BACKGROUND. An investigation of the relationship between incident human cases of Lyme disease and seroprevalence of antibodies to B. burgdorferi in dogs was undertaken in order to determine whether dogs might serve as sentinels for Lyme disease. METHODS. 3011 canine serum samples were analyzed by ELISA for antibody to B. burgdorferi. Records of incident human cases of Lyme disease were obtained from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. RESULTS. Regression analyses of the relationship between the log10 (mean incidence in people 1985-1989) and canine seroprevalence from July 1988-August 1989 revealed that canine seroprevalence was highly predictive of incidence (R2 = 0.86, p less than .0001). A logistic regression model that incorporates the altitude of the town where each dog was resident, the date of sampling, and information on each dog's age, sex, and breed adequately explained the risk of canine seropositivity. Dogs resident at altitudes less than 200 feet, of sporting or large mixed breeds, and greater than two years of age were five times, four times, and almost three times more likely, respectively, to exhibit seropositivity than were other dogs. CONCLUSIONS. Estimates of the prevalence of antibody to B. burgdorferi in dog populations offers a sensitive, reliable, and convenient measure of the potential risk to people of B. burgdorferi in the environment. Risk factors for canine seropositivity may directly or indirectly illuminate certain aspects of the epidemiology of human Lyme disease.
EditorialApoptosis: a pivotal event or an epiphenomenon in the pathophysiology of heart failure?Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, is an evolutionary conserved genetically programmed process by which multicellular organisms regulate cell numbers. It is critical in development and in tissue homeostasis. Unlike necrosis, the process is active, energy requiring and precisely regulated.
Apoptosis in cardiac development and diseaseCardiac myocytes are by and large terminally diVerentiated and have a limited capacity for self renewal. It would therefore seem that loss of a significant number of cardiomyocytes would have lasting adverse consequences. Apoptosis is, however, integral to normal cardiac development and is also important in the morphogenesis of the conducting system. This can be illustrated by accessory pathway mediated arrhythmias caused by inadequate removal of loop short circuit cells by apoptosis. Apoptotic cardiomyocytes have also been identified in subjects with ischaemic heart disease and myocarditis. Moreover, evidence exists to show that apoptosis occurs in "end stage" heart failure. The relevance of this process in the overall pathophysiology and progression of heart failure is, however, still controversial. We hope to convey the current understanding of apoptosis with respect to its prevalence and its putative impact on chronic stable cardiomyopathy. We will also discuss the theoretical implications of blocking the apoptotic programme in the management of heart failure.Apoptosis and the pathophysiology of heart failure Quantifying the number of apoptotic cells has been fraught with diYculty and the merits of the various analytical techniques for determining apoptosis are vigorously debated.
Pulmonary tuberculosis is common and has infected one-fourth of the population globally with peak incidence and mortality rates in the 1990s due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, immigration, and the spread of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR TB). Few studies have reported pulmonary TB mortality trends. Our study reports and compares trends in pulmonary TB mortality between 1985 and 2018.
METHODS:We utilized the World Health Organization (WHO) Mortality Database to extract Pulmonary TB mortality data based on the ICD 10 system. Based on the availability and quality of data region-wise, we included Canada and the USA from the
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