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PubMed1996

Cancer incidence in the rural community of Tecumseh, Michigan: a pattern of increased lymphopoietic neoplasms.

BACKGROUND: The Tecumseh Community Health Study (TCHS), initiated in 1959 at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, has provided a resource for long term prospective studies of the incidence of cancer in the setting of a midwestern rural farming community. METHODS: A survey of total and site specific cancer incidence among 7016 male and female adult residents from 1959-1987 was conducted, and the observed number compared with the expected number, based on the age-sex-race-calendar period-and site-specific cancer incidence rates reported by the Connecticut tumor registry. Based on the results of this survey, a hypothesis was advanced concerning the potential risks of exposures to insecticides and herbicides. This was pursued by analyzing for each county in Michigan the comparative annual number of acres and percentage of acreage treated with agricultural chemicals in 1978 and for the period 1982-1987. Finally, because of the availability of information on lifestyle risk factors that had been collected in the 1960s on all participants, a nested case-control study was implemented. RESULTS: The standardized incidence ratio (SIR), based on the observed number divided by the expected number of invasive cancer cases (all sites combined [excluding nonmelanoma skin cancer]), was not significant in females (SIR, 0.95; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.86-1.05) nor males (SIR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.81-1.01). A significant increase was demonstrated for males and females combined in the incidence of lymphopoietic neoplasms, namely non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia; the combined SIR was 1.40 (95% CI, 1.03-1.86; P = 0.03). In the Department of Commerce surveys of counties in Michigan, the Tecumseh area (Lenawee County) was ranked highest with respect to the average annual number of acres (240,000 or more) and the percent of acreage (40%) sprayed with herbicides and insecticides. A comparison of temporal trends for cancer incidence since 1973 was reviewed for the Wayne-Oakland-Macomb tricounty area, in which the survey estimated that less than 80,000 acres per year, or less than 8% of acreage, were treated with pesticides. The comparison of the Tecumseh cohort, for all sites combined, was not significantly different from expectation in females (SIR, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.89-1.14), and was decreased by more than 10% in males (SIR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.77-1.00). However, the SIR for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in females was significantly elevated (SIR, 1.92; 95% CI, 1.07-3.11, P = 0.02); the trend for increased risks of lymphomas and leukemias was also evident in males. In the nested case-control study, based on risk factor information documented prior to diagnosis, the relative risk of a family history of lymphoma, leukemia, or multiple myeloma was significantly increased among patients with lymphoproliferative neoplasms (odds ratio, 3.81; 95% CI, 1.49-9.79; P = 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: This prospective epidemiologic study conducted in a rural farming community in Michigan has found significant increases in the incidence dence of lymphoproliferative cancers. A plausible hypothesis, consistent with the preliminary findings, is that the reported cancer pattern is an expression of risk resulting from sustained environmental exposures to agricultural chemicals, perhaps in conjunction with familial or genetic factors.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Culturally acceptable health care services for Saudi's elderly population: the decision-maker's perception.

This article reports on a study carried out in 1993 to elicit the opinions of decision makers (medical and non-medical) as to the types of facilities, locations and culturally acceptable levels of health care appropriate for the elderly in Saudi Arabia. In addition, the study sought to find out the procedures and likely constraints in the development of future health care services for the elderly. An opinion survey was carried out on a randomly selected sample of decision makers, drawn from: hospitals of 100-bed capacity or more; and, from directorates of education, agriculture, police, municipalities, commerce, transport and media, in each of the regions of Saudi Arabia. A predesigned Arabic questionnaire was completed by the respondents during February-April, 1993. Of the 244 respondents, the most important categories of elderly to be cared for were considered to be those with handicaps, the chronically ill, and those without family support. The non-medical decision makers gave higher scores to these alternatives than did the medical decision makers (P < 0.05). Use of the family home for elderly health care was rated as the most appropriate, followed by medical rehabilitation centres, and only then by hospitals. Non-medical respondents gave more emphasis on rehabilitation centres (P < 0.02). Medical respondents thought that primary care doctors (87.2%), physiotherapists (87.2%) and general nurses (78.2%) can adequately fulfil the needs of most elderly patients. In contrast, non-medical respondents demanded the presence of specialist doctors (72.3%), specialist nurses (78.9%), laboratory and X-ray facilities to run such services (P < 0.05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aged↗
PubMed1993

The drug regulatory and review process in Guyana.

