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The environmental and demographic characteristics of closed institutions, particularly prisons, precipitate morbidity during hepatitis A virus (HAV) outbreaks. Given the high prevalence of chronic liver disease and other risk factors in the prison setting, the purpose of this paper is to examine HAV-immunity and its associated factors in this population.

The cross-sectional study was conducted in 2009: a serology screening for HAV IgG was carried out among 116 inmates in Switzerland’s largest pre-trial prison. Other participant characteristics were collected through a structured face-to-face questionnaire with a physician.

In terms of significant demographics, Africa (53.5 percent) and the Balkans/Eastern Europe (36.2 percent) were the main regions of origin; a minority of inmates were from Western Europe (6.9 percent), Latin America (2.6 percent) or Asia (0.9 percent). The authors identified hepatitis A antibody-negative serology (lack of immunity) in five out of 116 prisoners (4.3 percent, 95 percent CI 1.4-9.7). Among participants of European origin alone, five out of 50 inmates were hepatitis A antibody-negative (10 percent, 95 percent CI 3.3-21.8), whereas the 66 inmates from other all continents were hepatitis A antibody-positive (immune) (p=0.026).

In this prison population composed of mostly African migrants, hepatitis A immunity was high. This reaffirms that region of origin is highly associated with childhood immunity against HAV. HAV vaccination should take into account a patient’s area of origin and his/her risk factors for systemic complications, if ever infected. This targeted strategy would offer herd immunity, and seek out the most vulnerable individuals who are potentially at risk of new exposure in this precarious setting.

Hepatitis A is a prevalent disease that is largely preventable by vaccine usage. The vaccine for this illness is highly underused in most regions. In an attempt to find the strategies that are most beneficial in regard to quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and cost in current environments, the purpose of this paper is to conduct cost-effectiveness analyses to investigate vaccination strategies in a more economically developed country (MEDC), generally known as a “developed” area: the USA, and a less economically developed country (LEDC), generally known as a “developing” area: the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

This study used a dynamic transmission model for comparative effectiveness analyses. The model ran two different scenarios. The two regions studied have different policies and strategies for Hepatitis A vaccination currently, and also used different strategies in 2009. In the USA, a universal vaccination policy was modeled, along with a scenario in which it was removed. In Rio de Janeiro, a no vaccination policy was modeled, along with a scenario in which a universal vaccination policy was effected.

The comparison of resulting incremental cost-effectiveness ratio values to accepted threshold values showed universal vaccination to be cost-effective in both the USA and Rio de Janeiro as compared to no vaccination. When episode and vaccination costs and vaccination efficacy were varied, this still remained true. Universal vaccination was found to result in lower incidence of Hepatitis A in both the USA and Rio de Janeiro. Over the twenty-year time horizon, universal vaccination is projected to prevent 506,945 cases of symptomatic Hepatitis A in the USA and 42,318 cases of Hepatitis A in Rio de Janeiro. Other benefits include a projected increase in cumulative QALYs through the use of universal vaccination.

This analysis showed universal vaccination to be cost-effective as compared to no vaccination, and portions of the study’s approach had not previously been applied in tandem to investigate Hepatitis A interventions. The results may help foster higher compliance rates for Hepatitis A vaccination and even greater per-person economic benefits of universal vaccination, particularly in the USA. The purpose of this study is also to encourage elevated levels of surveillance on age of infection in developing regions and consistent reevaluation utilizing dynamic transmission models in both the USA and Brazil, as well as other rapidly developing regions, in order to prevent future epidemics and costs associated with the disease.

Prison populations in Western countries are characterised by a high hepatitis C prevalence. This reflects a high rate of imprisonment for drug related offences. Prison entrants who are HCV‐negative face a significant risk of acquiring hepatitis C. Effective prevention strategies and successful treatment of a significant percentage of hepatitis C‐positive inmates could reduce the risk of transmission in the prison context significantly. Several reports of treating hepatitis C in prisoners in major facilities have been published. We report our experience of establishing a liver clinic service in two regional prisons in New South Wales, Australia. Liver biopsy requirements to access treatment in Australia meant that only 46 of 196 reviewed patients were able to commence treatment in our 5‐year experience. Treatment completion rate was 61% and end of treatment viral response was 57%. The removal of liver biopsy requirements in Australia in April 2006 has freed up access to treatment and our results encourage further effort to optimise the process of assessment and treatment in this high‐risk population.

Much of the discussion surrounding the antivaccine movement focuses on the decision of parents to not vaccinate their children and the resulting danger posed to others. However, the primary risk is borne by the child left unvaccinated. Although living in a developed country with high vaccination rates provides a certain amount of protection through population immunity, the unvaccinated child is still exposed to a considerably greater risk of preventable diseases than one who is vaccinated. I explore the tension between parental choice and the child’s right to be free of preventable diseases. The chapter’s goal is twofold: to advocate for moving from a dyadic framework – considering the interests of the parents against those of the state – to a triadic one, in which the interests of the child are given as much weight as those of the parent and the state; and to discuss which protections are available, and how they can be improved. Specific legal tools available to protect that child are examined, including tort liability of the parents to the child, whether and to what degree criminal law has a role, under what circumstances parental choice should be overridden, and the role of school immunization requirements in protecting the individual child.

