Deer can be colonized by E coli O157:H7 and can be a source of human infections. Conditions necessary to ensure the safety of dried meat deserve further review. Game should be handled with the same caution indicated for commercially slaughtered meat.

After a retreat to an Oregon farm, 19 of 31 college students developed an acute gastrointestinal illness. Campylobacter jejuni infection was recognized in all the ill students and caused asymptomatic infections in three others. In total, 22 (88%) of 25 students who consumed raw milk for the first time became infected as compared with none of two who had not consumed raw milk. Among ten persons who chronically consumed raw milk, none was ill, a striking difference from the 76% attack rate among the 25 acutely exposed students. The quantity of raw milk consumed was directly related to the occurrence and severity of illness. Acutely infected students showed significant rises in C jejuni-specific immunoglobulins, whereas the low antibody levels seen in unexposed persons did not rise. In contrast, acute-phase serum samples from persons with chronic exposure to raw milk showed elevated antibody levels to C jejuni. These findings indicate that chronic raw milk consumption is associated with elevated levels of C jejuni-specific serum antibodies and with immunity to symptomatic infection.

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Chronic pain in incarcerated women is understudied and poorly described. Study objectives were to describe pain characteristics, correlates, and predictors in a convenience sample of incarcerated women with chronic pain. A survey packet that included the Brief Pain Inventory Short Form (BPI-SF) and the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) was distributed to all inmates at a state prison for women. Those who self-identified as having chronic pain ≥4 on a 0–10 numeric rating scale were invited to complete the survey. Demographics and medical and psychiatric diagnoses were abstracted by chart review. Participants (N=159) rated their current and average pain intensity as severe. Pain catastrophizing was found to predict average pain intensity and level of pain-related interference in functioning. Pain catastrophizing is treatable with behavioral intervention in the general population. Findings suggest that pain catastrophizing may be an important target for research and treatment in incarcerated women with chronic pain.

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