After the old "Sale of Food and Drugs" Ordinance, Cap. 144 was repealed, the new Food and Drugs Act was enacted in 1971. This new Act has considerable flexibility and gives the Minister extensive authority to make Regulations (for carrying out the purposes and provisions of the Act). The Act controls the manufacture, importation, sale, advertising, labeling, packaging, and distribution of drug samples, and the testing of drugs. The Act also controls raw materials and finished products of drugs at the point of entry into the country, with a single agency coordinating both the inspection and analytical services. Developing countries could ensure the procurement of safe, good quality, and effective drugs and devices with the enactment of a similar Food and Drugs Act only. Rapid assessment of Drug Safety, Quality and Efficacy is done through Guyana's participation in the WHO Certification Scheme on the Quality of Pharmaceutical Products moving in International Commerce. This certification scheme is highly commendable especially to third-world countries. The Food and Drug Regulations (1977) have several unique features for drug, cosmetic and device control and they allow for a system of centralized control with limited staff to enforce the legislation. In summary, enforcement of legislative control of imported pharmaceuticals and product evaluation can be considered strong points in the drug regulatory and review process in Guyana. A cautious attitude is observed so as to ensure efficacy, safety, and quality of drugs entering the market. This Drug Regulatory and Review Process is recommended for implementation by third-world countries with outdated drug legislation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Drug Evaluation↗
PubMed2007

Organophosphate resistance in olive fruit fly, Bactrocera oleae, populations in Greece and Cyprus.

The olive fruit fly Bactrocera oleae (Gmelin) (Diptera: Tephritidae) is the most important pest of olives in countries around the Mediterranean basin. Its control has been based mostly on bait sprays with organophosphate insecticides (usually dimethoate or fenthion) for about 40 years. In the present study, the resistance status of olive fruit fly populations to dimethoate was examined in Greece and Cyprus over 2 years. Thirty-one populations from various regions of Greece, nine from Cyprus and one laboratory susceptible strain, which served as a control, were assayed by topical application of dimethoate. Considerable variation in the resistance levels to dimethoate was recorded in the populations of B. oleae, with resistance ratios ranging from 6.3 to 64.4 (ED(50) values 12.5-128.7 ng dimethoate per insect). The highest resistance ratios were found in populations from Crete, and the lowest in those from Cyprus. This variation could be attributed to different selection pressures from insecticidal applications among populations from the various regions. Migration of resistant genotypes, either autonomous or via commerce, may also be involved.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Persistence of arboviruses and antiviral antibodies in vertebrate hosts: its occurrence and impacts.

The recent isolation of West Nile virus from a bird in mid-winter in New York immediately raised, as one of a few explanations, the possibility of long-term persistence of arboviruses in vertebrate hosts. Although it was a highly popular topic for research many years ago, generally it has since been neglected and its meaning under appreciated. This comprehensive survey of literature worldwide uncovered, contrary to the general perception that it is a rather infrequent phenomenon, a large number of important observations involving all groups of arboviruses that have been accumulating over the years without drawing much attention. In this review, the data and observations were analysed in terms of the occurrence, role in natural transmission, mechanisms and genesis of persistence, source of problems in research and impact. The outcome of the analyses clearly demonstrates that asymptomatic, long-term infection in the absence of viraemia with or without the induction of neutralising antibody, the most frequent characteristics of arboviral persistence, presents a serious question about the validity of some of the past animal experiments that were conducted without the consideration of such a possibility. Likewise, significant impacts are felt on diverse fields ranging from epidemiology to diagnostic virology and from veterinary medicine to agricultural commerce. Published in 2001 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Animal Diseases↗
PubMed1982

Availability of epidemiologic data on humans exposed to animal carcinogens. II. Chemical uses and production volume.

We report further findings of a survey of manufacturers, processors, and importers of chemicals determined by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) to be animal carcinogens, but whose carcinogenicity in humans was considered uncertain because of inadequate epidemiologic data. We requested epidemiologic studies from the companies marketing or using any of the 75 IARC animal carcinogens in commerce in the United States. Eighteen of the 75 IARC animal carcinogens had volumes listed of 10(6) lb/year or greater, with 8 of the 13 chemicals for which studies had been completed or are in progress in this "high volume" category. The use category with the largest number of chemicals was drugs--19 of the 75 IARC animal carcinogens were in this category. However, none of the 13 chemicals included in epidemiologic studies was a drug. Seven of the 13 chemicals included in studies were used primarily as pesticides. We received little information on dyes and dye intermediates, experimental carcinogens, and drugs, all of which are produced in relatively low volumes; these categories represent 42 of the 75 IARC animal carcinogens. Low volumes and declining usage/production appear to be barriers to performance of epidemiologic studies. Information we received suggests that sometimes the problem of low production volume may be avoided by studying users rather than production workers. Overall, however, we expect few additional epidemiologic studies of the 75 IARC animal carcinogens.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Evaluation of 60 chemicals in a preliminary developmental toxicity test.

