Deaths due to diabetes with acidosis or coma (DAC) in the United States from 1970 through 1978 were analyzed to determine epidemiologic characteristics associated with mortality likely to be due to diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a complication of diabetes mellitus considered largely preventable. Annual age-adjusted rates for DAC deaths decreased during the study period, and the secular trend was significant in all regional, race, and sex groups examined. General population-based mortality rates increased linearly with age, were higher in non-Whites than in Whites among persons aged > 14, were higher in females, and increased significant-

A Diabetes Screening Workshop was held in Atlanta, Georgia, May 15--17, 1978, which was sponsored by the Center for Disease Control, the American Diabetes Association, and the National Institute of Arthritis, Metabolism, and Digestive Diseases. The workshop formulated the following recommendations for the use of screening procedures in diabetes mellitus from a community control viewpoint: (1) screening for asymptomatic glucose intolerance should be done among pregnant women as part of a well-coordinated program to decrease perinatal morbidity and mortality; (2) screening programs to detect asymptomatic glucose intolerance per se are not recommended as health services in nonpregnant populations; (3) screening for diabetes or its complications for research purposes should be done only as part of well-designed studies focusing on identification of predictive factors, implementation and effectiveness of preventive and therapeutic measures, descriptive epidemiology in selected populations, dynamic and economic factors of the medical care system related to case detection and management, and the nature and effects of screening processes; (4) information and education programs for health care providers, parents, and the general public should be implemented to bring about increased awareness of the clinical signs and symptoms of diabetes; and (5) all persons known to have diabetes should be evaluated regularly for the detection and management of the common chronic complications of the disease.

In November 1972 an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness occurred at a public school in Stockport, Iowa. One hundred ninety-four (72%) of 269 pupils and 14 (16%) of 23 staff members were affected. The etiologic agent was a strain of Shigella sonnei resistant to multiple antimicrobials. Waterborne transmission of shigellosis was documented epidemiologically and by isolation of the organism from the school water system. Ninety-seven (14%) of 698 of the students' household contacts developed diarrhea, and possible secondary cases also occurred in 3 (9%) of 32 household contacts of school staff.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the Bureau of Epidemiology of the Center for Disease Control investigated episodes of red spots appearing on the skin of flight attendants during various Eastern Airlines flights in the first three months of 1980. Review of 132 cases reported during January and February showed that 91 different flight attendants had been affected; 96% of cases had occurred on flights between the New York and Miami metropolitan areas, and 90% on a single type of aircraft. Although some reports mentioned burning, nausea, and headache in association with spots, most reports involved only the occurrence of bright red spots that could be wiped or washed off. Studies of work practices and procedures of flight attendants revealed that the red spots were caused by red ink flaking off the life vests during demonstrations of the use of the vests in preflight safety instructions. The demonstration vests were labelled with ink containing a litholrubine chrome molybdate orange pigment. Following removal of the implicated vests from all Eastern Airlines aircraft, no further cases have appeared.