The recording of demographic information on death certificates: a national survey of funeral directors.
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OBJECTIVE: The authors sought to ascertain the methods used by funeral directors to determine the demographic information recorded on death certificates. METHODS: Standardized questionnaires were administered to funeral directors in five urban locations in the U.S. In addition, personnel on four Indian reservations were interviewed. Study sites were selected for diverse racial/ethnic populations and variability in recording practices; funeral homes were selected by stratified random sampling. RESULTS: Fifty-two percent of responding funeral directors reported receiving no formal training in death certification. Seventy-nine percent of respondents reported finding certain demographic items difficult to complete--26% first specified race as the problematic item, and 25% first specified education. The decedent's race was "sometimes" or "often" determined through personal knowledge of the family by 58% of respondents; 43% reported "sometimes" or "often" determining race by observation. Only three respondents reported that occupation was a problematic item. CONCLUSIONS: The authors recommend that the importance of demographic data and the instructions for data collection be clarified for funeral directors, that standard data collection worksheets be developed, and that training videos be developed. (+info)
Absence of Yersinia pestis-specific DNA in human teeth from five European excavations of putative plague victims.
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This study reports the results of a collaborative study undertaken by two independent research groups to (a) confirm recent PCR-based detection of Yersinia pestis DNA in human teeth from medieval plague victims in France, and (b) to extend these observations over five different European burial sites believed to contain plague victims dating from the late 13th to 17th centuries. Several different sets of primers were used, including those previously documented to yield positive results on ancient DNA extracts. No Y. pestis DNA could be amplified from DNA extracted from 108 teeth belonging to 61 individuals, despite the amplification of numerous other bacterial DNA sequences. Several methods of extracting dentine prior to the DNA extraction were also compared. PCR for bacterial 16S rDNA indicated the presence of multiple bacterial species in 23 out of 27 teeth DNA extracts where dentine was extracted using previously described methods. In comparison, positive results were obtained from only five out of 44 teeth DNA extracts for which a novel contamination-minimizing embedding technique was used. Therefore, high levels of environmental bacterial DNA are present in DNA extracts where previously described methods of tooth manipulation are used. To conclude, the absence of Y. pestis-specific DNA in an exhaustive search using specimens from multiple putative European plague burial sites does not allow us to confirm the identification of Y. pestis as the aetiological agent of the Black Death and subsequent plagues. In addition, the utility of the published tooth-based ancient DNA technique used to diagnose fatal bacteraemias in historical epidemics still awaits independent corroboration. (+info)
Is the body a republic?
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The ethics of post-mortem organ retention and use is widely debated in bioethics and law. However, the fundamental ethical issues have often been inadequately treated. According to one argument, dead bodies are no longer "persons". Given the great benefits dead bodies offer to human kind, they should be automatically treated as public property: when the person dies, the body becomes a public thing (a res publica, a republic). This paper articulates the ethical issues involved in organ and tissue retention and use, both in the case in which the deceased's wishes are known and in the case in which the wishes are not known. It contends that a dead body is not a republic. The state should maximise availability of organs and tissues by inviting or requiring citizens to make an informed and responsible choice on the matter. (+info)
Ritual plants of Muslim graveyards in northern Israel.
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This article surveys the botanical composition of 40 Muslim graveyards in northern Israel, accompanied by an ethnobotanical study of the folkloristic traditions of the use of these plants in cemeteries. Three groups of plants were found to be repeated systematically and were also recognized for their ritual importance: aromatics herbs (especially Salvia fruticosa and Rosmarinus officinalis), white flowered plants (mainly Narcissus tazetta, Urginea maritima, Iris spp. and Pancratium spp.) and Cupressus sempervirens as the leading cemetery tree. As endemic use we can indicate the essential role of S. fruticosa as the main plant used in all human rites of passage symbolizing the human life cycle. The rosemary is of European origin while the use of basil is of Indian influence. The use of white flowers as cemeteries plants reflects an old European influence and almost the same species are used or their congeners. Most of the trees and shrubs that are planted in Muslim cemeteries in Israel have the same use in ancient as well in modern European cultures. In conclusion, our findings on the occurrence of plants in graveyards reflect the geographic situation of Israel as a crossroads in the cultural arena between Asia and Europe. Most of the traditions are common to the whole Middle East showing high relatedness to the classical world as well as to the present-day Europe. (+info)
A description of the methods used to obtain information on ancient disease and medicine and of how the evidence has survived.
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This paper summarises the common modalities that are available for researching ancient medicine and disease as well as explaining how some of these sources have survived to modern day. These are explained under the three broad headings of palaeopathology, artefacts, and texts. The descriptions use a variety of examples from ancient societies including in the Bronze Age, Babylonia and Assyria, ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, and ancient Rome to help explain these modalities. In addition, a review of the advantages and disadvantages of using these tools is included to help current and future historians in stimulating future research in this fascinating area. (+info)
The Medecins Sans Frontieres intervention in the Marburg hemorrhagic fever epidemic, Uige, Angola, 2005. II. lessons learned in the community.
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From 27 March 2005 onwards, the independent humanitarian medical aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres, together with the World Health Organization, the Angolan Ministry of Health, and others, responded to the Marburg hemorrhagic fever (MHF) outbreak in Uige, Angola, to contain the epidemic and care for those infected. This response included community epidemiological surveillance, clinical assessment and isolation of patients with MHF, safe burials and disinfection, home-based risk reduction, peripheral health facility support, psychosocial support, and information and education campaigns. Lessons were learned during the implementation of each outbreak control component, and the subsequent modifications of protocols and strategies are discussed. Similar to what was seen in previous filovirus hemorrhagic fever outbreaks, the containment of the MHF epidemic depended on the collaboration of the affected community. Actively involving all stakeholders from the start of the outbreak response is crucial. (+info)
Imagery about suicide in depression--"Flash-forwards"?
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Suicide is a significant world health problem, with more deaths by suicide globally than by war. We need to better understand the cognitive processes underlying suicidal thinking for improved treatment development. Cognitive psychology indicates that mental imagery can be causal in determining future behavior, yet the occurrence of suicide-related imagery has not previously been investigated. Interviews with 15 depressed and formerly suicidal patients in remission found that all patients reported experiencing detailed mental imagery in addition to verbal thoughts when at their most despairing, for example images of making a future suicide attempt. A clinical measure of the severity of suicidal ideation was associated with both preoccupation with suicide-related imagery and perceived imagery realness. Echoing flashbacks in posttraumatic stress disorder, the current images appeared like "flash-forwards" to suicide. These results provide the first data to our knowledge on the existence of mental imagery in suicidality, opening a promising new avenue for research. (+info)
A major trichinellosis outbreak suggesting a high endemicity of Trichinella infection in northern Laos.
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Trichinellosis is an important and under-recognized food-borne zoonosis in Southeast Asia. After 30 years of no reports, a small outbreak was described in Central Lao PDR (Laos) in 2003. Here we report a large outbreak of at least 650 estimated patients in Udomxay (northern Laos) in June 2005. Trichinella ELISA assays on serum from 133 patients and Western blot assays on 16 patients were positive in 67.6% and 81.2%, respectively. No deaths were recorded. Consumption of uncooked or fermented pork at funeral and wedding ceremonies was the main source of infection. Larvae of Trichinella spiralis were found in 1 of 11 local pigs not involved in this outbreak. The results suggest that trichinellosis may be an under-recognized but important endemic disease in Laos and reinforces the need to urgently implement veterinary and educational programs. (+info)