Use of antimicrobials and carriage of penicillin-resistant ... - Hirsla

17Fig. 6. Study areas in Iceland.phases II and III), Vestmannaeyjar (V), Egilsstadir (E), Bolungarvik(B) and Hella and Hvolsvollur (HH, only included in phase I).Hafnarfjordur (H) and the smaller neighbour town Gardabaer (G)are adjacent to the capital Reykjavik. The town of Vestmannaeyjar(V) is a fishing centre on an island off the south coast. Egilsstadir (E)in East Iceland, and the smaller town Hella/Hvolsvollur (HH) in thesouthern part are surrounded by large farming areas. Bolungarvik(B) is a small fishing town in north-west of Iceland. The climate inVestmannaeyjar (V) is described as somewhat warmer and windierthan in other parts of Iceland, whereas Egilsstadir (E) is morecharacterised by a climate closer to some parts of Scandinavia, withcolder winters, less humidity and warmer summers than elsewherein Iceland. Classical weather parameters for the study areas as wellas the years of the three phases during the 10-year period are shownin Table 1 (The Icelandic Meteorological Office http://www.vedur.is, last viewed February 2006). The weather parameters shown didnot differ much between the research areas during the study period,except for more mean wind speed in Vestmannaeyjar than observedin the other study areas.