Arsenic in rice and diets of children.

Levels of arsenic in Australian and imported rice (n = 36) were evaluated using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for total arsenic and a hyphenated high-performance liquid chromatography ICP-MS system for arsenic species. The study also assessed the daily intake of total As from diets of healthy children (n = 15), collected over three consecutive days. A wide variation of total As levels (range: <0.

Multiple outbreaks of dengue serotype 2 in north Queensland, 2003/04.

Objectives: To describe the various investigations and responses to multiple outbreaks of dengue serotype 2 that occurred in north Queensland in 2003/04.

Methods: Details about each case were collated so as to target mosquito-control responses including control of mosquito breeding sites, interior spraying of selected premises, and a novel 'lure and kill' approach using lethal ovitraps. Phylogenetic analyses were undertaken to determine the genetic relatedness of viruses isolated during the outbreaks.

Dengue in north Queensland, 2002.

In 2002 three separate outbreaks of dengue were detected in north Queensland, including the first documented outbreak of dengue 4 in Australia. Molecular analyses identified Thailand and Indonesia as the likely origin of two of the outbreaks. Investigations during 2002 also included a suspected dengue outbreak in the Torres Strait which proved to be a false alarm, and a number of imported cases of dengue in north Queensland.

A focal, rapidly-controlled outbreak of dengue fever in two suburbs in Townsville, north Queensland, 2001.

In April-May 2001 an outbreak of dengue fever occurred in two suburbs in Townsville, north Queensland. This was the first outbreak in the Townsville region since a very large outbreak in 1992-1993. Notification delays resulted in late detection of the outbreak.