An outbreak of nitrogen dioxide-induced respiratory illness among ice hockey players

Article Abstract:

In late February 1987, the Minnesota Department of Health was notified by several high-school hockey coaches that players were plagued by acute coughing associated with blood-tinged sputum, hemoptysis (spitting blood), and chest pain. The rapid onset of symptoms occurred during ice hockey games at a particular indoor rink or immediately afterward. Three different teams became affected at various times after using the arena, and one team also used this facility for their practice sessions. After an investigation, the difficulty was traced to the emissions of an ice-resurfacing machine (a Zamboni machine), which operated on propane gas. Engines of this type produce high levels of nitrogen dioxide when improperly adjusted. When tested after one occurrence and under a simulation of conditions during the hockey games, toxic levels of nitrogen dioxide were measured. Nitrogen dioxide is a brownish heavier-than-air gas, which is known to give rise to the symptoms experienced by the hockey players at even moderate levels of exposure for short periods of time. Indoor ice rinks in Minnesota are required to measure the level of this gas each week; measurements of nitrogen dioxide above 0.5 parts per million must be reported to the Minnesota Department of Health. Minnesota is one of only three states that requires the reporting of nitrogen dioxide levels at ice arenas.

Laws, regulations and rules, Physiological aspects, Diseases, Respiratory tract diseases, Hockey players, Environmentally induced diseases, Environmental illness, Nitrogen dioxide

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An international foodborne outbreak of shigellosis associated with a commercial airline

Article Abstract:

An international outbreak of shigellosis that occurred during 1988 may have been caused by contamination of cold food served by a Minnesota-based airline. Shigellosis is a form of dysentery, or diarrhea, caused by different species of the bacterium Shigella. A study examined the incidence of shigellosis among 65 members and staff of a football team and among 240 other passengers who flew on a Minnesota-based airline between Sept and Oct 1988. Among the 65 football players and staff, 21 (32%) developed shigellosis after eating cold sandwiches prepared on a flight taken during Oct 1988. Thirty other passengers (4%), four flight attendants and two crew members also developed shigellosis after eating cold food prepared in the airplane kitchen. Shigella sonnei was grown from stool specimens taken from nine team members, 11 other passengers and three flight attendants.

Services, Airlines, Airline food services, Shigellosis, Bacillary dysentery

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A multistate outbreak of Salmonella javiana and Salmonella oranienburg infections due to consumption of contaminated cheese

Article Abstract:

An outbreak of Salmonella infections that occurred in several states during 1989 may have been caused by low level contamination of cheese during manufacturing and processing. During an outbreak of Salmonella infections that occurred in Minnesota between Apr and Sep 1989, 136 infections were caused by Salmonella javiana and 11 were caused by Salmonella oranienburg. Fifteen outbreak-associated cases of Salmonella occurred in Wisconsin, one occurred in Michigan and one occurred in New York. Patients with outbreak-associated infections were more likely than individuals who did not develop an infection to have eaten mozzarella cheese manufactured at one manufacturing plant. Patients were also more likely than uninfected individuals to have eaten cheese shredded at specific cheese processing plants.

Cheese, Salmonellosis, Contamination

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