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N Noah

Publications and source records attributed to N Noah.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Deaths from chickenpox in England and Wales 1995-7: analysis of routine mortality data.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the epidemiology and impact of mortality from chickenpox in England and Wales. DESIGN: Review of death certificates from the Office for National Statistics on which codes for "chickenpox" or "varicella" were mentioned. Further information ascertained from certifying physician. PARTICIPANTS: Those certified as having died from chickenpox in England and Wales, 1995-7. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Diagnosis and age and sex distributions of deaths from chickenpox. RESULTS: On average, 25 people a year die from chickenpox. Overall case fatality was 9.22 per 100 000 consultations for chickenpox. Adults accounted for 81% of deaths and 19% of consultations. Deaths were twice as common in men as in women. More of those who died were born outside United Kingdom than expected (12% v 4%). CONCLUSIONS: Chickenpox is not a mild disease. Deaths in adults are increasing, both in number and proportion.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Is group C meningococcal disease increasing in Europe? A report of surveillance of meningococcal infection in Europe 1993-6. European Meningitis Surveillance Group.

A surveillance system to assess the impact and changing epidemiology of invasive meningococcal disease in Europe was set up in 1987. Since about 1991, contributors from national reference laboratories, national communicable disease surveillance centres and institutes of public health in 35 European countries provided information on all reported cases of meningococcal disease in their country. We describe some trends observed over the period 1993-6. The main findings were: the overall incidence of meningococcal disease was 1.1 per 100000 population but there was some evidence of a slow increase over time and with northern European countries tending to have a higher incidence (Kendall correlation 0.5772, P < 0.001), an increasing predominance of serogroup C, and a shift in the age distribution towards teenagers and away from younger children (chi2 test for trend 44.56, P < 0.0001), although about half of the cases were under 5 years of age. The overall case fatality rate was 8.3% and the most common serosubtypes were B:15:P1.7,16 and C:2a:P1.2,5.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

The diversity of food poisoning and sources of contamination.

The three entirely different forms of food poisoning described in this issue of Eurosurveillance illustrate the extraordinary propensity of the organisms to survive and cause illness. Clostridium botulinum is an organism which produces its toxin (a toxin

Journal Article↗
PubMed1996

Chronic fatigue and minor psychiatric morbidity after viral meningitis: a controlled study.

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypotheses that patients exposed to viral meningitis would be at an increased risk of developing chronic fatigue syndrome and would have an excess of neurological symptoms and physical impairment. METHODS: Eighty three patients were followed up 6-24 months after viral meningitis and a postal questionnaire was used to compare outcome with 76 controls who had had non-enteroviral, non-CNS viral infections. RESULTS: For the 159 patients and controls the prevalence of chronic fatigue syndrome was 12.6%, a rate higher than previously reported from primary care attenders, suggesting that moderate to severe viral infections may play a part in the aetiology of some fatigue states. Those with a history of meningitis showed a slight, non-significant increase in prevalence of chronic fatigue syndrome (OR 1.4; 95% CI 0.5-3.6) which disappeared when logistic regression and analysis was used to correct for age, sex, and duration of follow up (OR 1.0; 95% CI 0.3-2.8). Controls showed marginally higher psychiatric morbidity measured on the general health questionnaire-12 (adjusted OR 0.6; 95% CI 0.3-1.3) Both groups had similar rates of neurological symptoms and physical impairment. The best predictor of chronic fatigue was a prolonged duration time of off work after the illness (OR 4.93, 95% CI 1.3-18.8). The best predictor of severe chronic fatigue syndrome diagnosed by Center for Disease Control criteria was past psychiatric illness (OR 7.82, 95% CI 1.8-34.3). Duration of viral illness, as defined by days in hospital, did not predict chronic fatigue syndrome. CONCLUSIONS: (1) The prevalence of chronic fatigue syndrome is higher than expected for the range of viral illnesses examined; (2) enteroviral infection is unlikely to be a specific risk factor for its development; (3) onset of chronic fatigue syndrome after a viral infection is predicted by psychiatric morbidity and prolonged convalescence, rather than by the severity of the viral illness itself.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Are ethical committees reliable?

This paper aims to assess the reliability of Local Research Ethical Committees (LREC), using a genuine research proposal which was sent to six LRECs. The main outcome criteria were modifications demanded by committees and the degree of agreement between them. All but one of the committees demanded some change in the proposal. None of the committees asked for the same changes. Our conclusion is that LRECs are highly variable.

Clinical Protocols↗
PubMed1991

Electron microscopic reporting of gastrointestinal viruses in the United Kingdom, 1985-1987.

We examined some epidemiological features of the viruses associated with gastrointestinal illness, using national data reported by electron microscopists in the United Kingdom. During the 3 years analyzed (1985-1987), a total of 1,993 positive detections of astroviruses, caliciviruses, coronaviruses, and small round structured viruses (SRSVs) were reported. In 1 year of this period, 8,210 rotaviruses were reported. More than 90% of the astroviruses and caliciviruses were detected in children under 5 years of age, while coronaviruses and SRSVs were detected in adults as well as children. Detections of astroviruses increased in the winter and were infrequent during the summer, a seasonal pattern similar to that observed for rotaviruses. There was some variability between reporting regions in rates of detection of fecal viruses. We have attempted to identify the reasons for this. We make suggestions for improving the detection of human fecal viruses, and we recognize the need for continued surveillance of these agents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

A review of outbreaks of infectious disease in schools in England and Wales 1979-88.

In this review of 66 outbreaks of infectious disease in schools in England and Wales between 1979-88, 27 were reported from independent and 39 from maintained schools. Altogether, over 8000 children and nearly 500 adults were affected. Most of the outbreaks investigated were due to gastrointestinal infections which affected about 5000 children: respiratory infections affected a further 2000 children. Fifty-two children and seven adults were admitted to hospital and one child with measles died. Vaccination policies and use of immunoglobulin for control and prevention of outbreaks in schools have been discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Rubella in the United Kingdom, 1970-1983.

The numbers of acquired and congenital rubella infections in the United Kingdom were obtained from clinical and laboratory reports and from notifications to the National Congenital Rubella Surveillance Programme. Since 1970 the annual frequency of clinical infection has varied from 150 to 450 cases per 100,000 population and laboratory reports of infection, from 800 to 4,100 per year. The number of notified congenital rubella infections varied from 12 to 86 per year. The largest recent epidemics occurred in 1978 and 1979, with an increase in the number of congenital rubella infections during the following winters. Increased numbers of cases occurred every one to three years, with troughs of two to three years, but peaks in different localities often did not coincide. Terminations of pregnancy associated with rubella or rubella vaccination during pregnancy are reported by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys and vary with the incidence of acquired rubella; a maximum of 830 abortions were performed in 1978 for women who acquired the disease, and from 27 to 156 were performed each year for women vaccinated just before or soon after becoming pregnant. The effect of the vaccination program is discussed in relation to the decrease in the number of young women without rubella antibody.

Abortion, Induced↗