Jan H Richardus

..This study aims to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of a multicomponent implementation strategy aimed at the reduction of healthcare associated infections in Dutch hospital care, by promotion of hand hygiene...

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..The aim of this study was to examine perceptions and behaviours of the general public during the early phase of the Influenza A (H1N1) pandemic in the Netherlands...

..Increased voluntary screening is necessary in this community, to detect individuals eligible for treatment and to prevent further transmission of the disease...

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..To provide a clear picture of the current hepatitis B situation, the authors performed a systematic review to estimate the age- and region-specific prevalence of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in Turkey...

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..DNA fingerprinting of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates offers better opportunities to study links between tuberculosis (TB) cases and can highlight relevant issues in urban TB control in low-endemic countries...

..Spatial information regarding the clustering of leprosy can be used to improve intervention strategies. Identifying high-risk areas within villages around known cases can be helpful in finding new cases...

..We studied the distribution of leprosy cases detected by a control program to identify spatial and spatio-temporal patterns of occurrence and to search for environmental risk factors for leprosy...

..In this study, we conducted a geographic information system (GIS)-based spatial analysis on distribution of HFRS cases for the whole country with an objective to inform priority areas for public health planning and resource allocation...

..The objective of this study was to assess the need for and duration of surveillance of NFI...

..leprae and practical diagnostic tools to detect levels of infection that can lead to transmission. This requires extensive research in the areas of epidemiology and microbiology...

..leprae, we explored whether the proportion of newly detected cases with a family history of leprosy differs with different incidence rates of leprosy in a population...

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..Leprosy reactions and new NFI occurred in a third of the study group, emphasizing the need to keep patients under regular surveillance during MDT, and, where possible, after completion of MDT...

..To investigate the impact of the current strategy for the elimination of leprosy on its incidence and to assess the consequences of failure to sustain this strategy...

..The target to eliminate leprosy as a public health problem, defined as a prevalence of less than 1 per 10,000, is therefore also an inadequate yardstick for decision making on leprosy control...

..To explore the relationship between leprosy incidence trends and the future prevalence of World Health Organization (WHO) grade 2 impairment caused by leprosy...

..To determine the effectiveness of chemoprophylaxis using a single dose of rifampicin to prevent leprosy in close contacts...

..It is unknown whether similar delays always result in similar proportions of impairment. Therefore, the present study examined the quantitative relationship between delay and impairment in two different patient populations...

..Several risk factors have been identified, including genetic relationship and physical distance. Their independent contributions to the risk of developing leprosy, however, have never been sufficiently quantified...

..We assessed the cost-effectiveness in The Netherlands of systematically screening migrants from countries that have high and intermediate HBV infection levels...

..The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of and risk factors for H. pylori infection and atrophic gastritis in a migrant community in The Netherlands...

..Conclusion: Long-term antiviral therapy with a strategy that minimizes or controls resistance will have a major preventive effect on liver-related mortality and morbidity...

..Decompressive surgery is used for treating nerve damage in leprosy. We assessed the effectiveness of decompressive surgery for patients with nerve damage due to leprosy...

..To assess the prevalence and correlates of compliance and noncompliance with hand hygiene guidelines in hospital care...

..The purpose of this study was to systematically review the quality of existing cost-effectiveness evidence and discuss implications for future research and strategies to prevent disability in leprosy and other disabling conditions...

..Corticosteroids are commonly used for treating nerve damage in leprosy. We assessed the effectiveness of corticosteroids for treating nerve damage due to leprosy...

..Although respondents were highly aware of the SARS outbreak, the outbreak did not result in unnecessary precautionary actions or fears...

..The study aimed to estimate the future burden of chronic hepatitis B in Spain over the next 20 years, the impact of current lamivudine treatment and the emergence of drug-resistant HBV...

..By the middle of the 19th century, leprosy was a serious public health problem in Norway. By 1920, new cases only rarely occurred. This study aims to explain the disappearance of leprosy from Norway...

..In countries where mandatory reporting of HBV infections exists this guideline can be adapted to local health systems...

..An accurate, practical laboratory test is needed to confirm clinical diagnosis of pertussis in adults during the first 3 symptomatic weeks, when treatment is effective and transmission can be interrupted...

..The potential infectivity of these body fluids may provide an explanation for the 20% of cases of infection obtained through horizontal transmission for which the origin of infection is yet unknown...

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..Treatment for erythema nodosum leprosum (ENL), an immunological complication of leprosy, is diverse. We undertook a systematic review as it was not clear which treatments were most beneficial...

..The pertussis incidence increased with duration of social isolation but not with age...

..Many control measures that seriously affected public life were implemented afterwards, i.e., when the epidemic was already dying down...

..To assess the risk of introduction of polio virus in a Cape Verdian community of Rotterdam, during the polio epidemic in Cape Verde in 2000...

..Instead, to confirm or refute transmission pairs, it is necessary to assess the likelihood of a common origin of HBV variants in epidemiologically defined transmission groups relative to the HBV diversity in the local community...

..The objective of this study was to study the acceptability and consequences of home-based chlamydia (CT) screening by Municipal Health Services (MHS) among 15- to 29-year-old participants...

..trachomatis serovar. CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicates that infected persons found in a systematic, population-based screening should be re-screened within 1 year. Optimal screening intervals still need to be determined...

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..Hepatitis B vaccination grade in health care workers outside the hospital should be improved, in particular among nursing assistants...

..We previously proposed the use of a prediction rule for CT infection for selective screening of high-risk individuals in a population. To support such an application, the prediction rule needs to be validated in other populations...

..The aim of this study was to obtain further information on the prevalence of viral hepatitis in a multi-ethnic area in the Netherlands...

..We did not find different levels of seropositivity among patients with one or two skin lesions, neither did we find different levels among patients with or without satellite..

..To determine whether addition of low dose prednisolone to multidrug treatment can prevent reaction and nerve function impairment in leprosy...

..The safety and reactogenicity profile of the AS-H5N1 candidate vaccine can be considered clinically acceptable in the context of its use against pandemic influenza...

..The unrestrained worldwide spread of this disease has caused great anxiety about the potential of another global pandemic. However, the effect of environmental factors influencing the spread of HPAI H5N1 virus is unclear...