Two variants of Listeria monocytogenes were isolated from blood cultures from each of two patients with listeriosis. Each variant displayed a two-band difference in DNA profile from the other by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Although this difference in profile is insufficient to distinguish clearly between the variants, the possibility of co-infection with different strains of L. monocytogenes needs to be considered. We suggest that more than one colony should be selected for molecular typing to aid interpretation during investigation of the sources and routes of Listeria infection.

This study documents the changes in mortality in England and Wales over the last 100 years as a possible explanation for our increasingly allergy-prone Western society. A total of 53 million computerized recorded deaths, which occurred from 1901 to 2000 were analysed retrospectively. Childhood mortality decreased by 98%, from 40·6% of total annual deaths in 1901 to 0·9% in 2000. In 1901, 36·2% of all deaths and 51·5% of childhood deaths were from infectious diseases. By contrast in 2000, 11·6% of all deaths and only 7·4% of childhood deaths were from infectious diseases. Infectious diseases were a significant cause of childhood mortality in British cities until about 40 years ago. Several factors, including vaccination, antibiotics and improved sanitation have contributed to this trend. Survival of individuals with heightened immunity to infections may have led to natural selection of allergy-prone individuals in England and Wales. However, the relationship between changes in rates of infection and allergy is complex and not fully understood.

Big data has been reported widely to facilitate epidemic prevention and control in health care during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. However, there is still a lack of practical experience in applying it to hospital prevention and control. This study is devoted to the practical experience of design and implementation as well as the preliminary results of an innovative big data-driven COVID-19 risk personnel screening management system in a hospital. Our screening system integrates data sources in four dimensions, which includes Health Quick Response (QR) code, abroad travelling history, transportation close contact personnel and key surveillance personnel. Its screening targets cover all patients, care partner and staff who come to the hospital. As of November 2021, nearly 690 000 people and 5.79 million person-time had used automated COVID-19 risk screening and monitoring. A total of 10 376 person-time (0.18%) with abnormal QR code were identified, 242 person-time with abroad travelling history were identified, 925 person-time were marked based on the data of key surveillance personnel, no transportation history personnel been reported and no COVID-19 nosocomial infection occurred in the hospital. Through the application of this system, the hospital's expenditure on manpower and material resources for epidemic prevention and control has also been significantly reduced. Collectively, this study has proved to be an effective and efficient model for the use of digital health technology in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the data from multiple sources, this system has an irreplaceable role in identifying close contacts or suspicious person, and can significantly reduce the social burden caused by COVID-19, especially the human resources and economic costs of hospital prevention and control. It may provide guidance for clinical epidemic prevention and control in hospitals, as well as for future public health emergencies.

The genetic diversity and clonal relationships among 77 Escherichia coli strains isolated in France from diarrhoeic rabbits and that belonged to seven O serogroups including the predominant O103 serogroup, were estimated by ribotyping and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) assays. Fifteen ribotypes were defined. Most of the highly pathogenic O103 strains could be assigned to two major groups. Non-pathogenic strains were clearly distinguished. RAPD assays generally matched ribotyping, or gave more precision for subdividing strains from the two main O103 groups. The results on strains isolated from different areas and over a 9-year period showed the relevance of the association of these two methods for the survey of the spread of strains in breeding flocks and illustrated clonal diffusion in rabbit production structures.

(1) Morphologically and culturally the Bacillus pseudotuberculosis rodentium (Pfeiffer) bears a strong resemblance to B. pestis.

(2) The filtrate from an autolysed agar culture of B. pseudotuberculosis rodentium (Pfeiffer) and a similar filtrate from a B. pestis culture both gave a precipitin reaction with pest serum.

(3) It has been found possible to immunise both guinea-pigs and rats against plague by means of inoculations of cultures of B. pseudotuberculosis rodentium (Pfeiffer), and this immunity lasted in many cases at least six months.

Despite considerable efforts to control tuberculosis (TB) among Ethiopian immigrants in Israel, an outbreak of TB among second-generation Ethiopian immigrants that involved native Israelis occurred between January 2011 and December 2019. The aim of this article is to report on this outbreak and discuss the patient and health system barriers that led to its propagation. Overall, 13 culture-positive TB patients were diagnosed in this outbreak. An additional 36 cases with identical mycobacterium tuberculosis genotypes were identified through cross-checking with the National TB Laboratory Registry. Among the 32 close contacts of the index case, 18 (56.3%) reported for screening and treatment of latent TB infection (LTBI) was recommended for 11 (61.1%) of them. However, none completed treatment and eight eventually developed TB. Of the 385 close contacts identified in this outbreak, 286 (74.3%) underwent contact investigation, 154 (53.8%) were recommended LTBI treatment, but only 26 (16.9%) completed the treatment. Routine contact investigation and treatment practice measures failed to contain the cascade of infection and disease, leading to the spread of the infecting strain of TB. This report highlights the challenges to identify the high-risk group and address barriers to care among such a vulnerable population.

