This investigation extends by 1000 km the northernmost documented source of oysters that caused illness due to V. parahaemolyticus. Rising temperatures of ocean water seem to have contributed to one of the largest known outbreaks of V. parahaemolyticus in the United States.

No abstract

Residents of Fairbanks, Alaska reported health complaints when 15%, by volume, methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) was added to gasoline during an oxygenated fuel program. We conducted an exposure survey to investigate the effect of the program on human exposure to MTBE. We studied 18 workers in December 1992 during the program and 28 workers in February 1993 after the program was suspended. All workers were heavily exposed to motor vehicle exhaust or gasoline fumes. In December, the median post-shift blood concentration of MTBE in the workers was 1.8 micrograms/l (range, 0.2-37.0 micrograms/l), and in February the median post-shift blood concentration of MTBE in the 28 workers was 0.24 micrograms/l (range, 0.05-1.44 micrograms/l; p = .0001). Blood MTBE levels were measurably higher during the oxygenated fuel program in Fairbanks than after the program was suspended.

No abstract

Serological evidence for C pneumoniae infection frequently precedes both the earliest and more advanced lesions of coronary atherosclerosis that harbor this intracellular pathogen, suggesting a chronic infection and developmental role in coronary heart disease.