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Biomedical subjects

L Ravà

Publications and source records attributed to L Ravà.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

Peer-reviewed articles and public health: the mad cow affair in Italian newspapers.

CONTEXT: It has been suggested that early announcements of research works to be published in peer-reviewed journals may diminish newsworthiness of scientific articles, but this issue has not been widely studied. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the impact on the news media, in terms of volume and prominence of coverage, of a scientific article published in peer-reviewed journals about issues with relevance to public health compared with the impact of preliminary release of information on the same issue. DESIGN: Analysis of press coverage of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) in the 7 newspapers with the widest circulation in Italy, between March 20, 1996, when the British secretary of state for health announced the identification of 10 cases of a new-variant CJD, described April 6, 1996, in The Lancet, and May 10, 1996. Related newspaper articles were identified by hand search. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Numbers of newspaper articles published before and after publication of the Lancet article. RESULTS: We collected 535 articles, of which 62 (11.6%) appeared on the front page. The number of articles published daily peaked on March 26 with 48 items and 1 article on the front page of all the newspapers. A total of 386 (72%) of the 535 articles and 56 (88.7%) of the 62 published on the front page were published in the first 2 weeks of the study period, before the Lancet publication. CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis suggests that, in the case of issues of public health importance, when peer-reviewed research is published after a health risk is disclosed to the public, its impact in the media is small. Coordination between news release by public health authorities and publication by peer-reviewed journals may improve the quality of public information.

Encephalopathy, Bovine Spongiform↗
PubMed1996

Temporal and geographical trends of anti-HIV-1 antibodies screening among newborns in Italy, 1990-1993. Italian Collaborative Study Group for HIV Prevalence in Newborns.

To describe the dynamic of HIV-1 prevalence in Italian childbearing women and to estimate the future incidence of pediatric AIDS due to vertical transmission, dried-blood specimens collected from a consecutive sample of newborns in all Italian regions were examined for the presence of anti-HIV-1 antibodies (HIV-Ab) after the routine neonatal screening program was completed. Of 555,722 blood samples collected and examined for HIV-Ab between 1990 and 1993, 550 (0.099%) were positive. Nationwide, the HIV seroprevalence decreased between 1990 and 1992 (0.124% in 1990, 0.100% in 1991, 0.085% in 1992), and increased, as compared with that in the previous year, in 1993 (0.096%). In an univariate analysis, HIV seroprevalence was positively was positively associated with being born in regions having higher AIDS cumulative incidence and in metropolitan areas, but negatively associated with year of delivery. In a multiple logistic regression analysis, only the AIDS cumulative incidence level of the delivery area and being born in a metropolitan area remained independently associated with HIV seroprevalence. Our results show significant geographical variation in the spread of HIV infection among childbearing women in Italy and provide useful indications to target prevention and care strategies for HIV-infected women and their children and to estimate the potential impact of implementing programs aimed at preventing vertical transmission of HIV infection.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Occupational hepatitis C virus infection in Italian health care workers. Italian Study Group on Occupational Risk of Bloodborne Infections.

The risk of exposed health care workers in 16 Italian hospitals becoming infected with hepatitis C virus was assessed through two serosurveys at a 1-year interval and at follow-up. Prevalence, which was 2.2%, was significantly associated with previous acute hepatitis, blood transfusions, housekeeping, and older age (> 46 years) but not with occupational risk factors. After 1 year, 2622 (87%) of the 3006 seronegative health care workers were retested, and 3 (0.1%), who did not acknowledge occupational or community risk factors, seroconverted. Additionally, 133 (97 needlesticks) out of 370 reported occupational exposures were to hepatitis C virus; one pricked nurse seroconverted (0.75%). Although the risk is not negligible, hepatitis C virus infection does not seem to be easily occupationally transmitted.

Adult↗