PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

A K Mukerjee

Publications and source records attributed to A K Mukerjee.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Public health management of an outbreak of group C meningococcal disease in university campus residents.

BACKGROUND: Increasing numbers of outbreaks of Group C meningococcal disease in teenagers and young adults led to a new policy in the UK in 1999 of vaccinating all new college students. The largest of these outbreaks involved seven students in one university, six of whom were from one hall of residence, and two of whom died. METHODS: Control of the outbreak involved close medical surveillance of resident students, mass chemoprophylaxis and vaccination, and wide dissemination of daily information bulletins. Investigation of the epidemiology of the outbreak involved searching for the network of close contacts between cases, a prevalence survey of carriage of meningogocci and a case control study of risk factors for carriage. RESULTS: Clinical cases could be linked by a discrete network of social contacts within the halls of residence, but the Group C epidemic strain (2a P1.5) was not detected in 454 students (upper 95% confidence interval 0.7%). Carriage of any meningococcal strain (19%) was associated with patronage of the campus bar (OR = 3.0, 0.99-9.1). CONCLUSION: Important factors in the control of the outbreak were rapid institution of mass chemopropylaxis and immunisation of residents, and involvement of student organizations in the dissemination of information about the disease and its control. The role of campus bars in dissemination of the carriage of meningogocci deserves further investigation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

A community outbreak of food-borne small round-structured virus gastroenteritis caused by a contaminated water supply.

In August 1994, 30 of 135 (23%) bakery plant employees and over 100 people from South Wales and Bristol in the United Kingdom, were affected by an outbreak of gastroenteritis. Epidemiological studies of employees and three community clusters found illness in employees to be associated with drinking cold water at the bakery (relative risk 3.3, 95%, CI 1.6-7.0), and in community cases with eating custard slices (relative risk 19.8, 95%, CI 2.9-135.1) from a variety of stores supplied by one particular bakery. Small round-structured viruses (SRSV) were identified in stool specimens from 4 employees and 7 community cases. Analysis of the polymerase and capsid regions of the SRSV genome by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) demonstrated viruses of both genogroups (1 and 2) each with several different nucleotide sequences. The heterogeneity of the viruses identified in the outbreak suggests that dried custard mix may have been inadvertently reconstituted with contaminated water. The incident shows how secondary food contamination can cause wide-scale community gastroenteritis outbreaks, and demonstrates the ability of molecular techniques to support classical epidemiological methods in outbreak investigations.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Ascertainment of non-respiratory tuberculosis in five boroughs by comparison of multiple data sources.

The incidence of non-respiratory tuberculosis (TB) is known to be rising in many parts of the world. Examination of the ascertainment of non-respiratory TB in five Welsh boroughs by comparing multiple data sources showed that statutory notifications missed nearly half (38/81) of all cases over a period of 10 years, and illustrates an urgent need to improve surveillance.

Data Collection↗
PubMed1996

Response to the discovery of two practising surgeons infected with hepatitis B.

Two surgeons (henceforth called A and B) working in neighbouring district general hospitals were found, on routine testing, to carry hepatitis B e antigen and therefore to be at high risk of transmitting infection. Neither surgeon gave a history of injury at work. The only exposure prone operations performed by surgeon A were 16 repairs of uncomplicated inguinal hernias. Two of the 16 patients were found to have acute hepatitis B. In contrast, 15 cases on whom surgeon B performed exposure prone orthopaedic procedures remained free of hepatitis B virus infection. The follow up protocol for the patients of the two surgeons differed in that all surgeon B's patients were immunised using an accelerated course of hepatitis B vaccine, which had not been offered to patients of surgeon A. The detection of two cases of hepatitis B among patients operated on by an infected surgeon illustrates the importance of evaluating the risk of exposure associated with particular procedures when deciding whether to check patients who may have been exposed to a high risk surgeon. Surgeon A had been vaccinated before arriving in the United Kingdom and this incident highlights the need to verify immunity after vaccination against hepatitis B virus.

Blood-Borne Pathogens↗
PubMed1996

Factors influencing regional myocardial contractile response to inotropic stimulation. Analysis in humans with stable ischemic heart disease.

BACKGROUND: We hypothesized that the response of a myocardial segment to maximal dobutamine reflects not only maximal blood flow but also tethering, metabolic, and beta-blocker status. METHODS AND RESULTS: Patients with stable ischemic heart disease (n = 27) had positron emission tomographic measurement of blood flow at rest and with adenosine, and echocardiography at rest and with dobutamine. Positron emission tomographic measurement of [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose myocardial distribution also was made. Adenosine blood flow in segments that contracted normally at peak dobutamine was similar to that of segments that became hypokinetic (1.06 +/- 0.72 versus 1.02 +/- 0.77 mL.g-1.min-1). Segments that became akinetic failed to augment blood flow (0.68 +/- 0.30 mL.g-1.min-1). Fluorodeoxyglucose-blood flow mismatch was more common in segments with abnormal wall motion at peak dobutamine (24 of 59, 41%) versus those that contracted normally (63 of 269, 23%; chi 2, 7.40; P < .01). In patients off beta-blockers, segments that contracted normally at peak dobutamine increased blood flow with adenosine (0.70 +/- 0.31 to 0.86 +/- 0.46 mL.g-1.min-1; P < .05), whereas those that became abnormal did not (0.63 +/- 0.24 to 0.65 +/- 0.19 mL.g-1.min-1; P = NS). Segments of patients on beta-blockers that contracted normally at peak dobutamine increased blood flow with adenosine (0.78 +/- 0.31 to 1.10 +/- 0.70 mL.g-1.min-1; P < .05), as did segments that became abnormal (0.74 +/- 0.34 to 1.06 +/- 0.82 mL.g-1.min-1; P = NS). However, segments adjacent to ones with abnormal wall motion at rest had higher frequency of abnormal response at peak dobutamine in groups on (48% versus 16%; chi 2, 14.1; P < .001) and off (51% versus 21%; chi 2, 10.9; P < .01) beta-blockers. CONCLUSIONS: Augmented contraction at maximal dobutamine depends not only on increased myocardial blood flow but also on tethering, metabolic, and beta-blocker status. Furthermore, impaired flow reserve does not preclude a normal response to maximal dobutamine, since blood flow need not increase greatly to meet demand.

Adenosine↗