Mouth Contact Research Articles

Maximum voluntary bite force, occlusal contact points and associated stresses on posterior teeth

ABSTRACTAll-ceramic dental restorations are now regularly being used in clinical situations. Forces applied to ceramic dental restorations can result in failure due to cracking. Dental restorations may be subjected to significant loads in the mouth and small contact points between opposing teeth may result in markedly high stress when a high bite force is encountered. This study recorded maximum voluntary bite forces on the posterior teeth of 40 participants and inter-occlusal contact points were identified by digitally scanning the teeth and calculating the surface area by accompanying software. Bite forces from as low as 83.9 Newton (N) to the highest at 1642.8 N, with a mean of 430.4 N (sd = 279.4) were recorded. Inter-occlusal contact points as small as 0.065 mm2 were measured. The resultant stress teeth may experience has been shown to potentially exceed the flexural strength of even the strongest dental ceramic available on the market for 21.8% of the teeth tested. This study aimed to describe the stresses that teeth experience, and thus predict the stresses that future restorations on those teeth may experience. This approach may prove valuable in guiding clinicians in their material selection as well as the design of all-ceramic restorations.

Age-related changes to environmental exposure: variation in the frequency that young children place hands and objects in their mouths.

Children are exposed to environmental contaminants through direct ingestion of water, food, soil, and feces, and through indirect ingestion owing to mouthing hands and objects. We quantified ingestion among 30 rural Bangladeshi children < 4 years old, recording every item touched or mouthed during 6-hour video observations that occurred annually for 3 years. We calculated the frequency and duration of mouthing and the prevalence of mouth contacts with soil and feces. We compared the mouthing frequency distributions to those from US children to evaluate the appropriateness of applying the US data to the Bangladeshi context. Median hand-mouthing frequency was 43-72 times/h and object-mouthing frequency 17-34 times/h among the five age groups assessed. For half of the observations, > 75% of all hand mouthing was associated with eating. The frequency of indoor hand mouthing not related to eating was similar to the frequency of all indoor hand mouthing among children in the United States. Object-mouthing frequency was higher among Bangladeshi children compared with US children. There was low intra-child correlation of mouthing frequencies over our longitudinal visits. Our results suggest that children's hand- and object-mouthing vary by geography and culture and that future exposure assessments can be cross-sectional if the goal is to estimate population-level distributions of mouthing frequencies. Of all observations, a child consumed soil in 23% and feces in 1%.

What makes a positive experience?

Abstract‘Sharing economy’ platforms such as Airbnb have recently given rise to new travel trends in which electronic word of mouth and interpersonal contact are central. This study examines 90 positive reviews, with a threefold objective: first, analyse what makes Airbnb a social platform; second, understand online/offline rapport enhancement prior to and during the Airbnb experience; and third, examine the main rapport enhancement strategies in users’ evaluations. The results show that while reviewers place great importance on transactional wants before the experience, during face-to-face contact sociality rights become more important. After the Airbnb experience, however, the main rapport strategies point to enhancing the addressee’s face, while identity is constantly co-constructed. The present study intends to bring to the fore the function of positive rapport in the Airbnb experience, in an online system in which the management of communicative skills may be the main tool for success – or failure.

Fluid Delivery Method Influences Drinking Efficiency among Physically Active Children

During physical activities, youth consume fluids from various delivery methods that may influence hydration behaviors. The purpose of this study was to determine the drinking efficiency of these different methods. Children’s fluid intake was more efficient when drinking from a cup compared with a bottle with no mouth contact and a water fountain, but not compared with a bottle with direct mouth contact. Drinking from the water fountain was the least effective compared with all other methods. Children drink more efficiently when using cups and water bottles with direct mouth contact as the delivery method compared with methods with no mouth contact.

Gender-Related Sexual Abuse Experiences Reported by Children Who Were Examined in an Emergency Department

The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of sexual abuse by 95 children of two gender groups to determine differences in their reported sexual exploits by perpetrators. Significant differences between female and male children were reported. Male child-victims experienced more anal penetration by penis (54.5%, 10.7% respectively) and finger (27.3%, 2.7% respectively), however; female child-victims experienced more mouth contact to their genitalia (22.7%, 10.0% respectively) and body kisses (47.9%, 9.1% respectively). A more gender-specific approach could help to facilitate prevention, and produce better outcomes.

