Fate and transport of ethoprophos in the Jamaican environment

The hydrolytic half lives of ethoprophos in distilled, river, brackish and open sea water were 25, 133, 65 and 81 days, respectively. Under laboratory conditions, volatilisation of the residues after 12 h was 1.4 - 3.6, 2.3 - 4.5 and 6.5 - 20.2 percent from a sandy loam soil with 1, 10 and 20 percent moisture levels, respectively. Photolysis in soil was significantly faster (P< 0.05) in direct sunlight (T 1/2 of 12.3 days). The microbial degradation of ethoprophos from unweeded plantation soil at 23 degrees slope was significantly (P=0.015) less than at 38 degrees slope; the amounts lost after 9 weeks and 27.5 mm of rainfall were 89.4 and 91.2 percent respectively, of the applied amount from the two respective slopes. In the weeded plots, 93.6 and 92.4 percent of the applied insecticide were lost from 23 degrees and 38 degrees slopes, respectively. Under laboratory conditions, between 67.0 and 85.1 percent of ethoprophos leached through the soil columns. Under field conditions, after 9 weeks and 25 mm of rainfall, only 2.8 and 2.0 percent residues were recovered at a depth of 10-15 cm from unweeded and weeded slopes, respectively at 23 degrees slope, and 2.2 and 1.9 percent from the two respective plots at 38 degrees slope. (AU)

Pneumoconioses diagnosed at the National Chest Hospital, characteristics of patients and their environment, 1980-1989

The primary focus of the study is the prevalence of pneumoconioses diagnosed at the National Chest Hospital during the decade 1980-1989, with a view to determining the characteristics of the patients and the characteristics of the environment to which patients had been exposed. It is hoped that the finding will give a general picture of the status of the disease in Jamaica. The methodology used for data collection was primarily the perusal of dockets at the hospital. A total of thirty cases were diagnosed over the decade representing four disease in the category namely, pulmonary fibrosis, asbestosis, anthracosis and silicosis. Owing to the rarity of the diseases and consequently the few cases diagnosed over the period the data did not lend itself to certain statistical analyses. The cases diagnosed were more frequent among males in the older age groups. Most cases were also from Kingston due to the fact that it is the primary urban centre in Jamaica. Based on occupation, it was easy to fathom why some persons were diseased. (AU)

Clustering of human T lymphotropic virus type 1 seropositive in Montserrat, West Indies: evidence for an environmental factor in transmission of the virus

A community survey of human T cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) in Montserrat, West Indies, identified 22 instances in which 2 HTLV-I-seropositive adults lived within 60 m of each other (close pairs), compared with 7.8 expected (P<.001). Five of these close pairs were mother offspring or husband-wife. The remaining 17 pairs were of unrelated members in separate households. The percentages of male-female (41 percent), female-female (41 percent), and male-male (18 percent) types in these 17 pairs were similar to those among the 1377 similarly defined pairs in which neither or only 1 member was seropositive, affording no support for extramarital heterosexual activity as an explanation for the clustering observed. Thus, the demography of HTLV-I was not accounted for completely by sexual and mother-to-offspring tranmission. The predominace of clustering of unrelated HTLV-I-seropositive individuals in locations with high mosquito infestation raised the possibility of sporadic transmission of HTLV-I by hematophagous insects (AU)

Measurements of a radioactivity in Jamaican building materials and gamma dose equivalents in a prototype red mud house

Concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K measured in bauxite waste, local building materials, and soils are presented and used in model equations to estimate the effective gamma dose-equivalent increments over background in the center of a standard-sized room in a prototype house. Calculated and measured values compare reasonably well. (AU)

A proposed protocol and case report of the anaesthetic management of an HIV-positive patient

This report describes the anaesthetic mangement of an HIV-positive patient and proposes a protocol for the management that is suitable for the present working conditions in Jamaica (AU)

An investigation of the effects of industrial pollution around a combined industrial complex on the Island of Grand Bahama

The effects of industrial exposure on the eyes, ears respiratory, blood function, liver function, kidney function, skin function and the reproductive system was assessed by a cross-sectional method for four groups on the Island of Grand Bahamas in the Bahamas. These groups were students, teachers, workers in the industries and a radom selection of residents from the community. In order to evaluate the findings, the exposed cases were those members of the above groups that either went to school, taught, worked in or lived in the exposed area, a 5 mile radius around the industrial site, for a minimum of 5 years. No association was found between expsure to the pollution and disorders of either the respiratory system, blood function based on exams and/or lab results, however, slight associations although none of them significant were indicated from reported past histories in either one or several of the four (4) study groups. These alleged disorders included hypertension, diseases of the genito-urniary tract, gastro-intestinal disorders, and to a lesser extent respiratory disorders and symptoms associated with coughs, colds, and fevers. For disorders of the eye and skin, observed through physical examinations, the results indicated several significant associations. For the eye these included chronic conjunctivitis in the workers and community groups. While eye opacities were initially recorded, the method of these examinations must be questioned and therefore the findings will not be quoted until further study and analysis. The skin exams showed excess cases of acute eczema in the groups of exposed workers, teachers and those from the communities and of ulcerative lesions in the exposed group from the community as well as from the sample of students (AU)

The role of environmental and host behavioural factors in determining exposure to infection with Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura

