Gold-mining activities and mercury contamination of native amerindian communities in French Guiana: key role of fish in dietary uptake.

In 1994, the French National Public Health Network reported significant mercury exposure of native Amerindians in French Guiana. In 1997, a study was conducted in the Wayana community to quantify the dietary intake and to identify the fish species contributing the most to the contamination. The study was completed by an impregnation analysis based on Hg determination in hair samples. The methodology used was a detailed familial dietary study associated with Hg measurements in fish and some game. The study was conducted over 7 days in two different seasons in the four most populated Wayana villages on the upper part of the Maroni River (521 people; 70% of the Wayana population in French Guiana). Analysis was based on data on consumption obtained from 165 people in a 1-14 day period (i.e., 940 persons [times] days) and involved 270 fish samples from 48 species. Total Hg and monomethylmercury (MMHg) were also determined in hair samples (235 samples for total Hg). The results confirm mercury exposure of the Wayana population related to a diet rich in fish, which are relatively highly contaminated for certain species (up to 1.62 mg/kg fresh weight or 8.1 mg/kg dry weight in skeletal muscle). Results from hair samples showed that 57% of the Amerindians had Hg levels above the World Health Organization (WHO) safety limit (10 microg/g); all those over 1 year of age had a Hg intake greater than the WHO safety limit (200 microg MMHg/week for a 60-kg male). Hg concentrations in fish muscle were closely linked to the feeding regime and position of fish in the food webs. Overall, 14.5% of the fish collected exceeded the 0.5 mg/kg (fresh weight) safety limit. Four carnivorous species accounted for no less than 72% of the metal ingested by the Wayana families, although these represented only 28% of the consumed fish biomass. In conclusion, this study revealed excessive exposure to mercury in the Wayana population in French Guiana related to the consumption of contaminated fish.

[Interstitial lung disease induced by timolol eye solution]. / Pneumopathie interstitielle induite par un collyre de timolol.

Timolol maleate is a beta-blocker widely used in topical administration for open angle glaucoma. We report a case of interstitial pneumopathy which developed in a 58-year-old patient who was given timolol eyedrops (2 drops b.i.d. since 1986). The patient presented with cough and dyspnea and was found to have a restrictive disorder leading to hypoxemia (68 mmHg at rest and 51 mmHg during exercise). Bronchial lavage fluid had high lymphocyte (28%) and neutrophil (7%) counts. Transbronchial biopsies demonstrated moderate fibrous thickening of the interalveolar walls. Timolol eyedrops were stopped. Three months later, the patient was asymptomatic with normal lung function, chest x-ray and thoracic CT-scan.

A multifocal outbreak of trichinellosis linked to horse meat imported from North America to France in 1993.

An outbreak of 538 cases of trichinellosis occurred in France in December 1993. Seven cases developed neurotrichinosis and 23 had cardiologic complications. No deaths were recorded. Two patients had a positive muscle biopsy showing living Trichinella larvae. One of them was typed as Trichinella spiralis. A case-control study showed that horse meat was the only meat associated with illness (odds ratio = 80.7). The risk of illness increased with the amount of horse meat eaten and when it was consumed raw. The cases, which were spread out in five foci, bought horse meat from five butchers who had received parts of a single horse carcass imported in November 1993 from Canada. The Trichinella International Screening Program, implemented since 1985 after two similar episodes involving a thousand cases, failed to detect the incriminated horse carcass. This new horse meat-related outbreak led to modifications of the internationally recommended screening methods whereby the weight of meat samples tested was increased.

Outbreak of trichinellosis in the Midi-Pyrénées region of France January - March 1998.

Two outbreaks of trichinellosis in the Tarn et Garonne, département, France were reported by the departmental health autorities on 2 March 1998, to the Réseau National de Santé Publique (RNSP). An epidemiological investigation began on 3 March in order to.

Outbreak of trichinellosis in the Midi-Pyrenees region of France January - March 1998.

Two outbreaks of trichinellosis in the Tarn et Garonne, departement, France were reported by the departmental health autorities on 2 March 1998, to the Reseau National de Sante Publique (RNSP). An epidemiological investigation began on 3 March in order to

Trichinellosis associated with the consumption of horse meat: European regulations and risk management.

Outbreaks of trichinellosis in Italy and France at the end of 1975 implicated the horse, an animal not considered previously to be at risk of this disease. European regulations at that time concerned only the control of pork. The obligation to search for

Urban outbreak of Q fever, Briancon, France, March to June 1996.

Q fever is an ubiquitous zoonosis caused by the rickettsial organism Coxiella burnetii. Both sporadic cases and epidemics occur in areas where sheep and goats are bred. The main route of transmission is by inhalation of aerosols from the environment (soil

[Malignant granuloma of the face and angiocentric T-cell lymphoma. A review of the literature apropos of a case]. / Granulome malin de la face et lymphome T angiocentrique. Une revue de la littérature à propos d'une observation.

The authors report the observation of a lethal midline granuloma in a 43 years old man, at first seen with repeated left sinusitis disease, the histo-pathological study of a biopsy of the external middle third of the left side of the nose made the diagnosis of midline lethal granuloma, classically called Stewart granuloma by french authors. General Medical Investigations to find some peripheral extension, done in specialized services were negative, Epstein Barr DNA was not found by the immuno-histochemical investigations and so don't prove the filiation of this case with angiocentric T cell immunoproliferative lesion. By the light of this observation and of a literature review, the authors debate about the difficulty of diagnosis and about the relations with the other granulomatosis lesions of the face, non Hodgkins' lymphoma and angiocentric T cell immuno-proliferative lesions.

[Puncture biopsy in the diagnosis of papillary epitheliomas of the thyroid]. / Apport de la cytoponction dans le diagnostic des épithéliomas papillaires de la thyroïde.

In this study of the cytological appearances of papillary adenocarcinoma of the thyroid after fine needle aspiration biopsy, the authors have brought together 60 examinations of thyroid nodules and 10 indicant ganglial metastases. They isolate three significant aspects. type I (25 cases) is notable for the dense cellular desquamation in papillary clusters with angular contours, numerous calcospherites and, above all, the presence of intranucleaur pseudo-inclusion bodies (PI) which are clearly visible after coloring with May Grunwald stain. Type II (17 cases) was mainly observed in cystic lesions (8 cases) and metastatic ganglia (6 cases). It shows thick clusters of necrotic cells, few PI, barely visible against a background preparation of lysated hemates, polynuclear cells and macrophages. Type III (19 cases) consists of layers of cells poor in cytonuclear anomalies. The presence of PI is both a prerequisite and sufficent arounds for a diagnosis of papillary carcinoma of the thyroid, which will always be confirmed by subsequent histopathological examinations. The absence of PI leads to a false negative result. Better knowledge of cytological aspects specific to papillary tumors of the thyroid improves the quality of the diagnosis, not in terms of the percentage of carcinomas identified, which rises from 75.6 to 77% at a second reading, but in the specification of the papillary type, which rises from 38.5 to 64.2%. In the absence of PI and cytonuclear anomalies, non-identification of the carcinoma (22.8%) results from uninterpretable smears (5.7%) and false negatives (17.1%). There were no false positives. Cytological examination after fine needle aspiration biopsy should be included in the preoperative examinations of all thyroid nodules, as well as in the exploration of cervical ganglia likely to host an indicant or delayed metastasis.