Cent Eur J Public Health 2005, 13(2)

Epidemiologic Characteristics of Hypertension in the Civilians of Kosovo after the War

Markoglou N.C., Hatzitolios A.I., Savopoulos C.G., Ziakas A.G., Koutsopoulos D., Metallidis S.

Cent Eur J Public Health 2005, 13(2):61-65  

34th Greek regimen, which was part of the NATO forces, provided medical services to the civilians of Kosovo. We studied epidemiologic data in the population of Kosovo regarding hypertension in order to determine the prevalence and characteristics of hypertension. 830 patients (281 - 33.86% male, 62± 26 yrs and 549 - 66.14% female, 49± 28 yrs) were examined for different diseases. We identified 254 (30.6%) patients with hypertension (188 female and 66 male). According to the international criteria used for the classification of the severity of hypertension, more than half of the patients (51.2%) had severe hypertension, 31.5% modest and 17.3%...

Occupational Accidents in Serbian Industries in Transition

Jovanović J., Jovanović M., Leković S., Arizanović A., Adamović S.

Cent Eur J Public Health 2005, 13(2):66-73  

Occupational accidents and injuries present a serious social, medical and economical problem in Serbian industries in transition. The purpose of this study is to estimate the number and average annual rate of occupational accidents and traumatic injuries in Serbian industries in transition, between 1992 and 2003, and to estimate the effects of a preventive safety program in the rubber manufacturing industry and in the production of electrical goods and equipment. This paper presents a descriptive analysis of occupational accidents and injuries which occurred in all industries over a twelve years period. In the rubber manufacturing industry and in the...

Validity and Recall of Information from Questionnaires Concerning Respiratory Infections among Schoolchildren

Savilahti R., Uitti J., Husman T.

Cent Eur J Public Health 2005, 13(2):74-77  

The aim of the study was to assess the reliability of questionnaire information on visits to a physician and the use of antibiotics taken for respiratory infections among schoolchildren attending a water-damaged school and a reference group of schoolchildren attending an undamaged school. Two similar questionnaires on respiratory morbidity in two consecutive years were sent to the parents. The information given on the questionnaires was compared with the patient's records of the local health centre. Although the overall total numbers of ambulatory visits in the patients' records and questionnaires seemed to indicate good reliability, a more detailed...

The Influence of Active Maternal Smoking During Pregnancy on Birth Weights in Cyprus

Vogazianos P., Fiala J., Vogazianos M.

Cent Eur J Public Health 2005, 13(2):78-84  

Cigarette smoking during pregnancy has been causally associated with an increased risk of both intrauterine growth retardation and preterm delivery but most strongly with low birth weight. No such study to date had ever dealt with the Cypriot population. In interviews with their gynaecologists 65,530 pregnant women were asked between January 1990 and August 1996 to answer two questions, whether they had been smoking before and whether they had been smoking during pregnancy. Data from 59,014 births were considered to have valid birth weight data for this investigation. In 81.2% of the cases the mother explicitly declared that she had neither smoked...

Monitoring of Trace Elements in Breast Milk Sampling and Measurement Procedures

Spěváčková V., Rychlík Š., Čejchanová M., Spěváček V.

Cent Eur J Public Health 2005, 13(2):85-88  

The aims of this study were to test analytical procedures for the determination of Cd, Cu, Mn, Pb, Se and Zn in breast milk and to establish optimum sampling conditions for monitoring purposes. Two population groups were analysed: (1) Seven women from Prague whose breast milk was sampled on days 1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 20 and 30 after delivery; (2) 200 women from four (two industrial and two rural) regions whose breast milk was sampled at defined intervals.All samples were mineralised in a microwave oven in the mixture of HNO3 + H2O2 and analysed by atomic absorption spectrometry. Conditions for the measurement of the elements under study (i.e. those for...

Resistance of Yersinia enterocolitica, Escherichia coli O157:h7 and Natural Microflora against Acidic Conditions and Freezing-thawing in Fresh Sausages

Velázquez L. del C., Barbini N.B., Escudero M.E., de Guzmán A.M.S.

Cent Eur J Public Health 2005, 13(2):89-95  

The resistance of Yersinia enterocolitica O:9, Escherichia coli O157:H7 and natural microflora against lactic acid (LA), ascorbic acid (AA), and freezing-thawing in noninoculated and inoculated fresh sausages was studied. Samples were stored at -18 °C for 28 days and thawed in microwave (MW), at room temperature (RT), in refrigerator (R) and under flowing of tap water (F) on days 7, 14, 21 and 28. Plate Count Agar (PCA), Sorbitol Mac Conkey agar (SMC) and Mac Conkey agar (MC) were used for microbial counts. A maximal reduction of 1.57 log in mesophilic aerobes and no significant changes in total and fecal coliform levels with respect to the initial...

Association between Trichomoniasis and Bacterial Vaginosis: Examination of 600 Cervicovaginal Smears

Demirezen Ş., Korkmaz E., Beksaç M.S.

Cent Eur J Public Health 2005, 13(2):96-98  

To determine whether there is a relationship between trichomoniasis and bacterial vaginosis (BV), cervicovaginal smears obtained from 600 women were stained with the Papanicolaou technique and examined cytologically. Thirty-six (6%) of 600 women were diagnosed as having Trichomonas vaginalis [TV(+)]. Sixteen (44.4%) of 36 TV(+) cases were observed as having BV [BV(+)]. Thirty-one of 564 TV(-) vaginal smears were also positive for BV (5.5%).There was a statistically significant correlation between trichomoniasis and bacterial vaginosis (p < 0.05).It is possible that TV might create an anaerobic environment, thereby changing the vaginal flora....

Persistence of Antibodies against Tetanus upon Revaccination

Matoušková I., Matlerová Š., Janoutová G., Janout V.

Cent Eur J Public Health 2005, 13(2):99-102  

To assess the interval since the last revaccination against tetanus the persistence of antibodies was determined using ELISA test in 128 subject. Levels of antibodies against tetanus higher than the protective level of 0.1 IU/ml were found not only in those revaccinated less than ten years ago, but also in those revaccinated more than ten years before. With increasing length of the interval since last revaccination the antibody levels against tetanus decreased gradually although they remained above the protective level. No basic dependence of that trend on gender or age has been found. In the whole series, antibodies against tetanus exceeded the protective...

Infektionskrankheiten

Jindřich Jíra

Cent Eur J Public Health 2005, 13(2):103  

Keys to the Trematoda. Volume 1

Jindřich Jíra

Cent Eur J Public Health 2005, 13(2):104  

Epidemiology and Microbiology at the National Institute of Public Health, Prague, Czech Republic

Kříž B., Petráš P.

Cent Eur J Public Health 2005, 13(2):55-60  

Professor MUDr. RNDr. Jindřich Jíra, DrSc. celebrates his 80^th birthday

Uhlíková M.

Cent Eur J Public Health 2005, 13(2):60