The United Kingdom and the Netherlands maternity care responses to COVID-19: A comparative study.

Background: The national health care response to coronavirus (COVID-19) has varied between countries. The United Kingdom (UK) and the Netherlands (NL) have comparable maternity and neonatal care systems, and experienced similar numbers of COVID-19 infections, but had different organisational responses to the pandemic. Understanding why and how similarities and differences occurred in these two contexts could inform optimal care in normal circumstances, and during future crises.

Early markers of cystic fibrosis structural lung disease: follow-up of the ACFBAL cohort.

Little is known about early predictors of later cystic fibrosis (CF) structural lung disease. This study examined early predictors of progressive structural lung abnormalities in children who completed the Australasian CF Bronchoalveolar Lavage (ACFBAL) clinical trial at age 5-years and participated in an observational follow-up study (CF-FAB).Eight Australian and New Zealand CF centres participated in CF-FAB and provided follow-up chest computed-tomography (CT) scans for children who had completed the ACFBAL study with baseline scans at age 5-years.

ZikaPLAN: Zika Preparedness Latin American Network.

The ongoing Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreak in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Pacific Islands has underlined the need for a coordinated research network across the whole region that can respond rapidly to address the current knowledge gaps in Zika and enhance research preparedness beyond Zika. The European Union under its Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme awarded three research consortia to respond to this need. Here we present the ZikaPLAN (Zika Preparedness Latin American Network) consortium.

Early detection of prostate cancer. What do we tell our patients?

Introduction: Early detection of prostate cancer is possible; overdetection of early disease that may never surface clinically during a lifetime is likely. On the other hand, early detection measures will detect life-threatening disease of which some maybe amenable to cure, while otherwise it would kill the patient. Proof of effectiveness of early detection is unavailable.

The use of reduced-dose Brucella abortus strain 19 vaccine in the control of bovine brucellosis.

Adult animals from a known negative and an infected herd were vaccinated with reduced-dose Brucella abortus strain 19 vaccine. Since some of these animals developed elevated post-vaccinal blood titres, it is suggested that, when adult vaccination is decided on, such herds should be bled and tested about 4 months after vaccination and thereafter at 2 month intervals. Reactions with complement fixation titres of 392 IU ml-1 or higher on the first test should be taken as positive.