An analysis of sickness absence and clinic visits among employees of a company in Kuwait.

A study was conducted to determine the frequency of clinic visits by, and the incidence and duration of sickness absence among employees of a company in Kuwait. The company employs about 2,000 employees who work in various departments located throughout Kuwait, and have varied access to the company clinic which was established in 1978. During the three year period October 1979 to September 1982, the mean frequency of visits to the company clinic among a selected population of 1,000 employees was about 6 visits per employee per year. No significant difference was found in this frequency between the years, or between different months in the year. However, the distance of the place of work from the clinic, and the nature of work appeared to influence the frequency of clinic visits. Looking at sickness absence among a selected population of 1,750 employees, the mean incidence was about 0.55 percent per working day, and the mean duration of sickness absence was about 4 days per employee per year. This mean duration of sickness absence is very low compared to the average of 19 days' absence in Britain in 1978-79, and earlier European averages ranging between 12 and 21 days; and is possibly influenced by the difference between sick leave regulations in these countries.

Cellular basis for genetically determined enhanced resistance of certain mouse strains to listeriosis.

The characteristics of the mononuclear phagocytes mediating resistance to infection with Listeria during the early phase (0 to 48 h) of the response have been investigated in genetically determined susceptible (A/J) and resistant (C57BL/6, B10.A/SgSn) strains of mice. Irradiation immediately before infection profoundly enhanced the bacterial growth in the resistant strain, while having no effect in the susceptible strain, over a wide range (3 x 10(3) to 10(5)) of infective doses. This effect of irradiation is demonstrable at low-dose radiation (200 roentgens) and can be reversed by repopulation with 20 x 10(6) syngeneic nucleated bone marrow cells. Administration of dextran sulfate 500 24 h before infection profoundly enhanced the bacterial growth in the susceptible strain, while having much less effect in the resistant strain. Thus, the genetic advantage of the resistant mouse strains to listerial infection, at least during the early phase of the response, appears to be due to a cellular mechanism that is highly radiosensitive and relatively insensitive to dextran sulfate 500. In the susceptible strain, the early protective cellular mechanism is radioresistant and highly dextran sulfate 500 sensitive.