Dried fish is one of the traditionally preserved foods in Sri Lanka.Since dried fish is often an important component of daily meal, this study was aimed to assess the quality of selected dried fish varieties in the local market. Dried fish samples of nine selected varieties were collected under three categories, viz. locally produced, imported dried fish before and after distribution to retail market. They were analyzed for microbiological and chemical parameters. Water activity of the samples was also measured. Samples were found to be negative for Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and halophilic bacteria. Aerobic Plate Count and yeast and mould count of the majority of the samples were within the acceptable limit. Histamine content exceeded 100 mg/kg level in 33% and 13% of imported and local samples respectively. Water activity of the samples was <0.75 except for imported prawn samples of retail outlets. There was no significant difference (p>0.05) between the analyzed parameters of all three categories.

ConclusionRadical local excision is the key important step in the management of Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma.

The prevalence of the pathogenic bacteria, Salmonella sp. Vibrio cholerae, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, total conforms, faecal coliforrns and Escherichia coli in cultured shrimp, pond sediments, water and the pelleted feed were analysed. Raw frozen shrimps were also analysed for total plate count, coliforms, faecal coliforms, E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella, Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio cholerae.In shrimp, water and sediments the total coliform counts were <3- 93 MPN/g, 0-45 MPN/100m1 and 3.6-93 MPN/g, while the faecal coliform counts were <3-15 MPN/g, 0-11 MPN/100m1 and <3-23 MPN/g respectively. E. coil were in the ranges of 0-8 MPN/100 ml (water), <3-9.1 MPN/g (sediment) and <3-7.3 MPN/g (shrimp). In one occasion, feed was highly contaminated with coliforms (>1100 MPN/g), faecal conforms (>1100 MPN/g) and E. coli (460 MPN/g), Salmonella sp were not recovered from samples of shrimp, pond water, sediments and feed. V. parahaemolyticus was detected in farm shrimp, sediment and water at a density of 101-102 cfu/g.The total plate counts for frozen shrimp were 102-107 cfu/g. In 27% samples it ranged from 105 cfu/g to 106 cfu/g while in 59% it was 106- 107cfu/g. The E. coil count of frozen shrimp ranged from <3 to 10 MPN/g with 94% counts less than 3 MPN/g. Vibrio cholerae, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Salmonella sp. and Staphylococcus aureus were not found in frozen shrimp samples.

A 28-year-old previously healthy woman presented with fever and constitutional symptoms for one week duration. Prior to the hospital admission, she had been treated for an inflammatory arthritis with sulfasalazine for three months duration. On examination, she had a generalized maculopapular rash mainly on extremities with bilateral posterior cervical lymphadenopathy and mild hepatomegaly. Her full blood count showed leukocytosis without eosinophilia and her liver transaminases were elevated. An ultra sound scan of the abdomen showed hepatosplenomegaly, mild free fluid and a small right sided pleural effusion. She was treated with intravenous steroids. Her liver enzymes gradually decreased to normal and she subsequently improved with therapy. According to the diagnostic criteria for drug-induced hypersensitivity syndrome (DIHS) established by a Japanese consensus group, she fulfilled the first 6 criteria without eosinophilia. Therefore, this case is an atypical presentation of DRESS syndrome. There are a limited number of case reports on DRESS syndrome without eosinophilia in the literature. To our best knowledge, this is the first case report on sulfasalazine induced DRESS syndrome without eosinophilia in Sri Lanka.