Suchergebnisse

Chile is the origin of the Solanum tuberosum group Chilotanum corresponding to lowland tetraploid landraces. The most complete morphological description of the Chilean germplasm was published in 2008 in the Catalogue of Varieties of Native Potatoes from Chile, which describes 211 varieties. Two institutions of the Chilean government, INIA and SAG (Agricultural and Livestock Service of Chile), keep collections of 332 and 257 accessions, respectively; the varieties registered in the catalogue are included in the SAG collection. Thus, an important gap occurs between the number of varieties listed in the National Catalogue of Chile and the number of traditional varieties found in the Chilean collections of potatoes. In this work, two national collections of Chilean native germplasms (INIA-Remehue and SAG) were analysed via four microsatellite markers with the aims of (1) discriminating different genotypes in order to more accurately catalogue the current number of native Chilean varieties, (2) evaluating the diversity of genotypes potentially known with the same nomenclature by farmers, and (3) comparing allelic diversity of native germplasm with 44 commercial varieties. Of the 589 native accessions analysed, 320 different allelic phenotypes were found indicating that there are at least 320 different genotypes in the collections. Of these, 158 belonging to the INIA collection were not found in the SAG collection. These 158 new genotypes should increase the number of known Chilean varieties. As expected, different genotypes were known under the same popular name. In terms of allelic diversity, the group of commercial varieties contained a subset of the alleles within the collection of SAG and INIA-Remehue. ; Peer Review

Background: Globally, the HIV epidemic is representing a pressing public health issue in Europe and elsewhere. There is an emerging and progressively urgent need to harmonise HIV and STI behavioural surveillance among MSM across European countries through the adoption of common indicators, as well as the development of trend analysis in order to monitor the HIV-STI epidemic over time. The Sialon II project protocols have been elaborated for the purpose of implementing a large-scale bio-behavioural survey among MSM in Europe in line with a Second Generation Surveillance System (SGSS) approach. Methods/Design: Sialon II is a multi-centre biological and behavioural cross-sectional survey carried out across 13 European countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the UK) in community settings. A total of 4.966 MSM were enrolled in the study (3.661 participants in the TLS survey, 1.305 participants in the RDS survey). Three distinct components are foreseen in the study protocols: first, a preliminary formative research in each participating country. Second, collection of primary data using two sampling methods designed specifically for 'hard-to-reach' populations, namely Time Location Sampling (TLS) and Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS). Third, implementation of a targeted HIV/STI prevention campaign in the broader context of the data collection. Discussion: Through the implementation of combined and targeted prevention complemented by meaningful surveillance among MSM, Sialon II represents a unique opportunity to pilot a bio-behavioural survey in community settings in line with the SGSS approach in a large number of EU countries. Data generated through this survey will not only provide a valuable snapshot of the HIV epidemic in MSM but will also offer an important trend analysis of the epidemiology of HIV and other STIs over time across Europe.Therefore, the Sialon II protocol and findings are likely to contribute significantly to increasing the comparability of data in EU countries through the use of common indicators and in contributing to the development of effective public health strategies and policies in areas of high need.

Background: People who inject drugs (PWID) are a key population affected by hepatitis C virus (HCV). Treatment options are improving and may enhance prevention; however access for PWID may be poor. The availability in the literature of information on seven main topic areas (incidence, chronicity, genotypes, HIV co-infection, diagnosis and treatment uptake, and burden of disease) to guide HCV treatment and prevention scale-up for PWID in the 27 countries of the European Union is systematically reviewed. Methods and Findings: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane Library for publications between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2012, with a search strategy of general keywords regarding viral hepatitis, substance abuse and geographic scope, as well as topic-specific keywords. Additional articles were found through structured email consultations with a large European expert network. Data availability was highly variable and important limitations existed in comparability and representativeness. Nine of 27 countries had data on HCV incidence among PWID, which was often high (2.7-66/100 person-years, median 13, Interquartile range (IQR) 8.7–28). Most common HCV genotypes were G1 and G3; however, G4 may be increasing, while the proportion of traditionally 'difficult to treat' genotypes (G1+G4) showed large variation (median 53, IQR 43–62). Twelve countries reported on HCV chronicity (median 72, IQR 64–81) and 22 on HIV prevalence in HCV-infected PWID (median 3.9%, IQR 0.2–28). Undiagnosed infection, assessed in five countries, was high (median 49%, IQR 38–64), while of those diagnosed, the proportion entering treatment was low (median 9.5%, IQR 3.5–15). Burden of disease, where assessed, was high and will rise in the next decade. Conclusion: Key data on HCV epidemiology, care and disease burden among PWID in Europe are sparse but suggest many undiagnosed infections and poor treatment uptake. Stronger efforts are needed to improve data availability to guide an increase in HCV treatment among PWID.