[Detection of tuberculosis infection using a whole blood interferon gamma assay in a contact investigation--evaluation using quantiFERon TB-2G].

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of a novel method of detecting tuberculosis infection, QuantiFERON TB-2G (QFT), in a large scale contact investigation when an outbreak of mass tuberculosis infection was suspected.

Subjects And Methods: The index case was a health-care worker who worked in a maternity hospital. The investigated contacts were categorized as follow according to the grade of closeness of contact; the "very close" contact group (11 subjects), the "close" contact group (33 subjects), and the "non-close" contact group (3,791 subjects).

[Relationship between participation in annual health examinations and mortality rate over a 5-year period].

A total of 34,000 adults in Fukui City who had participated in annual health examinations at least once between 1986 and 1988, were followed for a period of 5 years. The results were as follows; (1) The mortality rate during a 5 year period was significantly lower for participants in health examinations than in nonparticipants of the same age group. (2) Mortality was significantly related to obesity, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, glucosuria, proteinuria, occult blood in urine, GOT and cholesterol in man, in women obesity, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, glucosuria, proteinuria, GOT, GPT and cholesterol were related to mortality.