Surveillance of Influenza in Northern Ireland 2014-2015

The 2014/15 influenza season was characterised by moderate levels of influenza activity.� Primary care consultation rates were higher than in 2013/14 for the majority of the season, although still low overall.� Activity seen in other surveillance was also higher than in 2013/14 year, and showed that the severity and impact of influenza was greater in 2014/15 and affected older age groups most frequently, with more reported respiratory outbreaks, patients with confirmed influenza admitted to Intensive Care Units/High Dependency Units and excess mortality in those over 65 years of a

Evaluation of a Public Information Campaign on Organ Donation

In June 2013, the PHA surveyed the Northern Ireland public about their attitudes towards organ donation. At the same time, a process of stakeholder engagement took place with organ donation charities, those on the transplant waiting list, recipients, donor families, and Health and Social Care staff, to inform the direction of a public information campaign that would encourage organ donation in Northern Ireland.

HIV surveillance in Northern Ireland 2015

This report aims to provide an overview of HIV epidemiology in Northern Ireland by collating and analysing information from a number of sources. Although it reflects epidemiological trends over time, its main focus will be on data collected in 2014.

Tobacco Control Northern Ireland

Cigarettes are the only legal product which, when used as intended, will kill half of its users. Furthermore, smoking has been identified as the single greatest cause of preventable illness and premature death in Northern Ireland with one in every six deaths in Northern Ireland being attributable to smoking. These and other key facts about tobacco, e-cigarettes and the tobacco industry are summarised in a new tobacco briefing paper ��'Tobacco Control Northern Ireland��'.

Smoke Free Spaces: Progress in reducing exposure to second-hand smoke in Northern Ireland incorporating the five year review of smoke-free legislation

This report provides an overview of progress in reducing Second Hand Smoke (SHS) exposure in Northern Ireland that incorporates the five year review of smoke-free legislation, but also extends to a consideration of SHS exposure in non-work environments.  The report considers aspects of inequalities in SHS exposure in particular according to social disadvantage and with a focus on vulnerable subgroups of the population.

Perspectives in the control of infectious diseases by transgenic mosquitoes in the post-genomic era: a review

Arthropod-borne diseases caused by a variety of microorganisms such as dengue virus and malaria parasites afflict billions of people worldwide imposing major economic and social burdens. Despite many efforts, vaccines against diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, with the exception of yellow fever, are not available. Control of such infectious pathogens is mainly performed by vector management and treatment of affected individuals with drugs. However, the numbers of insecticide-resistant insects and drug-resistant parasites are increasing. Therefore, inspired in recent years by a lot of new data produced by genomics and post-genomics research, several scientific groups have been working on different strategies to control infectious arthropod-borne diseases. This review focuses on recent advances and perspectives towards construction of transgenic mosquitoes refractory to malaria parasites and dengue virus transmission.

Molecular evidence that human immunodeficiency virus type 1 dissemination in a small Brazilian city was already taking place in the early 1990s

We recently performed a molecular epidemiology survey of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection in Miracema, a small city in Southeast Brazil, and found multiple monophyletic clusters, consistent with independent introductions and spread of different viral lineages in the city. Here we apply Bayesian coalescent-based methods to the two largest subtype B clusters and estimate that the most recent common ancestors that gave rise to these two transmission chains were in circulation around 1991-1992. The finding that HIV-1 spread in this Brazilian small city was already taking place at a time Aids was considered a problem restricted to large urban centers may have important public health implications.

The Intra-Alpine terrain: A Paleotethyan remnant in the Alpine Variscides

A Cordilleran type evolution is proposed for the Variscan orogen of middle Europe. This orogenesis is regarded as mainly evolving through terrain accretion and subsequent collapse of the overthickened crust. A major terrain accretion took place between late Devonian and early Carboniferous when the Intra-Alpine terrain collided with the Ligerian-Moldanubian active margin. This terrain is regarded as being a segment of the northern margin of Paleotethys. Oblique subduction of Paleotethys under the newly accreted terrain is responsible for the voluminous calc-alkaline magmatism in late Carboniferous. The Paleotethys subduction has generated a lateral displacement of the eastern part of the Intra-Alpine terrain inducing a duplication of its western end. The late Carboniferous closure of Paleotethys in middle Europe is not found eastward where this closure happened only in early-Triassic times, following the simultaneous opening of the Neotethys ocean and the Meliata back-arc. Palinspastic models of the western Tethyan realm are proposed from the Carboniferous to early Jurassic.