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Outbreak of STEC O157:H7 linked to a milk pasteurisation failure at a dairy farm in England, 2019
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- Claire Jenkins, Philippa K. Bird, Adrian Wensley, Jarrod Wilkinson, Heather Aird, Adrienne Mackintosh, David R. Greig, Alex Simpson, Lisa Byrne, Rachel Wilkinson, Gauri Godbole, Nachi Arunachalam, Gareth J. Hughes
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- Journal:
- Epidemiology & Infection / Volume 150 / 2022
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 18 May 2022, e114
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In November 2019, an outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 was detected in South Yorkshire, England. Initial investigations established consumption of milk from a local dairy as a common exposure. A sample of pasteurised milk tested the next day failed the phosphatase test, indicating contamination of the pasteurised milk by unpasteurised (raw) milk. The dairy owner agreed to immediately cease production and initiate a recall. Inspection of the pasteuriser revealed a damaged seal on the flow divert valve. Ultimately, there were 21 confirmed cases linked to the outbreak, of which 11 (52%) were female, and 12/21 (57%) were either <15 or >65 years of age. Twelve (57%) patients were treated in hospital, and three cases developed haemolytic uraemic syndrome. Although the outbreak strain was not detected in the milk samples, it was detected in faecal samples from the cattle on the farm. Outbreaks of gastrointestinal disease caused by milk pasteurisation failures are rare in the UK. However, such outbreaks are a major public health concern as, unlike unpasteurised milk, pasteurised milk is marketed as ‘safe to drink’ and sold to a larger, and more dispersed, population. The rapid, co-ordinated multi-agency investigation initiated in response to this outbreak undoubtedly prevented further cases.
Seven - Democracy and Work
- Edited by Martin Parker
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- Book:
- Life After COVID-19
- Published by:
- Bristol University Press
- Published online:
- 18 March 2021
- Print publication:
- 12 August 2020, pp 63-72
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Summary
As the UK adjusts to life during COVID-19, one of the unexpected features is that it has created a better appreciation of workers in low-skilled, poorly paid and precarious work. For example, the BBC One Panorama programme ‘Lockdown UK’ referred to hospital cleaners and supermarket workers as ‘minimum wage heroes’ and food delivery drivers were added to the government's list of key workers. Yet as Jason Moyer-Lee of the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain points out, although these workers are doing essential jobs, they have the least rights and little or no job security.
As Chapter Six showed, the world of work has already been changing over the past decade, with a rise of in-work poverty, low-paid work and insecurity, caused by low-paid self-employment, temporary work and zero-hour contracts. COVID-19 has accelerated the move to online work, created new kinds of precarity and increased the risks for workers who are already engaged in low-paid jobs serviced by digital platforms.
So apart from a better public appreciation for workers who do low-paid, stigmatized or dirty work, what have we learned from COVID-19? That decent work is a right for everyone but that lockdown has made the possibility of finding and keeping decent work harder, especially for those working in the gig economy or in low-paid, low-skilled work.
These are issues that trade unions can and should address, but unions are facing a number of serious and existential challenges that frustrate their efforts. These include: difficulties in recruiting and retaining members; a decline in activism; ageing membership; and diminishing union density, bargaining power and representation. Furthermore, many unions have been pursuing a member-servicing approach at the expense of more traditional organizing tactics.
In this chapter, we consider decent work for life after lockdown by reimagining industrial democracy. We do this by proposing a ‘union co-op’ model of work. This is a fully unionized, worker co-operative, owned and controlled by those who own and work in it. Workers’ control, democracy and equality are built into the model, which offers a solution to inequality and injustice both in and outside the workplace.
Clinical recognition and recording of alcohol disorders by clinicians in primary and secondary care: meta-analysis
- Alex J. Mitchell, Nick Meader, Vicky Bird, Maria Rizzo
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- Journal:
- The British Journal of Psychiatry / Volume 201 / Issue 2 / August 2012
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 02 January 2018, pp. 93-100
- Print publication:
- August 2012
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Background
Clinicians have considerable difficulty identifying and helping those people with alcohol problems but no previous study has looked at this systematically.
AimsTo determine clinicians' ability to routinely identify broadly defined alcohol problems.
MethodData were extracted and rated by two authors, according to PRISMA standard and QUADAS criteria. Studies that examined the diagnostic accuracy of clinicians' opinion regarding the presence of alcohol problems as well as their written notation were evaluated.