Estimating children's exposure to toxic elements in contaminated toys and children's jewelry via saliva mobilization

Children's potential for exposure to potentially toxic elements in contaminated jewelry and toys via mouth contact has not yet been fully evaluated. Various toys and jewelry (metallic toys and jewelry [MJ], plastic toys, toys with paint or coating, and brittle/pliable toys; n = 32) were tested using the saliva extraction (mouthing) compartment of the DIN and RIVM bioaccessibility protocols to assess As, Ba, Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, and Se mobilization via saliva. Total concentrations of As, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Sb were found elevated in analyzed samples. Four metals were mobilized to saliva from 16 MJ in significant quantities (>1 μg for highly toxic Cd and Pb, >10 μg for Cu and Ni). Bioaccessible concentrations and hazard index values for Cd exceeded limit values, for young children between 6 mo- and 3 yr-old and according to both protocols. Total and bioaccessible metal concentrations were different and not always correlated, encouraging the use of bioaccessibility for more accurate hazard assessments. Bioaccessibility increased with increasing extraction time. Overall, the risk from exposure to toxic elements via mouthing was high only for Cd and for MJ. Further research on children's exposure to toxic elements following ingestion of toy or jewelry material is recommended.

Metals Contamination and Leaching Potential in Plastic Toys Bought on the Beijing Market

Plastic toys may contain metals, to which children may be exposed via mouthing, ingestion or dermal contact with those items. The objectives of this research were (1) to determine total concentrations of Pb, Cr, As, Cu, Ni, Ba, Cd, Sb in plastic toys (n=35) bought on the Beijing market, and (2) to estimate leaching potential of the eight metals in selected items (n=3) in dilute HCl and the Pb leaching property via different in vitro tests. Seven of the fore-mentioned toxic metals were detected in all of the tested samples while all samples were Cd-free. For total Pb content, 7 of the 35 samples (20%) exceeded the US regulatory total limit (100 mg/kg for total Pb). However, dilute HCl leaching tests show that all the tested samples meet the migration limit of Chinese toy safety standard (90 mg/kg for dilute-HCL extractable Pb). Some samples contained Cr and As which exceeded the China migration limits. In vitro leaching tests demonstrated that Pb was more leachable in other stimulated body fluids than that in dilute HCl. Our results revealed that China need to update its toy safety standard as soon as possible.

Biomonitoring in wearers of permethrin impregnated battle dress uniforms in Afghanistan and Germany

ObjectivesTo analyse differences in uptake of the insecticide permethrin in wearers of non-impregnated and permethrin impregnated battle dress uniforms (BDU) in Afghanistan and Germany.MethodsIn two separate studies, in April 2003–January...

The effect of water and sodium hypochlorite disinfection on alginate impressions

IntroductionThe control of cross-infection is an imperative issue when dealing with dental impression materials in Dentistry and the lack of procedures for its control is currently a real problem. The aims of the present study consisted in evaluating the effectiveness of water washing and sodium hypochlorite disinfection in reducing the microbial load of alginate after mouth contact. Materials and methodsThirteen students voluntarily participated in the present study. The inclusion criteria were age between 21 and 24 years, inexistence of smoking habits and systemic and salivary gland pathologies, DMFT index (decay/missing/filled teeth)≤5 and tooth brushing with right hand. For each participant, one impression was taken in alginate from the mandibular arch. These samples were submitted to water wash and sodium hypochlorite disinfection and to subsequent microbiological analysis. Statistical analysis included the analysis of variance for multiple comparisons (one-way ANOVA) followed by Student's t-test. ResultsAfter mouth contact, alginate microbial count increased from 1.59±2.79 to 2.68×103±6.19×102CFU/mm2. It was verified that after water wash the microbial count decreased to 48.5% while after sodium hypochlorite disinfection microbial count decreased to 99.99%. ConclusionDental impression materials can act as vectors transmitting a significant amount of microorganisms. Sodium hypochlorite disinfection is an efficient disinfection method for alginate impressions. Tap water rinsing reduces microbial load but does not eliminate the cross-infection potential of alginate.

