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PubMed2002

Scrub typhus in Japan: epidemiology and clinical features of cases reported in 1998.

Surveillance for scrub typhus was conducted in Japan in 1998 using a questionnaire. A total of 462 cases were reported. Scrub typhus occurred in both the fall and spring in the northern part of Honshu (the main island), and in the fall in the central part of Honshu and on the island of Kyushu. The occurrence of the disease varied with age, gender, and activity. Seventy-six percent of the patients were more than 51 years old, and 36% and 16% of the patients were engaged in farm work and forestry, respectively. Fever, rash, and eschar were detected in 98%, 93%, and 97% of the patients, respectively. Elevated levels of C-reactive protein, aspartate transaminase, and alanine transaminase were detected in 96%, 87%, and 77% of the patients, respectively. Disseminated intravascular coagulation developed in 34 cases and had a unique regional distribution. This study shows the status of scrub typhus in Japan in 1998 and provides important information for diagnosis and prevention.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Exposure to 60-Hz magnetic and electric fields at a Canadian electric utility.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to estimate exposure to extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic and electric fields in the Québec electrical utility Hydro-Quebec. METHODS: Personal exposures to ELF magnetic and electric fields were measured for workers randomly selected from 32 job categories at Hydro-Québec. Weekly arithmetic and geometric means, and other indices of exposure were estimated from 465 worker-weeks of data. RESULTS: By job category, the arithmetic means of the ELF magnetic field ranged from 0.09 to 2.36 microT. Those of the ELF electric field exposures ranged from 2.5 to 400 V.m-1. Within each field, correlations of either the arithmetic or geometric means with alternative indices, including an index of the time rate of change, were generally high (r > or = 0.8). Exceptions were the 20th percentile of the electric means and the proportion of time above 12.4 and 100 microT. The day-to-day variation of exposure was greater than the variation between workers. The median between-day and between-worker components of variance (as geometric standard deviations) by job category were 2.13 and 1.71 for magnetic fields (2.24 and 1.81 for electric fields). CONCLUSIONS: Substation workers, hydroelectric generating station operators, and cable splicers showed the highest arithmetic means for 60-Hz magnetic fields above 1 microT. For 60-Hz electric fields, forestry workers, equipment electricians in 735 kV substations, and distribution linemen (contact method) had arithmetic mean exposures greater than 100 W.m-1. Of the total variance in the logarithms of the weekly magnetic and electric field means, job category explained 49.6% and 59.5%, respectively.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1990

Ethylenethiourea in air and in urine as an indicator of exposure to ethylenebisdithiocarbamate fungicides.

Ethylenethiourea (ETU) is a ubiquitous impurity of the ethylenebisdithiocarbamate (EBDC) fungicides widely used in agriculture and forestry. In the present study, ETU was used as a measure of the exposure to EBDC on potato farms and in pine nurseries during the application of EBDC fungicides and the weeding of the sprayed vegetation. Biological and hygienic monitoring was carried out through the analysis of ETU in the breathing zone and the urine of exposed workers. Even if the concentrations of ETU in the ambient air of pine nurseries exceeded those of potato farms, the concentrations of ETU in the urine of potato farmers exceeded those of pine nursery workers. This result may have been due better protective equipment in the pine nurseries. The excretion rate was 6-10 ng/h during the first 60 h after the cessation of exposure, and it diminished thereafter to 0.2 ng/h over a 22-d observation period.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Assessment of impaired tactile sensation. A pilot study.

