Do proficiency test results correlate with the work performance of screeners who screen Papanicolaou smears?

We rescreened Papanicolaou smear slides from 40,245 women, which had been examined by 81 cytology screeners, scored the screeners' work performance, and compared these scores with the results of the screeners' performance on glass slide and computer-based proficiency tests. All diagnoses (i.e., from the proficiency tests, the original slides, and the rescreened slides) were classified in the 4 diagnostic categories specified in the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments. The rescreening scores were standardized to account for different distributions of abnormalities in the proficiency tests and rescreened slides. We compared a standardized score with the proficiency test scores. Of the cases, 91% were categorized as normal, benign, or reactive changes when rescreened, and 98% of these agreed with the original diagnosis. Sixteen percent of low-grade and 15% of high-grade intraepithelial lesions were classified as normal. The rank correlation between the rescreening scores and both proficiency tests was 0.24 using a scoring scheme for cytotechnologists. The correlation between the rescreening and proficiency testing scores indicates that performance on a 10-slide test gives some indication of the true performance of screeners. The computer-based test shows promise as an alternative to the glass slide test but needs further development and validation.

Lead poisoning among household members exposed to lead-acid battery repair shops in Kingston, Jamaica.

To investigate the risk of lead poisoning among household members exposed to 'backyard' battery repair shops (BBRS) in Kingston, Jamaica, environmental and blood lead (PbB) were measured at 24 households (112 individuals) with a BBRS worker or located at a BBRS premises and at 18 neighbourhood control households (74 individuals). Elevated PbB (greater than or equal to 25 micrograms per decilitre [micrograms/dl]) was common among subjects of all ages living at BBRS premises, especially among children less than age 12, 43% of whom had PbB greater than 70 micrograms/dl. Potentially hazardous soil and house dust lead levels were also common at BBRS premises, where 84% of yards had soil lead levels above 500 parts per million (geometric mean 3388 parts per million [ppm] at BBRS premises households with a BBRS worker). Geometric mean blood and environmental lead levels were significantly lower at control households, where less than 10% of subjects in all age groups had elevated PbB (maximum 33 micrograms/dl). Sharing a premises with a BBRS was a stronger determinant of household blood lead and environmental contamination than was the presence of a BBRS worker in a household. Blood lead levels were associated with soil and house dust lead levels in all age groups. We conclude that small battery repair shops, which have also been described in other developing countries, create a high lead poisoning risk for nearby residents.

Lead poisoning among household members exposed to lead-acid battery repair shops in Kingston, Jamaica

To investigate the risk of lead poisoning among household members exposed to 'backyard' battery repair shops (BBRS) in Kingston, Jamaica, environmental and blood lead (PbB) were measured at 24 households (112 individuals) with a BBRS worker or located at a BBRS premises and at 18 neighbourhood control households (74 individuals). Elevated PbB (greater than or equal to 25 micrograms per decilitre [micrograms/dl]) was common among subjects of all ages living at BBRS premises, especially among children less than age 12, 43 percent of whom had PbB greater than 70 micrograms/dl. Potentially hazardous soil and house dust lead levels were also common at BBRS premises, where 84 percent of yards had soil lead levels above 500 parts per million (geometric mean 3388 parts per million [ppm] at BBRS premises households with a BBRS worker). Geometric mean blood and environmental lead levels were significantly lower at control households, where less than 10 percent of subjects in all age groups had elevated PbB (maximum 33 microgram/dl). Sharing a premises with a BBRS was a stronger determinant of household blood lead and environmental contamination than was the presence of a BBRS worker in a household. Blood lead levels were associated with soil and house dust lead levels in all age groups. We conclude that small battery repair shops, which have also been described in other developing countries, create a high lead poisoning risk for nearby residents (AU)

Lead exposure among lead-acid battery workers in Jamaica.

