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Objectives: The objective of this regional study across Wales was to perform a preliminary examination of Welsh emergency vehicles to determine levels of bacterial contamination.Methods: Specific sites within emergency vehicles were swabbed, before and after vehicle cleaning, over a 12 month period, on a monthly basis. All swabs were sent to pathology laboratories for culturing and analysis.Results: Results showed that most sites within emergency vehicles across Wales were contaminated with a range of bacterial species before vehicle cleaning. After vehicle cleaning, many sites in vehicles were still contaminated, and some sites that were previously uncontaminated, became freshly contaminated as a result of cleaning methods used.Conclusions: The authors conclude that the Welsh emergency vehicles examined exhibited an unacceptable level of bacterial contamination. This finding should be carefully considered and all attempts must be made to tackle the problem of vehicle cleanliness and infection control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented about trends in the sales of inhaled corticosteroids and asthma outcomes in Singapore.

From 29 June to 7 July 2009, Singapore hosted the inaugural Asian Youth Games (AYG), which brought 1210 athletes and 810 officials from 43 participating countries. On 11 June, just 1 week before the Games Village Medical Centre started operations, the World Health Organization officially declared a global H1N1 2009 pandemic. Working in close partnership with the Olympic Council of Asia Medical Commission, Singapore AYG Organising Committee and other government agencies, the AYG Medical Services Committee was successful in preventing the local transmission of H1N1, which would have been a threat to the games, as it could have led to the cancellation of these games. This article describes the experience and valuable lessons learnt from managing a sports-related mass gathering during the developing pandemic.