Three methods are compared for assessing impaired tactile sensation in vibration-exposed workers: a medical examination including traditional neurological tests and refined measures of vibrotactile perception and gap detection. Of 18 subjects only 12 were judged free of confounding factors--five forestry workers exposed to chain-saw vibration, aged 28 (SD 5) years, and seven laboratory workers not exposed to vibration, aged 36 (SD 7) years. Each method identified the same subject as suffering the most from tactile impairment, but they differed in their ranking of the severity of sensory changes. The ranking by gap detection and vibrotactile perception at low frequencies was the most consistent [Spearman rank correlation coefficient (r) = 0.90]. The clinical results, when staged according to the neurological component of vibration-induced white finger, ranked the thresholds for gap detection and low-frequency vibrotactile perception equally well (r = 0.70). In contrast, the Taylor-Pelmear staging of the clinical results poorly represented the ranking of tactile thresholds recorded for these workers (r = 0.00 and -0.20, respectively). It also appeared that improved techniques for measuring vibrotactile and gap perception thresholds can detect sensory changes in the fingers not consistently found by conventional clinical tests.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Prevention of the hand-arm vibration syndrome.

In order to determine the prevalence of the hand-arm vibration syndrome before preventive countermeasures were taken, a special health examination was carried out among 417 national forestry workers operating chain saws in the northern area of Hokkaido, Japan. Thirty-two chain-saw workers (7.7%) were diagnosed as exhibiting the vibration syndrome. The highest prevalence rates were 15.8% among the workers who had operated the saws for 11 to 15 years and 20.3% for workers in their 50s. Improved work conditions for chain-saw workers have increasingly prevented the vibration syndrome in the state forests of Japan since 1978. The present report covered the six years since 1978, and evaluated the effects of these improved work conditions on chain-saw workers from data on the recovery rates of skin temperature and the vibration sense threshold after a cold provocation test. As a result, recovery rates of skin temperature and the vibration sense thresholds at the fifth and tenth minutes after the immersion of the hands in cold water were significantly better than those six years earlier. It is suggested that adequate restrictions on the operating time of the chain saw and on the age of workers can completely prevent the vibration syndrome even if the total operating time is appreciably lengthened.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Primary osteoarthrosis of the knee in men and women as a result of lifelong physical load from work.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the effect of lifelong physical load from work on the development of knee osteoarthrosis (OA) leading to prosthetic surgery among men and women. METHODS: In a population-based case-referent study, men and women (N=625) who had had prosthetic surgery due to primary tibiofemoral OA were compared with referents (N=548) as to job titles and exposure to physical load in occupational work, housework, and leisure-time activities from 15 to 50 years of age. RESULTS: Male forestry and construction workers, and both male and female farmers ran the highest risk of knee OA. The men had considerably higher exposure to lifting at work, and also to jumps and vibration, than the women. Among the men there was an association between lifting at work [odds ratio (OR) 3.0, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.6-5.5], squatting or knee bending (OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.7-4.9), kneeling (OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.4-3.3), and jumping (OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.7-4.1) with knee OA. Exposure to physically demanding tasks at home, such as taking care of an elderly or handicapped person, was associated with knee OA among the women (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.3-3.6). CONCLUSIONS: Working as a farmer or as a construction worker could be associated with the development of knee OA and lead to prosthetic surgery. Men and women differ in the quality and quantity of reported physical load and also in the strength of the risk estimates. A reduction of high physical load at work and at home could probably lower the risk of knee OA later in life.

Aged↗
PubMed2002

Physical workload and the risk of severe knee osteoarthritis.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the impact of physical workload on the risk of severe knee osteoarthritis (OA) leading to knee arthroplasty. METHODS: In this case-referent study, the cases were 55- to 75-year-old men (N=55) and women (N=226) who had undergone their first knee arthroplasty operation for primary knee OA in the Kuopio University Hospital in 1992-1993. The referents (N=524) were from the same source population and were matched with the cases for age and gender. Information on explanatory variables was obtained by a computer-assisted telephone interview. Exposure was assessed up to 49 years of age. RESULTS: After adjustment for body mass index, knee injury and leisure-time physical activity, an increased relative risk of knee OA was found for a history of high physical workload. The odds ratio (OR) was 1.53 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.42-5.56] for the men and 2.03 (95% CI 1.03-3.99) for the women as compared with those with low physical workload. With respect to generic risk factors, climbing already at a medium level of exposure was associated with an increased risk of knee OA among the men (OR 3.06, 95% CI 1.25-7.46) and kneeling and squatting was a risk factor for both genders. Of the different trades, agriculture, forestry, fishing, transportation, and traffic showed the highest risks of knee OA. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study agree with the hypotheses that heavy physical loading increases the risk of knee OA and that cumulative physical stress has a deleterious effect on the knee joint.

