Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is still one of the major causes of mortality and morbidity worldwide and is the main cause of liver cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma and liver transplantation in developing countries [1]. The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated a 3% worldwide prevalence of the virus affecting more than 170 million people worldwide [2]. A clear geographical distrib...

Introduction Conclusions References

Existing data and theory do not support a recent assertion that upwelling of old carbon has led to systematically 100–300 yr too old radiocarbon ages for the Mediterranean region. Similarly, the prehistoric tree-ring record produced over 3 decades by the Aegean Dendrochronology Project is shown to provide robust, well-replicated data, contrary to a recent unfounded assertion. 14C and dendrochro...

The eastern Mediterranean is susceptible to biological invasions because of its placement between the Atlantic, Pontic and Erythrean regions, busy maritime traffic, and lagoons and bays that are crowded with fish and shellfish farms. However, the greatest influx of invaders resulted from the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, which allowed entry of Indo-Pacific and Erythrean biota. Exotic macro...

Hereditary diseases and congenital malformations have been reported to affect 2-5% of all live births. Available evidence suggests that genetic disorders are equally important also in countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Considerable achievements have been made over the last two decades in controlling communicable diseases in the region. Concurrently, there has been a mounting awarene...

BACKGROUND Knowledge of the domestic mite fauna and allergen levels is important for a correct diagnosis and treatment of mite allergy. Our objectives were to describe the domestic mite fauna in the region of Murcia, Spain, to quantify mite allergens in dust samples obtained from mattresses of this area and to assess the influence of geographical, climatic and dwelling factors. METHODS Dust s...