Functional synchronization in repetitive bimanual prehension movements

To examine the mechanisms of functional bimanual synchronization in goal-directed movements, we studied the movement kinematics of motorically unimpaired subjects while they performed repetitive prehension movements (either unimanually or bimanually) to small food items. Compared to unimanual conditions, bimanual movement execution yielded a significantly prolonged mouth contact phase. We hypothesized that this threefold prolongation led to a proper functional synchronization of the movement onsets of both hands at the beginning of each new movement cycle. That these temporal adjustments occurred in the movement phase with maximal haptic input points to the importance of sensory feedback for bimanual coordination. These results are discussed with respect to the important role of sensory feedback in the timing of coordinated bimanual movements. Furthermore, we propose that time-based coordinating schemas, which are implemented by the cerebellum and the posterior parietal cortex using sensory feedback, underlie functional inter-limb coordination.

Quantified outdoor micro-activity data for children aged 7–12-years old

Estimation of aggregate exposure and risk requires detailed information regarding dermal contact and mouthing activity. We analyzed micro-level activity time series (MLATS) of children aged 7-12 years to quantify these contact behaviors and evaluate differences by age and gender. In all, 18 children, aged 7-12 years, were videotaped while playing outdoors. Video footage was transcribed via Virtual Timing Device (VTD) software. We calculated the hand and mouth contact frequency, hourly duration and median duration of contact with 16 object categories. Median mouthing frequencies were 12.6 events/h and 2.6 events/h for hands and non-dietary objects, respectively. Median hourly mouthing duration was 0.4 min/h and 0.1 min/h with hands and objects. Median mouthing contact duration was 1 s and 1.5 s with hands and objects, respectively. The median object contact frequency for both the hands combined was 537.3 events/h with an hourly contact duration of 81.8 min/h and a median contact duration of 3 s. There were no significant differences in the mouthing activity between genders or age groups. Female children had longer and more frequent hand contacts with several surface types. Age was negatively correlated with hand contacts of floor and wood surfaces. Contact frequencies in this study are higher than current regulatory recommendations for this age group.

Observations on Forced Colony Emigration inParachartergus fraternus(Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Epiponini): New Nest Site Marked with Sprayed Venom

Five cases of colony emigration induced by removal of nest envelope and combs and a single one by manipulation are described. The disturbance was followed by defensive patterns, buzz running, and adult dispersion. An odor trail created by abdomen dragging, probably depositing venom or Dufour's gland secretions, connected the original nest to the newly selected nesting place and guided the emigration. The substrate of the selected nesting place is intensely sprayed with venom prior to emigration, and this chemical cue marked the emigration end point. The colony moves to the new site in a diffuse cloud with no temporary clusters formed along the odor trail. At the original nest, scouts performed rapid gaster dragging and intense mouth contacts stimulating inactive individuals to depart. Males were unable to follow the swarm. Individual scouts switched between different behavioral tasks before and after colony emigration. Pulp collected from the old nest was reused at the new nest site.

Selecting the right toys for your child is not a child′s play

Sir, Toys are essential part of child’s early years of life. Toys serve multiple purposes in child’s development. Toys not only provide entertainment but also fulfill some educational role. A toy enhances observational capacity and stimulates creativity. They play major role in development of physical as well as mental skills which are necessary in later life. Today the rising issue is “whether the toys are safe enough?” It is little known that toys which give immense joy to children could also provide grief to them as well as to their parents. Toys could potentially be dangerous to their health or life threatening for several reasons. We all know babies put every single thing they get in their little hands into their mouth and that include the lovely, bright and colorful plastic toys we buy. But research has now shown that those very small plastic toys could be poisoning your baby every single time they put it into their mouth.(1) A campaign launched by Generation Green in the late 1990s focused on phthalates and their risks to kids. Phthalates are chemicals used to soften PVC plastic. They could be ingested by children when sucking on toys or baby products made with polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Ingestion of phthalates has been linked to increased risks of cancer, kidney damage and interference with reproductive development. (2) In India the study conducted by Toxic Link, an environmental NGO, showed that dangerous levels of lead and cadmium were found in PVC soft toys collected from wholesale markets of Mumbai, one of the largest manufacturing and supply centres for unbranded toys. PVC is a synthetic resin used as the basic material in plastics, among other things. The study indicates that children are being exposed to severe health hazards caused by these metals, ranging from liver damage to disruption in mental growth. Plastics like PVC are chemically dependant, and need additives like lead, cadmium and other chemicals to make them usable. However, these additives leach from the PVC and contaminate human bodies, putting especially children at risk. Lead and cadmium are proven poisons, being neurotoxins and nephrotoxins, respectively. Similar studies were conducted in Chennai and Delhi but there are no legal and binding standards that stipulate the safe limits of heavy metal content in toys (plastic or otherwise) that are made locally or imported. (3) A similar kind of study was done by the Consumer Unity and Trust Society as premier consumer rights organization. (4) Many countries have passed safety standards limiting the types of toys that can be sold. Most of these seek to limit potential hazards. Children, especially very small ones, often put toys into their mouths, so the materials used to make a toy are regulated to prevent poisoning. Materials are also regulated to prevent fire hazards. Children have not yet learned to judge what is safe and what is dangerous, and parents do not always think of all possible situations, so such warnings and regulations are important on toys.(5) In India though the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has clearly formulated the standards relating to toy safety in terms of their physical form and toxicity, most of the manufacturers are either not following safety norms or are completely oblivious of the same. (4) The enforcement of guidelines is yet to be made mandatory for domestic toy manufacturers. Toys, particularly soft PVC toys, have not been investigated as one of the possible sources of harmful metals.(3) India is also a huge market for non-branded toys from other countries like China where the regulation and norms for toys manufacturing are not followed strictly and bear potential danger to the children. Government authorities need to take effective steps to regulate the manufacturing and marketing of toys as per the formulated norms. Role of parents is most important in this issue. To protect the child from any injury or hazard from toys, parents must follow some guidelines. Parents should avoid buying non-branded toys, plastic toys, toys on internet, and brightly colored toys as they contain higher content of lead. Also, parents should carefully read the instructions given on the toys or its manual; preferably buy toys made up of cloths or wooden. If the child is having frequent health problems without any obvious reason, seek experts opinion as it can be due to the toys he is playing with, supervise your child while playing with toys to avoid any mouth contact with it. These are some simple things that can be done to avoid any injury or hazard to your child.