Age Distribution↗
PubMed2002

Alternative for estimating the burden of lung cancer from occupational exposures--some calculations based on data from Swedish men.

OBJECTIVES: This study attempts to demonstrate a calculation of the occupational lung cancer burden using economically active men in Sweden as an example. METHODS: Estimates were calculated using Swedish register data on occupation in 1970, lung cancer incidence in 1971-1989, smoking frequencies in 1963, and the formula I = RI0F + I0(1-F), where I is the overall incidence, R is the relative risk associated with a factor (here smoking), F is the fraction of persons at risk (smokers), and I0 is the incidence among those not at risk (nonsmokers). RESULTS: Farmers, gardeners, forestry workers, and fishermen had the lowest lung cancer risk (42.1 per 100,000 person-years) and a smoking frequency of 44.7%. Their I0 was 12.6 or 8.4 per 100,000 person-years, taking R for smoking as 6 or 10, respectively. From these I0 estimates, the expected rates for white- and blue-collar workers (smoking frequencies 52.7 and 57.7%, respectively) were 45.8 and 49.1 per 100,000 person-years, as compared with the 22% and 57% higher observed rates, respectively. Weighing these excesses proportionally according to the sizes of the three occupational categories gave, respectively for R equal to 6 and 10, occupation-related excesses of 39% and 32% and population-attributable risks of 28% and 24%. CONCLUSIONS: About one-fourth of the lung cancers that occur among economically active Swedish men seem to have been related to occupation. This figure agrees with estimates made by other methods in Nordic countries. Due to interaction, the population-attributable risk from smoking is still high, 73% and 83% at relative risk values of 6 and 10, respectively.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Effects of lethal and sublethal concentrations of the herbicide, triclopyr butoxyethyl ester, in the diet of zebra finches.

Lethal and sublethal effects of dietary triclopyr butoxyethyl ester (TBEE) on zebra finches (Poephila guttata Gould) were determined in laboratory experiments conducted between 8 January and 1 May 1991. The 8-day median lethal dietary concentration, LC50 (95% confidence interval), of TBEE to zebra finches was 1,923 (1,627 to 2,277) mg/kg. In the sublethal effects experiment, when birds were exposed to 500 mg/kg TBEE in the diet for 29 days, food consumption and body weight were significantly depressed (P < 0.05). Similar prolonged exposures to 50 and 150 mg/kg TBEE in the diet had no significant effect on food consumption or body weight (P > 0.05). Perch-hopping activity was depressed relative to controls in the 500 mg/kg group, and elevated in the 150 mg/kg group, but neither of these differences was significantly (P > 0.05). Disappearance of TBEE residues from treated seeds over the 29 day experimental period followed an exponential decay model, with half-lives in the order of 15 to 18 days. On the basis of our observation that TBEE had no significant adverse effects at a concentration greater than the maximum expected environmental concentration, we propose that forestry applications of triclopyr at registered dosage rates pose little risk to wild songbirds.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1999

Possibilities of long-term protection against blood-sucking insects and ticks.

Insecticidal and repellent properties and residual action of permethrin and deltamethrin and two commercial preparations Peripel 55 and Permanone were investigated under laboratory and field conditions. The tests were conducted on ticks, mosquitoes and houseflies. Permethrin in concentrations of 0.036-2.276 mg.m-2 caused 90-100% mortality and deltamethrin in concentrations of 0.012-0.75 mg.m-2 induced 78-100% mortality in ticks after 24 hrs exposure (Table 1). Good repellent properties of the preparation Peripel 55 were confirmed in experiments on mosquitoes Aedes aegypti (Table 2 and Fig. 1). Experiments confirmed good residual effects (Fig. 3 and 4) of the preparations tested. Peripel 55 retained 100% effectiveness up to 4 months and following two washings. The preparation Permanone exhibited 100% effectiveness for 1 month and a decrease in effectiveness to 52% after the first washing. In the period from June to September, the repellent properties of Permanone were observed in a group of 17 forestry women workers in a field trial. The index of repellency ranged from 57 to 80 (average 71) in June and July and from 40 to 100 (average 74) in August and September. The difference in the number of ticks that clung to the workers in the experimental group who had their clothes treated with the preparation tested was significant in comparison with the control group at p < 0.1, 0.05 and 0.01.

