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PubMed2003

Hydatidosis-echinococcosis in Greece.

Hydatidosis/echinococcosis (Echinococcus granulosus infection) is considered to be a serious problem for both public health and the livestock economy in Greece. The present paper reviews and summarizes all data available on this disease since 1970. The disease was widely prevalent long before the 1970s. At that time the annual surgical incidence rate was 12.9 per 100000 inhabitants. As a result of the seriousness of the disease, the Greek Department of Veterinary Services initiated an anti-echinococcosis campaign in 1984. When the program started, the prevalence of infection in farm animals was 82% in cattle, 80% in sheep, 24% in goats and 5% in pigs. Data obtained in a survey in Northern Greece in 1994, recorded the prevalence of CE as 100% in sheep, 56.6% in cattle, 15.4% in goats and 9.3% in pigs; sheep had not only more cysts but significantly higher rates of fertile cysts (e.g. contained viable protoscolices) than intermediate host species examined. Serologic surveys (specific IgG) in humans carried out between 1988 and 1999 had shown seroprevalence up to 29%. Surveillance in livestock species, since 1998, carried out as part of an European Union (E.U.) project, have documented the prevalences of CE in sheep (31.3%), in goats (10.3%), in pigs (0.6%) and in cattle (0%). The official campaign against this zoonosis in Greece is ongoing. It is concluded that since hydatidosis/echinococcosis is still present, surveillance and intervention measures should be continued to track the course of the infection and to eliminate risk to humans.

Animals↗

PubMed1993

Hepatitis C virus infection in Greece and its role in chronic liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection (HCV) in Greece, to estimate its frequency in chronic liver disease and to explore the role of HCV infection in the aetiology of hepatocellular carcinoma. A series of 1034 patients with chronic liver disease of various aetioloigies and 299 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma allocated to two case-control studies was tested for anti-HCV. Twelve recent reports on HCV infection in Greece were reviewed and analyzed. The results of the present study indicate the existence of a large pool of HCV infection in Greece and an impressive spread of the virus in high-risk groups. Chronic HCV infection was found to account for 83.6% of patients with chronic non-A, non-B hepatitis parenterally transmitted, 56.5% of cases of sporadic community-acquired disease and for almost 1/4 of all patients with chronic liver disease. The relative risks for development of hepatocellular carcinoma of patients with chronic HCV infection was 6.3 in the first and 13.7 in the second case-control study, increasing to 20.0 and 18.7, respectively, when hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was positive. Serum HBV-DNA was positive and/or anti-HBc IgM levels were high in 12 of 15 (80%) patients with hepatocellular carcinoma positive only for HBsAg, and in 7 of 15 (47%) positive both for HBsAg and antibodies to HCV. The present data support the view that hepatitis B and C virus have an interacting role in the origin of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Biomarkers↗

PubMed2001

Maternal mortality in Greece (1980-1996).