To assess lead exposure in the Jamaican lead-acid battery industry, we surveyed three battery manufacturers (including 46 production workers) and 10 battery repair shops (including 23 battery repair workers). Engineering controls and respiratory protection were judged to be inadequate at battery manufacturers and battery repair shops. At manufacturers, 38 of 42 air samples for lead exceeded a work-shift time-weighted average concentration of 0.050 mg/m3 (range 0.030-5.3 mg/m3), and nine samples exceeded 0.50 mg/m3. Only one of seven air samples at repair shops exceeded 0.050 mg/m3 (range 0.003-0.066 mg/m3). Repair shop workers, however, had higher blood lead levels than manufacturing workers (65% vs. 28% with blood lead levels above 60 micrograms/dl, respectively). Manufacturing workers had a higher prevalence of safe hygienic practices and a recent interval of minimal production had occurred at one of the battery manufacturers. Workers with blood lead levels above 60 micrograms/dl tended to have higher prevalences of most symptoms of lead toxicity than did workers with lower blood lead levels, but this finding was not consistent or statistically significant. The relationship between zinc protoporphyrin concentrations and increasing blood lead concentrations was consistent with that described among workers in developed countries. The high risk of lead toxicity among Jamaican battery workers is consistent with studies of battery workers in other developing countries.

Lead exposure among lead-acid battery workers in Jamaica

To assess lead exposure in the Jamaican lead-acid battery industry, we surveyed three battery manufacturers (including 46 production workers) and 10 battery repair shops (including 23 battery repair workers). Engineering controls and respiratory protection were judged to be inadequate at battery manufacturers and battery repair shops. At manufacturers, 38 of 42 air samples for lead exceeded a work-shift time-weighted average concentration of 0.050 mg/m3 (range 0.030-5.3 mg/m3), and nine samples exceeded 0.050 mg/m3 (range 0.003-0.066 mg/m3). Repair shop workers, however, had higher blood lead levels than manufacturing workers (65 percent vs. 28 percent with blood lead levels above 60 micrograms/dl, respectively). Manufacturing workers had a higher prevalence of safe hygienic practices and a recent interval of minimal production had occurred at one of the battery manufacturers. Workers with blood lead levels above 60 micrograms/dl tended to have higher prevalences of most symptoms of lead toxicity than did workers with lower blood lead levels, but this finding was not consistent or statistically significant. The relationship between zinc protoporphyrin concentrations and increasing blood lead concentrations was consistent with that described among workers in developed countries. The high risk of lead toxicity among Jamaican battery workers is consistent with studies of battery workers in other developing countries. (AU)

A large outbreak of acupuncture-associated hepatitis B.

An epidemiologic investigation of an acupuncturist's practice in Rhode Island identified 35 patients who were infected with hepatitis B virus during 1984. Of 366 patients seen by the acupuncturist during 1984, 316 (86%) completed questionnaires and submitted serum for hepatitis B serology. Use of tests for immunoglobulin M antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (IgM anti-HBc) identified 17 case-patients who otherwise may have gone undetected. Thirty-four of the 35 case-patients were treated in only one of the two clinics run by the acupuncturist. Patients who received a greater number of acupuncture needles during their treatment course were more likely to have been infected; the attack rate for patients who received less than 150 needles was 9%, compared with 33% for patients who received greater than or equal to 450 needles (p less than 0.001). Attack rates were higher during a one-month period when the index case-patient was more likely to have been viremic than during any other period in 1984 (relative risk = 4.1, 95% confidence interval = 2.3-7.3). While observing the acupuncturist's technique, the investigators noted several potential mechanisms for needle contamination. This study highlights the potential for transmission of hepatitis B in situations of repeated needle use.

Screening for Chlamydia trachomatis infection in a sexually transmitted disease clinic: comparison of diagnostic tests with clinical and historical risk factors.

Of 212 consecutive male patients and 212 consecutive female patients attending a sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic, 36 (17%) men and 28 (13%) women had urethral or cervical cultures positive for Chlamydia trachomatis. When compared with culture, the direct fluorescent antibody test (MicroTrak, Syva Co., Palo Alto, CA) had a sensitivity of 75% and a specificity of 97% in men; for women the sensitivity and specificity were 68% and 82%, respectively. One percent of test slides from men and 11% of slides from women were uninterpretable. Designation of high-risk patients for presumptive treatment, i.e., those with suggestive clinical syndromes, gonococcal infection, or exposure to others considered at high risk for chlamydial infection, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control, proved to be 94% sensitive, 22% specific in men, and 82% sensitive, 35% specific in women when compared with results of culture. Three different screening methods using mucopurulent cervicitis, a cervicitis score, and a series of key risk factors were less sensitive than presumptive treatment and performed worse in our study than in those published previously. Our findings suggest that use of presumptive treatment guidelines appears to be effective in directing treatment to STD clinic patients with chlamydial infection.

Case-control study of Mastomys natalensis and humans in Lassa virus-infected households in Sierra Leone.

