Genomic Evidence of In-Flight Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 Despite Predeparture Testing.

Since the first wave of coronavirus disease in March 2020, citizens and permanent residents returning to New Zealand have been required to undergo managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) for 14 days and mandatory testing for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). As of October 20, 2020, of 62,698 arrivals, testing of persons in MIQ had identified 215 cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Among 86 passengers on a flight from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, that arrived in New Zealand on September 29, test results were positive for 7 persons in MIQ. These passengers originated from 5 different countries before a layover in Dubai; 5 had negative predeparture SARS-CoV-2 test results. To assess possible points of infection, we analyzed information about their journeys, disease progression, and virus genomic data. All 7 SARS-CoV-2 genomes were genetically identical, except for a single mutation in 1 sample. Despite predeparture testing, multiple instances of in-flight SARS-CoV-2 transmission are likely.

Morbidity in former sawmill workers exposed to pentachlorophenol (PCP): a cross-sectional study in New Zealand.

BACKGROUND: From 1950 to 1990 pentachlorophenol (PCP) was used widely in the New Zealand sawmill industry, and persistent claims of long-term health effects have been made. METHODS: We surveyed surviving members of a cohort enumerated to study mortality in sawmill workers employed from 1970 to 1990. Estimates of historical exposure were based on job titles held, using the results of a PCP biomonitoring survey conducted in the 1980s. The survey involved interviews and clinical examinations, with interviewers and examiners blinded to exposure status. RESULTS: Of the 293 participants 177 had not been exposed, and of the 116 exposed all but 10% had low or short-term PCP exposure. Nevertheless, a number of significant associations between PCP exposure and the prevalence of various symptoms were observed including associations between: (i) exposure levels and self-reported tuberculosis, pleurisy or pneumonia (P < 0.01) and a deficit in cranial nerve function (P = 0.04); (ii) duration of employment and thyroid disorders (P = 0.04), and neuropsychological symptoms including often going back to check things (P = 0.04), low libido (P = 0.02) and heart palpitations (P = 0.02), and a strong dose-response trend for frequent mood changes without cause (P < 0.01); and (iii) cumulative exposure and frequent mood changes without cause (P = 0.02), low libido (P = 0.04), and in the overall number of neuropsychological symptoms reported (P = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: PCP exposure was associated with a number of physical and neuropsychological health effects that persisted long after exposure had ceased.

Investigation of health effects of hydrogen sulfide from a geothermal source.

Little is known about health effects from chronic exposure to hydrogen sulfide (H2S). The city of Rotorua, New Zealand, is exposed to H2S by virtue of its location over a geothermal field. In this study, the authors classified areas within Rotorua as high-, medium, or low-H2S exposure areas. Using 1993-1996 morbidity data, standardized incidence ratios were calculated for neurological, respiratory, and cardiovascular effects. Poisson regression analysis was used to confirm results. Results showed exposure-response trends, particularly for nervous system diseases, but also for respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Data on confounders were limited to age, ethnicity, and gender. The H2S exposure assessment had limitations. Assumptions were that recent exposure represented long-term exposure and that an individual's entire exposure was received at home. The results of this study strengthen the suggestion that there are chronic health effects from H2S exposure. Further investigation is warranted.

Serum dioxin levels in former New Zealand sawmill workers twenty years after exposure to pentachlorophenol (PCP) ceased.

From the 1950s to the late 1980s pentachlorophenol (PCP) based anti-sapstain fungicides were widely used in the New Zealand timber industry. Workers involved in treatment, or those handling freshly treated timber, experienced significant PCP exposure. Commercial grade PCP contained contaminants including 2,3,7,8-substituted polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin (PCDD) and dibenzofuran (PCDF) congeners. To determine whether PCP exposure had resulted in elevated serum dioxin levels twenty years after its use had ceased we tested 94 former sawmill workers randomly selected from surviving members of a cohort enumerated for a mortality and cancer incidence study. After interviewing these individuals to collect demographic data and a comprehensive work history, they were divided into 71 PCP-exposed and 23 non-exposed individuals on the basis of job title and work tasks performed. We compared age-adjusted dioxin levels in the exposed and non-exposed groups, examined the effect of PCP exposure duration and intensity, and compared congener profiles with those found in the commercial grade PCP used at the time. Mean levels in exposed workers were elevated when compared with the non-exposed, with levels of 1,2,3,6,7,8-HxCDD, 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDD and OCDD being two to three times higher. The congener profiles in serum were consistent with those in PCP solutions, and dioxin levels increased with both employment duration and estimated exposure intensity. Serum dioxin levels in former New Zealand sawmill workers remain elevated twenty years after exposure to PCP ceased, and reflect the pattern of past PCP exposure.

Regulation of chicken contamination is urgently needed to control New Zealand's serious campylobacteriosis epidemic.

New Zealand's campylobacteriosis epidemic reached a new peak in May 2006 with the annualised national notification rate exceeding 400 per 100,000 for the first time, the highest national rate reported in the literature. The epidemic is estimated to cause at least 1 fatality a year, >800 hospitalisations, and >100,000 cases in the community, and cost the New Zealand economy 75 million dollars per annum. There is overwhelming epidemiological and laboratory evidence that fresh chicken is the dominant source of human infection. The seriousness of this epidemic justifies rapid, decisive action to reduce human exposure to this pathogen. There is good international evidence to support removal of fresh chicken from the food supply, with its reintroduction only when it can be shown to pose a very low risk to human health. Because freezing can substantially reduce Campylobacter levels, frozen chicken could be substituted to allow continued consumption of this popular food. Efforts to reduce Campylobacter colonisation of poultry flocks and contamination during chicken processing and distribution, along with continued consumer education, are important, but do not appear sufficient to control this epidemic in the short to medium term.