The social situation of elderly Turkish immigrants in Copenhagen, Denmark

In the 1960s and 1970s Turkish workers migrated to Denmark, as well as other Western European countries, in pursuit of work. The first Turkish immigrants to Denmark from this period are now beginning to enter the ranks of the elderly. They have not returned home and their families have joined them and settled in Denmark. The question arises as to how they will live out their old age in their new country. This article addresses the social situation of the elderly Turkish immigrants in Copenhagen. An interview study of Turkish immigrants 55 years and older showed that their situation had not changed appreciably in the past decade as regards a number of economic and social variables such as housing. This article analyzes the results of the survey, and suggests some ways of interpreting them, both in terms of theories of modernization and assimilation, and aging as leveler or as a double jeopardy. jg]Key words gw]Migration gw]Elderly immigrants gw]Living conditions gw]Social conditions gw]Denmark gw]Turkish immigrants     

Brucellosis

Brucellosis is an old disease, revisited because of its past use in biological warfare programs and its potential use in bioterrorism. Early recognition and management of this systemic disease in its acute or chronic form is vital to current antibioterrorism defense programs. This article focuses on the causative organism, as well as the clinical presentation, diagnosis, and therapeutic challenges of Brucellosis.     

Brucellosis in pregnancy

This study was undertaken in order to evaluate the effect of brucellosis in pregnancy. The serum agglutination test, Coombs and/or blood culture systems were used in the diagnosis of brucellosis. From July 2003 to September 2010, the clinical and delivery patterns of 40 healthy pregnant women were compared with 39 pregnant women who had brucellosis. There were no birth defects, anomalies or mortalities. We observed that brucellosis in pregnancy increases the incidence of preterm delivery (P = 0.01) and low birth weight (P = 0.001) from that seen in general deliveries. A cephtriaxone/rifampicin combination was found to be the most effective treatment in pregnant women infected with brucellosis (P = 0.004). Brucellosis in pregnancy has no effect on the incidence of congenital malformations or stillbirths. Preterm delivery and low birth weight can be seen as pregnancy outcomes in brucellosis. Appropriate antimicrobial therapy of brucellosis in pregnancy will reduce morbidity and prevent complications.     

Brucellosis in northern Australia

The aim of this study was to define the clinical presentation of brucellosis in northern Australia and to assess the long-term impact of brucellosis on individual lives. A retrospective review was conducted to assess 32 patients with brucellosis caused by Brucella suis in Townsville, Australia during 1996-2009. All patients were Caucasian males with a mean age of 35 years. The greatest risk factor for brucellosis was feral pig hunting (94%, n = 30). There was one laboratory-acquired case. The most frequent clinical features included fever (94%, n = 30), fatigue (78%, n = 25) and arthralgia (78%, n = 25). The complication rate was 25% (n = 8). A delay in diagnosis of more than 14 days significantly increased the risk of the patient developing complications (95% confidence interval = 3.20-198.96, P = 0.002). The long-term impact of brucellosis was significant; 64% (16) of the patients reporting recurrent symptoms. This study highlights the need for further research on brucellosis caused by B. suis.     

Allergies in immigrants

We studied the influence of environmental factors on allergy disease in immigrants that came to Israel during the last 20 years from A) Ethiopia and B) former Soviet Union. Immigrants who came from Ethiopia had no allergies upon arrival; they suffered from severe parasitic infections and had extremely elevated IgE levels. They got thorough anti parasitic treatment and were gradually integrated in the old timer Israeli population. After 5-10 years from arrival, follow up assessments showed a significant drop in IgE levels while respiratory allergies with positive skin tests Respiratory allergies with positive skin tests) to aero allergens appeared at a prevalence of 11%. Israeli born newborns and children from Ethiopian descent had no stool parasites and their total IgE levels were similar to those of the indigenous population. Immigrants from former Soviet Union who had respiratory allergies upon arrival, showed skin tested hypersensitivity to pollen common in their Russian, homelands while they were not sensitive to the Mediterranean pollen common in Israel. At yearly follow up testing over the first 10 years in Israel, odds for sensitization to Russian pollen decreased while odds for sensitization to Israeli pollen increased significantly. The results of our studies plead the case for the very important role played by the environment in the dynamics of allergy diseases.     

Brucellosis in pregnant women.

Brucella species occasionally cause spontaneous human abortion, but theories regarding whether they do so more frequently than do other infectious pathogens remain controversial. We reviewed 92 pregnant women who presented with acute brucellosis at a Saudi Arabian hospital. From 1983 through 1995, the cumulative incidence of pregnancy and brucellosis was 1.3 cases per 1000 delivered obstetrical discharges. The incidence of spontaneous abortion in the first and second trimesters was 43%, and the incidence of intrauterine fetal death in the third trimester was 2%. Antepartum antimicrobial therapy with cotrimoxazole or cotrimoxazole/rifampin was protective against spontaneous abortion (relative risk, 0.14; 95% confidence interval, 0.06--0.37; P<.0001). The beneficial effect of treatment occurred in women with febrile illness; vaginal bleeding at presentation usually led to spontaneous abortion. This study demonstrated that the incidence of spontaneous abortion among pregnant women with brucellosis is high and that these women should receive prompt therapy with antimicrobial agents when they present for medical care.     

Brucellosis in poultry--an experimental study

Experimental brucellosis with Brucella abortus has been studied in chickens, though antibody response and histopathological changes in the tissues of the birds were conspicuous and noticed consistently, it was not possible to isolate Brucella organisms from lung, liver, spleen and faecal samples of the infected chickens. These observations suggested that birds are resistant to Brucella infection and organisms succumb to death in vivo.     

Filariasis in foreign immigrants

Among the patients of the Clinic for Infectious and Tropical Diseases of the County Hospital St. George Leipzig the frequency of the infestment with microfilaria in immigrated foreigners was established. Of 1925 examined patients 78 (4.1%) were infested with microfilaria. In 27 patients we succeeded in proving Wuchereria bancrofti and in 3 Brugia malayi, 43 showed Acanthocheilonema perstans, in 5 cases a double infection was present.