Cadmium, a toxic heavy metal, is widely present in food. It has been reported that chronic cadmium exposure is associated with kidney disease, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease and cancer. The aim of this study was to assess the dietary cadmium exposure and potential health risk in different age-sex groups of the Chinese population (children aged 4–11 years, young people aged 12–17 years and adults aged over 18 years), and in the southern and northern population using a semi-probabilistic method. Cadmium was detected in 228,687 food samples from 32 food categrories by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. The dietary cadmium exposures were estimated by combining the cadmium concentration data with food consumption data derived from the China National Nutrient and Health Survey 2002, and evaluated against the Provisional Tolerable Monthly Intake (PTMI) of 25 μg/kg BW/month established by the Joint FAO/WHO expert committee on food additives (JECFA). The mean dietary cadmium exposure of the general Chinese population (15.3 μg/kg BW/month) was below the PTMI. The high consumer exposures (95th percentile, P95) for the general population and different sub-groups were higher than the PTMI. The dietary cadmium exposure of the southern population was apparently higher than that of the northern population. Rice was the most important contributor to cadmium exposure for Chinese people, especially those living in the southern areas of China. These findings indicated that the health risk from dietary cadmium exposure of the general Chinese people was low, but the health risk of cadmium exposure of certain sub-groups should be of concern.

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Human-to-human transmissions of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus in Anhui province, 2010e2017 Dear Sir, Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) is a novel virus that belongs to the genus phlebovirus in the Bunyaviridae family. It was first isolated from the blood of Chinese patients in 2010 [1]. According to the China Information System for Diseases Control and Prevention (CISDCP), 23 provinces have reported cases of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) from the year 2010 to 2016. There has been an upward trend in reported cases, mainly distributed in northeastern , eastern and central China [2]. Human-to-human transmission has been reported to occur via contact with blood, body fluids, and vomitus in hospitals and at funerals [3e5]. Of the 1506 cases of SFTS reported in Anhui province since January 2010, human-to-human transmission has been involved in 24 (http://www.cdpc.chinacdc.cn). As of 31 December, 2017, seven index patients of SFTSV resulted in the secondary infection of 17 patients. Those seven human-to-human transmissions were distributed across six counties: two in Jinzhai and one each in Huaining, Guangde, Quanjiao, Chaohu, and Zongyang. The seven index patients (three men and four women, median age 63 years, range 46e68 years) were all farmers who lived in hilly or mountainous areas. After coming into contact with these patients, 17 secondary patients were infected, including 10 men and seven women. The median age of secondary patients was 45 years, with a range between 22 and 69 years (see Fig. 1). Of the 24 SFTS patients involved in human-to-human transmission, 18 (seven index patients and 11 secondary patients) experienced signs and symptoms of SFTSV infection, and eight (seven index patients and one secondary patient) died on the median day of Day 11 of the disease. Location at which human-to-human transmissions occurred included the funeral of three, in hospital of two, and two both in hospital and at funeral. Of the 17 secondary patients, five had a history of blood contact with an index patient, 11 had a history of blood and body fluid contact with an index patient, and one had a history of probable aerosol contact. The median incubation period for 12 patients (one index patient and 11 symptomatic secondary patients) was 9 days, ranging from 4 to 14 days. Close contact monitoring showed that six close contacts tested positive for immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Zongyang Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Clinical Microbiology and Infection j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w. c l i n i c a l m i c r o b i o l o g y a n d i n f e c t i o n. c o m