Quantified activity pattern data from 6 to 27-month-old farmworker children for use in exposure assessment

This study was conducted to describe exposure prone behaviors of infants and toddlers in the farmworker community. Analysis of hand and mouth contact frequencies and durations aids understanding of how children interact with their environment and are exposed via contact with surfaces. All 23 participating children (8 female infants, 5 male infants, 5 female toddlers and 5 male toddlers) lived with at least one farmworker. Children were videotaped at home for 2–6 h. Video footage was translated into micro-level activity time series (MLATS) for both hands and the mouth. MLATS were processed to calculate hourly duration in microenvironments, contact frequency, hourly contact duration and median contact duration. The median hourly duration spent indoors was 53 min/h. The median hand-to-mouth frequency was 15.2 events/h and the median object-to-mouth frequency was 27.2 events/h. The hourly mouthing duration was 1.2 and 2.2 min/h with the hands and objects, respectively. The median mouthing duration with hands and objects was 2 s. The median contact frequency for both hands combined was 689.4 events/h with an hourly contact duration of 100.5 min/h and a median contact duration of 3 s. Infants had higher mouthing frequencies with non-dietary objects while toddlers had higher mouthing frequencies with objects associated with pica (i.e., paper). Boys had higher contact frequencies while girls had longer contact durations. These sub-group differences indicate factors such as age and gender should be accounted for when conducting exposure assessments. Contact frequencies in this study are higher than current US EPA recommendations, questioning their protective value for infants and toddlers.

Male Head Secretion Triggers Copulation in the Dwarf SpiderDiplocephalus permixtus

AbstractThe term nuptial feeding is applied for any possible form of transfer of substances during the course of mating. However, the underlying functions can range from increased coupling efficiency or increased male survival to various levels of sexual selection. Males of many dwarf spider species (Erigoninae: Linyphiidae; Araneae) produce secretions from conspicuous grooves or elevations on their prosoma that seem to play a role during the mating episode. We asked if these structures represent a survival strategy, a mating effort in that they function as a mate attractant or as a mechanism to secure matings or if they simply facilitate successful genital coupling. InDiplocephalus permixtusmales possess a deep groove in the ocular area into which females sink their chelicerae before mating commences. Secretory glands in the area of the groove produce a substance, which is taken up by the female in the process of mating. We experimentally prevented females from taking up secretion by covering the head structures of one group of males and compared the behaviour with controls. We investigated effects in a single male setting as well as in a competitive two‐males setting. Under both experimental conditions the probability that copulation occurred was significantly reduced in head covered males: females bit into male head structures irrespective of male treatment but covered males did not commence pedipalp insertion despite optimal mating position. Our data suggest that in contrast to other gustatorial arthropod species investigated so far the head–mouth contact between the sexes primarily triggers the mating behaviour of the male and not that of the female. Clearly, the secretion does not function as a mate attractant as mating position was achieved with similar probability in covered and control males. A function as a survival strategy can be excluded as well, because sexual cannibalism never occurred. Potential stimulating or manipulative effects of the secretion during copulatory and post‐copulatory phases remain to be investigated.