ResultsA comprehensive search identified 48 studies that looked at the routine ability of clinicians to identify alcohol problems (12 in primary care, 31 in general hospitals and 5 in psychiatric settings). A total of 39 examined alcohol use disorder, 5 alcohol dependence and 4 intoxication. We separated studies into those using self-report and those using interview. The diagnostic sensitivity of primary care physicians (general practitioners) in the identification of alcohol use disorder was 41.7% (95% CI 23.0–61.7) but alcohol problems were recorded correctly in only 27.3% (95% CI 16.9–39.1) of primary care records. Hospital staff identified 52.4% (95% CI 35.9–68.7) of cases and made correct notations in 37.2% (95% CI 28.4–46.4) of case notes. Mental health professionals were able to correctly identify alcohol use disorder in 54.7% (95% CI 16.8–89.6) of cases. There were limited data regarding alcohol dependency and intoxication. Hospital staff were able to detect 41.7% (95% CI 16.5–69.5) of people with alcohol dependency and 89.8% (95% CI 70.4–99.4) of those acutely intoxicated. Specificity data were sparse.
ConclusionsClinicians may consider simple screening methods such as self-report tools rather than relying on unassisted clinical judgement but the added value of screening over and above clinical diagnosis remains unclear.
Chapter 11 - Policy, Financing and Implementation
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- By Catherine Mitchell, Janet L. Sawin, Govind R. Pokharel, Daniel Kammen, Zhongying Wang, Solomone Fifita, Mark Jaccard, Ole Langniss, Hugo Lucas, Alain Nadai, Ramiro Trujillo Blanco, Eric Usher, Aviel Verbruggen, Rolf Wüstenhagen, Kaoru Yamaguchi, Douglas Arent, Greg Arrowsmith, Morgan Bazilian, Lori Bird, Thomas Boermans, Alex Bowen, Sylvia Breukers, Thomas Bruckner, Sebastian Busch, Elisabeth Clemens, Peter Connor, Felix Creutzig, Peter Droege, Karin Ericsson, Chris Greacen, Renata Grisoli, Erik Haites, Kirsty Hamilton, Jochen Harnisch, Cameron Hepburn, Suzanne Hunt, Matthias Kalkuhl, Heleen de Koninck, Patrick Lamers, Birger Madsen, Gregory Nemet, Lars J. Nilsson, Supachai Panitchpakdi, David Popp, Anis Radzi, Gustav Resch, Sven Schimschar, Kristin Seyboth, Sergio Trindade, Bernhard Truffer, Sarah Truitt, Dan van der Horst, Saskia Vermeylen, Charles Wilson, Ryan Wiser, David de Jager, Antonina Ivanova Boncheva
- Edited by Ottmar Edenhofer, Ramón Pichs-Madruga, Youba Sokona, Kristin Seyboth, Susanne Kadner, Timm Zwickel, Patrick Eickemeier, Gerrit Hansen, Steffen Schlömer, Christoph von Stechow, Patrick Matschoss
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- Book:
- Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation
- Published online:
- 05 December 2011
- Print publication:
- 21 November 2011, pp 865-950
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Summary
Executive Summary
Renewable energy can provide a host of benefits to society. In addition to the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, governments have enacted renewable energy (RE) policies to meet a number of objectives including the creation of local environmental and health benefits; facilitation of energy access, particularly for rural areas; advancement of energy security goals by diversifying the portfolio of energy technologies and resources; and improving social and economic development through potential employment opportunities. Energy access and social and economic development have been the primary drivers in developing countries whereas ensuring a secure energy supply and environmental concerns have been most important in developed countries.
An increasing number and variety of RE policies–motivated by a variety of factors–have driven substantial growth of RE technologies in recent years. Government policies have played a crucial role in accelerating the deployment of RE technologies. At the same time, not all RE policies have proven effective and efficient in rapidly or substantially increasing RE deployment. The focus of policies is broadening from a concentration almost entirely on RE electricity to include RE heating and cooling and transportation.
RE policies have promoted an increase in RE capacity installations by helping to overcome various barriers. Barriers specific to RE policymaking (e.g., a lack of information and awareness), to implementation (e.g., a lack of an educated and trained workforce to match developing RE technologies) and to financing (e.g., market failures) may further impede deployment of RE.
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