Links between law enforcement and veterinary animal health: a case study of the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

The anthrax attacks carried out in the United States of America in the latter part of 2001 served as a clarion call to most law enforcement agencies among developed countries as, until this time, they had not recognised the threat posed by the criminal use of pathogens and/or toxins. Law enforcement agencies include the local and federal police, Customs, Immigration and any other agencies that perform a law-enforcing role. That a criminal or terrorist group could commit such an act was considered nearly inconceivable, even though biological weapons had been used against humans and animals in warfare many times over the last several hundred years. Similarly, it is without doubt that the terrorist threat to all societies changed after the events of 11 September 2001 during which the clear intention had been to cause as many fatalities and casualties as possible. As a result, the biological threat to human health became a focus for many governments.

Les attaques à la fièvre charbonneuse perpétrés aux États-Unis d'Amérique à la fin de l'année 2001 ont lancé un signal d'alerte à la plupart des agences chargées de l'application des lois des pays développés, qui n'avaient jusqu'alors pas pris conscience des menaces posées par l'utilisation criminelle des agents pathogènes et/ou des toxines. Les agences chargées de l'application des lois sont notamment les forces de police locales et fédérales, les services des douanes, les services d'immigration et toute autre agence gouvernementale chargée du maintien de l'ordre et de la justice. Il était pratiquement inconcevable qu'un groupe criminel ou terroriste puisse commettre un tel acte, même si des armes biologiques avaient déjà été utilisées contre les populations humaines et animales au cours de certains conflits armés des siècles précédents. De même, il va sans dire que la menace terroriste pesant sur les sociétés dans leur ensemble a pris un nouveau visage après les événements du 11 septembre 2001, dont le but était clairement de faire le plus de victimes possible et de tuer le plus grand nombre de personnes possible. En conséquence, la menace biologique pesant sur la santé publique est devenue un domaine central d'attention pour nombre de gouvernements.

Los ataques con la bacteria del carbunco perpetrados en los Estados Unidos de América a finales de 2001 marcaron un antes y un después para la mayoría de los cuerpos de seguridad de los países desarrollados, que hasta la fecha no habían advertido la amenaza que planteaba el uso de patógenos y/o toxinas con fines criminales. Forman parte de los cuerpos de seguridad las fuerzas de policía local y federal, los cuerpos de aduanas, inmigración y demás instituciones cuya función consiste en velar por el cumplimiento de la ley. Que un grupo delictivo o terrorista pudiera cometer semejante acto era algo prácticamente inconcebible, aun cuando en los últimos siglos hayan menudeado los ejemplos de utilización de armas biológicas contra la población humana o animal como instrumento de guerra. Análogamente, no cabe duda alguna de que la amenaza terrorista que planea sobre todas las sociedades cambió a partir de los acontecimientos del 11 de septiembre de 2001, en los que la intención era claramente de causar tantos muertos y heridos como fuera posible. A resultas de aquello, las amenazas biológicas para la salud humana pasaron a ser una de las preocupaciones cardinales de muchos gobiernos.

Absorbent alginate fibres modified with hydrolysed chitosan for wound care dressings--II. Pilot scale development.

Fibres have been used extensively in wound dressing applications as they provide a high surface area for absorption, ease of fabrication and softness. It is common practice for commercial wound dressings to be produced from natural materials, such a marine polysaccharides, as they are predominantly biocompatible, non-toxic, and often display bioactive properties, such as inherent antimicrobial activity. In this study hydrolysed chitosans were utilised as a sole coagulant for the production of alginate-chitosan fibres via a one-step, direct wet-spinning extrusion process. The levels of chitosan incorporated into the fibres were analysed quantitatively via elemental analysis and qualitatively by staining using Amido Black 10B. It was estimated that the fibres contained between 4.50 and 5.10% (wt.%) chitosan. The presence of chitosan improved tensile properties such as elongation and tenacity of the base alginate fibres. The increased incorporation of chitosan into the fibres also improved the absorption of the fibres in both saline and distilled water; reaching maximum of >30 g/g and >50 g/g, respectively. This work suggests that the observed hydrolysed chitosan content within the fibre may be optimal for the preparation of a novel fibre for wound care application.

Wound dressings in the 1990s.

Technology in the field of wound management is constantly progressing as researchers search for the ideal wound dressing. The regulatory situation for wound-care products can be confusing because in some cases they are considered to be pharmaceuticals and in others they are deemed to be medical devices. In addition, the situation has not been assisted by the system of risk classification in the Medical Device Directive. This article highlights the issues and provides an update on the latest position.

A comparison of sub-bandage pressures produced by experienced and inexperienced bandagers.

An investigation of the relative importance of bandage design, experience of bandager and size of limb on sub-bandage pressures.