Ran D Balicer

..Current stockpiling of oseltamivir appears to be cost-saving to the economy under several treatment strategies, including therapeutic treatment of patients and postexposure prophylactic treatment of patients' close contacts...

..It is possible that these virtual environments could serve as a platform for studying the dissemination of infectious diseases, and as a testing ground for novel interventions to control emerging communicable diseases...

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..We review the control measures available for controlling influenza outbreaks in confined settings and discuss the role of rapid mass vaccination within this context...

..Together, these factors will most likely influence the adoption of a preferred vaccination technique during a smallpox emergency...

..It was hypothesized that this failure rates might be attributed to the unique vaccination technique adopted in Israel, of using beveled needles rather than bifurcated needles...

..The possible link between immunization and atopic diseases has been under intense debate in the last decade...

..Understanding employee willingness to respond is critical for planning experts. Previous research has demonstrated that perception of threat and efficacy is key in the assessing willingness to respond to a RDD event...

..In this article we will discuss the principal changes that have occurred in the doctor-patient relationship due to the information revolution, and explore future trends which might be expected in view of these changes...

..Physicians not familiar with this rare complication may face diagnostic dilemmas, as its presentation is often nonspecific and rapid treatment is essential to prevent life-threatening complications...

..The epidemiologic investigation and review of outbreak mitigation efforts uncovered gaps in planning for and containing the outbreak, thus affording valuable lessons applicable to other countries in similar settings...

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..A recent mumps outbreak in Israel despite an ongoing national program of a 2-dose universal childhood vaccination policy since 1988, raised questions regarding population immunity among young adults...

..Immigration appears to be a contributing factor to the decrease in population seroprevalence over time...

..However, time elapsed between questionnaires and demographic and lifestyle characteristics may affect reliability rates, and thus should be carefully regarded in future studies...

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..1%) contacts. Immunization with 23-valent polysaccharide vaccine supplemented with a 2-dose azithromycin mass treatment rapidly terminated the outbreak. Carriage rates dropped to <1%, 24 and 45 days after intervention...

..The authors present an historical review and current update of the IDF vaccination policy...

..The decrease in HSV-2 seroprevalence and transmission rates among Israeli young adults is steeper than that reported from Western countries...

..Improvements in infrastructure and enhanced attention to surveillance, education, and infection control have resulted in a marked decline in the number of outbreaks in recent years...

..Our finding of a lack of a generation of knowledge on smallpox vaccination highlights the need for improved physician education and dissipation of misconceptions that are prevalent in the public today...

..Lessons learned from this analysis could serve to foster cooperation and communication between various agencies in the event of planning rapid mass vaccination programs as well as for more routine public health vaccination campaigns...

..The purpose of this study was to identify correlates of noncompliance with influenza immunization among young adults and to determine the reasons leading to immunization refusal...

..The aim of the study was to summarize the IDF experience to date...

..Equitable distribution of scarce resources in the world requires attention to ethical dilemmas by a multinational and multidisciplinary team...

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..The recent experience with this new outbreak has already provided several valuable lessons on policy making which may help future planning for emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases...

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..In developed countries such as Israel the transmission of VZV is much quicker and less dependent on socioeconomic status as compared with HSV-1...

..In view of the rising prevalence of obesity, the identification of young adult populations at risk is important for the formulation of intervention and prevention programs...

..This article reviews the scientific evidence on this topic, the considerations taken by the physician in initiating post coital HIV exposure treatment, and the guidelines available in Israel and throughout the world...

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..In March 2000, the Israel Defense Force (IDF) experienced an outbreak of rubella. No population-based rubella seroepidemiologic data were available for the 13-year period preceding the epidemic...

..We validated a tool for self-evaluation of the vaccination site for presence of take...

..To investigate prospectively the effects of vigor at work on the end points of mortality and the prevalence of ischemic heart disease (IHD) and diabetes...

..Here, we propose to extend the use of the Haddon matrix--a conceptual model used for more than two decades in injury prevention and response strategies--for this purpose...

..Here, we apply risk perception factors to explore the potential barriers and remedies to effective public health workforce emergency response...

..In civilians, incidence declined from 0.35 to 0.11 cases per 100,000 persons annually; in military personnel it averaged 6.4 cases per 100,000 persons annually. These data imply that the pathogen and vector continue to exist in Israel...

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