BACKGROUND: There was a widespread outbreak of mumps at elementary and middle schools in Pohang city in March 1999. We have carried out an epidemiologic survey to trace the source and mode of transmission of the outbreak, as well as evaluating the effect of vaccination as a measure of controlling the outbreak. METHODS: Questionnaire survey on 959 students showed that attack rate was 10.7%. There was no significant difference between genders in terms of attack rates. However, second graders outnumbered other groups as 16.9%, comparing to 8.1% among first graders and to 7.0% in the third graders. RESULTS: Cases of mumps were reported in 1998, primarily in the neighboring elementary schools. The disease was also reported earlier in 1999, sporadically. In March, however, number of the cases was sharply on the rise as the middle schools opened for a new semester. Our investigation revealed that infection stemmed from more than three different sources, particularly in the classes of second graders, and then spread to all students, corresponding to the distance between students. Effect of vaccination during the outbreak was pretty good: attack rate of the group vaccinated since May 1st, considering the maximum latent period of infections (21 days), was 0.8%, comparing to 5%. The efficiency of vaccination marked 84.8%.(95% confidence interval 79.66-89.94) Although the authors recommended the students to wear flue masks and wash their hands as often as possible to screen infections among the students, it turned out that such measures had little effect for the prevention of spread. CONCLUSIONS: The number of mumps cases dropped remarkably among vaccinated the students the prevalent period of the disease. Authors concluded that is effective to control the outbreak if it is done at early stage.
Gyeongsangbuk-do* ; Hand ; Humans ; Korea* ; Masks ; Mumps* ; Vaccination* ; Surveys and Questionnaires

A cross-sectional study was conducted for detecting the risk factors and to propose an effective control program for occupational low back pain. The subjects were 1,665 male production workers employed at a steel factory and a welding material manufacturing factory. The data were collected by a self-reported questionnaire and a medical examination with a rehabilitation specialist for ten days in September, 1997. The contents of the questionnaire were as follows: general characteristics, physical characteristics, employment status, type of work, working environment and the experience of low back pain. The number of cases with symptoms of occupational low back pain were 321, so the point prevalence was 19.3 persons/100 persons. The number of cases with a history of occupational low back pain for one year were 554, so the one year period prevalence was 33.3 persons/100 persons. The point and one year period prevalences of occupational low back pain showed no significant differences in age, marital status, educational level and body mass index. The point and one year period prevalences of occupational low back pain showed no significant differences in alcohol drinking, smoking, stretching exercise and regular exercise. The point and one year period prevalences of occupational low back pain were significantly higher in the unsatisfied group than the satisfied group(p < 0.01), However, no significant differences were found among tenures and shift work. The point and one year period prevalences of occupational low back pain were significantly higher in the lifting of heavy materials group than the nonlifting group(p < 0.01). However, no significant differences were found among posture of the waist and the working posture. Through the multivariate logistic regression, significantly associated factors with occupational low back pain were found to be dissatisfaction with job(point prevalence: OR=1.78, 95% CI: 1.21-2.61; one year prevalence: OR=1.76, 95% CI: 1.26-2.47), lifting of heavy materials(point prevalence: OR=1.94. 95% CI: 1.44-2.61: one year prevalence: OR=2.17, 95% CI: 1.70-2.77) and tenure(point prevalence: OR=1.03. 95% CI: 1.01-1.06: one year prevalence: OR=1.02, 95% CI: 1.00-1.05).
Alcohol Drinking ; Body Mass Index ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Employment ; Humans ; Lifting ; Logistic Models ; Low Back Pain* ; Male ; Marital Status ; Posture ; Prevalence* ; Questionnaires ; Rehabilitation ; Risk Factors* ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Specialization ; Steel* ; Welding*

OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to evaluate the occupational relationship on 190 cases of cancer selected out of 622 cases of cancer registered in two university hospitals from January 1, 1996 to December 31, 1997. METHODS: The selection criteria was for the patient to be more than 40 years old with lung, liver, urinary bladder, nasal cavity and skin cancer or leukemia. We reviewed the medical records to update the missing data and occupational histories. Telephone interviews were used to obtain complete occupational histories on the subjects. RESULTS: The sites of cancer in the order of relative frequency was lung (51.0%), followed by liver (32.9%), urinary bladder (14.1%) and skin (2.0%) in male, liver (41.5%), followed by lung (31.7%), skin (19.5%) and urinary bladder (7.3%) in female. The occupational histories of 190 cases with suspected cancer-causing occupations were recorded 5.8% on the doctor's medical records and 33.2% on the nursing records. The response rates of the telephone interviews were 87.4%. The distribution of occupation according to the telephone interviews was farmer (47.7%), office worker (16.1%), salesman (12.8%), production worker (6.7%), simple laborer (3.4%) and unknown (13.4%) in male, housewife (63.4%), farmer (17.1%), saleswoman (9.8%) and unknown (9.8%) in female. And there were two cases of suspected occupational relationships in the lung cancer cases. CONCLUSIONS: We could not discover definite cases of occupational cancer but found out two cases of suspected occupational relationships. Occupational cancer is likely to increase in the near future, so the efforts to detect occupational relationships with cancer should be continued.
Adult ; Female ; Hospitals, University* ; Humans ; Interviews as Topic ; Leukemia ; Liver ; Lung ; Lung Neoplasms ; Male ; Medical Records ; Nasal Cavity ; Nursing Records ; Occupations ; Patient Selection ; Skin ; Skin Neoplasms ; Urinary Bladder

