Study of C. burnetii human and animal seroprevalence in a rural population in Madrid community
A pilot study on human seroprevalence of antibodies to C. burnetii in the Madrid region, initiated in a small rural population, shows a 15.4% positivity by the indirect immunofluorescence test. An urban sample shows an 8.8% positivity. Animal seroprevalence in livestock located in the village under study is 76.6% in caprine and 17.7% in bovine. A high risk epidemiological situation is detected.
Q fever in the Netherlands: a sero-epidemiological survey among human population groups from 1968 to 1983
SUMMARY A sero-epidemiological survey, using an indirect immunofluorescence test for IgG against Coxiella burnetii (phase II), was carried out in the Netherlands. Serum samples taken in 1968, 1975, 1979 and 1983 were tested. Occupational groups with a supposedly high risk of infection (veterinarians, residents of dairy farms and taxidermists) showed a significantly higher percentage of seropositives than defined controls. The percentage of seropositive amateur wool spinners was significantly higher than that of the controls from the same region. Since 1968 there has been no increase in the percentage of infected persons, indicating that, contrary to earlier assumptions, Q fever has been endemic in The Netherlands for a long time already. The increase in numbers of notified cases of overt Q fever is considered to be the result of the recent introduction of a sensitive indirect immunofluorescence test for IgM antibodies against C. burnetii. Antibody percentages in all age classes between 1 and 64 years were much alike, suggesting that most infections occur in early childhood. This is in accordance with the finding that 35% of our patients are younger than 3 years. The possibility of infection related to childbirth and lactation is discussed.
Tourism in the Amazon: identifying challenges and finding solutions
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the tourism sector in the Amazon regions of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Suriname and then discuss the manner in which tourism activity assists the protection of the Amazon rainforests. The paper also describes the manner in which the first World Hospitality and Tourism Themes Roundtable on Tourism in the Amazon is organized in 2009.Design/methodology/approach – Teams of researchers from the Ministries of Tourism, the private sector and academia in the Member Countries of Treaty for Amazon Cooperation collaborated to address, in ten‐page papers, the question “Does sustainable tourism offer solutions for the protection of the Amazon rainforest?”Findings – The paper provides valuable information on the current state of tourism policy and practice in the Amazon Member Countries. It also articulates the challenges that attend the development of sustainable tourism as a mechanism for the protection of the Amazon.Practical...