Out of Arabia: a complex biogeographic history of multiple vicariance and dispersal events in the gecko genus Hemidactylus (Reptilia: Gekkonidae).
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An outbreak of cholera in Australia due to food served in flight on an international aircraft.
(12/16)
An outbreak of cholera occurred in November 1972 among passengers on an aircraft that had flown from London to Sydney. The infection was confined to economy-class passengers and the available evidence indicates that it was due to a dish of hors d'oeuvres served on the aircraft between Bahrain and Singapore. Although one person died, the infection was generally mild, and almost half of those infected were symptomless. There was a significant difference between the immunization status of persons with clinical illness and the immunization status of other passengers. Current cholera immunization appeared to play a significant role in preventing symptoms of the disease, but it did not prevent a person becoming a carrier of the organism. (+info)
Medical aspects of the chewing of khat leaves.
(13/16)
The khat plant (Catha edulis) is produced in certain areas of East Africa and the Arabian peninsula, and the leaves are chewed for their stimulating effect. Fresh material, which is preferred by users, contains a substance that is rapidly converted to (+)-norpseudoephedrine. As a consequence of the traditional means of consumption, intoxication with khat is self-limiting but chronic consumption can cause certain disturbances to the health of the user and may also lead to social and economic damage to the individual and the community. (+info)
The history of medical libraries from 2000 B.C. to 1900 A.D.
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Tablets said to date back to 2000 b.c. represent the earliest medical writings so far discovered. The history of the medical library (defined as a place where a collection of medical writings is kept) is traced through ancient and medieval civilizations, and the dependence of advancement or decline on the attitude toward learning and knowledge is demonstrated.The change in structure of medical libraries that took place around the 1500s with the development of scientific societies is discussed. Medical libraries of Colonial America are described and the history is brought forward to the era of public library collections of medical material in the early 1900s. (+info)
Endrin food-poisoning. A report on four outbreaks caused by two separate shipments of endrin-contaminated flour.
(15/16)
Between 3 June and 15 July 1967 four explosive outbreaks of acute poisoning with the insecticide endrin occurred in Doha in Qatar and Hofuf in Saudi Arabia. Altogether 874 persons were hospitalized and 26 died. It is estimated that many others were poisoned whose symptoms were not so severe as to cause them to seek medical care or to enter hospital.The author describes the course of the outbreaks and the measures taken to ascertain their cause and prevent their extension and recurrence. It was found that the victims had eaten bread made from flour contaminated with endrin. In two different ships, both of them loaded and off-loaded at different ports, flour and endrin had been stowed in the same hold, with the endrin above the flour. In both ships the endrin containers had leaked and penetrated the sacks of flour which was later used to make bread.These two unconnected but nearly simultaneous mass poisonings emphasize the importance of regulating the carriage of insecticides and other toxic chemicals in such a way as to prevent the contamination of foodstuffs and similar substances during transport; both the World Health Organization and the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization are working towards the establishment of regulations and practices to that end. (+info)
Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency in Saudi Arabia.
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A previous survey for glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency among the Saudi Arab population residing along the Persian Gulf perimeter revealed a high frequency of the enzyme defect among subjects from oasis areas. The investigation reported was undertaken to supplement the previous study using a screening test with the same reliability as the conventional Motulsky brilliant cresyl blue procedure, to measure enzyme activity with a colorimetric assay among a small group of Saudis, and to study the distribution of the sickling trait among the same population. The findings substantiated the earlier study, indicated a close correlation between the distribution of the sickling trait and the enzyme defect, revealed a striking association between the sickling trait and G6PD deficiency among oasis subjects, and revealed a broad range of enzyme activity among enzyme-deficient males. (+info)