Lassa virus infection and antibodies were studied in households where Lassa fever cases occurred, and compared to those in nearest neighbor houses and "far" houses located across the village from case houses. Seventy-nine percent of all rodents caught in the houses were Mastomys, the natural reservoir of Lassa virus. Rodent infection was not randomly distributed, but rather focal. Thirty-nine percent of the Mastomys in case houses were viremic, compared to 3.7% in control houses. Human antibody prevalence in case houses was 30%, compared to 20% in non-case houses (P less than 0.05, chi-square test, df = 2). Neither seroconversions nor antibody prevalence rates were associated with household size or number of persons per room. Trapping of rodents in half of the case and control houses resulted in a Mastomys reduction ranging from 2.2- to 3.3-fold. This reduction failed to significantly reduce the seroconversion rate to Lassa virus in the people of trapped houses compared to those in untrapped ones. More complete trapping will be needed in order to better evaluate this procedure as a means of interruption of Lassa virus transmission in endemic villages.

Keratoconjunctivitis associated with adenovirus type 37: an extended outbreak in an ophthalmologist's office.

An outbreak of epidemic keratoconjunctivitis occurred in three clusters among patients of an ophthalmologist during 1977-1978. Cases in the third cluster and possibly one case in the first were caused by infection with adenovirus type 37. Among 83 infected patients, the mean interval between a visit to the ophthalmologist's office and the onset of symptoms was 11 days. Conjunctival specimens from 64 (77%) of the patients yielded adenovirus type 37, and adenovirus hexon antigen was identified by counterimmunoelectrophoresis in pooled specimens from the office environment. Infected patients were older and had more glaucoma, and were therefore tested more frequently by tonometry, than noninfected control patients. The association of this outbreak with adenovirus type 37 was made in 1981, the year in which this new serotype was fully described and reference reagents were produced. This is the first report of infection due to adenovirus type 37 in the United States.

Nasal cancer in a worker exposed to formaldehyde.

Formaldehyde has not been established as a human carcinogen. Toxicological studies have, however, demonstrated that formaldehyde causes squamous cell carcinoma of the nasal cavity in rats. A case of squamous cell carcinoma of the nasal cavity occurred in a 57-year-old man who had 25 years of occupational exposure to low concentrations of formaldehyde in the textile-finishing industry.

Nosocomial herpetic infections in a pediatric intensive care unit.

A series of acute herpetic infections occurred among nurses and patients in a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Epidemiologic study revealed two separate time clusters of infections, one in early summer and another six weeks later. Restriction endonuclease analysis of DNA extracted from virus isolates showed that each time cluster was associated with a different genetic strain of herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1 and provided evidence of cross infection between patients and nurses. Three nurses had herpetic whitlow; the husband of one had acute gingivostomatitis; a fourth nurse had acute pharyngitis. They had no previous history of HSV infection and sequential antibody testing of affected nurses showed 19S antibody in all initially positive serums, confirming primary infection. The data provide clear evidence that PICU personnel risk acquiring serious herpetic infections from patients and vice versa unless specific precautions are taken. Restriction endonuclease analysis of HSV DNA was useful in the epidemiologic study of the infections.

Fatal Guillain-Barré syndrome after the national influenza immunization program.

Fifty-eight fatal cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) were reported during the 1976 to 1977 National Influenza Program: Thirty-two (58%) of these patients had received the A/New Jersey influenza vaccine. The mean interval from vaccination to onset was 3.9 weeks, and the incidence of preceding illness in vaccinated or unvaccinated patients was similar. Fifty-eight percent had at least one chronic disease before onset. The clinical features were similar in vaccinated and unvaccinated patients. Most deaths followed medical complications of respiratory paralysis: Fifteen had pneumonia, 29 (83%) died suddenly, 15 had sudden arrhythmias or hypotension, and 7 had myocardial infarction or pulmonary embolus.

Clinical experience with a human diploid cell rabies vaccine.

Between January 1975 and December 1977 the Center for Disease Control treated 255 persons with the human diploid cell strain rabies vaccine who did not have development of an antibody titer to duck embryo vaccine (DEV) or who were at risk for having a serious reaction to DEV. Two hundred eighteen persons were treated postexposure, and 37 persons were treated preexposure. The antibody response to the vaccine was excellent, and the reaction rates were low. No person treated has had development of rabies. This study corroborates other studies that suggest that the human diploid cell strain rabies vaccines are safe and induce excellent antibody titers to rabies.