Aedes↗
PubMed1976

[An epidemiologic study on vibration hazards among workers at the state forests in Kyushu (author's transl)].

There are only very few reports of epidemiologic analysis on vibration hazards among the workers at the state forests of Japan since 1970. It was necessary to perform investigations on the state of vibration hazards anew, through some labor hygienic policies on the prevention of the hazards, such as regulation of the time of using vibrating tools, had been executed to some extent since 1970. From the data of physical check-ups of 861 chain saw users of 24 District Forestry Offices in Kumamoto, Miyazaki and Kagoshima Prefectures in the south of Kyushu, the transition of vibration hazards was studied by using the incidence and prevalence of Raynaud's phenomenon and paresthesia of the fingers as indices. From the yearly transition of the hazards, a tendency was observed of increasing patients with vibration syndrome during the period from 1962 to 1970 when countermeasures on vibration hazards were not sufficient. However, since 1970 the occurrence of Raynaud's Phenomenon has shown a tendency to decrease among the workers with short history of using chain saw and the occurrence of paresthesia of the fingers as indices. From the yearly transition of the hazards, a tendency was observed of increasing patients with vibration syndrome during the period from 1962 to 1970 when countermeasures on vibration hazards were not sufficient. However, since 1970 the occurrence of Raynaud's Phenomenon has shown a tendency to decrease among the workers with short history of using chain saw and the occurrence of paresthesia of the fingers to increase among those with long history. The results are suggestive of making clear the pathophysiology of vibration hazards.

Fingers↗
PubMed1999

Fatal work-related farm injuries in Canada, 1991-1995. Canadian Agricultural Injury Surveillance Program.

BACKGROUND: Studies from other developed countries have shown that agriculture is among the most dangerous occupational sectors in terms of work-related deaths. The authors describe the occurrence of fatal work-related farm injuries in Canada and compare these rates with those in other Canadian industries. METHODS: The authors present a descriptive, epidemiological analysis of data from the recently established Canadian Agricultural Injury Surveillance Program. The study population comprised Canadians who died from work-related farm injuries between 1991 and 1995. Crude, age-standardized, age-specific and provincial rates of such injuries are presented, as are overall death rates in other Canadian industries. Other factors examined were the people involved, the mechanism of injury, and the place and time of injury. RESULTS: There were 503 deaths from work-related farm injuries during the study period, for an overall annual rate of 11.6 deaths per 100,000 farm population. Modest excesses in this rate were observed in Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces. High rates were observed among men of all ages and among elderly people. Among the cases that listed the person involved, farm owner-operators accounted for 60.2% of the people killed. There was no substantial increase or decrease in the annual number of deaths over the 5 years of study. The leading mechanisms of fatal injury included tractor rollovers, blind runovers (person not visible by driver), extra-rider runovers, and entanglements in machinery. Compared with other industries, agriculture appears to be the fourth most dangerous in Canada in terms of fatal injury, behind mining, logging and forestry, and construction. INTERPRETATION: Canada now has a national registry for the surveillance of fatal farm injuries. Farming clearly is among the most dangerous occupations in Canada in terms of fatal work-related injuries. Secondary analyses of data from this registry suggest priorities for prevention, continued surveillance and in-depth research.

Accidents, Occupational↗
PubMed1999

[Health-related absenteeism among workers employed in various work environments].

