TO THE EDITOR—We read with interest the correspondence by Karagoz et al [1] regarding our article on the prevalence of Middle East respiratory syndrome coro-navirus (MERS-CoV) nasal carriage and compliance with the Saudi health recommendations among pilgrims attending the 2013 Hajj [2]. On behalf of all authors of our original article, we would like to respond to their correspondence. Karagoz e...

context crimean-congo hemorrhagic fever (cchf) is a tick-borne viral disease with a mortality rate of 30% to 80% and reported from more than 30 countries in asia, africa, south-eastern europe, and the middle east. it is a zoonotic viral disease and an important health problem. in endemic areas, livestock handlers, livestock market workers, skin processors, veterinary staff, farmers, and healthc...

A 30GHz optically injection-locked self-oscillating optoelectronic mixer (OIL-SOM) is implemented with a high-performance InP/InGaAs heterojunction phototransistor. The sub-harmonic conversion efficiency and phase noise characteristics of OIL-SOM are investigated and used for analyzing OIL-SOM-based 60GHz radio-on-fiber downlink data transmission performance. The OIL-SOM characteristics provide...

BACKGROUND A key challenge for modelling infectious disease dynamics is to understand the spatial spread of infection in real landscapes. This ideally requires a parallel record of spatial epidemic spread and a detailed map of susceptible host density along with relevant transport links and geographical features. RESULTS Here we analyse the most detailed such data to date arising from the UK ...

The ability of an oil-based carrier vehicle to act as an antigen delivery system via the oral and/or parenteral routes was investigated. The formulation consists of hydrophilic macromolecules (antigens) solubilised in oil phase, in the absence of water, by virtue of being wrapped in a sheath of phospholipid amphiphile. Results obtained demonstrate that the level of mucosal IgA antibodies detect...

BACKGROUND Transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV) between spouses could be due to sexual contact, sharing needles, or other routes. There is uncertainty regarding the degree to which HCV is transmitted between spouses. METHODS Data from a 1997 cross-sectional serological survey of HCV in two communities in Egypt were used to estimate the risk of transmission between spouses by simultaneously...

UNLABELLED Despite having the highest hepatitis C virus (HCV) prevalence in the world, the ongoing level of HCV incidence in Egypt and its drivers are poorly understood. Whereas HCV mother-to-child infection is a well-established transmission route, there are no estimates of HCV infections resulting from vertical transmission for any country, including Egypt. The aim of this study was to estima...

Respiratory disease due to influenza virus is common in both human and swine populations around the world with multiple transmission routes capable of transmitting influenza virus, including indirect routes. The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of fomites in influenza A virus (IAV) transmission between pig populations separated by two different biosecurity settings. Thirty-five ...

Deep geothermally heated oil stratifications represent newly recognized non-volcanic islands of microbial life at extremely high temperatures, some 3,500 m below the surface. Samples of produced fluids contain high concentrations of various anaerobic extremely thermophilic and hyperthermophilic archaea and bacteria, indicating the presence of complex microbial communities in situ. The isolates ...

The sinking of the oil tanker Prestige off the coast of Galicia was not only the worst ecological disaster ever to affect Spain, it also led to thousands of people who participated in the cleanup of the contaminated areas being exposed to potentially dangerous toxic substances. As the airway is one of the principal routes of entry into the body of these toxic compounds, the possible effects of ...