Epidemiology
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When deciding whether to close schools during an influenza pandemic, authorities must weigh the likely benefits against the expected social disruption. Although schools have been closed to slow the spread of influenza, there is limited evidence as to the impact on transmission of disease. ⋯ Closing schools is effective at reducing transmission between children but has only a moderate effect on average transmission rates in the wider population unless children are disproportionately affected.
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Prenatal exposure to tobacco smoke through mother's smoking increases the risk of developing asthma later in life. A recent study suggested that this effect is present only in girls. We explored potential differences in susceptibility between boys and girls. ⋯ Effects of maternal smoking during pregnancy on the risk of developing asthma are similar in boys and girls, with no interaction on an additive scale.
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Little is known about the success rate of epidemiologic manuscripts, or the number of rejections they may go through before being published. ⋯ These data suggest most epidemiology manuscripts are eventually published, although some persistence on the part of the authors may be necessary.
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Living close to major roads or highways has been suggested to almost double the risk of dying from cardiopulmonary causes. We assessed whether long-term exposure to air pollution originating from motorized traffic and industrial sources is associated with total and cause-specific mortality in a cohort of women living in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ⋯ Living close to major roads and chronic exposure to NO2 and PM10 may be associated with an increased mortality due to cardiopulmonary causes.
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Ross River virus disease is spread by mosquitoes, and an average of 5000 people are infected each year in Australia. It is one of the few infectious diseases for which climate-based early warning systems could be developed. The aim of this study was to test whether supplementing routinely collected climate data with mosquito surveillance data could increase the accuracy of disease prediction models. ⋯ We found that climate data are inexpensive and easy to collect and allow the prediction of Ross River virus disease epidemics within the time necessary to improve the effectiveness of public health responses. Mosquito surveillance data provide a more expensive early warning but add substantial predictive value.