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On 13 Nov. 1997 John Stafford wrote in part: > >Don't recall any head injuries; but I did live in Uganda for >4 years as a pre-teen where DDT and other nasties were >frequently employed (and sometimes by me), and although... > Also,Martha Rohrer wrote: > >I've often wondered if exposures to pesticides were the trigger events that >led to my husband's PD. John's comment about DDT in Uganda reminded me that >we were also exposed to a pesticide at the Kampala airport in 1963. All >passengers arriving in Uganda on a flight from Juba in southern Sudan were >sprayed liberally on head and body before being allowed to disembark. >(Tsetse fly control.) We also lived for some 45 years in the country in >central California surrounded by vineyards and orchards which, until >recently, were frequently treated with a wide variety of pesticides, >including the deadly Parathion. > >But Neal and I were exposed to the same substances to the same degree in >most cases. He has PD and I do not. His neuro says our individual genetic >makeup and inherited susceptibilities explain why we can share identical >exposure to hazards and other variables for half a century with very >different outcomes. Back in the mid '50s in Freeport TX and surrounding communities on the gulf coast, mosquitoes were so thick you couldn't sleep at night, let alone enjoy outside activities. Fear of mosquito-borne diseases, particularly encephylitis/meningitis also prompted local authorities to send sprayer trucks down the streets every other evening or so. Us folks in the less affluent neighborhoods (with no air conditioning) would rush to open all our doors and windows so the "beneficial" white cloud of DDT could infiltrate our homes and relieve us of the terrible plague of mosquitoes. We were very grateful for this service--it was great not to find blood spots from mosquito bites all over our sheets every morning! (I also had a canister of I think chlordane blow up in my face around that time, as I too struggled to control the insects.) Now, of course, we know better. Jim Jackson, 69/1+ Emily Jackson [log in to unmask]