Risk remaining from fine particle contaminants after vacuum cleaning of hard floor surfaces

In the indoor environment, settled surface dust often functions as a reservoir of hazardous particulate contaminants. In many circumstances, a major contributing source to the dust pool is exterior soil. Young children are particularly susceptible to exposure to both outdoor derived soil and indoor derived dust present in the indoor dust pool. This is because early in life the exploratory activities of the infant are dominated by touching and mouthing behavior. Inadvertent exposure to dust through mouth contact and hand-to-mouth activity is an inevitable consequence of infant development. Clean-up of indoor dust is, in many circumstances, critically important in efforts to minimize pediatric exposure. In this study, we examine the efficiency of vacuum cleaner removal of footwear-deposited soil on vinyl floor tiles. The study utilized a 5 x 10 foot (c. 152.5 x 305 cm) test surface composed of 1-foot-square (c. 30.5 x 30.5 cm) vinyl floor tiles. A composite test soil with moderately elevated levels of certain elements (e.g., Pb) was repeatedly introduced onto the floor surface by footwear track-on. The deposited soil was subsequently periodically removed from randomly selected tiles using a domestic vacuum cleaner. The mass and loading of soil elements on the tiles following vacuuming were determined both by wet wipe collection and by subsequent chemical analysis. It was found that vacuum cleaner removal eliminated much of the soil mass from the floor tiles. However, a small percentage of the mass was not removed and a portion of this residual mass could be picked up by moistened hand-lifts. Furthermore, although the post-vacuuming tile soil mass was sizably reduced, for some elements (notably Pb) the concentration in the residual soil was increased. We interpret this increased metal concentration to be a particle size effect with smaller particles (with a proportionately higher metal content) remaining in situ after vacuuming.

Impact of perioperative hyperbaric oxygen therapy on the quality of life of maxillofacial patients who undergo surgery in irradiated fields

From 2001 to 2005, 66 patients referred for perioperative hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO 2) for debridement of necrotic tissue or prevention of radionecrosis were assessed with quality of life measures, before and after completion of HBO 2 and surgery. The Medical Outcomes Short Form 36 (SF-36) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) showed no significant changes. The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Core (EORTC-C30) questionnaire showed significant improvement in pain, global health, and dyspnoea ( p = 0.011; p = 0.027; p = 0.008, respectively). The Head and Neck sub-module (H&N35) identified significant improvements in teeth, dry mouth and social contact ( p = 0.002; p = 0.038; p = 0.029, respectively). The University of Washington Scale (UW), showed significant changes in relation to chewing and shoulders ( p = 0.031; p = 0.047). When sub-group analysis using ‘osteoradionecrosis’ and ‘dental extraction or implants’ was performed on the EORTC and UW data, variations in the patterns of significance were found. Adjunctive HBO 2 should be considered for the treatment and prevention of some of the long-term complications of radiotherapy.

The Meaning of Jolts by Fish Clients of Cleaning Gobies

AbstractCooperative interactions offer the inherent possibility of cheating by each of the interacting partners. A key challenge to behavioural observers is to recognize these conflicts, and find means to measure reliably cheating in natural interactions. CleanerfishLabroides dimidiatuscheat by taking scales and mucus from their fish clients and such dishonest cleaning has been previously recognized in the form of whole‐body jolts by clients in response to cleaner mouth contact. In this study, we test whether jolts may be a general client response to cheating by cleaners. We experimentally varied the ectoparasite loads of yellowtail damselfish (Microspathodon chrysurus), a common client of the cleaning gobyElacantinus evelynae, and compared the rates of jolts on parasitized and deparasitized clients. As predicted if jolts represent cleaner cheating, deparasitized clients jolted more often than parasitized clients, and overall jolt rates increased over time as client parasite load was presumably reduced by cleaning activity. Yellowtail damselfish in the wild jolted significantly less frequently than those in captivity, which is consistent with a loss of ectoparasites during capture. Our results suggest that jolts by clients of cleaning gobies are not related to the removal of ectoparasites. Client jolts may therefore be a generally accurate measure of cheating by cleanerfish.

