Special Rapporteur

About: Special Rapporteur is a based out in . It is known for research contribution in the topics: Human rights & Right to health. The organization has 98 authors who have published 85 publications receiving 939 citations.

Nomenclature for factors of the HLA system, 1989

Abstract: Since diarrhoea and weight loss are so characteristic of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), it is per- haps ::,urprising that only recently has there been careful investigation of the gastrointestinal tract of affected patienLs. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection of human intesti- nal mononuclear cells (C. Fiocchi, Cleveland) and of intestinal epi- thelium (M.F. Kagnoff, San Diego) have been demonstrated and it is clear that the changes in the intestinal epithelium are subtly differ- ent from those of other infectious and inflammatory diseases of the gut (M. Zeitz0 Berlin; A.G. Cummins, Adela!de). This report has concentrated al- most entirely on the gastrointestinal tract since that is mv ,~wn interest, but paoers relevant to other mucosal surfaces including the eye, the nose, the genital tract, the urinary tract and respiratory system were abundant; two interesting papers demonstrated possible effects of cigarette smoking on mucosal immunology (G.F. Cope, Leeds; J.R. Barton, Edinburgh). J. Holmgren and A.M. Svennerhoim (Gothenburg) separately presented details of progress in the develop- ment and application oral vac- cines; the oral cholera vaccine containing cholera B sub-unit cross- reacts immunologically with E. coil heat labile enterotoxin (LT) and has been shown to afford significant pro- tection against diarrhoea caused by LT producing enterotoxigenic E. coil (ETEC) in humans. Anne Ferguson is at the Department of Medi- cine, Western General Hospital, Edinbu~h EH4 2XU, UK. The WHO Nomenclature Committee for Factors of the HLA System t met during the Seventh Intematin. nal Congress of Im- munology to consider additions to pre- vious reports. Here new data on DNA sequences of alleles and of three new loci are presented and names of new a/le!~s and led defined by nucleotide or inferred amino acid sequences are given.

The International Disability Rights Movement and the ICF.

Abstract: Purpose : To outline the thinking of disabled people about their situation and status before the formulation of the ICIDH (International Classification of Impairment, Disability and Handicap) in 19...

HIV and incarceration: prisons and detention

Abstract: The high prevalence of HIV infection among prisoners and pre-trial detainees, combined with overcrowding and sub-standard living conditions sometimes amounting to inhuman or degrading treatment in violation of international law, make prisons and other detention centres a high risk environment for the transmission of HIV. Ultimately, this contributes to HIV epidemics in the communities to which prisoners return upon their release.

The prevention of neonatal group B streptococcal disease: a report by a working group of the Medical Screening Society.

Abstract: Streptococcus agalactiae, or Lancefield group B streptococcus (GBS), is the most frequent cause of serious bacterial sepsis, including neonatal meningitis, in UK neonates. Early-onset neonatal GBS infection, but not late-onset, can be prevented by screening to identify high-risk pregnancies and administering penicillin during delivery. A vaccine has been developed as an alternative means of prevention but it is awaiting a randomized trial before being available for general use. In this review we examine the published literature to assess the morbidity and mortality attributable to neonatal GBS infection, quantify the screening performance of the two alternative modes of screening (microbiological and risk factor based), review the evidence on the efficacy of the vaccine, and estimate the numbers of deaths and cases of serious disability that each strategy in turn might prevent in the UK, in order to assess the most effective means of prevention for the UK.