An outbreak of dermatosis occurred at a machinery manufacture factory in kyongju on Aug 1995. Authors conducted a questionnaire survey among 92 workers in the factory and a dermatologist examined their skin lesions. Authors also collected moths and identified them. The results are as follows; 1. Forty-two cases of dermatosis were identified with attack rate of 45.7%. Attack rate was not different by company, age, sex, educational level and duration of employment. Attack rate was 47.8% among productive workers, 25.0% among clerical workers and 100.0% among patrolmen. 2. Two cases among 42 dermatosis cases and three subjects among 50 non-cases had a history of same dermatosis last year. Four of dermatosis cases had a history of dermatosis among their family members. 3. skin lesions of the cases were scattered or grouped rice-sized erythematous papules or vesicles. Duration of dermatosis from the onset to the time of survey was from one day to more than 30 days. The most frequent site of skin lesion was the arms(81.0%), and it was also observed at the neck(47.6%), abdomen(45.2%), chest(42.9%), legs(38.1%) and back(35.7%). skin lesion was aggravated with sweating(31.0%), after shower(16.7%) and with scratching(l1.9%). 4. Moths were collected and identified as Euproetis subflava(Bremer). Many poisons stings were observed on their wngs which is harmful to human. 5. Contact with moths' wing droppings to two authors on their forearms for provocation resulted in severe immediate pain followed by prolonged pruritus. Erythematous macules quickly appeared and suoceeded by firm wheal-like red papules. Authors thought that the outbreak of dermatosis was brought about by Euproetix subflava(Bremer). Further studies on the factors contributing to the prosperity of the moths in this area are needed.
Bites and Stings ; Employment ; Epidemiologic Studies* ; Forearm ; Gyeongsangbuk-do ; Humans ; Korea ; Moths* ; Poisons ; Pruritus ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Skin ; Skin Diseases* ; Wings, Animal

This study was performed to investigate the possibility of temporary threshold shift (TTS) of vibration sense could induced by exposure to high-frequency vibration or by work position taking by dentists in drilling or polishing. The vibratory perception thresholds (VPT) of 28 healthy men were measured on the index fingertip pulp of dominant hand at 250Hz. The vibrating tool used in test was a low-speed handpiece of 34,000 rpm. For the TTS test, the dominant hand was exposed to high-frequency vibration and to work position for five minutes, respectively. The VPTs before and after vibratory exposure were 23.5+/-3.5 dB, 30.8+/-4.2 dB, respectively and VPT after work position was 23.7+/-4.6 dB. The difference between before and after vibartory exposure was statistically significant (P<0.001). The correlation of height, weight and BMl with baseline VPTs was not statistically significant. Also, there was no difference of VPTs by smoking. These results suggest that high-frequency vibration from dental handpieces might cause the impairment of vibration sensation.
Dentists ; Hand ; Humans ; Male ; Sensation* ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Vibration*

To assess the relationship of pinprick sensory threshold with height and weight, Ninety seven healthy young (age 19 to 28) males were tested on their anatomical snuff box of both Hands. Their WPT was measured by device holding and moving weighted needle sensory threshold apparatus. Mean of the WPT was 0.43(+/-0.24) g in left and, 0.53( 0.30) g in right hand. Difference of WPT between the right and left hand appeared statistically significant (p<0.01) . Correlation coefficient of WPT with height was 0.26461 (p<0.01) in left and, 0.31856 (p<0.01) in right hand. Weight was statistically significantly correlated with WPT in left hand (r=0.24932, p<0.01) The study shows that the left-right difference and influence of height in pinprick sense may exist in normal healthy male adults.
Adult ; Hand ; Humans ; Male ; Needles* ; Sensory Thresholds* ; Tobacco, Smokeless

A questionnaire survey was conducted to assess the experience of the needle stick injuries in 144 seniors of a medical school during the previous 10 months. one hundred and five of them (73%) had responded. About sixty-nine percent(72 cases) of the respondents had suffered at least one injury and there had been 129 injuries in total. Seventy-eight(56.6%) of the injuries took place at the time of the venipuncture. The emergency and operating room incurred 76.7 % and 23.3% of the injury, respectively. Injuries with bleeding account for 50.4%. None of the respondents was systematically educated about the prevention of injury. This survey shows that the needle-stick injury is a great risk for the medical students' health, and that educational effort for its prevention is warranted.
Surveys and Questionnaires ; Emergencies ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Incidence* ; Needlestick Injuries* ; Operating Rooms ; Phlebotomy ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Schools, Medical ; Students, Medical*

