Objective The West Coast Groundfish Observer Program (WCGOP) collects at-sea data from limited trawl and fixed gear fleet as well as from open access nearshore, prawn, and shrimp fleets. This information is vital for determining the amount of discard and total catch of groundfish species in this region. This report summarizes discard data collected by the West Coast Groundfish Observer Program ...

Increased connectivity with the mainland has led to the arrival of many invasive species to the Galápagos Islands, including novel pathogens, threatening the archipelago's unique fauna. Here we consider the potential role of the mosquito Aedes taeniorhynchus in maintaining the flavivirus West Nile virus [WNV] should it reach the islands. We report on three components of vectorial capacity - vec...

In July-September 2012, one month earlier than in previous years, 13 confirmed human cases of West Nile virus infection were diagnosed in northern Italy, including five with neuroinvasive disease, three with West Nile fever, and five West Nile virus (WNV)-positive blood donors. In nine cases, the presence of the WNV lineage 1a Livenza strain, characterised in 2011, was ascertained. Symptomatic ...

Background: In Western and Southwest Asia, literature is not documented on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) programs in Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. The present study is the first brief review that describes HIV programs in these three neighboring countries.Methods: Data regarding the evidence of HIV programs were gathered through a systematic literature searching. English publications were r...

BACKGROUND Previous estimates of mortality in Iraq attributable to the 2003 invasion have been heterogeneous and controversial, and none were produced after 2006. The purpose of this research was to estimate direct and indirect deaths attributable to the war in Iraq between 2003 and 2011. METHODS AND FINDINGS We conducted a survey of 2,000 randomly selected households throughout Iraq, using a...

Even when American decision-makers were denying it, ordinary Iraqis in the neighborhoods of Baghdad fearfully anticipated the dangerous consequences of the U.S.-led invasion. We use two unique Iraq datasets to analyze the self-fulfilling neighborhood specific forces set loose following the U.S.-led invasion. Sectarian criminal violence by Shia militia disproportionately forced Sunni residents f...

From the Department of Community Medicine (Al-Rubaii, Al-Ward) and the Department of Dermatology and Venereology (Al-Waiz), College of Medicine, University of Baghdad, Bab-Al-Mu’adham, Baghdad, Iraq. Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Makram Al-Waiz, Department of Dermatology and Venereology, College of Medicine, University of Baghdad, PO Box 61301, Postal Code 12114, Bab-AlMu’a...