Increasing adaptive responses and reducing finger mouthing in an adolescent with multiple disabilities: Evaluation of an upgraded microswitch-cluster program.

Persons with profound and multiple disabilities may frequently fail to engage in constructive activity and, instead, may display high levels of problem behavior (e.g., tongue protrusion and hand mouthing), which complicates their situation further and hampers their social image (Holburn, Nguyen, & Vietze, 2004; Kurtz et al., 2003; Luiselli, 1998; Matson, Minshawi, Gonzalez, & Mayville, 2006; Saloviita & Pennanen, 2003). Educational intervention with these persons needs to target both constructive responding and problem behavior to produce a clinically relevant outcome, with clear personal and social benefits (Lancioni, Singh et al., 2007). To pursue both these goals, microswitch clusters (i.e., combinations of microswitches monitoring concurrently adaptive and aberrant responses) may prove very helpful (Lancioni, O'Reilly, Singh, Sigafoos et al., 2006, Lancioni, Smaldone et al., 2007). For example, a microswitch cluster consisting of a pressure device on the participant's headrest and an optic sensor directed at his or her mouth may be used to ensure that adaptive head responses are followed by positive stimulation only when they occur free from finger mouthing. Although a program such as that just mentioned may be adequate in fostering adaptive responding and reducing problem behavior, an upgraded (stronger) version of it may also be conceived for the longer term. Such version could ensure that the stimulation for adaptive responses occurring free from problem behavior (a) lasts the scheduled time if the person refrains from the problem behavior during all that time and (b) is interrupted if the problem behavior appears during that time (cf. Lancioni, Singh et al., 2007). The new version could also include extra stimulation arrangements in concomitance with adaptive responses to (a) maintain high response motivation and (b) possibly promote some proper use of body parts (e.g., hands) involved in problem behavior. This study evaluated an upgraded program version similar to the one just described (i.e., with stimulation interrupted at the appearance of the problem behavior and extra stimulation arrangements). The participant was an adolescent who had received a basic microswitch-cluster program such as that delineated earlier (i.e., without the aforementioned new features) to promote adaptive foot and head responses and reduce finger mouthing (Lancioni, O'Reilly, Singh, Sigafoos et al., 2006). Method Participant The participant (Vincent) was 13.9 years old at the start of this study. He had congenital encephalopathy with spasticity, reduced visual acuity, and lack of speech. He was in a wheelchair and received antiepileptic medication. Although no IQ scores were available, he was rated in the profound intellectual disability range. His participation in the basic microswitch-cluster program had increased the frequencies of his adaptive responses (foot and head movements, targeted in separate sessions) and ensured that about 80% of those responses occurred free from finger mouthing and thus were followed by preferred stimulation. This lasted the scheduled time regardless of whether finger mouthing appeared during that time. Responses, Microswitch Clusters, Control System, and Stimuli The responses recorded during the present study were foot movements (i.e., moving one or both feet upward or sideward), head movements (i.e., moving the head backward or sideward), finger mouthing (i.e., bringing fingers into or over the mouth), and object contact (i.e., bringing one or both hands in contact with objects). The microswitch clusters (see Lancioni, O'Reilly, Singh, Sigafoos et al., 2006) included (a) tilt devices for foot movements combined with an optic sensor for finger mouthing and (b) a pressure device for head movements combined with the aforementioned optic sensor. The optic sensor was held a few centimeters to the side of Vincent's mouth through a light wire fixed to his eyeglasses. …

Salmonella Mississippi infections in Tasmania: the role of native Australian animals and untreated drinking water

Salmonella Mississippi infections are very common in Australia's island state - Tasmania - with an annual rate of 17 cases/100000 population. A case-control study conducted during 2001-2002 found single variable associations with indirect exposure to many native animal species, untreated drinking water, travelling within the state, hand-mouth behaviours and contact with pet faeces. No associations were detected with farm animal or pet species or with any food. Indirect contact with native birds, untreated drinking water and travel within the state remained significant predictors of infection in the final model with population attributable fractions of 0.57 and 0.54 for native animals and untreated drinking water respectively. In Tasmania, Australian wildlife species are the likely reservoir for S. Mississippi, contaminating land and water environments. To decrease infection rates requires treatment of water supplies, particularly private rainwater collection systems and advising people to wash their hands after being outdoors and prior to eating.