Quality of life of elderly subjects living in basic social dwellings Background: In Chile, the government is providing basic dwellings to poor elderly subjects that do not have a place to live. These dwellings may be located in buildings or in codominiums. Aim: To assess the quality of life perception of elderly subjects whose dwellings are located in buildings or in condominiums. Material and methods: The brief version of the quality of life questionnaire designed for the elderly by the World Health Organization (WHOQoL-BREF) was applied to elderly subjects of seven poor communities of Metropolitan Santiago, that lived in basic dwellings located in buildings or condominiums. The questionnaire includes questions about physical, psychological, social relations and environment domains. Results: The questionnaire was answered by 124 elderly subjects aged 60 to 90 years, living in condominiums and 152 subjects aged 62 to 94 years, living in buildings. Satisfaction was of moderate or high level for physical, psychological and social relations domains. Those living in condominiums had a better satisfaction level in this last domain. The level of satisfaction of the environment domain was moderate and better for those living in condominiums. The perception of quality of life deteriorated along with age. Conclusions: Elderly subjects living in basic dwellings located in condominiums have a better quality of life perception than those living in buildings (Rev Méd Chile 2008; 136: 325-33).

EpidemiologíaBrotes de enfermedades transmitidas por alimentos y agua en la Región Metropolitana, Chile (2005Chile ( -2010 Viller Alerte, Sandra Cortés A., Janepsy Díaz T., Jeannette Vollaire Z., M. Eugenia Espinoza M., Verónica Solari G., Jaime Cerda L. (2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010) were 32 cases per 100 inhabitants. A total of 12,196 people were affected, with an average of 5 patients per outbreak. The households (36.2%), restaurants (16.3%), supermarkets (6.3%) free fair (4.4%) have been the most important outbreak areas. The foods involved were seafood (15.4%), fi sh (15.1%), and fast food (13.5%). The etiologic agents were Salmonella spp, Shigella spp, Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Conclusions: Outbreaks foodborne diseases are frequents in the Chilean urban area, which make vulnerable a lot of people. The largest numbers happened in the households and were due to bad handling and/or inappropriate storage of the foods.

It is recommended that similar programs strive to preserve and strengthen the social networks in place prior to moving and encourage the formation of relationships in the new residences.

Pediculus capitis: Available therapies Head lice infestation is very common. It is one of most frequent diseases in the childhood. In 1996, 15% of the people in the world and 30% of infant were infected. The drugs used at the moment are very effective but the people get reinfested after two months, so to avoid it, it is important to treat all contacts. There are different active compounds like lindane, pyrethins, crotamiton, thiabendazole, malathion, carbaryl and sulpha/trimethoprim. For each of these, we discuss their action, pharmacology characteristics, effectiveness and adverse effects.

Evidencia seroepidemiológica de exposición humana aAnaplasma sp en Santiago, Chile