To compare the physical complaints of vinylhouse farmers with those of non-vinylhouse farmers, a personal interviews on 250 and 142 vinylhouse farmers were conducted in Sungjoo county in Kyungpook province selected by a random sampling from July 5 to July 10, 1993. Blood pressure of the subjects was also measured. Vinylhouse farmers had a higher average age, larger family size, shorter experience of farming, more working hours per day and working days per year and higher annual income than non-vinylhouse farmers. The frequency of preticide spray of the vinylhouse farmer was 3.4times on the average in June 1993 as compared with 2.0 times of non-vinylhouse farmers, and 16.7 times for the vinylhouse farmers during the last one year while it was 8.3 times for the non-vinylhouse farmers in the same period. While 39.6% of vinylhouse farmers experienced pesticide intoxication symptoms such as headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, itching, and skin irritation, etc. during the month of June, 25.4% of non-vinylhouse farmers experienced such symptoms. The most frequent symptoms among eight symptoms that constitute the farmers' syndrome were lumbago, numbness of hand or foot shoulder pain and dizziness regardless of sex and type of farming. Prevalence of the farmers' syndrome in male and female among vinylhouse farmers were 22.1%, 43.4%, respectively, and the prevalence in non-vinylhouse farmers was 23.2% for male and 50.7%for female. There was no statistically significant difference in the prevalence of farmers' syndrome between vinylhouse and non-vinylhouse farmers. However, The prevalence on female was about 2 times higher than that of male When the effects of other factors were adjusted by multiple logistic regression for farmers' syndrome, the prevalence in female was 3.0 times higher than that of male. The prevalence of farmers' syndrome was increased as the age of farmers increased on both vinylhouse and non-vinylhouse farmers, and adjusted odds ratio of farmers' syndrome increased by 3% as the age increased by 1 year Adjusted odds ratio of Farmers' syndrome in farmers who experienced pesticide intoxication during the month of June was 3.7times higher than that of farmers who did not have such experience. While the prevalence of hypertension in male and female non-vinylhouse farmers were 22.4%, 13.7%, respectively, the prevalence in vinylhouse farmers were 13.5% for male and 12.0% for female. However, there was no association between farmers' syndrome and hypertension. It was found in this study that the vinylhouse farmers are at a high risk of pesticide intoxication, which is associated with the common physical complaints. To reduce such risk it is necessary to develop farming methods which do not require the pesticide of may use less pesticide, a safer method of pesticide spraying, and the protective equipments which can be worn at a high temperature and have a better protective effect. Also education of farmers for the correct methods of ventilation after pesticide spraying in the vinylhouse and wearing the protective equipments may be considered as a supportive method. Since inappropriate posture at work and intensive labor may cause farmers' syndrome, it is recommended to develop farming tools which reduce physical burden and take a rest and exercise periodically during work. It is necessary to strengthen the hypertension management program of the Kyungpook province, because the prevalence of hypertension was as high as about 15%.
Blood Pressure ; Dizziness ; Education ; Family Characteristics ; Female ; Foot ; Gyeongsangbuk-do ; Hand ; Headache ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Hypesthesia ; Logistic Models ; Low Back Pain ; Male ; Nausea ; Odds Ratio ; Posture ; Prevalence ; Pruritus ; Shoulder Pain ; Skin ; Ventilation ; Vomiting

Both to determine testing frequency in bone vibrator of audiometer for measurement of vibration perception threshold(VPT) and to evaluate factors influencing VPT, ninty seven healthy adults were tested on their second metacarpal head of both hands, at 250Hz, 500Hz, 1,000Hz and so on. Measures of the VPTs at 1,000Hz were excluded in analysis because frequency 1,000Hz was not recognized as a vibration sense. Mean and standard deviation(S.D.) of the VPTs in the both hands measured at 250Hz were 19.9+/-6.7dB, 21.0+/-7.3dB, respectively and at 500Hz were 33.6+/-8.3dB, 34.9+/-8.1dB, respectively. Both mean and S.D. tended to be lower at 250Hz than 500Hz, and mean differences of VPTs between the left and the right hand at the both frequencies appeared statistically significant (p<0.01). VPTs were significantly correlated with each other (p<0.01). Age was positively correlated(p<0.001) with VPTs and education was negatively(p<0.01). Multiple regression analysis showed that age was the only factor influenced on VPT. These results suggest that, when using the bone vibrator of audiometer for measurement of VPT, the frequency 250Hz as a testing frequency may be more useful than frequency 500Hz, and VPT should be measured on both hands.
Adult ; Education ; Hand ; Head ; Humans ; Vibration

No abstract available.