Distemper outbreak and its effect on African wild dog conservation.
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In December 2000, an infectious disease spread through a captive breeding group of African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) in Tanzania, killing 49 of 52 animals within 2 months. The causative agent was identified as Canine distemper virus (CDV) by means of histologic examination, virus isolation, reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analysis, and nucleotide sequencing. This report emphasizes the importance of adequate protection against infectious diseases for the successful outcome of captive breeding programs of endangered species. (+info)
Postexposure treatment and animal rabies, Ontario, 1958-2000.
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This paper investigates the relationship between animal rabies and postexposure treatment (PET) in Ontario by examining the introduction of human diploid cell vaccine (HDCV) in 1980 and the initiation of an oral rabies vaccination program for wildlife in 1989. Introducing HDCV led to an immediate doubling of treatments. Both animal rabies and human treatments declined rapidly after the vaccination program was introduced, but human treatments have leveled off at approximately 1,000 per year. (+info)
What the federal government can do about the nonmedical determinants of health.
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Growing recognition that the acute health care delivery system contributes proportionally less to health when compared with environment and behavior has focused scholars and public health experts on the need to address nonmedical determinants of health. This paper outlines some steps that the U.S. government can take to address these factors and describes some of the challenges involved. Actions that can be undertaken now are increased education and leadership, development of mechanisms to further collaboration among sectors, expanded monitoring and reporting on nonmedical determinants, and developing new knowledge about how these factors affect health and successful interventions to address them. (+info)
Occupational health services for small-scale enterprises in Korea.
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Korea needs national strategies to handle problems of Small Scale Enterprises (SSEs) systematically. Since 1993, the Korean government has begun to provide financial subsidy programs for Occupational Health Services (OHSs) in SSEs from Occupational Injury Prevention Fund. To identify the health care status in SSEs in Korea, 5,080 factories, which had participated in the Government-funded Subsidy Program in 1997, were surveyed. The overall morbidity of the workers in these SSEs was higher than the national average for both general and occupational diseases. Based on the health examinations for occupational disease of those workers exposed to occupational hazards such as noise, dust, or solvents, we could find the industry-specific occupational disease patterns. From this result, we would plan the targeted occupational health services to specific groups. In spite that the effectiveness of this program is not completely assessed, our results indicate that it is desirable for this program to be continued in Korea. In addition, this program may be a good model for rapidly developing countries. (+info)
Making better babies: public health and race betterment in Indiana, 1920-1935.
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In 1920, Indiana's Division of Infant and Child Hygiene inaugurated its first Better Babies Contest at the state fair. For the next 12 years, these contests were the centerpiece of a dynamic infant and maternal welfare program that took shape in Indiana during the decade of the federal Sheppard-Towner act. More than just a lively spectacle for fairgoers, these contests brought public health, "race betterment," and animal breeding together in a unique manner. This article describes one of the most popular expressions of public health and race betterment in rural America. It also raises questions about the intersections between hereditarian and medical conceptions of human improvement during the early 20th century, especially with respect to child breeding and rearing. (+info)
Emergency relief during Europe's famine of 1817 anticipated crisis-response mechanisms of today.
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Humanitarian professionals continue to seek best practice guidelines for famine relief. Many emergency interventions in developing countries draw on recent lessons from the 20th century, although attention has also been paid to historical experiences such as the 19th century evolution of India's Famine Codes and responses to Ireland's famine of the 1840s. This presentation goes further back in time to examine public responses to the pan-European famine of 1816-1817. It finds that many of the experimental actions set in place at that time contributed to a growing public acceptance of the role of government action in times of crisis, while establishing a variety of viable approaches that continue to be used today. (+info)
Foods provided through U.S. Government Emergency Food Aid Programs: policies and customs governing their formulation, selection and distribution.
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This report describes the food commodities that are used in U.S. emergency food aid programs and outlines issues in their distribution, selection and formulation that may limit their ability to meet the nutrition needs of recipients. Issues are being raised at this time because the U.S. Congress plans to renew the authorizing legislation by the end of 2002. The author summarizes quantity and quality problems with food aid contributions and the difficulties experienced with the coordination of food aid with related needs of disaster victims. He identifies the foods supplied for emergency feeding by the U.S. Government and the World Food Program, and describes the limited applications of nutrition science to the formulation of the processed foods provided through U.S. food programs. The core of the report outlines the dominant nonnutritional priorities, stemming from the linkages to U.S. agricultural supply markets, U.S. commercial food interests, food aid pledging customs and difficulties in U.S. Government humanitarian response coordination. The presentation concludes with a review of issues, emphasizing the need for further studies, and some suggestions for shaping future food aid programs and policy with a strengthened capacity for protecting and promoting the nutritional status of disaster victims. (+info)
The role of clinical governance as a strategy for quality improvement in primary care.
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This power considers the process of implementing clinical governance in primary care and its impact on quality improvement. It discuss how clinical governance is being implemented both at the level of Primary Care Organisations and general practices, and the challenges to implementing clinical governance. It also suggests a model for promoting the factors that will help clinical governance improve quality of care. The experience of implementing clinical governance is broadly positive to date. However, the government needs to match its commitment to a ten-year programme of change with realistic timetables to secure the cultural and organisational changes needed to improve quality of care. (+info)