Eurosurveillance - Volume 13, Issue 27, 03 July 2008

Onychomadesis describes complete nail shedding from the proximal portion. It is consecutive to a nail matrix arrest and can affect both fingernails and toenails. It is a rare disorder in children. Except for serious generalised diseases or inherited forms, most cases are considered to be idiopathic. Nail matrix arrest has been associated with a variety of drug exposures and systemic illnesses, including infections, and may result in a variety of changes, including transverse ridging (Beau's lines) and nail shedding (onychomadesis).

In July 2007, two residents of a nursing home were diagnosed with acute Hepatitis B virus infection. To identify risk factors for HBV infection a retrospective cohort study among residents was performed. Case finding included discharged diabetes patients and those receiving home care. Among 32 residents one case of chronic hepatitis B was found that could be identified by genotyping as the source patient for the acute cases. Diabetes and finger sticks were risk factors for HBV infection. Most likely the cause of transmission was a multiclix finger stick device developed for use in individual patients but used in multiple patients. Education and training in the use of new equipment and hygiene audits remain the cornerstones in infection control practices.

Fourteen years after the local transmission of measles was halted in the United Kingdom (UK), the disease has once again become endemic, according to the Health Protection Agency (HPA), the public health body of England and Wales.

I would like to take this opportunity to present a more complete picture of Czech mumps vaccine history.