Glyphosate residues in Swiss market foods: monitoring and risk evaluation

A total of 243 samples of diverse foodstuffs were analysed for glyphosate and aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) using a liquid chromatography triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method with a relatively low limit of quantification in the range of 0.0005-0.0025 mg kg-1. Main contributors for dietary glyphosate and AMPA intake were cereals and pulses. The results suggest that pasta is a very important foodstuff for dietary glyphosate residue intake in Switzerland. Interestingly all samples of wine, fruit juice and nearly all samples of honey tested positive for glyphosate although at very low levels. A dietary risk assessment was conducted. Food products for analysis were not selected purely at random, rather products were selected for which high levels of glyphosate residues were suspected. However, even in samples where high residue levels were expected, no exceedances of maximum residue levels were found. Consequently, human exposure did not exceed neither acceptable daily intake nor acute reference dose. Therefore, glyphosate residues found in the sampled foodstuffs from the Swiss market were of no concern for human health.

Ulnar stress fracture of the nondominant arm in a tennis player using a two-handed backhand

Stress fractures are infrequently seen in non-weight-bearing bones. However, stress fractures may be present in any bone that undergoes repetitive stress. We report an unusual case of stress fracture in the nondominant arm of a tennis player who uses a two-handed backhand stroke.

Effect of transfusions on serologic testing for antibody to varicella

Serologic testing of patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia for susceptibility to varicella was confounded by prior administration of blood products. Packed red cell transfusions produced fewer problems than plasma-rich transfusions. Seronegative individuals may be transiently seropositive for several weeks. Specimens submitted for serologic testing should be accompanied by information on recent receipt of blood products.

Administration of live varicella vaccine to children wtih leukaemia

Live varicella vaccine was given to twenty-three children with lymphoreticular malignancies, twelve whose chemotherapy was complete and eleven who were still receiving therapy. Seroconversion was observed in all twenty-three children, only one of whom lost his vaccine-induced antibody. Eight of the children experienced thirteen exposures to varicella, including four continuing exposures in their households. Varicella, manifested by the appearance of seven vesicular lesions, developed in only one. In all but two of the children an invitro blastogenic response to varicella/zoster-virus (VZV) antigen developed; both children had a biphasic rash after immunisation. A sibling of one of these children seroconverted without clinical evidence of varicella, presumably because of infection with vaccine virus. None of the other household contacts had significant rises in VZV antibody. VZV was not isolated from the blood, throat, or urine samples of the twenty-three vaccinees tested.