Phylogeography of influenza A H5N1 clade 2.2.1.1 in Egypt.

Background: Influenza A H5N1 has killed millions of birds and raises serious public health concern because of its potential to spread to humans and cause a global pandemic. While the early focus was in Asia, recent evidence suggests that Egypt is a new epicenter for the disease. This includes characterization of a variant clade 2.

Awareness and practices regarding zoonotic influenza prevention in Romanian swine workers.

Background: Swine workers may play a key role in transmission of zoonotic influenza viruses. At the same time, little is known about the extent and effectiveness of influenza prevention programs for these at-risk workers.

Objectives: To characterize practices and attitudes regarding zoonotic influenza transmission among swine workers in Romania.

Swine worker awareness and behavior regarding prevention of zoonotic influenza transmission.

ABSTRACT A convenience survey of swine workers on large and small commercial farms in the Northeast and Midwest United States regarding zoonotic influenza awareness and precautions was conducted. Workers reported low levels of concern regarding the risk of contracting influenza from swine, and were generally not aware of national guidelines for influenza prevention. Use of personal protective equipment (PPE) varied by task, N95 respirator use was rare, and no workers were enrolled in respirator programs.

Comparison of human and animal surveillance data for H5N1 influenza A in Egypt 2006-2011.

Background: The majority of emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic (transmissible between animals and humans) in origin, and therefore integrated surveillance of disease events in humans and animals has been recommended to support effective global response to disease emergence. While in the past decade there has been extensive global surveillance for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) infection in both animals and humans, there have been few attempts to compare these data streams and evaluate the utility of such integration.

Methodology: We compared reports of bird outbreaks of HPAI H5N1 in Egypt for 2006-2011 compiled by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) EMPRESi reporting system with confirmed human H5N1 cases reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) for Egypt during the same time period.

Human vs. animal outbreaks of the 2009 swine-origin H1N1 influenza A epidemic.

The majority of emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic in origin, including recently emerging influenza viruses such as the 2009 swine-origin H1N1 influenza A epidemic. The epidemic that year affected both human and animal populations as it spread globally. In fact, before the end of 2009, 14 different countries reported H1N1 infected swine.

Sex differences in injury patterns among workers in heavy manufacturing.

The objective of the study was to determine if female workers in a heavy manufacturing environment have a higher risk of injury compared with males when performing the same job and to evaluate sex differences in type or severity of injury. By use of human resources and incident surveillance data for the hourly population at 6 US aluminum smelters, injuries that occurred from January 1, 1996, through December 21, 2005, were analyzed. Multivariate logistic regression, adjusted for job, tenure, and age category, was used to calculate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for female versus male injury risk for all injuries, recordable injuries, and lost work time injuries.

The relationships between lost work time and duration of absence spells: proposal for a payroll driven measure of absenteeism.

Objective: To propose a standard measure of absenteeism (the work lost rate [WLR]) be included in future research to facilitate understanding and allow for translation of findings between scientific disciplines.

Methods: Hourly payroll data derived from "punch clock" reports was used to compare various measures of absenteeism used in the literature and the application of the proposed metric (N = 4000 workers).

Results: Unpaid hours and full absent days were highly correlated with the WLR (r = 0.

Use of employer administrative databases to identify systematic causes of injury in aluminum manufacturing.

Background: Employer administrative files are an underutilized source of data in epidemiologic studies of occupational injuries.

Methods: Personnel files, occupational health surveillance data, industrial hygiene data, and a real-time incident and injury management system from a large multi-site aluminum manufacturer were linked deterministically. An ecological-level measure of physical job demand was also linked.

Extended work hours and risk of acute occupational injury: A case-crossover study of workers in manufacturing.

Objective: This study was designed to determine whether injury risk among manufacturing workers was related to hours worked during the previous week.

Methods: A case-crossover design was utilized to contrast hours worked prior to an injury shift with those worked prior to a non-injury shift for hourly workers. Paired t-tests were used to determine significance of the difference.

Effects of a cost-sharing exemption on use of preventive services at one large employer.

In 2004, Alcoa introduced a new health benefit for a portion of its workforce, which eliminated cost sharing for preventive care while increasing cost sharing for many other services. In this era of increased consumerism, Alcoa's benefit redesign constituted an effort to reduce health care costs while preserving use of targeted services. Taking advantage of a unique natural experiment, we find that Alcoa was able to maintain rates of preventive service use.

Use of medical insurance claims data for occupational health research.

Objective: The objective of this study was to demonstrate that health claims data, widely available due to the unique nature of the U.S. healthcare system, can be linked to other relevant databases such as personnel files and exposure data maintained by large employers.

Incidence of asthma among aluminum workers.

Exposures to respiratory irritants encountered in aluminum smelters in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand have been suggested as the cause of "potroom asthma." However, there remains disagreement in North America regarding the existence of this entity. This study was designed to assess whether asthma occurs excessively among potroom workers and if so, delineate dose-response relationships for possible causal risk factors.

Changes in cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations in the Vanguard population of the Carotene and Retinol Efficacy Trial (CARET).

Background: The Beta-Carotene and Retinol Efficacy Trial (CARET) was terminated 21 months ahead of schedule due to an excess of lung cancers. Deaths from cardiovascular disease also increased (relative risk=1.26 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.

Family accommodation of obsessive-compulsive symptoms: instrument development and assessment of family behavior.

Relatives frequently accommodate patients' obsessive-compulsive symptoms and clinicians hypothesize that such accommodations adversely affect patient outcome. This study's purpose was to develop a valid and reliable measure, the Family Accommodation Scale for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (FAS), and to investigate the family accommodation construct. We administered the FAS and additional family and patient measures to 36 adult obsessive-compulsive patients and their primary caregivers.

Interactive effects of subanesthetic ketamine and haloperidol in healthy humans.

Ketamine is an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist with prominent psychoactive effects in humans. This study evaluated whether the oral administration of haloperidol 5 mg would block the effects of an intravenous ketamine infusion (bolus of 0.26 mg/kg followed by 0.

Global functioning of inpatients with obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, and major depression.

A chart review was conducted to compare the social, occupational, and daily functioning of 17 inpatients with obsessive-compulsive disorder, 17 with major depression, and 17 with schizophrenia. Current Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scores of patients with schizophrenia were significantly lower than those of patients with depression and with obsessive-compulsive disorder. However, on work performance, daily living skills, and past-year GAF scores, patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder and those with schizophrenia did not differ significantly, and both groups were significantly more impaired than patients with depression.

Seasonal variation in neuroendocrine and mood responses to i.v. L-tryptophan in depressed patients and healthy subjects.

Seasonality of mood disorders might involve alterations in the rhythmicity of serotonin [5-HT] function. We examined seasonal effects on the neuroendocrine and mood responses to L-tryptophan (L-TRP) in depressed patients and healthy subjects. In this study, 126 drug-free patients with DSM-III-R major depression and 58 healthy subjects received in i.