The number of chemicals in commerce which have not been evaluated for potential developmental toxicity is large. Because of the time and expense required by conventional developmental toxicity tests, an abbreviated assay is needed that will preliminarily evaluate otherwise untested chemicals to help prioritize them for conventional testing. A proposed short-term in vivo assay has been used in a series of studies in which a total of 60 chemicals were tested. Some were independently tested two or four times each. In this preliminary test, pregnant mice were dosed during mid-pregnancy and were then allowed to deliver litters. Litter size, birth weight, and neonatal growth and survival to postnatal day 3 were recorded as indices of potential developmental toxicity. Results in this assay and conventional mouse teratology tests were generally concordant. Conventional data were available for 14 chemicals (ten teratogens, one fetotoxin, three nonteratogens), of which 11 (nine teratogens, one fetotoxin, one nonteratogen) produced evidence of developmental toxicity. This included conventional data for three chemicals (ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol dimethyl ether, and triethylene glycol dimethyl ether) that were untested before the present study. As high priority candidates for conventional testing on the basis of results here, all were subsequently studied in a standard teratology assay and were confirmed to be teratogenic in mice. Additionally, one of them (ethylene glycol) plus a fourth high priority candidate for conventional study (diethylene glycol monomethyl ether) were subsequently tested in rats and were found to be teratogenic in that species.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Use of the adult developmental relationship in prescreening for developmental hazards.

The overwhelming majority of chemicals already in commerce or brought into use each year have not been evaluated for their potential to adversely affect in utero development. Data from those that have been evaluated thus far in pregnant laboratory animals establish that most, but not all, were no more hazardous to the conceptus than they were to adult homeostasis. Most did not need standard developmental toxicity testing because avoidance of adult toxic exposure levels would have precluded abnormal in utero development. The six general principles of teratology when modified, expanded, and placed into this type of context of contemporary developmental toxicology allow an updating of the present testing sequence which was devised prior to 1966. The developmental hazard index (A/D ratio) calculated from the adult and developmental NOELs of standard Segment II evaluations is predicted by in vitro means. This determination, when coupled with adequate considerations of exposure can be used to prioritize chemicals for more elaborate developmental toxicity tests. Those chemicals with large ratios, i.e., disruptive of embryogenesis at treatment levels too low to produce overt effects in the mother and/or with significant concern regarding exposure, can be identified and tested in pregnant laboratory animals as high priority items. Those with low ratios and those for which there is a low level of concern regarding exposure potential also can be identified and are not high priority items for testing in pregnant animals. The proposed tier system establishes priorities of testing based on exposure and the concept of target organ toxicity applied to the embryo. It provides intensive in vivo evaluations of those chemicals for which developmental effects testing is most needed and avoids use of resources and animals for unnecessary testing of agents that do not pose threats to the conceptus.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Hierarchical and Multidimensional Academic Self-Concept of Commercial Students.

Adapting the Marsh (1990) Academic Self-Description Questionnaire (ASDQ), this study examined the academic self-concept of students in a school of commerce in Hong Kong (N = 212). Confirmatory factor analysis found that students clearly distinguished among self-concept constructs in English, Chinese, Math and Statistics, Economics, and Principles of Accounting, and each of these constructs was highly associated with a global Academic self-concept construct, reflecting the validity of each construct in measuring an academic component of self-concept. Domain-specific self-concepts were more highly related with students' intention of course selection in corresponding areas than in nonmatching areas, further supporting the multidimensionality of the students' academic self-concept. Students' self-concepts in the five curriculum domains can be represented by the global Academic self-concept, supporting the hierarchical structure of students' academic self-concept in an educational institution with a specific focus, such as commercial studies. The academic self-concepts of the commercial students are both multidimensional and hierarchical. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1993

Assessment of chemical loadings to Newark Bay, New Jersey from petroleum and hazardous chemical accidents occurring from 1986 to 1991.

