This book was written to summarize the experience of a unique experiment in international cooperation in the field of public health. The great epidemic of rubella in the 1950's, followed by phocomelia, focused interest on the search for mechanisms for the rapid detection of significant changes in the geographic and temporal distribution of birth defects. In response to complaints about delays in transmission of such information, the March of Dimes Foundation established a mechanism for exchange of statistical data on the ...
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This book was written to summarize the experience of a unique experiment in international cooperation in the field of public health. The great epidemic of rubella in the 1950's, followed by phocomelia, focused interest on the search for mechanisms for the rapid detection of significant changes in the geographic and temporal distribution of birth defects. In response to complaints about delays in transmission of such information, the March of Dimes Foundation established a mechanism for exchange of statistical data on the incidence of birth defects. The end result of this exchange mechanism became the International Clearinghouse for Birth Defects. This book not only documents the origins, organization, and functions of the Clearinghouse but presents research findings and systematically organized data on 22 types of congenital malformations reported from around the world, making them available to researchers and health planners alike. The fact that many of the studies have yielded negative results render them no less important since when environmental hazards to health are concerned (especially reproductive health), people conjure up the most catastrophic conclusions.
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