West Nile fever: here to stay and spreading.

The ultimate extent of West Nile virus's range in North America is uncertain but is likely to expand in 2001. Spread chiefly by night-biting Culex mosquitoes, the virus results in infection that most often is asymptomatic or causes a self-limited febrile illness. The elderly, however, are prone to develop neurologic manifestations, including potentially fatal encephalitis.

Anthrax as a potential biological warfare agent.

Anthrax is a zoonotic illness recognized since antiquity. Today, human anthrax has been all but eradicated from the industrialized world, with the vast majority of practitioners in the United States unlikely to have seen a case. Unfortunately, the disease remains endemic in many areas of the world, and anthrax poses a threat as a mass casualty-producing weapon if used in a biological warfare capacity.

The quality of abortion services in Turkey.

The quality of abortion in Turkey's public sector hospitals is investigated using multiple research methods including observations of actual procedures, interviews with medical staff and clients, and an inventory of materials and equipment. The results suggest that women who obtain abortions in public sector hospitals have a higher abortion rate than the general population. They are likely to receive a vacuum aspiration with minimal pain control medication. Clinical infection control procedures are insufficient, as are interpersonal communication practices including counseling on reproductive health issues and providing factual information. Links with family planning services are strong and the majority of abortion patients who desire family planning receive a contraceptive method, either through direct provision of postabortion contraceptives or referral.

Sterilization reversal: a worldwide review.

PIP: The chances of restoring fertility after sterilization are increasing with the advances in microsurgical reconstruction techniques and less damaging female occlusion procedures. The World Federation for the Advancement of Voluntary Surgical Contraception conducted a survey in 1988 of program managers and clinicians around the world to learn about their experiences with reversal services. A series of regional meetings also were held to discuss and review sterilization reversal issues. Attention is directed to 2 of the many issues identified that confront services providers: the extent of the need for sterilization reversal; and counseling issues. The limited data available suggest that 1-3/1000 individuals who have been sterilized subsequently will seek reversal. Although the total number of requests for reversal appears to be small compared to the number of sterilizations performed, service providers believe that there could be a significant unmet need for reversal. This is due to the fact that individuals in developing countries who have undergone voluntary sterilization often are unaware of the possibility of reversal. Once information about reversal becomes widespread, requests for services may increase. Additionally, as the number of sterilizations increases, as age and parity go down, and as social conditions change in some countries, it is a reasonable assumption that requests for reversal will increase. Managers and clinicians identify the following points as issues to be stressed when counseling individuals about reversal: sterilization reversal is a more complex procedure than sterilization; success in terms of the birth of a child cannot be assured; and the costs of the reversal procedure are considerably higher than those for sterilization.^ieng

Demonstration of particulate accumulations in solid tissue.

We describe a histological clearing procedure involving partial tissue hydrolysis by pancreatin and demonstrate its application. Changes in distribution of 5.7-micrometers latex particles in mouse liver and heart muscle 6 months after i.v. latex injection were quantitated. The method is useful for studied of long-term redistribution of particles in vivo and for locating large, infrequent particles which are difficult to find by ordinary tissue-sectioning technique.

Identification of canine urinary metabolites of the antiprotozoal agent 3a,4,5,6,7,7a-hexahydro-3-(1-methyl-5-nitro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)-1,2-benzisoxazole .

Metabolite fractions from the urine of a dog dosed with 3a,4,5,6,7a-hexahydro-3-(1-methyl-5-nitro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)-1,2-benzisoxazole (MK-0436) were obtained by the use of high-performance liquid chromatography. These fractions were of suitable purity for structural elucidation. Data obtained by mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy allowed the identification of seven major metabolites of this drug. Biotransformation in each case involved hydroxylation (mono or di) of the hexahydrobenzisoxazole ring.