This study examines the contribution of environmental and host behavioural factors to the rate of reinfection with geohelminths in children. Preceeding the field study, two practical procedures for estimating these factors were developed and standardised: first, a method, based on existing procedures, for extracting parasite eggs from soil samples; and second, an original method, based on the assessment of soil-derived silica from faeces, for quantifying the rate of soil ingestion (geophagia) by the study children In the field study, exposure of Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura was examined longitudinally at two Places-of-Safety (childrens' homes) in urban Kingston, Jamaica. At the start of the study, existing helminth infections were chemotherapeutically removed from the study populations who then naturally reacquired infection during a three month exposure period. At the end of this period the infection intensity was determined. Exposure to infection was quantified by estimating the rate of ingestion of geohelminth eggs throughout the study period. This was achieved by determining the density of eggs in the soil and the rate of soil ingestion. The eggs of both geohelminths were recovered from the soil at both localities. The mean egg densities ranged from 0.05 to 4.0 epg-soil. The eggs were overdispersed at the other. The estimated rate of egg ingestion (of each species) was overdispersed among the two populations. At the home with young children of relatively uniform age, there was a significant correlation between the rate of egg ingestion and the reacquired infection intensity: subjects who have a high rate of egg ingestion have high worm burdens. This correlation was not significant for the population of older children who were heterogeneous in age. It is suggested that the older subjects may have shown more restrained geophagic behaviour. Additionally, those who were more homogeneous in age, and perhaps susceptible to infection, tended to show a more direct relationship between the rates of egg ingestion and parasite establishment. The study demonstrated that the number of parasites established in the host was of the same order of magnitude as the number of eggs ingested from soil. This implies that for the study populations, soil ingestion is a major source of geohelminth infection (AU)

Environmental lead hazard in a high-risk Jamaican population

During the last decade there has been a rapid proliferation of lead smelters, particularly illegal backyard smelters in Jamaica which has increased the risk of lead poisoning to employees and those living in proximity to these operations. Blood samples from 351 persons working in or living near lead smelting factories were analyzed for lead levels. There were 116 children and 235 adults. The mean age of the children was 5.9 years and the mean period of exposure to environmental lead was 5.2 years. The mean age of the adults was 30 years, with the mean period of exposure being 7.1 years. The mean blood lead level in the children was 62.1 ug/dl which was greater than that in adults in whom the mean level was 43.3 ug/dl. Fifty-one per cent of the children and 60 percent of adults had a blood lead level of 40 ug/dl or greater. Toxic levels occur commonly in adults and especially children working in or living near lead smelting operations. Urgent measures are needed to reduce the risk of lead toxicity to this high-risk population and the community. (AU)

The medical geography of clinical leptospirosis in Barbados 1976 to 1982

This study examines the inter-relationship of the factors: host, agent and human activity in producing clinical leptospirosis in Barbados from 1976 through 1982. These inter-relationships are examined at 2 levels: the macro (parish) and the micro (district) levels. At the macro level the factors of rainfall, drainage and involvement in agriculture were found to have significant associations with the average morbidity pattern. When plotted relative to rainfall, 71.8 percent of the cases occurred in locations and months of above average rainfall. When plotted relative to drainage, 91.3 percent of the cases occurred in areas below 250 ft., where clay infilling in watercourses produced flood-prone environments, or in areas above 250 ft. which were within 220 yd. of watercourses. The net result is that rainfall and drainage combined accounted for 98.5 percent of cases at this level. The Rainfall-Agricultural Involvement multiple regression model explained 60 percent of the variation in parish morbidity over the time period. These factors, however, did not adequately explain micro-level patterns of morbidity. To understand these, human activity was examined. This analysis utilized an adaptation of 2 methodologies - the 24 hr. Recall Technique and Water Contact Studies. These were used to determine exposure to the physical environment, and its relation to the pattern of morbidity. For this examination 2 areas were studied - St. Philip South-West, a high morbidity area with more cases than could be explained by the moisture factor alone, and St. James East, with fewer. Exposure to the physical environment was found to vary according to location, sex and the pattern of human activity. These all had strong associations with morbidity. The micro-level study revealed that there are 2 distinct spheres of exposure - the home and the work environments - and there tends to be little overlap in these 2 spheres. The study also revealed that there was a spatial variation in the nature of contact with the environment which may be an important consideration in explaining the micro-level pattern of morbidity. (AU)

Bagassosis: an epidemiological, environmental, and clinical survey

An epidemiological and environmental survey of 170 bagasse workers employed by a raw sugar producing company in Trinidad was carried out in order to assess the prevalence of respiratory symptoms and to determine if exposure to bagasse was associated with alterations in ventilatory capacity. The epidemiological survey failed to reveal a significantly increased prevalence of respiratory symptoms in the more exposed group but showed that the group of Indian workers who were regularly and continously exposed to bagasse had a significantly lower ventilatory capacity than the control group. This diminished ventilatory capacity was demonstrated despite negligible dust concentrations in the plant. However, the possibility that persistence exposure to low concentrations of bagasse may be the cause must be considered. During a five-year period, 17 patients with bagassosis were seen, the clinical picture being similar to that described in extrinsic allergic alveolitis from other causes. The systematic variations demonstrated in some indices of ventilatory function in different racial groups is discussed.(AU)

Some disease associated with protein malnutrition, as seen in Jamaica

Three diseases which occur in Jamaica, akee poisoning, veno-occlusive disease, and kwashiorkor are described. It is thought that previous protein malnutrition is necessary for these disease to appear (AU)