OBJECTIVE: To use data from the National Statistical Service of Greece to examine trends in maternal mortality and risk factors for maternal deaths. STUDY DESIGN: Maternal mortality in Greece has been studied from years 1980 to 1996 in total, by cause of death, by residency (urban/rural) and by maternal age. The maternal mortality ratio (MMR) has been defined as the number of deaths per 100,000 live births. RESULTS: From years 1980 to 1996, there have been 136 maternal deaths (MMR: 7). The number of deaths has significantly decreased during this period and six major causes of death have been identified, resulting in 80% of maternal deaths. A simulation of maternal mortality between urban and rural areas has been achieved during the last decade. Also, maternal mortality rises dramatically with age. CONCLUSIONS: Although overall rates of maternal mortality in Greece have been significantly decreased over the last years, an improved recording of maternal deaths is necessary for identifying preventable factors and developing effective interventions.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Cross-cultural study of symptom expectation following minor head injury in Canada and Greece.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the present study is to compare the frequency and nature of expected symptoms in Greece (a country where the chronic post-concussive syndrome is largely unknown) with that in Canada. METHODS: A symptom checklist was administered to two subject groups selected from local companies in Patras, Greece, and Edmonton, Canada, respectively. Subjects were asked to imagine having suffered head trauma with loss of consciousness in a motor vehicle accident and to check off symptoms, they expected might arise from the injury. For symptoms they anticipated, they were asked to select the period of time they expected those symptoms to persist. RESULTS: In both the Greek and Edmontonian groups, the pattern of symptoms anticipated closely resembled the acute symptoms commonly reported by accident victims with minor head injury. Yet, while many Edmontonians also anticipated symptoms to last months or years, very few Greek subjects selected any symptoms as being likely to persist in a chronic manner. CONCLUSIONS: In Greece, despite the frequent experience of minor head injury in motor vehicle accidents, there is a very low rate of expectation of any chronic sequelae from such an injury, contrasting greatly with the response shown in Canada, where the prevalence of the chronic post-concussive syndrome is higher. Symptom expectation in some countries may be an important factor in the development of the chronic post-concussive syndrome.

Adult↗

PubMed1987

Heterophyes species in Greece: record of H. heterophyes, H. aequalis and H. dispar from the first intermediate host, Pirenella conica.

Heterophyes heterophyes is reported for the first time from the snail host Pirenella conica in Greece. H. aequalis and H. dispar are reported for the first time from Greece and from Europe. The results presented, together with the available data on necropsies of dogs and cats, human infections and the biotope preference of the snail, suggest that Greece is an important focus of infection in Europe.

Animals↗

PubMed1997

Helminths of foxes and other wild carnivores from rural areas in Greece.

Twenty species of helminth parasites were identified from fox, wolf, jackal and wild cat material collected in Greece. Of the 314 foxes (Vulpes vulpes) examined, 18 helminth species were recovered comprising one trematode, eight cestodes, seven nematodes and two acanthocephalans, with the cestode species Mesocestoides sp. (73.2%), Joyeuxiella echinorhynchoides (24.5%) and the nematode species Uncinaria stenocephala (43.9%), and Toxara canis (28.6%) being the most prevalent. Five cestode and three nematode species were reported from six wolves (CaniS lupus), together with one trematode, three cestode and four nematode species from five jackals (Canis aureus) and two cestode and three nematode species from four wild cats (Felis silvestris) examined. The species J. echinorhynchoides, Taenia crassiceps and Onicola canis and the genera Spirometra, Rictularia and Pachysentis are reported here for the first time in Greece. The results are discussed in the light of the feeding characteristics of wild carnivores in rural areas of Greece.

Animals↗

PubMed1997

Road traffic accidents in Greece: recent trends (1981-1991).

This study describes trends of road traffic accidents (RTAs) in Greece over the past 11-year period. All casualties that occurred in Greece during the period 1981-1991 are analyzed. Trends in severity (as judged by the proportion of fatal or serious casualties) are studied. The rate 'casualty per registered vehicle' is also used and is mainly based on the number of road users killed or seriously injured. The total number of deaths presents a considerable increase by about 32%, but an important reduction of serious injuries was observed during the same period. The number of fatal injuries increased significantly only in drivers whereas no such increase is observed in passengers and pedestrians. In all three categories of road users, serious injuries decreased significantly with a similar linear regression slope. RTAs in Greece are also becoming less severe in all categories of road users. Accidents per registered vehicle decrease significantly in all road user groups and age groups. The slope of this decrease is rather exponential, suggestion that any further increase of the number of registered vehicles will be followed by a similar increase of the number of casualties so that the rate will tend to remain stable. This represents a very challenging situation of how to keep the number of casualties as low - or, at least, as stable - as possible despite high vehicle densities. There is uncertainty about the factors that led to the observed decreases, as it was difficult to single out effects of specific measures, because of data limitations. An improved data collection system is necessary in order to enable a more thorough analysis of casualty trends not fully addressed in this study.

