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Biomedical subjects

C Acker

Publications and source records attributed to C Acker.

16 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

A successful, preventive-oriented village health worker program in Hebron, the West Bank, 1985-1996.

Village health rooms (VHRs) were established in villages with no on-site health facilities in the Hebron District of the West Bank, beginning in 1985. By 1991, the program served a total population of 40,000 in 49 VHRs and by the end of 1996 covered 69 villages in Hebron and 20 in other districts that were previously served by visiting vaccination teams and nearby clinics. The VHRs provide close contact with the population of mothers for well child and pregnancy care, health education and provide visiting doctor/nurse teams for backup services and supervision. Data on coverage, utilization, costs, and outcome measures are presented. The program is accepted and grows despite adverse social and political conditions.

Community Health Services↗
PubMed1990

Tetanus in Israel, Judea/Samaria and Gaza, 1968-89: progress and challenge.

During the 1950s tetanus was a major public health concern in Israel, with incidence rates of up to 2/100,000 occurring predominantly among farmers and infants (tetanus neonatorum). These rates have declined considerably since then, with an average of 2 cases per year in recent years, and 5 cases in 1988. There has been a major decline in tetanus incidence in Judea/Samaria and Gaza, due to a successful vaccination program reaching over 90% of infants and schoolchildren and to educational programs. In Judea/Samaria and Gaza, prevention of tetanus neonatorum has improved as a result of the increasing number of hospital deliveries (now 62% in the West Bank and 80% in Gaza), and the widespread immunization of pregnant women and adolescent girls of childbearing age. Special efforts were given to the education of traditional birth attendants (dayas). Prevention of adult tetanus was achieved through immunization of high school students and laborers. Recent cases in all three areas are equally distributed between newborns and elderly persons. Because of the persistence of the incidence of tetanus, a review of Israel's immunization policy is indicated, focusing on high risk groups such as Bedouin women of childbearing age and the elderly.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Memory and ventricular size in alcoholics.

The relationship between memory performance and CT scan measures of ventricular size was investigated in a sample of 39 chronic alcoholics and 39 controls. Measures of verbal, non-verbal, recognition and recall memory were derived from the tests administered and were viewed in relation to the lateral ventricle and third ventricular size measurements. The results showed that the memory performance of male alcoholics was significantly related to measures of third ventricular size, but probably not to measures of the lateral ventricles. An association between verbal memory performance and CT scan measures was found in the male controls.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Brain damage in alcoholism: current concepts.

Current views concerning the brain damage occasioned by alcohol abuse are reviewed. Diffuse cerebral changes appear to be common and partially reversible with prolonged abstinence. The possible determinants of such changes, and their relevance to functional deficits are discussed, with illustrations from work currently proceeding at the Institute of Psychiatry. Possible interactions between cortical and subcortical pathologies in contributing to the cognitive deficits shown by alcoholic patients are emphasised.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1985

Use of growth charts as a simple epidemiological monitoring system of nutritional status of children.

Community monitoring of the nutritional status of children has hitherto involved field surveys and lengthy computer analysis. These procedures are complex and cannot always be carried out on a routine basis. In addition, they do not provide immediate feedback or longitudinal information on the population under surveillance. This study describes a simple, universally applicable community survey system for monitoring the growth of infants and children that affords both cross-sectional and longitudinal data.

Aging↗
PubMed1985

Identification of community flour mills as the source of lead poisoning in West Bank Arabs.

Following the discovery of severe lead poisoning in members of several households in a West Bank village, studies were carried out to establish the magnitude of the problem in the community and to identify the source of lead poisoning. Forty-three patients with Centers for Disease Control risk group IV lead poisoning were identified and treated in three villages within a radius of about 10 km of each other. The prevalence of increased lead burden among 563 schoolchildren aged 10 to 18 years was 19% for Centers for Disease Control risk groups I and II and 11% for groups III and IV. A survey of potential sources excluded all items, except for locally ground flour, which was heavily contaminated in all affected households. Examination of community flour mills revealed that, in contrast to unprocessed grain, freshly ground flour contained large amounts of lead originating from lead fillings employed to fasten the housing of the driveshafts to the millstones. Systematic screening of 146 community stone mills in 92 West Bank villages showed significant lead contamination of flour in 33 mills (23%). In all cases, the source of lead contamination was identical. As methods of milling in the area are similar, a prompt investigation of this potential source of lead poisoning in other near-Eastern countries is indicated.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Performance of female alcoholics on neuropsychological testing.

