BITES from mosquitoes carrying unidentified viruses might explain childhood leukaemia clusters around the town of Fallon in Nevada. And last week, a separate found no link between nuclear power plants and childhood leukaemia.
The Nevada cluster is the largest in the US. Previous research failed to find a link between the cases and carcinogenic chemicals. The new study of the 14 Fallon cases that arose between 1997 and 2003 鈥� a rate 12 times higher than normally expected in such a period 鈥� concludes that military personnel may have brought a virus to the area, which was then spread by mosquitoes. The cluster 鈥渇izzled out鈥� once all vulnerable children had been infected.
鈥淭he rural location of most cases suggests mosquitoes as a possible vector,鈥� says study author of the University of California, San Francisco (Chemico-Biological Interactions, ).
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In the UK just 20 cases occurred within 5 kilometres of 13 nuclear power plants between 1969 and 2004 鈥� six fewer cases than at seven 鈥渃ontrol鈥� sites where nuclear plants were planned but never built. 鈥淲e should be looking in other places for possible causes,鈥� says Alex Elliott of the , which produced the .