Accidents, Traffic↗

PubMed2003

Biochemical genetic variability in brown hares (Lepus europaeus) from Greece.

Allozyme variability of 91 brown hares (Lepus europaeus) from seven regions in Greece was compared to existing data of Bulgarian populations to test the hypothesis of the occurrence ofspecific alleles in Greece, likely stemming from an isolated Late Pleistocene refugial population in the southern Balkans. This hypothesis is particularly suggested by some subfossil Late Pleistocene hare remains in Greece and the reported high mtDNA diversity in Greek hares. Allozymic diversity could be higher in Greek hares than in hares from neighboring regions as a result of the accumulation of variants in a long-lasting Pleistocene refugium. Conversely, Greek hares could exhibit reduced genetic diversity because of long-lasting low effective population sizes during the Late Glacial Maximum and a lower chance of postglacial gene flow from other populations into this rather marginal part in the southern Balkans. Horizontal starch gel electrophoresis of proteins from 35 loci revealed three alleles (Es-1(-162), Pep-2(114), Mpi(88)) at low frequencies, which were not found in Bulgarian or any other brown hare population. In contrast, some alleles from the populations from Bulgaria and other regions of Europe were absent in the Greek samples. Population genetic statistics indicated only a slight tendency of increased gene pool diversity in Greek hares, little substructuring in Greek and Bulgarian populations, respectively, as well as an only slightly lower level of gene flow between the two neighboring regions, as compared to the gene flow within each region. The results conform to the hypothesis of a Late Pleistocene refugial population in the southern Balkans, with some few specific nuclear gene pool characteristics, but little effect on the overall genetic differentiation between Greek and Bulgarian hares.

Alleles↗

PubMed2003

Prevalence of hepatitis B and C virus infection in the general population and selected groups in South-Western Greece.

Greece is a country of intermediate endemicity for hepatitis B and low endemecity for hepatitis C with a downward trend during the last years. In the present study we investigated the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in the region of South-Western Greece and tried to identify the most important risk factors of transmission. This is a unique epidemiological study, as it is the first community based study in the general population of Greece, with a methodological approach based on multi-staged random sampling. The prevalence of HBV infection seems to be decreasing with a 22.6% rate of HBV markers and a 2.1% rate of chronic HBV carriers. We found male sex, old age and intrafamiliar exposure as the major independent risk factors of HBV transmission, while sexual contact, absence of condom prophylaxis and living in rural areas seem to have also a significant impact for HBV infection. No relation was found between HBV transmission and working in health care facilities, pre-existing hospital admissions and history of transfusion. The prevalence of anti-bodies to the HCV was found 0.5%, even lower than the rate reported in the Mediterranean region. Parenteral exposure was the main risk factor for the transmission of HCV infection.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

No debt for medical students in Greece.

BACKGROUND: Medical education in Greece is government-funded by constitution. Tuition fees are therefore not payable by students. This investigation aims to identify the sources of income of medical students in Greece. METHODS: This is a questionnaire-based analysis of a sample of 488 students who were asked to state their sources of income. RESULTS: Mean contributions to total student income are parental financial support (93.2%), part-time employment (2.4%), scholarships (2.5%) and other sources including loans (1.9%). CONCLUSION: The income of medical students in Greece is mostly dependent on parental contributions. Other sources do not represent popular options. This situation differs to that in other countries, where loans make significant contributions to the total income of medical students.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Cryptorchidism: seasonal variations in Greece do not support the theory of light.

