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The effectiveness of influenza vaccine in reducing hospital admissions for pneumonia, influenza, bronchitis, or emphysema was assessed by a case-control study of people aged 16 years and older who were admitted to 10 Leicestershire hospitals between 1 December 1989 and 31 January 1990. Hospital and general practitioners' records for 156 admissions (the cases) and 289 controls matched for age and sex were reviewed. Information was collected on demography, the usual place of residence (institutional or non-institutional), the existence of chronic illness, and vaccination during the 5 years before admission. The odds ratio for hospital admission among vaccinees was 0.67 (95% CI 0.39-1.12) giving an estimate of vaccine effectiveness in this setting of 33% (95% CI 0-61). However, multivariate logistic regression, adjusting for the effects of institutional care and chronic illness, revealed that influenza vaccination reduced hospital admissions by 63% (95% CI 17-84%). There was a strong trend towards improved vaccine effectiveness when used in institutional settings. Influenza vaccine is effective in reducing hospital admissions for influenza, pneumonia, bronchitis and emphysema, and effectiveness is comparable to that observed for influenza and pneumonia admissions in North America.

This study was conducted on 140 random samples of fresh beef and meat products viz: minced meat, luncheon and sausage (35 for each), collected from different shops at El-Kaliobia Governorate, to evaluate their bacteriological profile. The bacteriological examination of fresh beef and meat products minced meat, sausage and luncheon revealed that the mean values of APC, Enterobacteriaceae, coliform and Staphylococcus counts were 8.34×10 4 ±0. 10 ×10 4 ; 2.14×10 2 ±0.97×10 2 ; 1.25×10 2 ±0. 13 ×10 2 and 2.36×10 2 ±0.12 ×10 2 for fresh beef samples; 8.03×10 4 ±0.12×10 4 ; 2.02×10 2 ±0.76×10 2 ; 0. 89×10 2 ±0.06 ×10 2 and 2.67×10 2 ±0.11×10 2 for minced meat samples; 6.74×10 4 ±0. 28 ×10 4 ; 1.85×10 2 ±0.64×10 2 ; 0. 73×10 2 ±0.08 ×10 2 and 1.9×10 2 ±0.11 ×10 2 for sausage samples and 5.85×10 4 ±0.24×10 4 ;1.69×10 2 ±0.70×10 2 ;0.71×10 2 ±0.07×10 2 and 1.68×10 2 ±0.11×10 2 , for luncheon samples. Further, 21 isolates of E.coli were isolated from examined meat samples represented as 5(14.

SUMMARY The fungus Coniothyrium minitans is pathogenic to Sclerotium cepivorum, the causal agent of white rot of onion. In a glasshouse experiment, pycnidial dust prepared from C. minitans was used in soil treatments and as a seed dressing to protect onion seeds sown in S. cepivorum infested soil. Comparison was made with seed dressed with calomel, the standard fungicide used for white rot control. Seed dressing with C. minitans or soil dusting with C. minitans protected the onion plants from white rot as well as did calomel dressing. The calomel‐treated plants showed markedly poorer development than those treated with pycnidial dust, presumably because of phytotoxicity. The pycnidial dust appears equally effective against white rot, is much safer than calomel and should be very much cheaper. It is recommended for development for practical control of white rot.