Children exposed to a natural disaster: psychological consequences eight years after 2004 tsunami.

BACKGROUND: There is a need for studies that follow up children and adolescents for many years post disaster since earlier studies have shown that exposure during natural disasters constitutes a risk factor for poor psychological health. AIMS: The main aim was to examine whether there was an association between severity of exposures during a natural disaster experienced in childhood or adolescence and posttraumatic stress symptoms, psychological distress, self-rated health, diagnosis of depression, anxiety or worry, thoughts about or attempted suicide, physical symptoms or daily functioning eight years later in young adulthood. A second aim was to compare psychological distress and self-rated health of exposed young adults with a matched population-based sample. METHOD: Young adults, who experienced the 2004 tsunami as children between 10 and 15 years of age, responded to a questionnaire eight years post disaster. The results were compared to a matched population sample. RESULTS: The results showed that the likelihood for negative psychological outcomes was higher for those who had been exposed to several types of exposures during this natural disaster. CONCLUSIONS: The negative psychological impact on children and adolescents can still be present eight years post-disaster and seems to have association with the type of exposure; loss, physical presence and subjective experience. It is important for clinicians, who meet young adults seeking help, to be conscious about the impact as long as eight years post disaster and to be aware of possible clinical implications associated with severity of exposures.

Effect of various conditions on inactivation of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella Typhimurium, and Listeria monocytogenes in fresh-cut lettuce using ultraviolet radiation.

The effect of various conditions on inactivation of foodborne pathogens and quality of fresh-cut lettuce during ultraviolet (254 nm, UVC) radiation was investigated. Lettuce was inoculated with a cocktail of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella Typhimurium, and Listeria monocytogenes and treated at different temperatures (4 and 25 °C), distances between sample and lamp (10 and 50 cm), type of exposure (illuminated from one or two sides), UV intensities (1.36 to 6.80 mW/cm²), and exposure times (0.5 to 10 min), sequentially. UV treatment at 25 °C for 1 min achieved 1.45-, 1.35-, and 2.12-log reductions in surface-inoculated E. coli O157:H7, S. Typhimurium, and L. monocytogenes, respectively, whereas the reduction of these pathogens at 4 °C was 0.31, 0.57, and 1.16 log, respectively. UV radiation was most effective when distance from UV lamp to the sample was minimal (10 cm) and radiation area was maximal (two-sided exposure). All UV intensities significantly (P<0.05) reduced the three pathogens after 10 min exposure, but the effect of treatment was correlated with UV intensity and exposure time. Color values and texture parameters of lettuce subjected to UV treatment under the optimum conditions (25 °C, 10 cm between sample and lamp, two-sided exposure, 6.80 mW/cm²) were not significantly (P>0.05) different from those of nontreated samples up to 5 min exposure. However, these qualities significantly (P<0.05) changed at prolonged treatment time. These results suggest that UV radiation under optimized conditions could reduce foodborne pathogens without adversely affecting color quality properties of fresh-cut lettuce.