The state of health in working people is determined by a number of factors among which working conditions and the kind of job performed play undoubtedly a crucial role. The observation and analysis of trends in sick absenteeism may provide indirect information on health problems of the occupationally active population. The aim of the analysis presented was to define the magnitude and the causes of temporary work disability among workers employed in individual branches of the national economy, and finally to identify high risk groups of workers because of their employment in specific working conditions. The statistical material used as the basis for the calculation of absenteeism indicators embraced the data on the number of work disability days, derived from a 15 representative sample of punched cards, concerning certificates of temporary work disability. In order to accomplish the objectives of the analysis, the trends in sick absenteeism observed before 1989, the period preceding the structural changes and the transformation of Polish economy were taken into consideration. The analysis indicates that the level of sick absenteeism in the branches of the national economy (forestry, building construction, transport, industry) and the proportion of chronic diseases in its structure prove the effect of working conditions on the workers' health. Considering individual branches of industry, the highest levels of sick absenteeism are observed in the following branches: mining for men (5.61), non-ferrous metals for women (10.04) and men (4.95), ferrous metallurgy for women (9.99) and men (4.93), and petroleum products for women (11.76). The analysis of sick absenteeism in the branches selected in view of hazardous working conditions shows that: (1) in many branches chemical hazards in the work environment are responsible for an increased sick absenteeism due to diseases of the circulatory system, particularly among men, mental disorders and neoplasms, both among men and women, and complications of pregnancy among women; (2) physical work overload increases sick absenteeism mainly due to diseases of the musculoskeletal and peripheral nervous systems, as well as due to cardiac disease and arterial hypertension; and (3) hot microclimate contributes to sick absenteeism because of diseases of the circulatory system, including cardiac disease and arterial hypertension, particularly among men, as well as acute and chronic respiratory diseases.

Absenteeism↗
PubMed1998

[Study on certified reference material of germanium in Ganoderma lucidum].

Analytical reference material of Ge in Ganoderma lucidum is designed and prepared for accurete analysis, monitoration and evaluation in trades of farming, forestry, medicine and food hygiene for Ge. It is used in technical training, technical assessing, monitoring, data arbitrating and analytic method verifing for professional supervisors. This reference material has been certified by graphitic oven atomic absorption spectrometry, hydride spectrophotometry, polarography, chemical separation spectrophotometry, atomic fluorescence method and x-ray fluorescence method. According to Grubb's law to judge the data of each group, it is confirmed that all of seven groups certified crude data are normal distribution by checking normality D. The arithmatic mean value of all data is 0.38 microgram/g. Standard deviation is 0.08 microgram/g.

Drugs, Chinese Herbal↗
PubMed1999

[Incidence of occupational diseases in Poland].

The paper is aimed at presenting the incidence of occupational diseases in Poland. The analysis was performed on the basis of the information included in 'occupational disease certificates'. All sanitary and epidemiological stations throughout the country are committed to send these certificates to the Central Register of Occupational Medicine in The Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine in Lódź. The incidence of occupational diseases during the three recent years (1996-97-98) was the subject of a thorough analysis. In all, 11,318, 11,685 and 12,017 cases of occupational diseases, respectively were registered over those three years. The corresponding rates were 116.0, 116.9 and 117.3, respectively per 100,000 people employed. In 1998, diseases of the voice organ predominated (30.4%) of all occupational diseases) and they were followed by hearing impairment (28.2%), infectious and parasitic diseases (9.9%), pneumoconioses (8.2%), dermatoses (6.4%), vibratory syndrome (2.9%) and poisoning (2.5%). These disease categories constituted over 88% of all occupational diseases registered in that year. Diseases of the voice organ which showed the greatest growth dynamic were mainly diagnosed among teachers. Neither in the United States nor in the member states of the European Union, this pathology is included into the list of occupational diseases. In view of high rates of its incidence in our country it has become one of essential problems of occupational medicine. In Poland, particular attention is paid to infectious and parasitic diseases among which hepatitis occupies the first place (65%), mostly among health service workers. The decrease in hepatitis incidence observed in the 1990s has been due to an intensive vaccination programme in this group of workers. The incidence of occupational hepatitis became rather stable and accounted for 940 cases per year, however the incidence of hepatitic C increased at the same time. Lower rates of incidence of 'classic' occupational diseases, such as poisoning, pneumoconioses or vibratory syndrome are a positive observation. It is also interesting to note that the rate of occupational diseases diagnosed in advanced stage has also diminished. When analyzing occupational diseases one should bear in mind that the majority of pathologies already diagnosed result from long-term effect of exposure to harmful factors. In all, 93% of cases of occupational diseases emerged after a ten-year exposure. The highest rates, taking account of sections of activity, were found in mining and quarrying, health service, agriculture, hunting and forestry.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Our changing perspectives on benefits and risks of pesticides: a historical overview.

