Introduction: Determining the potential risk of foodborne illness has become critical for informing policy decisions, due to the increasing availability and popularity of unpasteurized (raw) milk.

Background: Animal ownership has been identified as a risk factor for human survivability of natural disasters. Animal guardians have been reported to react or act in ways that may put their own safety and that of emergency services personnel at risk when faced with a natural disaster. Recent research has suggested that this risk factor could be reconfigured as a protective factor, whereby desires to save animals from natural disaster harm could motivate increased planning and preparedness behaviours amongst animal guardians. However, there has been no research to determine if bushfire planning and response behaviours differ between pet owners with low and high attachment; and how the relationship may differ in relation to small or large animals. Methods and procedure: We investigated the relationship between people’s emotional attachment to different types of pets and their preparation and actions during the Pinery bushfire in South Australia in November 2015. Thirty-four people who were impacted by the fire participated in an online survey. Data were collected about their preparedness, planning and response behaviours as well as their animal attachment (high or low). Results: We identified 10 characteristics (behaviours, attributes, skills and beliefs) associated with high animal attachment scores, and eight associated with low animal attachment scores. Discussion: Our discussion of the differences in demographics, preparedness, planning and response characteristics of participants with high and low animal attachment confirms research suggesting that animal guardians take risks to save their animals during disasters. Our findings also support recent propositions that animal attachment and ownership could be used to increase the natural disaster preparedness and survivability of animal guardians. However, making sure that animal attachment functions as a protective factor requires active and effective intervention through education, behaviour change and social marketing strategies. Whilst our study is high in ecological validity, future research with larger samples sizes is required to determine the generalisability of our findings to animal owners and guardians in other locations, facing fires with other characteristics, especially for owners and guardians with low levels of attachment.

Although this earthquake was less devastating in terms of injuries and fatalities compared to two previous earthquakes in Uganda, based on the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale it was still considered to be severe. Therefore, this paper identified some proactive lessons as far as earthquake risk reduction in Uganda is concerned, which among others include: encouraging earthquake-resistant buildings; the safety of essential infrastructure; earthquake early warning systems supported by free global technologies; and the safety of rescue workers along with prioritizing the psychosocial needs of rescue teams. With all this in mind, the September 2016 earthquake should serve as a timely reminder that there is a real need for the proactive ex-ante earthquake preparedness rather than risking an expensive post-ante approach to responding to any future devastating earthquakes in Uganda.

We recommend that the resources compared review their inclusion criteria and assess whether the discrepancies in hazard type and country can be ratified through changes in how hazards are assessed for inclusion. More research should be undertaken to assess whether similar findings arise when comparing databases in other areas within the remit of public health.

Background: The current triple epidemic caused by dengue, zika and chikungunya constitutes a serious health problem in Brazil. The aim of this study was to investigate acute samples (up to the 7 days of symptoms) from patients presenting acute fever syndrome suspected as arboviral infection and characterize the clinical and laboratorial profile during the co-circulation of dengue, zika and chikungunya in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul (MS), midwest region of Brazil. Methods: All suspected cases (n=134) were tested by using serological and molecular diagnostic tests including DENV, ZIKV and CHIKV RT-PCR, Dengue nonstructural protein 1 (NS1) antigen capture ELISA, anti- DENV IgM ELISA and anti-CHIKV IgM ELISA. In addition, clinical, hematological and biochemical parameters of infected patients were analyzed. Results: It was observed that 79.1% of the blood samples were confirmed for ZIKV and/or DENV infection Of those, 38.0% patients were DENV monoinfected, 26.8% were ZIKV monoinfected and 13.4% were DENV/ZIKV co-infected. Seven patients presented Chikungunya IgM antibodies indicating a previous CHIKV infection. Common symptoms included fever, rash, arthralgia, myalgia, prostration, headache and conjunctivitis. Statistical analysis showed that pruritus and edema were associated with ZIKV infection while prostration and vomiting were more associated with dengue. Additionally, total protein and ALT levels were significantly different in DENV patients compared to ZIKV ones. Some DENV infected patients as well as co-infected needed hospitalization and venous hydration. Otherwise, most ZIKV infected patients presented mild clinical course. Among the pregnant women studied (n=11), three were ZIKV monoinfected while four were DENV monoinfected and two were DENV-1/ZIKV coinfected. In general, normal birth outcomes were observed except for the death due to respiratory insufficiency of one baby born to a mother coinfected with DENV-1/ZIKV. Conclusions: Herein, we provide evidence of the co-circulation of DENV, ZIKV and CHIKV infections in the Campo Grande, MS, Brazil, with a high frequency of DENV-1/ZIKV coinfection. Laboratorial diagnosis poses a challenge where those arboviruses are endemic and differential diagnosis proved to imperative for cases characterization. The knowledge about disease severity during arbovirus coinfections is still scarce and there are several issues emphasizing the importance of adequate management of patients at risk areas.

INTRODUCTION In January 2011 landslides and floods followed heavy rain in the Mountainous Region of Rio de Janeiro State ("Região Serrana"), in southeastern Brazil. These events led to the largest disaster registered in Brazilian recent history. Few studies addressed the impacts of this disaster on public health, and we found none addressing the impact on mental health. This study reviewed the consequences of the 2011 disaster in the "Região Serrana", by comparing the demand for public mental health assistance data from time periods before and after the even METHODS We performed an ecologic study, analysing the aggregate data from "Região Serrana" during the period two years before and after the disaster, exporting data from the Brazilian open access public health database. The primary outcome was defined as Mental Health Care Demand, and for that we calculated the number of mental health care visits per month, the proportion of visits due to mental health care and the monthly absolute number of mental health care visits per CAPS - "Centro de Atenção Psicossocial" (Psychosocial Care Centre). For secondary outcomes we evaluated the total number of deaths by any reason, and the total number of hospitalizations. The other health administrative regions of Rio de Janeiro state were used as control group. RESULTS We observed that there was an important increase in the rate of visits due to mental health in the six months after the landslides, from 13,875 to 17,690, reaching its maximum one year after the event totalizing 21,980 visits (Dec 2011). It was also observed that the proportion of visits due to mental health disorders increased after the event in the "Região Serrana", as well as the number of mental health care visits per CAPS. DISCUSSION In conclusion, we observed that the 2011 Landslides in "Região Serrana" led to a sustained higher burden to public mental health care. There was an increase in the demand for mental health visits, and the ratio of visits per CAPS was higher during most part of the studied period after the event, even with the region having more CAPS than before.

Drought, vulnerability, risks, health, perception, Brazilian Semiarid, resilience.

Given these results, we conclude that existing interventions remain effective against plague in Madagascar, despite the atypical size and spread of this particular outbreak.

The development of a clear ethical framework and the early identification and involvement of stakeholders can enable even very large health jurisdictions to construct crisis care plans that enable the best care under difficult circumstances, while protecting individual rights and incorporating the concerns of the public and the health care community.