Newark Bay, New Jersey, is particularly vulnerable to ecological damage from accidental petroleum and chemical spills due to the enclosed nature of the bay and the large volume of chemical and petroleum commerce within the region. A review of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Energy's database of hazardous chemical spills in New Jersey waterways was conducted to determine the frequency and volume of chemical and petroleum spills in Newark Bay and its major tributaries. Accidents reported from 1986 to 1991 were extracted from the database and summarized. The compilation of records indicated that 1400 incidents, resulting in the release of more than 18 million gallons of hazardous materials to the estuary had been reported to state officials. The bulk of the chemicals released to the aquatic environment were petroleum products, specifically No. 2 Fuel Oil (4,636,512 gallons) and No. 6 Fuel Oil (12,600,683 gallons). The majority of the reported incidents occurred in the Arthur Kill and its tributaries. The results indicate that accidental discharge of petroleum and other hazardous chemicals to Newark Bay represents a significant ongoing source of chemical pollution.

Accidents↗
PubMed1993

Strategies for the prevention of environmental neurotoxic illness.

Toxic chemicals in the environment can cause a wide range of neurological disease. High-dose exposures to environmental neurotoxicants have produced encephalopathy in children ingesting chips of lead-based paint, blindness in persons who ingested methanol, blindness and ataxia in persons who consumed organic mercury, spinal cord degeneration and peripheral neuropathy in persons exposed to tri-ortho-cresyl phosphate (TOCP), and Parkinsonism in persons exposed to MPTP or to manganese. Environmental neurotoxicants have also been shown to produce a wide range of subclinical neurotoxic effects, including reduction in intelligence, impairment in reasoning ability, shortening of attention span, and alternation of behavior. The first step in the prevention of environmental neurotoxicity is to test chemicals for their toxic potential. More than 70,000 chemicals are currently in commerce. However, except for pharmaceuticals, fewer than 10% of these chemicals have been tested for neurotoxicity. A logical approach to neurotoxicologic assessment of chemical substances will build on and extend currently available test systems. It will have a tiered structure. The first or screening tier will consist of tests to measure obvious structural and functional changes, often a functional observational battery. Subsequent levels of testing will be guided by the results of initial screening. Toxicologic testing must be supplemented by epidemiologic surveillance of populations exposed to known and suspect neurotoxicants. Screening programs in these populations designed to detect excessive absorption of a neurotoxic agent or subclinical neurological dysfunction can be useful in identifying affected individuals before severe disability occurs.

Biomarkers↗
PubMed1993

Health and chemical environment in Czecho-Slovakia, international cooperation context.

This review provides a record of the present situation with regard to public health and environmental degradation and its underlying causes in Czecho-Slovakia, taking into account "ways of life," which is a synonym for its two components: environment and behavior. It gives attention to the priorities which include air and water pollution and food contamination. "Environmental protection" includes the human health protection from air, water, land, and groundwater pollution, ecological protection and natural resource preservation, use of pesticides, food and consumer product safety, and safety associated with the introduction of new chemicals into commerce. Further, this review focuses on the fundamental building blocks for a new environmental policy and management system (Constitution Act, 1991; Environmental Law, 1991; Chemical Act, in preparation; standards regarding chemicals, etc.). With regard to the international concern about the dangers of chemicals for humanity and the natural environment, attention is drawn to the collaboration of Czecho-Slovakia in chemical safety with WHO, IRPTC, and OECD. An important task is to determine what scientific research is needed and to educate administrators, politicians, and the general public in chemical safety.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Regulatory oversight of biochemical pesticides by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: health effects considerations.

The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) enables the Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to ensure that pesticide use in commerce will not result in unreasonable adverse effects to humans and the environment. Currently, two classes of pesticides are recognized: conventional chemical pesticides and biological pesticides. The latter group is divided into biochemical and microbial pesticides. The recent resurgence of biochemical pesticides as effective pest control agents has increased the number of applications for experimental use permits and for product registration. The fundamental information and data necessary to evaluate such products by the Health Effects Division (HED) of OPP are discussed, as well as the criteria for the classification of a pesticide as a biochemical versus a conventional chemical pesticide. In accordance with the Agency's effort to encourage the development of pesticides less toxic to humans and the environment, the scientific basis for providing future regulatory relief and reduced data requirements for biochemical pesticides is discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Foodborne toxins of marine origin: ciguatera.

