tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87450008214662506692009-11-15T06:39:54.255+11:00roghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10463032170786264839noreply@blogger.comBlogger1122125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8745000821466250669.post-91103113285044450692009-11-15T06:39:00.001+11:002009-11-15T06:39:54.262+11:00

Not to be outdone, NICE  confirm that with sufficient resources they can be as just as slow as their foreign counterparts; Tuberculosis: interferon gamma tests (update) Project history 5 August 2009; The first draft of the scope is currently in preparation. The scope will define what aspects of care the guideline will cover and to whom it will apply. Provisional schedule Scoping workshop: 6

anonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8745000821466250669.post-2821392626030915742009-11-14T07:17:00.001+11:002009-11-14T07:19:27.569+11:00

Paul De Grauwe writes that there are two scenarios for the $US monetary authorities have to choose between a policy that accommodates for the high demand for dollars in the world or the US sticks to the inflation target, but this requires limiting the supply of dollars to a much lower level, frustrating the high demand for dollars worldwide. Faced with this dilemma De Grauwe notes that the

anonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8745000821466250669.post-78148172964551037442009-11-11T16:59:00.002+11:002009-11-11T17:33:21.375+11:00

Here is the link, everything you wanted to know, plus more,  all about QFT-GIT

anonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8745000821466250669.post-33775726915447544132009-11-11T06:43:00.003+11:002009-11-11T06:47:28.895+11:00

This article puts TB back into the news; a middle aged middle class anglo woman who thought that she was going through menopause found out that she had TB (confirmed by a blood test and a sputum test). She is convinced that she contracted the disease on public transport or a crowded public area in London. Another woman, a 27 year old a postgraduate law student at Sussex University thought that

anonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8745000821466250669.post-51913075038315808382009-11-09T07:39:00.000+11:002009-11-09T07:39:42.379+11:00

Greg Mankiw points to a report put out in January 2009 by President Obama's economic advisors Romer and Bernstein in which the effects of the stimulus on employment were described; Here is the reality

anonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8745000821466250669.post-32132829976019278752009-11-09T07:18:00.000+11:002009-11-09T07:18:20.878+11:00

Whilst TST false positives are to be expected higher rates of T-Spot indeterminates were not.  Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2009 Jun;24(6):1952-6. Epub 2009 Jan 22. Interferon-gamma release assays versus tuberculin skin testing for detection of latent tuberculosis in chronic haemodialysis patients. Triverio PA, Bridevaux PO, Roux-Lombard P, Niksic L, Rochat T, Martin PY, Saudan P, Janssens JP.  

anonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8745000821466250669.post-44658405663625085252009-11-08T08:45:00.002+11:002009-11-08T08:51:24.481+11:00

Dr Christine Ho., a CDC Field Medical Officer with the San Francisco TB Control giving a powerful presentation at Lung Colorado; ### • IGRA is preferred for testing persons: – with poor rates of return for TST reading – who have received BCG (as a vaccine or for cancer therapy) • TST is preferred for testing: – children younger than 5 yrs of age ### Regarding QFT-G….. This has been the single

anonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8745000821466250669.post-57862144400175732592009-11-08T08:30:00.000+11:002009-11-08T08:30:23.725+11:00

Graduate Council Minutes September 8, 2009 New TB Screening Policy– World Health Organization has identified 29 countries with endemic multidrug resistant TB. In the interest of student health and wellness, a new UT policy was created by a team from Medicine, International Services and Admissions and COGS and implemented this fall. All new and continuing students from an identified country must

anonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8745000821466250669.post-44541434091488379222009-11-08T08:04:00.000+11:002009-11-08T08:04:03.561+11:00

Expert commentary from the International Society of Travel Medicine (ISTM) (file now removed, see below the fold for full article) I therefore favor the use of IGRA testing for our patient ..The TST alone, in this BCG-vaccinated woman from Mexico, does not have sufficient positive predictive value for us to embark upon prophylaxis based solely upon her positive test result. IGRA testing offers

anonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8745000821466250669.post-17743224719425182982009-11-07T08:28:00.000+11:002009-11-07T08:28:19.369+11:00

Latest memo from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) With the update to the TB component of the Technical Instructions, and under the revised version of the Form I-693, a civil surgeon may now administer an interferon gamma release assay (IGRA) in place of a Tuberculin Skin Test (TST).

anonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8745000821466250669.post-89401447275374869832009-11-07T07:21:00.001+11:002009-11-07T07:29:41.023+11:00

Listed under "what ever will they study next" is this paper from the University of Chicago that looks at IQ and stock market participation; The evidence presented so far indicates that cognitive impairment prevents some individuals from holding stock ..even among those who hold stocks, low IQ investors are likely to hold more poorly diversified portfolios. Interestingly they find that it is

anonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8745000821466250669.post-17843789065565947272009-11-05T06:23:00.002+11:002009-11-05T06:29:45.862+11:00

It doesn't get any clearer than this; The high rate of positive baseline TST results in our BCG-vaccinated healthcare workers renders the TST unsuitable as a surveillance tool in this tuberculosis risk group. Use of an IGRA has enabled the detection and treatment of latent tuberculosis in this group

anonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8745000821466250669.post-15479296742938871302009-11-04T17:24:00.001+11:002009-11-04T17:33:00.223+11:00

Here we have Ferrara et al from Italy looking at advances in TB diagnosis; of IGRA they note that their wide use in clinical practice, the availability of phase III studies, and the initial data on their predictive values make them the best candidates to substitute TST in the near future. Exploring the immune response against Mycobacterium tuberculosis for a better diagnosis of the infection

anonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8745000821466250669.post-82323864074235074052009-11-01T18:57:00.001+11:002009-11-01T18:58:24.820+11:00

