No. 14598, 1983): linkage studies in a large Dutch family.

By screening 27 hypercalcaemic and 21 normocalcaemic subjects in a large Dutch pedigree with familial benign hypercalcaemia (FBH; McK. No. 14598) (McKusick 1983) for more than 35 genetic markers, it was found that linkage of FBH can be excluded at about 25 centimorgans (cM) from GM, 20 cM from ABO, 15 cM from MNS and HLA, 10 cM from JK and PI, and 5 cM each from ACP1, AK1, ADA, GPT1, and PGP.

Improved detection of HLA-Cw5 and Cw7 by two colour fluorescence technique.

Reactivity of two Cw5 and three Cw7 antisera was compared in the standard NIH and the Two Colour Fluorescence (TCF) techniques. Contrary to the NIH, the TCF method yielded strong positive reactions which enabled clear assignment of the Cw5 and Cw7 specificities. The TCF technique combines three factors that increase the sensitivity of serum reactions: 1.

Variable MLC stimulatory capacity of neoplastic B and non-B/non-T lymphocytes expressing HLA-DR antigens.

Neoplastic cells from patients with a variety of B- or non-B/non-T-lymphoid malignancies, including chronic lymphocytic leukemia, various histologic types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and acute lymphocytic leukemia, showed strong variation with respect to stimulatory capacity in mixed lymphocyte culture (MLC). MLC stimulatory capacity was either normal or strongly decreased in comparison with that of normal lymphocytes despite the expression of HLA-DR antigens and p23,30 ("Ia-like") determinants on the tumor cells of all patients. Strongly decreased stimulatory capacity of HLA-DR-positive tumor cells could not be ascribed to suppressive activity of the tumor cells.

HLA-DR-associated genetic control of the type of leprosy in a population from surinam.

The relationship between HLA phenotype and leprosy classification was studied in 73 unrelated patients and 92 healthy controls from a mixed Negroid-Caucasoid population originating from Surinam, South America. Heterogeneity in the distribution of HLA-DR (but not A, B, and C) was detected between tuberculoid (TT* + BT*) leprosy and lepromatous (BL* + LL*) leprosy patients (p = 0.024).