Ciguatera poisoning has long been recognized as a serious problem in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Due to international and interstate commerce and tourist travel the phenomenon is spreading to other parts of the globe. Various species of fish (surgeonfish, snapper, grouper, barracuda, jack, amberjack among others) have been implicated in this type of poisoning. These fish accumulate toxins in their flesh and viscera through the consumption of smaller fish that have been previously contaminated by feeding on toxic dinoflagellates. The most probable source of ciguatera is thought to be the benthic microorganism, Gambierdiscus toxicus, which produces both CTX and MTX, but other species of dinoflagellates such as Prorocentrum lima may also contribute with secondary toxins associated with the disease. Potentially ciguatoxic dinoflagellates have been isolated, cultured under laboratory conditions and dinoflagellate growth requirements as well as some factors affecting toxin production have been determined. Also, data from their ecological environment have been accumulated in an attempt to reveal a relationship with the epidemiology of ciguatera outbreaks. Several bioassays have been employed to determine the ciguatoxicity of fish. Cats have been used due to their sensitivity, but regurgitation has made dosage information difficult to obtain. Mongooses have also been used but they often carry parasitic and other type of diseases which complicate the bioassay. Mice have been used more commonly; they offer a more reliable model, can be easily housed, readily are dosed in several ways, and manifest diverse symptoms similar to human intoxications; but the amount of toxic extract needed, time consumed, complicated extraction techniques, and instrumentation involved limit the use of this assay commercially. Other bioassays have been explored including the brine shrimp, chicken, mosquito, crayfish nerve cord, guinea pig ileum, guinea pig atrium, and other histological preparations. All require elaborate time-consuming procedures, are not reproducible, lack specificity, and are semiquantitative at best. The techniques that appear to represent the major advance in identifying and detecting ciguatoxic fish are immunochemical methods: radioimmunoassay (RIA), competitive enzyme immunoassay (EIA), and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Of these, the enzyme immunoassay stick test is the simplest, fastest, most specific, more sensitive, and does not require complicated instrumentation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Chronic wasting disease of cervids.

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) has recently emerged in North America as an important prion disease of captive and free-ranging cervids (species in the deer family). CWD is the only recognized transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) affecting free-ranging species. Three cervid species, mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), white-tailed deer (O. virginianus), and Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni), are the only known natural hosts of CWD. Endemic CWD is well established in southern Wyoming and northern Colorado, and has been present in this 'core area' for two decades or more. Apparently CWD has also infected farmed cervids in numerous jurisdictions, and has probably been endemic in North America's farmed deer and elk for well over a decade. Several free-ranging foci distant to the Colorado-Wyoming core area have been discovered since 2000, and new or intensified surveillance may well identify even more foci of infection. Whether all of the identified captive and free-ranging foci are connected via a common original exposure source remains undetermined. Some of this recently observed 'spread' may be attributable to improved detection or natural movements of infected deer and elk, but more distant range extensions are more likely caused by movements of infected captive deer and elk in commerce, or by some yet unidentified exposure risk factor. Research on CWD over the last 5 years has resulted in a more complete understanding of its pathogenesis and epidemiology. CWD is infectious, transmitting horizontally from infected to susceptible cervids. Early accumulation of PrP(CWD) in alimentary tract-associated lymphoid tissues during incubation suggests agent shedding in feces or saliva as plausible transmission routes. Residual infectivity in contaminated environments also appears to be important in sustaining epidemics. Improved tests allow CWD to be reliably diagnosed long before clinical signs appear. Implications of CWD are not entirely clear at this time. Natural transmission to humans or traditional domestic livestock seems relatively unlikely, but the possibility still evokes public concerns; impacts on wildlife resources have not been determined. Consequently, where CWD is not known to occur surveillance programs and regulations that prevent or reduce the likelihood that CWD will be introduced into these jurisdictions should be encouraged. Where CWD is known to occur, affected jurisdictions are conducting surveillance to estimate and monitor trends in geographic distribution and prevalence, managing deer and elk populations in attempts to limit spread, and developing and evaluating techniques for further controlling and perhaps eradicating CWD. Programs for addressing the challenges of CWD management will require interagency cooperation, commitment of funds and personnel, and applied research. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is perhaps the most enigmatic of the naturally occurring prion diseases. Although recognized as a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) since the late 1970s (Williams and Young 1980, 1982), interest in and concern about CWD has only recently emerged. CWD most closely resembles scrapie in sheep in most respects, but recent media and public reaction to CWD has been more reminiscent of that afforded to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) less than a decade ago. Yet, with the exception of transmissible mink encephalopathy (TME), CWD is the rarest of the known animal TSEs: fewer than 1,000 cases have been diagnosed worldwide, and all but two of these occurred in North America. CWD is unique among the TSEs in that it affects free-living species (Spraker et al. 1997; Miller et al. 2000). The three natural host species for CWD, mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), white-tailed deer (O. virginianus), and Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni), are all in the family Cervidae and native to North America. Like scrapie, CWD is contagious: epidemics are self-sustaining in both captive and free-ranging cervid populations (Miller et al. 1998, 2000). The geographic extent of endemic CWD in free-ranging wildlife was initially thought to be quite limited and its natural rate of expansion slow; however, recent investigations have revealed that CWD has been inadvertently spread much more widely via market-driven movements of infected, farmed elk and deer. Both the ecological and economic consequences of CWD and its spread remain to be determined; moreover, public health implications remain a question of intense interest. Here, we review current understanding of CWD, its implications, and its management.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Emerging and reemerging of filoviruses.

