A case of Lassa fever: experience at St Thomas's Hospital.

An 18-year-old Nigerian girl, normally resident in Jos, was admitted to hospital for five days before she was diagnosed as having Lassa fever. There were several atypical features in the early stages of here illness, notably the absence of prostration, pharyngitis, or bradycardia and the development of appreciable leucocytosis. Consequent control and surveillance measures required checks for 21 days on 173 people who had had contact with as first line if they had handled her or specimens without taking precautions to avoid direct skin contact with her excretions, secretions, and blood; other contacts were categorised as second line. During her time in hospital she was managed in a single room on a general ward. She visited a number of investigative departments within the hospital, and her specimens were examined in five clinical laboratories. Despite this no secondary cases occurred among either first- or second-line contacts, and there was no serological evidence of subclinical infection among any of the contacts tested (159 people).     

Bioassay responses of micro-organisms to sediment elutriates from the St. Lawrence River (Lake St. Louis)

A sediment study, involving both chemical and biological analyses, was carried out in the St. Lawrence River near Montreal (Lake St. Louis). About 60 stations were sampled during 1984–85, and the sediments were analyzed for support variables, heavy metals, and organochlorinated compounds. Subsamples were elutriated using a 1 to 4 sediment/water ratio. The resulting elutriates were analyzed for several chemical variables, while toxicity was measured using the Microtox test, algal ¹⁴C assimilation, and lethality/developmental inhibition in cladocerans, rotifers, and nematodes. The results showed a great variety of responses and sensitivity, and correlations between the tests were non-significant. In terms of toxic responses, the algal and Microtox tests were the most sensitive. Toxic responses could not be explained in simple terms of contaminant concentrations. Therefore, the chemistry of elutriates is not predictive of the toxic potential of contaminated sediments. Biotests can give an insight into the hazard assessment of sediments, but no single test will be sufficient; the use of a battery of standardized biotests, representing different levels of organization/food chain, including representative natural species, is highly recommended.     

Creole Transformation from Slavery to Freedom: Historical Archaeology of the East End Community, St. John, Virgin Islands

Creole Transformation from Slavery to Freedom: Historical Archaeology of the East End Community, St. John, Virgin Islands . Douglas V. Armstrong. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2003. 448 pp.