During the 2007 election campaign Kevin Rudd promised Today I announce that, if elected, Federal Labor will undertake a groundbreaking reform by providing for every Australian secondary school student in Years 9 to 12 access to their own computer at school The promise was to be continued with upgrades This will not just be a one-off investment. We'll fund the replacement of these systems to keep

anonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8745000821466250669.post-50212528310795536702009-10-31T08:02:00.001+11:002009-10-31T08:03:31.510+11:00

Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar presents a paper that assesses the impact on social indicators had India commenced economic reform one decade earlier, with earlier reform, 14.5 million more children would have survived, 261 million more Indians would have become literate, and 109 million more people would have risen above the poverty line. The delay in economic reform represents an enormous

anonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8745000821466250669.post-89167640562553589342009-10-31T07:41:00.000+11:002009-10-31T07:41:34.530+11:00

The objectives of this study from Brazil were to investigate the occurrence of TB, the prevalence of latent TB and the coverage of the skin test and subsequent isoniazid therapy, and to estimate the number of missed opportunities to prevent TB in patients with HIV/AIDS. After the trial (which commenced in 2005) and following the analysis the researchers formed the opinion that by expanding the

anonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8745000821466250669.post-42412785318471630202009-10-31T06:45:00.000+11:002009-10-31T06:45:06.485+11:00

ESAT-6 IGRA was used in the following groups; 1. 60 close tuberculosis contacts and 46 sputum culture confirmed active tuberculosis patients were compared with 55 healthy controls; 2. 68 children and 52 adolescent cases were compared with 45 seniors Results In tuberculosis intimate contacts and active tuberculosis patients, ESAT-6 response was high sensitive; the results of ESAT-6 release

anonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8745000821466250669.post-46152705455847252092009-10-31T06:29:00.000+11:002009-10-31T06:29:49.245+11:00

An Advisory Committee Statement (ACS) from the Committee to Advise on Tropical Medicine and Travel (CATMAT); On IGRA; Recently, a new approach to diagnosing latent tuberculosis infection has been developed—the interferon γ (gamma) release assays (IGRA). Two commercial tests using this principle are available—Quantiferon-TB Gold In Tube™ and T SPOT-TB™. These tests appear to be considerably more

anonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8745000821466250669.post-61493264238405351322009-10-30T06:06:00.000+11:002009-10-30T06:06:42.089+11:00

The aim of this study was to compare sensitivity and specificity of interferon gamma assays for latent tuberculosis infection by assessing the association of test results with tuberculosis occupational exposure and by using latent class analysis. ..A number of studies have evaluated IGRA, in comparison to TST, as a tool for screening latent tuberculosis infection among healthcare workers [14-19]

anonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8745000821466250669.post-8734409908896545902009-10-29T07:12:00.001+11:002009-10-29T07:14:22.638+11:00

Much of the medical literature, including the articles in this issue, still focus on defining populations and describing diseases and conditions associated with certain groups or activities. Relatively few of these articles recommend or evaluate new interventions to keep globally mobile populations safer and healthier. Investigators and public health authorities need to start making this shift

anonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8745000821466250669.post-3958759085562676642009-10-29T07:04:00.000+11:002009-10-29T07:04:06.877+11:00

In a recent letter to the CDC researchers from Spain warn of the fatal disease Multidrug-resistant Tuberculosis To the Editor: Eleven years of molecular epidemiologic data allowed the Spanish Multidrug-resistant Tuberculosis (MDR TB) Surveillance Network to identify a specific MDR Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain that had been imported into Spain from Equatorial Guinea. Our study brings to light

anonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8745000821466250669.post-60150079515744724892009-10-27T09:17:00.003+11:002009-10-27T09:55:32.082+11:00

A circular recently sent out by the BTS to its stakeholders; This advice note has been prepared to assist colleagues who are developing a business case for presentation to PCT commissioners for the provision of TB Services in their area. It has been prepared by Professor Peter Ormerod based on his experiences in the North West of England, and will be “a living document”. ----------

anonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8745000821466250669.post-78931301863560654742009-10-26T07:25:00.003+11:002009-10-26T07:30:23.649+11:00

Via the CDC and their Journal of Emerging Infectious Disease®; Migration to the European Union has increased exponentially during the past 2 decades, with 1.9 million new registered immigrants in 2008 alone. Of these, 700,000 arrived in Spain, currently the main recipient country in Europe. ..we analyzed health and demographic characteristics of 2,198 immigrants referred to the Tropical Medicine

anonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8745000821466250669.post-6320532732912248062009-10-25T10:35:00.000+11:002009-10-25T10:35:48.744+11:00

At a recent forum held at University of Nevada developers were presented with new concepts for a very fast train from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. By taking the wheel off the vehicle and putting it into a support ring and taking the rail off the ground and putting it onto the train Tubular Rail Inc claim to have revolutionised transport systems. The second proposal was one in which you and

anonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8745000821466250669.post-47476579670487705792009-10-23T20:30:00.001+11:002009-10-24T06:41:25.673+11:00

Whilst the following extracts are taken out of context the message is pretty clear.. 1. IGRAs are more convenient, 2. of the available IGRAs QFT-GIT is the easiest to use, 3. TST is more labour intensive and requires a more qualified practitioner, 4. amongst HCWs QFT has gained a higher degree of confidence than the TST, 5. greater confidence in QFT translates to a higher degree of voluntary

anonnoreply@blogger.com0