Filoviruses are causative agents of a hemorrhagic fever in man with mortalities ranging from 22 to 88%. They are enveloped, nonsegmented negative-stranded RNA viruses and are separated into two types, Marburg and Ebola, which can be serologically, biochemically and genetically distinguished. In general, there is little genetic variability among viruses belonging to the Marburg type. The Ebola type, however, is subdivided into at least three distinct subtypes. Marburg virus was first isolated during an outbreak in Europe in 1967. Ebola virus emerged in 1976 as the causative agent of two simultaneous outbreaks in southern Sudan and northern Zaire. The reemergence of Ebola, subtype Zaire, in Kikwit 1995 caused a worldwide sensation, since it struck after a sensibilization on the danger of Ebola virus disease. Person-to-person transmission by intimate contact is the main route of infection, but transmission by droplets and small aerosols among infected individuals is discussed. The natural reservoir for filoviruses remains a mystery. Filoviruses are prime examples for emerging pathogens. Factors that may be involved in emergence are international commerce and travel, limited experience in diagnosis and case management, import of nonhuman primates, and the potential of filoviruses for rapid evolution.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Lack of carcinogenicity of agaritine by subcutaneous administration in mice.

Agaritine (A), an ingredient of the cultivated mushroom of commerce Agaricus bisporus, was administered by subcutaneous injection to two groups of randomly bred Swiss mice. In the first group the animals of both sexes were treated at a 100 micrograms/g body weight basis five times at weekly intervals, while in the second group the mice received a single A treatment of 100 micrograms/g body weight for females and 50 micrograms/g body weight for males. The administration of the compound resulted in no detectable carcinogenic effect in the animals. Since some of the breakdown products of A were shown to be carcinogenic in mice and the mushroom itself was found to be mutagenic, the field is discussed in the light of the obtained results.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Health hazards from fine asbestos dusts. An analysis of 70,656 occupational preventive medical investigations from 1973 to the end of 1986.

For the period from 1973 to the end of 1986, 70,656 data sets on occupational preventive medical examinations in employees exposed occupationally to asbestos dust (G 1.2) were made available to us by the Central Registry for Employees Exposed to Asbestos Dust (ZAS). On the basis of this data, an analysis of asbestosis risk was to be made in relation to specific areas of work, taking into consideration the beginning and duration of exposure. Proceedings for declaratory appraisal in accordance with occupational disease no. 4103 were instituted in 1760 cases in the report period. In accordance with the character of the available data, the X-ray findings in the lungs were available from the persons investigated as parameters of possible asbestosis risk on the basis of coding consistent with the International Pneumoconiosis Classification (ILO U/C 1971 and/or ILO 1980 West Germany). The major result of the statistical analyses on the mainframe macrocomputer of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg was that the relatively highest risk of asbestosis was present in persons whose exposure began before 1955. On the other hand, with increasing duration of exposure, an unequivocal rise of the asbestosis risk could not be detected on the basis of the overall population. In relation to the individual fields of work, the relatively highest risk of asbestosis was shown to be in the asbestos textile and paper industry, as well as in the asbestos cement industry. No detectable risk of asbestosis was present in the fields of mining, traffic and health service and for women in the industrial sectors of building material, gas and water, catering trade, building, commerce as well as banking and insurance. Accordingly, it can be assumed that certain fields of work are or were exposed to such a small extent or not at all that a risk of asbestosis which is relevant in terms of occupational medicine is no longer to be assumed or was not to be assumed. This applies above all to certain work in the frictional coating (brake lining) and asbestos paper industry. Furthermore, the analysis of the data material did not provide any unequivocal indications that inhalative smoking habits have a negative effect on the risk of asbestosis. In principle, it can be stated that the occupational preventive medical investigations according to G 1.2 are effective.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Adult↗