Respiratory NTM isolates frequently represent disease. Pulmonary NTM disease is not uncommon, particularly among elderly females. The ATS/IDSA microbiologic criteria are highly predictive of disease and could be useful for laboratory-based NTM disease surveillance.

NTM are frequently isolated from Oregon residents; more than one-half of all isolates likely represent true disease. Pulmonary NTM is most common among elderly women, and M. avium causes most disease. Future efforts to monitor disease trends should be undertaken, and efforts made to validate the use of the ATS/IDSA microbiologic criteria alone to predict pulmonary NTM disease.

Lake water that was fecally contaminated by bathers was the most likely vehicle for the transmission of both the E. coli O157:H7 and the S. sonnei infections. The unusually prolonged outbreak suggests both the survival of these enteric organisms in lake water and a low infectious dose.

A chickenpox outbreak occurred in a school in which 97% of students without a prior history of chickenpox were vaccinated. Students vaccinated >5 years before the outbreak were at risk for breakthrough disease. Booster vaccination may deserve additional consideration.

Tobacco smoke exposure independently increases the risk of developing meningococcal disease.

During the first year of legalized physician-assisted suicide in Oregon, the decision to request and use a prescription for lethal medication was associated with concern about loss of autonomy or control of bodily functions, not with fear of intractable pain or concern about financial loss. In addition, we found that the choice of physician-assisted suicide was not associated with level of education or health insurance coverage.

In the second as compared with the first year of legalized physician-assisted suicide in Oregon, the number of patients who died after ingesting lethal medications increased, but it remained small in relation to the total number of persons in Oregon who died. Patients who request assistance with suicide appear to be motivated by several factors, including loss of autonomy and a determination to control the way in which they die.

This is the first population-based estimate of pulmonary NTM disease incidence in a region within the United States. In Oregon, disease incidence rose slightly during 2007 to 2012, and although more common in female individuals overall, disease was more common among male individuals less than 60 years of age.