To investigate the concentrations of rare earth elements in cereals and assess human health risk through cereal consumption, a total of 327 cereal samples were collected from rare earth mining area and control area in Shandong, China. The contents of 14 rare earth elements were determined by Inductively Coupled Plasma—Mass Spectrometry (ICP—MS). The medians of total rare earth elements in cereals from mining and control areas were 74.22 μg/kg and 47.83 μg/kg, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). The wheat had the highest rare earth elements concentrations (109.39 μg/kg and 77.96 μg/kg for mining and control areas, respectively) and maize had the lowest rare earth elements concentrations (42.88 μg/kg and 30.25 μg/kg for mining and control areas, respectively). The rare earth elements distribution patterns for both areas were characterized by enrichment of light rare earth elements. The health risk assessment demonstrated that the estimated daily intakes of rare earth elements through cereal consumption were considerably lower than the acceptable daily intake (70 μg/kg bw). The damage to adults can be neglected, but more attention should be paid to the effects of continuous exposure to rare earth elements on children.

To determine the burden and distribution of acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI) in the population, a cross-sectional, monthly face-to-face survey of 10 959 residents was conducted in Jiangsu province between July 2010 and June 2011. The adjusted monthly prevalence was 4.7% with 0.63 AGI episodes/person per year. The prevalence was the highest in children aged <5 years and lowest in persons aged ≥ 65 years. A bimodal seasonal distribution was observed with peaks in summer and winter. Regional difference of AGI prevalence was substantial [lowest 0.5% in Taicang, highest 15.1% in Xinqu (Wuxi prefecture)]. Healthcare was sought by 38.4% of the ill respondents. The use of antibiotics was reported by 65·2% of the ill respondents and 38.9% took antidiarrhoeals. In the multivariable model, gender, education, season, sentinel site and travel were significant risk factors of being a case of AGI. These results highlight the substantial burden of AGI and the risk factors associated with AGI in Jiangsu province, China.

Haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), a rodent-borne disease, is a major public health concern in both developed and developing countries. China is the most severe endemic country in the world, constituting 90% of the cases. Although the incidence of HFRS has substantively decreased in most areas of China, HFRS has rebounded remarkably in some epidemic areas. Xuancheng is one of these areas. In this study, we collected the case data reported recently in Xuancheng and designed a 1:3 case−control study. The Chi-square test, univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed. In all cases, farmers made up the highest proportion of occupations. And there were 20 variables with statistical significance including indoor hygienic conditions; the surrounding environment; whether bitten by rats at work and other criteria. In addition, exposure to rodents and rats bites is a high-risk factor for HFRS. Rodent density was calculated at 20.9% (159/760), the virus carrier rate was 9.4% (15/159) and the index of rats with a virus was about 2.0%. Exposure to rodents and insect bites is also high-risk factors for HFRS among local residents in Xuancheng. More importantly, during the flood years, the increased density of rodents led to an increased risk of human exposure to rodents. As our statistical analysis proves, targeted strategies should be developed and implemented to reduce the incidence of local diseases in the future.