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Objective: To determine prevalence of HIV infection and drug injecting behaviour among inmates of Glenochil Prison on a specified date a year after an outbreak of hepatitis B and HIV infection., Design: Cross sectional: voluntary, anonymous HIV salivary antibody surveillance and linked self completion questionnaire on risk factors., Setting: Glenochil prison, Scotland, a year after an outbreak of hepatitis B and HIV transmission related to drug injection., Subjects: 352 prisoners, of whom 295 (84%) took part; 284 questionnaires (96%) passed logical checks., Main Outcome Measures: HIV prevalence; proportion of all inmates who had ever injected drugs, had ever injected inside prison, had started injecting drugs while inside prison., Results: More than half (150/284) the current inmates were also in Glenochil Prison during the critical period of January to June 1993, when hepatitis B and HIV were transmitted. Similar proportions of current inmates and men who were also in Glenochil during the critical period were drug users (27% (75/278) v 30% (44/149)). A quarter of injecting drug users (18/72) had first injected inside prison, irrespective of whether they were in Glenochil in January to June 1993 and regardless of the calendar period when they first injected. Significantly more inmates from Glasgow (41%; 56/138) than from Edinburgh (21%; 7/34) or elsewhere (11%; 12/106) were injecting drug users. On testing for HIV, seven saliva samples out of 293 gave positive results--four were presumed to be from inmates known to be infected with HIV, and the others from injecting drug users from Glasgow, all of whom had been in Glenochil during January to June 1993, when two of the three had injected drugs and had been tested for HIV, with negative results. The ratio of overall (2.4%) to disclosed (1.4%) HIV prevalence was 1.7. For men who had injected drugs in Glenochil during January to June 1993, HIV prevalence was estimated at 29%., Conclusion: Between a quarter and a third of prisoners who injected drugs in Glenochil in January to June 1993 were infected with HIV. There is widespread ongoing risk of bloodborne virus infection within prisons, which is probably long standing but demands urgent attention.

Objective: To assess the effect of screening for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia on the incidence of and mortality from invasive squamous cell carcinoma of cervix in north east Scotland and to discover why cases of invasive cancer still occur., Design: (a) Analysis of data on cases of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia obtained from the cytology data bank; (b) analysis of data on 612 women presenting with invasive squamous cancer during 1968-91, obtained from cancer registry and hospital records; (c) analysis of death rates obtained from the registrar general's (Scotland) annual reports, the Information Services Division of the Home and Health Department (Scotland), and local records for 1974-91; (d) case-control studies on 282 cases of invasive cancer and 108 deaths which occurred in 1982-91. Cases were matched with two controls both for age and for having a negative smear test result at the time of presentation of the case., Setting: North east Scotland (Grampian region, Orkney, and Shetland)., Subjects: Women (n = 306,608) who had had cervical smear tests between 1960 and 1991., Results: There had been a substantial increase in cases of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade III since 1982. The incidence of invasive cancer has fallen since the start of screening in 1960, the fall occurring mainly in the well screened age group 40-69 years. There was a rise in women aged under 40 and over 70. Women with invasive disease seen between 1982 and 1991 mostly presented at stage I. Of these, half were unscreened, one third were poorly screened, 11% were found in retrospect to have had abnormal cells, 3% had recurrence of disease after treatment for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade III, and 3% were lost to follow up. Death rates had fallen, most noticeably in women aged 45-64, who had had the opportunity to be screened and rescreened. There was a disturbing rise in deaths among women under 45. Most deaths (65%) occurred in unscreened women. Case-control studies showed that the longer the time and absence of a smear test before presentation the higher was the risk of invasive cancer and of death., Conclusions: Screening has been effective in reducing the incidence of and mortality from cervical cancer in north east Scotland. Most cases and deaths occurred in unscreened women or in those who had had few smears at long intervals. An increase in cases of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade III in women screened for the first time occurred during 1982-91.

During 1977 and 1978 an unusual epidemic of measles occurred in Shetland, affecting 1032 (5%) of the population. All age groups were represented, and 309 cases occurred in people over 15. Geographical distribution of notified cases ranged from 1% to over one-third of the population aged under 65. All the recognised complications occurred, with a significant excess of respiratory troubles (p less than 0 . 05). Complications were much less common in female patients (p less than 0 . 05). Only about 30% of children under 5 had been vaccinated against the disease, and, based on a sample population, vaccination was found to have had a protective effect of 92%. On cost effectiveness alone, uptake of vaccination by a community as susceptible as that of Shetland should clearly be encouraged and probably given high priority.

In view of the known relation between infection of the maternal circulation of the placenta with Plasmodium falciparum and impaired fetal growth a study was made of the effect on birth weights of a malaria eradication campaign in the British Solomon Islands. Mean birth weights rose substantially within months of starting antimalarial operations. The increases between 1969 and 1971 averaged 252 g in babies of primigravidae and 165 g in all babies. The proportion of babies with birth weights of less than 2,500 g fell by 8% overall and by 20% among babies of primigravidae. The adverse effect of malaria transmission on fetal growth was apparently reversible if transmission of infection in the community was interrupted up to as late as the third trimester of pregnancy. The beneficial effects of malaria eradication operations on infant survival, child development, and social attitudes in developing countries are discussed.

To estimate the relative risk of invasive cervical cancer in each succeeding year after a negative screening result the screening records of all women tested in the north east of Scotland were examined as the basis for a case-control study. The cases consisted of 115 women in whom invasive cervical cancer had been diagnosed in 1968-82 and who had appeared in the screening records at least once before diagnosis. For each patient five controls were selected from women of the same age who appeared in the screening records before the date of diagnosis in the patient. If the patient's cancer had been detected by screening the controls were chosen from women of the same age screened the same year. A comparison was made between cases and controls of the number of negative smears taken before the diagnosis. The results showed a high relative protection (inverse of the relative risk) in the first two years after a negative test, falling steadily as time since the last negative test elapsed. Even after 10 years, however, a considerable residual effect was observed.