Super-Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines on 7 November 2013. The initial reports estimated 10 000 fatalities and four million displaced persons. As the United Kingdom's initial response to this disaster, HMS DARING was diverted from her deployment to take part in humanitarian aid, named Operation PATWIN. This article will outline the medical aspects of the relief effort undertaken and aim to...

A house-to-house survey of blindness in an Indian rural community covering a population of 20 134 in 12 villages revealed a prevalence rate of 35 blind and 144 partially blind persons per 10 000 population. Blindness was significantly associated with the age, sex, marital status, occupation, and socioeconomic status of the respondents. Caratact, glaucoma, smallpox and trachoma were the main cau...

BACKGROUND  Noroviruses are the most common cause of gastroenteritis in the United States. An understanding of the infectious dose of these viruses is important for risk assessment studies. METHODS  Healthy adults were enrolled in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled evaluation of different dosages of Norwalk virus. Eligible subjects were monitored for clinical gastroenteritis, and ...

Mosquitoes belong to the family Culicidae within the order Diptera[1]. There are approximately 3 400 species and 42 genera in the world[2]. It transmits a number of diseases, such as malaria, filariasis, dengue, Japanese encephalitis, yellow fever etc., causing millions of deaths every year[3]. Aedes aegypti (Ae. aegypti) is a vector of dengue and yellow fever while these diseases are widely di...

OBJECTIVE To estimate the cost-effectiveness of visual acuity screening performed in primary care settings and of dilated eye evaluations performed by an eye care professional among new Medicare enrollees with no diagnosed eye disorders. Medicare currently reimburses visual acuity screening for new enrollees during their initial preventive primary care health check, but dilated eye evaluations ...

PACIFIC COAST SURGICALASSOCIATION Guidelines for the Treatment of Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: Are TheyUsed? Persons with severe traumatic brain injury (STBI) are frequently admitted to the neurologic intensive care unit. Each year, an estimated 1.4millionpeople in theUnited States have a TBI, resulting in 235 000 hospitalizations, 50 000 deaths, and $56.3 million in direct/indirect costs. Ev...

OBJECTIVES To describe the problem of falls, motor vehicle related injuries, and suicide among older adults, and issues related to their prevention. METHODS Summary and synthesis of selected literature. RESULTS About 39 000 adults aged 65 and older die each year in the United States from injuries; worldwide this annual toll is about 946 000 persons. The top three causes of injury related de...

THE RATE OF SEVERE SEPSIS HOSpitalizations has doubled during the last decade with estimates indicating that at least 750 000 persons are affected annually in the United States. Approximately, 500 000 patients with severe sepsis in the United States annually are initially treated in emergency departments. The Surviving Sepsis Campaign international consensus guidelines recommend protocol-driven...

The Burden of Stroke In the United States, '600 000 persons experience a clinical stroke (first or recurrent) annually.1 Although the case-fatality rate has declined over the past decades, it is still high. The annual death toll is '150 000, which qualifies stroke as the third leading cause of death, behind coronary heart disease (CHD) and cancer. The clinical sequelae of a stroke are often dev...