To examine seasonal trends of cryptorchidism in Greece, 583 males with true isolated cryptorchidism were analyzed. All 208 912 live-born boys born during the same period were used as a comparison group. Seasonality by month of birth was evaluated using both Edwards' model with adjusted frequencies and exact theta(i), and Walter-Elwood method with exact theta(i). Both tests resulted in consistent findings. The incidence of cryptorchid births in Greece follows a documented cyclic pattern of simple harmonic type with spring being the season of statistical predominance (peak in March with a second, almost equivalent, peak in May). In contrast, in autumn the incidence of cryptorchid births was considerably lower (trough in September). Given the fact that no significant differences in daylight length are found among seasons in Greece, the detection of a significant seasonal variation suggests that factors other than light are involved in the pathogenesis of cryptorchidism. Low environmental temperature is proposed as a causative factor negatively influencing the maternal hCG profiles and the inguinoscrotal phase of testicular descent. This is further supported by: (i) the similarity of our results to those reported by other European countries of different longitude and geographical width and (ii) our data showing significantly smaller maternal hCG profiles at the 26th week of gestation during winter compared with summer.

Chorionic Gonadotropin↗

PubMed1995

Prevalence of antibodies to human T-lymphotropic virus types I and II in volunteer blood donors and high-risk groups in northwestern Greece.

BACKGROUND: In addition to human immunodeficiency virus, human T-lymphotropic virus types I and II (HTLV-I/II) is prevalent among blood donors in the United States. In Greece, there are no epidemiologic data regarding the prevalence of HTLV-I/II among volunteer blood donors and high-risk groups. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: To determine the prevalence of HTLV-I/II infections in northwestern Greece, a seroepidemiologic study was conducted among volunteer blood donors, multiply transfused patients, heroin addicts, and chronic hemodialysis patients. The subjects were tested for serologic evidence of HTLV-I/II infection by enzyme immunoassays and specific protein immunoblot confirmatory test. RESULTS: None of the volunteer blood donors and heroin addicts had detectable antibodies to HTLV-I/II. Only 1 (1.45%) of the 69 multiply transfused patients had indeterminate results, while 2 (1.2%) of 163 hemodialysis patients were positive. CONCLUSION: In northwestern Greece, routine screening for HTLV-I and HTLV-II infections does not appear to be required. However, the finding of seropositivity among hemodialysis patients requires further evaluation of the origin of the infection, as its zero prevalence in this population seems to exclude transfusion transmission.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Life cycle variation of Myzus persicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae) in Greece.

During the years 1995-1999 the life cycle category of 2797 clones of Myzus persicae (Sulzer) was examined. The clones originated from primary and secondary hosts from different localities of North and Central Greece and the island of Crete in the south. Four different overwintering life cycle strategies were found that have also been described for M. persicae and other heteroecious species previously. A geographical variation was found in the proportion of holocyclic clones from tobacco and other secondary hosts associated with the abundance of the primary host in the sampling regions. In Central Macedonia, around the main peach-growing regions, the proportion of holocyclic clones was mostly above 50% and in some cases reached 100%. In localities of East Macedonia, holocyclic clones were also frequent. On the other hand, further south or in north-eastern Greece, where peach is not common, the proportion of holocyclic clones varied between 0 and 33%. Fifty seven percent of examined anholocyclic clones produced males under short day conditions, suggesting that androcyclic clones in Greece represent an important factor of genetic variability. Intermediate clones were sampled from all host-plants but at low frequencies (3.6% of total examined clones and 6.9% of non-holocyclic ones). Moreover, a regional variation was found in different colour forms feeding on tobacco plants. Red clones were predominant in regions where aphids overwinter parthenogenetically on weeds or winter crops. However, almost all clones from the primary host were green. The ecological aspects of life cycle variation are discussed.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

Human dirofilariasis in Greece: a review of reported cases and a description of a new, subcutaneous case.

A superficial analysis of Greek reports of human cases of dirofilariasis indicated that this zoonosis is rare in Greece. However, a more detailed review of the international literature revealed several more cases, diagnosed and recorded in other countries following infection during holidays in Greece. Overall, at least 20 individuals are now known to have been infected in Greece, in all regions of the country. A new, subcutaneous case of dirofilariasis is described; the infection occurred in a 45-year-old male living in Piraeus (Athens), and was localized in the abdominal wall. Histology revealed a female Dirofilaria (Nochtiella) repens in the reactive nodule.