Female alcoholics performed significantly less well on neuropsychological tests than matched non-alcoholic controls. The range of performance deficits was similar to that previously reported for male alcoholics despite significantly shorter drinking histories.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Assessment of cognitive function in alcoholics by computer: a control study.

Results are presented of the performance by 103 alcoholics and 90 controls on six computer-administered tests of cognitive function. The main analysis compared performance of the two groups when pre-existing differences in intellectual capacity, as estimated by NART, were accounted for statistically. The performance of the alcoholics was worse, at a statistically significant level, on 18 of 23 measures. Procedurally, the tests were found to offer practical advantages over conventional procedures.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The Arjenyattah epidemic. A mass phenomenon: spread and triggering factors.

A massive epidemic of psychogenic aetiology occurred in three districts of the West Bank over two weeks in March-April, 1983. It affected 949 individuals, 727 (77%) of them adolescent females. The symptoms were not accompanied by positive physical signs or by laboratory findings. The epidemiological pattern was pathognomonic of that of a psychogenic disorder. The initial trigger was probably the odour of H2S escaping from a faulty latrine in the schoolyard of the first affected school. Subsequent spread of the disease was due to psychological and extra-medical factors, including publicity by the mass media. Spread was stopped immediately after closure of schools.

Abdomen↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Lead poisoning by contaminated flour.

Between October 1982 and June 1983, 43 patients were identified with symptomatic lead poisoning in three Arab villages of the Nablus district. Because of the clustering of clinical poisoning by household units, investigation was focussed on potential sources common to all members of the households. After excluding water, olive oil and a variety of foodstuff, lead in high concentrations was discovered in locally ground flour in all affected households. The source of poisoning was lead poured into the fissures between the metal housing and the driveshaft of the millstone. Significant lead contamination of freshly ground flour was demonstrated in 23% of the 146 community flour mills operating in West Bank villages. Since the completion of these studies, similar outbreaks of lead poisoning caused by contaminated flourmills have been identified in the Upper Galilee and in Spain. As the methods of milling in the Mediterranean area are similar, a coordinated international effort is needed in order to eliminate this health hazard from countries where similar community stone mills are still in use.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Measles during the Gulf War: a public health threat in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza.

A measles outbreak began in Ramallah District in the West Bank in the period just before the outbreak of the Gulf War in 1991. After a local control program, the outbreak was contained to a total of 236 reported cases, including one death, but sporadic cases appeared over the ensuing months. An epidemic of measles followed 2-3 weeks later in Beer Sheva district in Israel, initially among the Bedouin population just prior to the outbreak of the war, then spreading to the Jewish population. The epidemic reached its peak during the war in February, continuing into March. There were a total of over 433 reported cases, with 203 hospitalizations and 7 deaths. The epidemic was slowed by curtailment of school and other civilian activities, and a mass vaccination campaign reaching 60,000 children, but was spread by crowded conditions in hospital, and was spread to other parts of the country by internal population migration. An epidemic of a preventable disease occurring during a national emergency adds to the burdens of the health system. The public health system must be prepared to contain epidemics and other public health threats in wartime, employing standard control methods developed and practiced during peacetime. Routine immunization policies should take into account the possibility of a civilian epidemic during national emergencies, and the need to assure protection of both the civilian and military population in preparation for such contingencies.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Successful control of poliomyelitis by a combined OPV/IPV polio vaccine program in the West Bank and Gaza, 1978-93.

In the 1970s the incidence of poliomyelitis in Gaza and the West Bank was high, even among children immunized with as many as four doses of oral polio vaccine (OPV). This was thought to be due to interference in uptake from other enteroviruses in the environment. A combined program of OPV and inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) was instituted in these areas in 1978, and the incidence of polio declined dramatically. Wild poliovirus findings in sewage in 1990-91 coupled with two outbreaks of polio, one in Israel in 1988 and another in Jordan in 1992, were reminders that the area should still be considered endemic. The potential of fresh entry of wild poliovirus may occur via persons who may have personal protection but may still shed the virus due to inadequate enteric immunity. In addition, the combined program protects against vaccine-associated poliomyelitis. A similar modified combined OPV/IPV program has been adopted in Israel. The combination of OPV and IPV provides an important alternative strategy in the worldwide effort to eradicate poliomyelitis.

Adolescent↗