Viewing the last dying embers of 1984, the Orwel‐lian year of Big Brother and some of its not‐so‐far off the mark predictions, the unemployment which one cannot help feeling is more apparent than real, it is hardly surprising that the subject of Poverty or the so‐called Poverty arise. The real poverty of undernourished children, soup kitchens, children suffering at Christmas, hungry children ravenously consuming free school meals has not, even now, returned.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive overview of the current knowledge regarding chronic hepatitis C (CHC) infection, antiviral therapy, depression, and gender.

CHC and its treatment options were reviewed examining their relationship with depression and gender.

CHC is a high prevalent chronic infection worldwide, being similar in men and women. However, the infection shows many gender differences in terms of innate response, genetic variability (i.e. IL-28B), route of transmission (i.e. intravenous drug use), disease progression (i.e. fibrosis), lifetime period (i.e. pregnancy), and risk factors (i.e. HIV). Both the hepatitis C infection and antiviral treatment (especially when using the pro-inflammatory cytokine interferon α), are highly associated with depression, where female gender constitutes a risk factor. It seems that the new direct-acting antiviral combinations produce fewer neuropsychiatric side effects. In fact, the presence of depression at baseline is no longer a limitation for the initiation of antiviral treatment. Antidepressant drugs have been recommended as current depression and prophylactic treatment in risk subgroups. However, caution should be exercised due to the risk of drug-drug interactions with some antiviral drugs. Women should be counselled prenatal, during and after pregnancy, taking into account the clinical situation, and the available evidence of the risks and benefits of antiviral and antidepressant treatments. Multidisciplinary approach shows cost-efficacy results.

The paper clarifies the complex management of CHC therapy and the importance of individualizing treatment. The results also underline the need for an integrated multidisciplinary approach.

In order to succeed in an action under the Equal Pay Act 1970, should the woman and the man be employed by the same employer on like work at the same time or would the woman still be covered by the Act if she were employed on like work in succession to the man? This is the question which had to be solved in Macarthys Ltd v. Smith. Unfortunately it was not. Their Lordships interpreted the relevant section in different ways and since Article 119 of the Treaty of Rome was also subject to different interpretations, the case has been referred to the European Court of Justice.

This study aims to examine how the relative importance of a search versus a credence attribute, strategically addressed in a flu vaccination advertisement, varies as a function of message sidedness. A search attribute was designed to highlight the affordability of flu shots, and a credence attribute addressed the potential health benefits of flu vaccination.

Two experiments were designed to explore how the relative persuasiveness of search versus credence attributes varies as a function of message sidedness in the context of flu vaccination advertising. In Experiment 1, the search–credence attribute type was manipulated by addressing either the affordability (e.g. “Get free flu shots”) or indirect health benefits of flu vaccines (e.g. “Improve herd immunity/community health”). In Experiment 2, an individual-level credence attribute (e.g. “Strengthen your immune system”) was created and compared to the other two attribute conditions used in Experiment 1: a search versus a societal credence versus an individual credence attribute.

Experiment 1 (N = 114) revealed the relative advantage of a search attribute (free flu shots) in the two-sided persuasion. Experiment 2 (N = 193) indicated that the persuasive impact of a societal credence attribute (herd immunity/community health) was greater in the two-sided message condition (vs one-sided message condition).

Relatively little research has examined how consumers respond to strategic flu prevention and vaccination messages promoting either credence or search attributes. Motivated by the need to investigate the relative effectiveness of stressing “herd immunity” versus “free flu shots” in flu vaccination advertising, this study examines how the effects of these distinct attributes on flu vaccination judgments differ between two-sided (e.g. “No vaccine is 100% effective”) and one-sided persuasion.

A strong and fast‐cycle innovation system has been developed to counter the ongoing threat of computer viruses within computer systems employing vulnerable operating systems. Generally, however, the innovative applications that develop in response to each generation of computer virus can be seen as a reactive, rather than proactive, critical response. The paper seeks to present a critique of the innovation system that has emerged to combat computer viruses by comparing it with its natural system namesake, the human anti‐viral immune system. It is proposed that the relevance of this analogy extends beyond this case to innovation systems more generally.

This paper discusses the biological theory related to the human body's immune system and how immune systems might be mimicked in the development of security systems and anti‐virus software. The paper then outlines the biomimicry framework that can be used for scoping the development and features of the security systems and software, including the population of the framework segments. The implications of biomimetic approaches in the wider innovation management literature are discussed.

Some commercial security products that are undergoing evolutionary development and current research and development activities are used to augment the biomimetic development framework and explicate its use in practice. The paper has implications for the manner in which the objectives of innovation systems are defined. There is implicit criticism of linear models of innovation, that by their nature ignore the recursive and/or adaptive processes evident in natural systems.

This is the first paper, to the best of the authors' knowledge, that discusses the application of natural systems and biomimetics to broaden the scope of innovation process design, and link its findings back to the wider innovation literature.