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Th2 clones have been reported to express CD30 preferentially, but whether T cells producing Th2-type cytokines may favor CD30 expression in the in vivo state remains unknown. We investigated the expression of CD30 on circulating T cells in atopic dermatitis (AD) as a Th2-dominated disorder. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were prepared from 51 AD patients and 14 nonatopic controls, and their phenotypes were analyzed with flow cytometry. Cytokine production by stimulated CD4+ T cells was also assessed by the single-cell-staining method. Flow cytometric analysis clearly revealed that CD30+ T cells were identifiable in the blood of AD patients with greater frequency compared to controls. The important finding was that CD30 expression was restricted to a small but substantial population of memory (CD45RO+) CD4+ T cells, but not CD8+ ones. In AD patients, it was demonstrated that the percentages of CD30+ cells within CD45RO+ CD4+ T cells correlated well with the disease severity, serum IgE levels, peripheral eosinophil counts, and tendency toward Th2-dominant cytokine pattern as determined by the ratio of interleukin-4 to interferon-gamma production. This study suggests that CD30 expression in circulating T cells might serve as an in vivo marker for the Th2-dominated condition.

The National Food Surveillance System in Japan was formed in 1998 to monitor the contamination of retail foods with bacterial pathogens. Approximately 2000-3000 samples were tested annually, and the data from food categories that had more than 400 samples collected during 1998-2008 were analysed. With regard to meat, the frequency of positive samples for Salmonella in chicken for raw consumption and ground chicken was 12.7% and 33.5%, respectively. Moreover, Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157 was found in ground meat, organ meat and processed meat, although at a low frequency (0.1%). The prevalence of Campylobacter jejuni/coli was 13.3% and 20.9% in chicken for raw consumption and ground chicken, respectively. In vegetables and fruit, Salmonella was detected in cucumber, lettuce, sprout and tomato samples at a frequency of around 0.1-0.2%. With regard to seafood, Salmonella was found in 0.5% of oysters for raw consumption. Seafood was not contaminated with STEC O157 or Shigella. Serotype Infantis was the most frequently detected serotype of Salmonella in seafood, followed by the serotypes Typhimurium, Schwarzengrund and Manhattan. In ground chicken, 72.2% of the strains were identified as the serotype Infantis. E. coli, as an indicator of food hygiene, was detected in all food categories. The results show the prevalence of the above-mentioned pathogens in the retail food supplied in Japan; further, they indicate that consumption of raw food carries the risk of contracting food-borne infections.

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One thousand nine hundred and sixty three samples of meat products, raw meat and meat product additives from different slaughterhouses, meat processing factories and retail meat shops in six prefectures of Japan, were examined for the presence and number of Bacillus cereus. Although B. cereus was found in meat products (18.3%) and raw meat (6.6%), the contamination levels were generally lower than 102 per gram. In contrast, meat product additives showed contamination levels ranging from 102 to 104/g with the highest values (104/g) in samples of spices and animal proteins. On the basis of these results, we suggest that the main source of B. cereus contamination in meat products is contaminated meat product additives.