Cholera vibrios can be allocated to one of three biotypes (classical, intermediate and El Tor), each of which can be sub-divided into two serotypes (Ogawa and Inaba). Vibriocidal tests with absorbed antisera have shown no evidence of biotype specificity in the killing of bacteria, but they have confirmed the role of the two serotype-specific antigens in immunity to cholera. The same presence of serotype specificity, and absence of biotype specificity, has been found by bacterial agglutination, an easier and quicker serological test. The use of this simpler test in ensuring a balanced serotype response to cholera vaccine is discussed, together with evidence that may lead to the production of more effective vaccine and better immunity.

Two hundred and sixty-nine Staphylococcus aureus cultures isolated from bovine milk were subjected to phagc typing using the International basic set of 16 phages at Routine Test Dilution. In the current study 73·6% of cultures were ‘typable’ compared with 84–89% in 1972 when the set was first recommended. The set remains capable of typing the majority of bovine staphylococci but shows a reduction in lysogenicity of most of its phages.

1. Pival at 0·025% is somewhat less toxic than warfarin at 0·005% to R. norvegicus when ingested for periods up to 72 hr. It is also less acceptable in a dry cereal bait.

2. Pival and warfarin at 0·025 % are about equally toxic and equally acceptable to R. rattus.

3. Young R. rattus appear to be more resistant than heavier rats to both Pival and warfarin.

4. The fungicidal properties of Pival are discussed.

The results of an investigation into the incidence of canicola fever amongst owners of dogs infected with L. canicola is described.

Visits were made to forty-six households in which infected dogs lived. Altogether 137 household contacts were examined and blood samples from 99 or 72·3 % were tested for agglutination against L. canicola. All the sera proved negative.

A detailed classification of the kinds and conditions of housing and of householders is given.

Some of the difficulties in explaining the relationship between the disease in dogs and man are discussed; the results of the present survey and the experience with some reported cases of human canicola fever show that there is great variation in the risk of infection to owners and others hving in the same house with diseased dogs.

Some other source of infection common to man and dog is possible.

It is recommended that in the light of present knowledge greater attention should be paid to the preventive aspect and that more propaganda should be directed to make dog owners aware of the possibilities of infection and of the importance of observing hygienic principles when handling dogs and particularly when dealing with dejecta.

Water treatment plants in the United Kingdom at significant risk of cryptosporidiosis and using conventional filtration methods have been required to install 24-h monitoring systems since April 2000. No major waterborne outbreaks have been described since 2001. Small outbreaks have been associated with water. This paper describes such an outbreak. Data from a local multi-agency surveillance system was used to describe the outbreak, including mapping cases against water supply zones. A case-control study investigated hypotheses raised. All cases were genotype 1. Early cases were in the supply zone of a surface water-treatment plant that had met treatment standards. Later cases included residents in a different supply zone that temporarily received water from the implicated plant. Cases reported more consumption of domestic mains water than controls. Descriptive and analytical epidemiology thus supported drinking water as a source of cryptosporidiosis from a plant meeting regulatory requirements. The evidence for setting drinking-water standards needs review.

This paper deals with a micro-organism recovered from human blood in a case of a typhoid-like infection. No evidence could be produced of either typhoid or paratyphoid bacilli being the cause. Only one germ was recovered from blood cultures on two occasions, it was strongly agglutinated by the patient's serum, suggesting that it probably produced a true infection in man. This study was undertaken because certain features of the organism may lead to a faulty diagnosis of paratyphoid. The author deems it a new species in the light of the tests he applied and refers it to the genus Proteus Hauser (emend. Amer. Comm.) under the name Pr. pseudovaleriae.

After encouraging results of the mass vaccination programme in Iran, in which 5 million children in rural areas were vaccinated with the Japanese Sugiyama strain at its 82nd passage in baby calf kidney, and a progressive decrease in the incidence of measles as well as a reduction of excessive infant mortality, a further attenuated vaccine, produced with the same strain, cloned in Japan, was compared in a field trial with the parent vaccine. The new strain caused fewer reactions than the original strain. Seroconversion with a geometric mean antibody titre of 6·1 was observed in 95% of susceptible children.

Serological studies on cows recovered from natural cowpox indicated that Haemagglutinin-Inhibiting (HAI) antibody persisted for at least 27 weeks, and Virus Neutralizing (VN) antibody persisted for at least 98 weeks.

HIV-infected individuals with high levels of IgG antibodies against human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) are at increased risk of developing Kaposi's sarcoma. The aim of this study was to measure the association between HHV-8 viraemia and IgG antibody responses (by immunofluorescence) in a group of 201 HIV-infected individuals attending outpatient clinics, 91 in-patients with AIDS and 87 HIV-infected patients admitted with Kaposi's sarcoma. Compared to HIV-infected outpatients, the adjusted odds ratio in relation to Kaposi's sarcoma was 15·4 (95% CI 4·4–54·2) in those with viraemia, 25·1 (95% CI 6·6–95·6) in those with a positive immunofluorescent signal and ∞ (lower exact CI 33·6) in those with a high immunofluorescent signal (all P trend <0·001). Among those without HHV-8 viraemia, 23% were IgG-positive, but only 5·5% had a high immunofluorescent signal. In those who were viraemic, 89·1% were IgG-positive, and 28·2% had a high immunofluorescent signal, suggesting viraemia is associated with high HHV-8 immunofluorescence IgG signal.

