The rainfall frequency atlases and technical papers published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Weather Service (NWS) serve as de-facto national standards for rainfall intensity at specified frequencies and durations in the United States. This paper reports on progress in updating these estimates since the EWRI World Environmental and Water Resources Congress of 2006. It provides an overview of the new estimates and the methods used in their preparation as well as selected statistics. Since the 2006 Congress, NOAA has published revisions for NOAA Atlas 14 Volumes 1 through 3 covering the semiarid southwest U.S. and the Ohio River basin and surrounding states, and Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Simultaneous outbreaks of Shigella sonnei gastroenteritis occurred in October 1983 at two Texas university campuses 60 miles (96 km) apart. There were no common food handlers, recreational activities, water sources or swimming areas to explain the introduction of Shigella at both campuses. However, tossed salads were found to be associated with illness at both campuses. The investigation disclosed that both schools had received produce shipments from the same company during the week preceding these outbreaks. Shigella isolates from cases at both universities, sent to the Centers for Disease Control for plasmid analysis and colicin typing, were found to be identical. The same organism was evidently not a frequent cause of shigellosis within a 160-mile (256 km) radius of these universities since only 19% of control isolates chosen from this area were identical to the type which caused these outbreaks. This is the first report of two related outbreaks of shigellosis that were caused by a contaminated food source and not by a food handler. Simultaneous foodborne outbreaks of shigellosis should trigger a search for potential contamination at every step of food handling from farm to kitchen.
A single case of severe diarrhea on a floating Texas oil rig was followed two days later by what proved to be the largest outbreak of cholera in the United States in over a century. After isolation of toxigenic Vibrio cholerae El Tor Inaba of the typical United States phage type from the index patient's stool, the ensuing investigation detected 14 additional cases of cholera and one asymptomatic infection serologically. Infection was associated with eating rice on the oil rig on a particular day (P = 0.03) when an open valve permitted the rig's drinking-water system to be contaminated by canal water containing sewage (including that from the index patient) discharged from the rig. The rice had been rinsed in the contaminated water after cooking, and before being served it had been maintained at a temperature that allows V. cholerae 01 to multiply. Toxigenic V. cholerae 01 is persisting in the United States, and large common-source outbreaks of cholera can occur if proper sanitation is not maintained.
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