Articles: disease.
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Gold miners have very high rates of tuberculosis. The contribution of infections imported into mining communities versus transmission within them is not known and has implications for control strategies. ⋯ Despite a control programme that cures 86% of new cases, most tuberculosis in this mining community is due to ongoing transmission. Persistently infectious individuals who have previously failed treatment may be responsible for one third of tuberculosis cases. WHO targets for cure rates are not sufficient to interrupt transmission of tuberculosis in this setting. Indicators that are more closely linked to the rate of ongoing transmission are needed.
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Following the disbanding of the Soviet Union in 1991, the government of Kyrgyzstan was unable to maintain the previous level of health services. To revitalize the health services, the Ministry of Health (MOH) first focused on improving their immunization services, including the immunization component of the Health Management Information System (HMIS). Secondly, to increase immunization coverage, the MOH set as a priority the elimination of prescribing false contraindications to immunization. ⋯ After a successful 1-year trial, the MOH implemented the revised HMIS nationally. Not only did the quality of the information system improve, but the new approach provided visible evidence, from facility to national levels, that the MOH was approaching their objective of reducing contraindication rates for DPT immunizations to 5% or less, and that vaccine wastage could be substantially reduced. The project demonstrated that giving health workers the basic epidemiologic skills to monitor their own work measurably improved the quality of the data, and by acquiring the new skills, the workers developed a sense of pride in their work.
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Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. · Sep 2000
Comparative StudyA comparison of hemodynamic data derived by pulmonary artery flotation catheter and the esophageal Doppler monitor in preeclampsia.
This study was undertaken to compare hemodynamic data derived with the esophageal Doppler monitor against those obtained with a pulmonary artery flotation catheter in women with complicated preeclampsia. ⋯ In women with preeclampsia the esophageal Doppler monitor consistently underestimated cardiac output by approximately 40%. It is not known whether the apparent increase in accuracy among the women >40 years old arose by chance or reflected a real improvement in performance. The esophageal Doppler monitor accurately reflected the direction and magnitude of the changes in cardiac output with time.
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China's dual employment system plays a crucial role in sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV-related safe and unsafe sexual practices among young Chinese people. Social and psychological determinants of safe and unsafe sexual practices for HIV infection among young people in Sichuan, China were examined. Our findings indicate that changes in China's social structure and employment system impact upon the social contextual involvement and socio-sexual practice of young Chinese people. ⋯ Self-employed people (officially called 'getihu') were more likely than the state-employed people to engage in unprotected sex with casual sexual partners. As China undergoes social restructuring and many state-employed people are laid off, the risk may also extend into the broader non-self-employed population as more state-employed people become involved not only in the self-employed getihu's socioeconomic activities but also in their unconventional socio-sexual practices. Collective vulnerability to STI and HIV, due to the current socio-sexual practices of the getihu young people, has created a new frontier for STI and HIV prevention in today's China, as well as demonstrating the importance of collective action with STI and AIDS prevention strategies within relevant social and sub-cultural contexts.
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Worsening drug resistance in Plasmodium falciparum malaria is a major threat to health in tropical countries. We did a prospective study of malaria incidence and treatment in an area of highly multidrug-resistant P. falciparum malaria. ⋯ In this area of low malaria transmission, early diagnosis and treatment with combined artesunate and mefloquine has reduced the incidence of P. falciparum malaria and halted the progression of mefloquine resistance. We recommend that antimalarial drugs should be combined with artemisinin or a derivative to protect them against resistance.