Rubella in Seattle-King County Washington

Assessment of the results of rubella hemagglutination-inhibition tests from women of child-bearing age in Seattle-King County suggests no community susceptibility problem except among women age 19 in 1976. Within this cohort 23 per cent were susceptible, probably because these women were too young to experience a full exposure to natural rubella prior to introduction of rubella vaccine and too old to be immunized against rubella in the elementary schools in 1970. Follow-up of women under age 25 who were seronegative for rubella antibody indicated that one-third subsequently received rubella vaccine.

Venereal transmission of shigellosis in Seattle-King county

In the past, shigellosis in Seattle-King County has been primarily a disease of children, their parients, and foreign travelers. During the 18 months beginning in July 1975, an outbreak of shigellosis in Seattle's community of gay men involved both Shigella flexneri and Shigella sonnei. They accounted for nearly 30% of all cases of shigellosis reported to the health department. Fellatio and/or oral-anal contact was reported by 90% of the infected homosexual men; this was probably the mechanism of transmission of most infections. Intercity spread was determined by case histories and by the finding of S. flexneri 3, a previously unusual organism in Seattle.

Diphtheria on Skid Road, Seattle, Wash., 1972-75

From July 1972 to December 1975, an unusual outbreak of diphtheria in Seattle, Wash., resulted in a total of 558 cases and carriers, mostly among heavy alcohol users. Skin infections were predominant. Four white men died. The highest attack rate was among native American Indians. Environmental contamination and poor personal hygience were believed to be important in continuation of the epidemic, but could not be proved. Control measures included casefinding, isolation and quarantine, sanitizing dwelling units and mass immunization with Td toxoid. The high-risk geographic area was the city's Skid Road. This area continues to be the reservoir of continuing infection, but not all population subgroups there have been at equal risk. Spread to other geographic areas of the city and county has been minimal and remains under control.

Design and Operation of the NASA 91.5-cm Airborne Telescope

A 91.5-cm aperture telescope is being built for ir and submillimeter observations at altitudes of 12 km to 14 km aboard a StarLifter (Lockheed C-141A) aircraft. The main optics will be totally reflecting, and aerodynamic boundary layer control will permit open-port operation (no material window). The elevation will be adjustable in flight between 35 degrees and 75 degrees . Westward flying will permit several hours' observation of an object near transit at constant bearing (azimuth) and with little change in elevation. An air bearing support with inertial stabilization and star tracking will give a net line-of-sight stability of better than 2-sec of arc rms in the open-port mode.

NASA Program of Airborne Optical Observations

NASA's Ames Research Center currently operates a Convair 990 four-engine jet transport as a National Facility for airborne scientific research (astronomy, aurora, airglow, meteorology, earth resources). This aircraft can carry about twelve experiments to 12 km for several hours. A second aircraft, a twin-engine Lear Jet, has been used on a limited basis for airborne science and can carry one experiment to 15 km for 1 h. Mobility and altitude are the principal advantages over ground sites, while large payload and personnel carrying capabilities, combined with ease of operations and relatively low cost, are the main advantages compared to balloons, rockets, or satellites. Typical airborne instrumentation and scientific results are presented.