Age Distribution↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Reduction of lead pollution in Greece during the past two decades.

We studied blood lead levels of children who lived in 3 locations in Greece. We then compared blood lead levels in our study with results of previous studies conducted in Athens and other areas of Greece. The significant reduction of blood lead levels in Greece during the past 2 decades was obvious. We also discussed the factors responsible for the overall reduction in blood lead levels.

Child↗

PubMed2006

Hospitalization rates for cholelithiasis and acute cholecystitis doubled for the aged population in Greece over the past 30 years.

OBJECTIVE: Gallbladder disease is becoming increasingly prevalent in Western countries and is a common cause of hospitalization. The objective of this study was to determine time trends in cholelithiasis and acute cholecystitis for hospitalization and disease case fatality in Greece between 1970 and 1998. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Data were obtained from the Annual Bulletin for the Social Welfare and Health Statistics of the National Statistics Service of Greece. Percentage changes in time trends were estimated by comparing the median values of the initial (1970-78) to the last (1989-98) 10-year study period for cholelithiasis and acute cholecystitis at discharge and for all deaths attributed to the disease. RESULTS: Over the study period, age-standardized hospitalization rates for cholelithiasis increased. The median hospitalization rate between the initial and last (178 and 258 per 100,000 of the population, respectively) 10-year study period increased by 44.7%, but peaked to 70.1% and 208.3% for the 70-79 and >80 years age groups, respectively. Case fatality rate declined by 56.8% and the median value was 0.24 per 100 patients hospitalized during the last 10-year period. CONCLUSIONS: Hospitalization rates for cholelithiasis and/or acute cholecystitis increased by 45%, and doubled for elderly patients, while the case fatality rate of the disease halved in Greece over the past 30 years.

Adult↗

PubMed1996

Immigration to Greece: a critical evaluation of Greek policy.

"In the light of the EU's interest in the movement of labour within the Union, the first part of this article looks at the character of Greek migrant labour with the aim of providing an overview of changes in the flow of migrant labour into Greece and of the policies adopted in relation to immigrant labour. It discusses the failure of the Greek government to formulate strategic measures to combat illegal immigration...and the limited (if any) efforts being made to aid the integration of Albanians. The second part of the article concentrates on [the experiences of] Albanian migrant labourers in Greece....[It] also assesses the similarities and differences in the employment positions of Albanian men and women in Greece and the way in which mechanisms of marginalisation differently affect these two categories."

Acculturation↗

PubMed2004

Frequency and nature of recorded childhood immunization-related errors in Greece.

BACKGROUND: While routine immunizations are very safe, their administration to healthy children requires minimization of immunization programmatic errors. In order to estimate the incidence and ascertain the nature of reported immunization errors in the Greek childhood population, we have undertaken a study using data from the National Poison Information Center in Greece, which also has the responsibility to address medication-induced errors. METHODS: All immunization errors concerning children and reported to the National Poison Information Center during the 2-yr period 1999-2000 were retrieved and the conditions of their occurrence were examined. The incidence of reported errors was calculated under the assumption that during each year 100,000 children are born in Greece, and during their childhood they receive a total of about 20 immunization doses of all childhood immunizations. RESULTS: There were 40 immunization errors reported, corresponding to a reported incidence of about 11 per million immunization doses. Of these errors, 20 concerned OPV, 13 DTP, 5 MMR, 1 Haemophilus influenza and 1 Hepatitis B immunizations. In 12 instances an erroneous route was used (out of which 11 concerned OPV), whereas overdose was documented in 13 instances (out of which 8 concerned OPV). The third most common error was administration of DTP instead of the recommended Td vaccine. No adverse patient outcomes were reported. CONCLUSIONS: In Greece, reported errors in immunization practice are relatively rare. Packaging modifications (about one in three errors in this study) of the OPV and DTP could further reduce their incidence.

Adolescent↗