This paper describes a microbiological study of 84 young adult men with clinical otitic infections. Gram-negative aerobic bacilli were frequently isolated from these patients diagnosed as having otitis externa or chronic suppurative otitis media, of which Pseudomonasspecies predominated.

Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis and aerobic Corynebacterium species (diphtheroids) were also found. About 40% of ear infections were attributed to otomycoses, chiefly from Aspergillus species and Candida parapsilosis. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of the bacterial isolates revealed that Pseudomonas species were generally resistant to antibiotics commonly employed in general practice: ampicillin, erythromycin, co-trimoxazole, tetracycline and cephaloridine. However, polymjwin B, gentamicin and neomycin were active against some Pseudomonas isolates. Other Gram-negative bacilli were also mainly sensitiveto gentamicin, neomycin as well as co-trimoxazole. Disc diffusion and minimum inhibitor concentration studies demonstrated good activity of ceftazidime, cefoperazone, tobramycin and carbenicillin against strains of Pseudomonas species and other Gram-negative rods. Cefotaxime and cefoxitin were active against Gram-negative bacilli other than Pseudomonas species. Beta-lactamase production did not appear to be the main mechanism of resistance in these communityacquired Gram-negative bacillary isolates. The antimicrobial therapy of otological infections is reviewed.

To investigate risk factors for sporadic salmonellosis, for each notified case four randomly selected population controls matched for age, sex and geographical region were interviewed via self-administered questionnaire. Conditional logistic regression analysis of 285 matched pairs revealed significant associations for raw ground pork consumption [odds ratio (OR) 6·0, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1·8–20·1], taking antacids (OR 5·8, 95% CI 1·4–24·5), eating meat outside the home (OR 5·7, 95% CI 2·2–14·6) and daily changing or cleaning of dishcloth (OR 2·1, 95% CI 1·2–3·9). Animal contact and ice cream consumption were negatively associated with salmonellosis (OR 0·5, 95% CI 0·2–1 and OR 0·3, 95% CI 0·1–0·6, respectively). S. Typhimurium infections were significantly associated with raw ground pork consumption (OR 16·7, 95% CI 1·4–194·4) and S. Enteritidis infections with having travelled abroad (OR 9·7, 95% CI 2·0–47·3). Raw egg consumption was not a risk factor, substantiating the success of recently implemented national control programmes in the poultry industry. Unexpectedly, hygienic behaviour was more frequently reported by cases, probably because they overestimated their hygiene precautions retrospectively. Although animal contact might enhance human immunocompetence, underreporting of salmonellosis by pet owners could have occurred. Eating raw pork products is the major risk factor for sporadic human S. Typhimurium infections in Lower Saxony.

We studied the spatial trend of norovirus (NoV) epidemics using sentinel gastroenteritis surveillance data for patients aged <15 years (n = 140) in the Tokyo area for the 2006–2007 to 2008–2009 seasons utilizing the kriging method of geographical information system (GIS). This is the first study of the spreading pattern of NoV epidemics using sentinel surveillance data. Correlations of sentinel cases between the seasons and with demographic data were examined to identify the trend and related factors. A similar pattern of diffusion was observed over the seasons, and its mean correlation between seasons was significantly high. A higher number of cases were found in the peripheral area, which surrounds the most populated central area, and showed a correlation with the ratio of the children population (r = 0·321, P < 0·01) and the ratio of residents in larger families (r = 0·263, P < 0·01). While NoV susceptibility remained, the results suggest a transmission route in the local community as a possible epidemic factor. Prevention with focus on the peripheral area is desirable.

A Salmonella agona strain has caused a hospital outbreak of gastroenteritis in a pediatric unit in Rio de Janeiro. It bears two plasmids, a small (6·5 MDa molecular weight) plasmid coding for type B colicin production and a larger one (36 MDa molecular weight) determining resistance to ampicillin, gentamicin, kanamycin and trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole. The R-plasmid, but not the Col-plasmid, is self-transferable to a Escherichia coli recipient strain. Curing for the R-plasmid was achieved by treatment with 0·05 % SDS followed by incubation at 44°C. It has not been possible to cure the S. agona strain for its Col-plasmid.

A number of serological tests were evaluated in a study of Salmonella dublin infection in a dairy herd. None of the tests used detected either of the two carrier animals from which Salmonella dublin was isolated at slaughter 7 and 17 months after the herd infection. The complement fixation tests used proved to be a better guide to the presence of recent herd infection than the conventional ‘0’ or ‘H’ agglutination tests.