Biomedical subjects
William A Burke
Publications and source records attributed to William A Burke.
Visual contrast sensitivity as a diagnostic tool.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Pfiesteria complex organisms and human illness.
BACKGROUND: Pfiesteria piscicida and look-alike dinoflagellates are collectively known as Pfiesteria complex organisms (PCOs). The purposes of this paper are to evaluate the threat that PCOs pose to human health and to clarify some common misconceptions concerning these organisms. METHODS: References about P piscicida and PCOs were identified and reviewed using MEDLINE, Sea Grant databases, and other sources obtained from various Internet sites. RESULTS: Researchers exposed to aerosols of water containing P piscicida in a laboratory setting exhibited a variety of symptoms, including reversible cognitive impairment and loss of short-term memory. This led to multiple biologic, animal model, and epidemiologic studies that are reviewed and discussed. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to P piscicida and possibly other PCOs can cause human illness. Until further isolation and purification of toxins from PCOs allows for development of tests to detect these toxins, predicting and documenting toxic PCO fish kills as well as potential PCO-related illness will be difficult.
Skin problems related to the occupation of commercial fishing in North Carolina.
OBJECTIVE: Commercial fishing is one of the most dangerous professions with many of the occupational health problems related to the skin. This study elucidates the types of occupational skin disorders that occur in commercial fishermen in North Carolina. STUDY DESIGN/SETTINGS: Booths were set up offering free skin cancer screenings at various seafood festivals, a "blessing of the fleet" event and commercial fishing shows, which were located throughout eastern North Carolina from 2002-2004. When commercial fishermen were screened, they were asked about significant skin problems that they had experienced and were related to their occupation. They were specifically asked about their history of (1) cancerous and precancerous skin lesions, (2) eczemas, (3) superficial fungal infections, (4) bacterial infections of the skin, (5) traumatic injuries related to the skin, (6) bites and stings, (7) shocks from fish, and (8) skin problems related to environmental extremes. RESULTS: Eighty-one North Carolina watermen were screened: seven of the fishermen (9%) had at least one basal cell carcinoma, five (6%) had at least one squamous cell carcinoma, and no melanomas were detected. Many occupationally related skin disorders were noted on the historical survey, and some of the more dangerous of these included traumatic injuries related to fishing equipment, cutaneous cancers, fish bites, infections, stingray injuries, and man-of-war stings. LIMITATIONS: The sample population was comprised of volunteers, which limits generalizability, and some diagnoses were established retrospectively. CONCLUSIONS: There are a wide variety of skin disorders among commercial fishermen in North Carolina and healthcare professionals should be aware of these when working with watermen.