The introduction of chemical pesticides following WW II ushered in the era of the "quick fix" for any aqricultural, forestry and human health problems. Scenarios of use, misuse, abuse and environmental contamination can be presented for any class of pesticide, culminating in dependence on these chemicals for increased production of food and fibre and improved health. With time, sophisticated agents having unique, target-specific mechanisms of action evolved but at increased cost(s) to crop production. Equatorial countries, rapidly becoming "breadbaskets" of the world, are particularly dependent on pesticides as they strive to increase production of nontraditional export products (NTEPS), valuable cash crops in demand in countries having more temperate climates. Developing nations have neither the legislation and regulations necessary to control pesticides nor trained personnel to inspect and monitor use, to analyze residues in produce or to initiate training programs. Their transition from agrarian to industrialized societies has meant that smaller, less well educated populations must shoulder the responsibility of increased traditional food production for consumption by urban populations as well as that of NTEPS. Unfortunately, to attain these goals, many older, more toxic, environmentally persistent and cheap pesticides, long banned in developed countries, are used extensively, creating serious local and global contamination and health problems.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

The development of a protocol to manage the potential of groundwater contamination from on-site sanitation.

The provision of water supply and sanitation services to the developing and water scarce areas of South Africa is one of the goals of the Reconstruction and Development Programme. One of the principles of the South African National Sanitation Policy stipulates that sanitation systems which have unacceptable impacts on the environment cannot be considered to be an adequate form of sanitation. The greatest contamination concern with respect to ventilated improved pit toilets is in relation to groundwater resources. To this end the National Sanitation Co-ordination Office (NaSCO) and the Directorate of Geohydrology of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry have developed "A Protocol to Manage the Potential of Groundwater Contamination from On-Site Sanitation". The aim of the protocol is to ensure that reasonable measures are taken to guard against contamination of valuable groundwater resources by inappropriately located or designed sanitation systems. The protocol focuses on dry on-site sanitation systems and provides a brief background to the current understanding of groundwater contamination by on-site sanitation systems. It also presents a procedure to be followed by those involved in implementing new, or upgrading old systems--the procedure allows the field worker to assess whether groundwater resources may be at risk of pollution. The protocol is specifically aimed at engineering and technical staff who are not groundwater specialists.

Humans↗
PubMed2000

The search for "Yvonne": a case example of the delineation of a grave using near-surface geophysical methods.

Shallow electromagnetic (EM) and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) surveys were conducted in an area north of Auckland, New Zealand to assist the search for human remains. The body had been buried for almost 12 years in a plantation forest that was irregularly disrupted and modified by tree harvesting and the partial removal of stumps. EM identified anomalous areas of potential interest, because a target need only be nearby to generate an EM response. GPR was then used to map subsurface layering, layering disruption, and buried objects, immediately adjacent to an EM anomaly. Because of the nature of the site, numerous geophysical anomalies were present. GPR was particularly sensitive to site disturbance resulting from the forestry operations. An isolated EM anomaly on the fringes of an expanded survey area was coincident with the location of the body. Whether for criminal investigations or for archaeological work, a combination of geophysical techniques is recommended.

Cadaver↗