ABSTRACT
Previous outbreaks of Pontiac fever have invariably been associated with water droplet spread of Legionella spp. In January 2007 three workers from a horticultural nursery were admitted to hospital with non-pneumonic legionellosis. Investigations showed that a working party of ten people had been exposed to aerosolized potting mix; nine of these workers met the case definition for Pontiac fever. The presence of genetically indistinguishable Legionella longbeachae serogroup 2 was demonstrated in clinical specimens from two hospitalized workers and in the potting mix to which they had been exposed. A further seven cases were diagnosed by serological tests. This is the first documented outbreak of Pontiac fever from L. longbeachae serogroup 2 confirmed from inhalation of potting mix. Pontiac fever is likely to be under-diagnosed. We advocate the introduction of an industry standard that ensures the use of face masks when handling potting mix and attaching masks and warning labels to potting mix bags sold to the public.
Subject(s)
Agricultural Workers' Diseases/epidemiology , Disease Outbreaks , Legionella longbeachae/isolation & purification , Legionnaires' Disease/epidemiology , Adult , Agricultural Workers' Diseases/microbiology , Bacterial Typing Techniques , Female , Humans , Legionnaires' Disease/microbiology , Male , Middle Aged , New Zealand/epidemiology , Soil Microbiology , Young AdultABSTRACT
In this study, we have aimed to characterise the survival of all 0-14 year-old New Zealand children who were diagnosed with cancer during 1990-1993. Four hundred and nine children were followed up using two largely independent sources. We calculated Kaplan-Meier survival probabilities and investigated various prognostic factors using the Cox model. Five-year survival for all cancers was 66% (95% confidence interval (CI) 62-71%) and for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia it was 70% (CI 62-79%). Cancers with particularly favourable prognoses (followed by their respective 5-year survival probabilities) included: retinoblastoma 100% (CI 74-100%), Hodgkin's disease 93% (CI 79-100%), non-Hodgkin's lymphoma 87% (CI 73-100%) and osteosarcoma 91% (CI 74-100%). Cancers with poor prognoses included: neuroblastoma 35% (CI 14-56%), rhabdomyosarcoma 42% (CI 14-70%) and central nervous system tumours 49% (CI 38-60%). Girls with any cancer had a significantly lower risk of death than boys. Generally, survival for childhood cancers in New Zealand increased greatly between 1961-1965 and 1990-1993. Nevertheless, outcomes for some cancers remained poor.
