Academic literature on the topic 'Gastroenteritis, Water Quality, Infant Morbidity'

The influence of the chemical composition of water in the Republic of Altai (RA) on medical-demographic indices has been studied. It has been found that the water is poorly mineralized, the fluorine content in it is three times lower than the optimal one, and the pollution of the water with toxicants 3.3—4.6 times exceeds the maximum permissible level. Significant correlation coefficients (р < 0.05) are revealed between the excess over the maximum permissible concentrations of toxicants in the drinking water and infant mortality; total chemical pollution of water and total adult morbidity, optimality index of the drinking water and morbidity with new-onset circulatory diseases, fluorine content in the drinking water and the level of congenital defects, water mineralization and hardness and the oncological mortality level in RA rural regions.

Water-borne diseases are among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in developing countries and around 2.2 million people die every year due to basic hygiene-related diseases, like gastroenteritis, diarrhea, typhoid and dysentery. Eighty-six water samples were randomly collected from urban water supply system of Kathmandu, and analyzed for physiochemical and microbiological parameters to assess drinking water quality. Residual chlorine was undetectable in 100% samples. Salmonella was detected in 4 samples by enrichment culture technique in Selenite F broth followed by plating on Salmonella-Shigella Agar. A total of 10 isolates were identified as Salmonella (S. Paratyphi, 10% and non-typhi, 90%) by conventional biochemical test. The majority of the isolates were susceptible to most of the antimicrobials tested; however, resistance was observed to amoxicillin (70%), cephalexin (20%) and ceftizoxime (14.28%). There was no significant relationship between coliform and Salmonella positivity (P = 0.366). The microbiological quality of urban water supply system is poor and indicates chances of outbreak of Salmonella infection. Key-words: drinking water quality; Nepal; water-borne disease; water pollution.DOI: 10.3126/botor.v6i0.2911 Botanica Orientalis - Journal of Plant Science (2009) 6: 52-55

INTRODUCTION: Rotavirus is the main cause of gastroenteritis in Canadian children younger than five years of age, resulting in significant morbidity and cost. The present study provides evidence on the cost effectiveness of two alternative rotavirus vaccinations (RotaTeq [Merck Frosst Canada Ltd, Canada] and Rotarix [GlaxoSmithKline, Canada]) available in Canada.METHODS: Analysis was conducted through a Markov model that followed a cohort of children from birth to five years of age. Analysis used pertinent data on the natural history of rotavirus and the effects of vaccination. Estimates of heath care costs for children requiring hospitalizations and emergency department visits were derived from the Canadian Immunization Monitoring Program, Active (IMPACT) surveillance, emergency department studies, as well as other Canadian studies. The model estimated the effect of vaccination on costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs).RESULTS: The incremental cost per QALY gained from the health care system perspective was $122,000 for RotaTeq and $108,000 for Rotarix. From the societal perspective, both vaccination strategies were dominant – both cost saving and more effective. The cost-effectiveness of vaccination is dependent on the mode of administration, the perspective adopted and the cost of the vaccine.CONCLUSIONS: From a societal perspective, a universal vaccination program against rotavirus will be both cost saving and more effective than no vaccination. Becasue the majority of rotavirus infections do not require emergency department visits or hospital admission, from a health care system perspective, a program would not be considered cost effective.

Abstract In rural Ecuador, microbial water contamination is associated with child morbidity mainly due to gastroenteritis. Black ceramic water filters (BCWF) are a new household water treatment recently developed to improve microbial removal from the classical model implemented worldwide. This study has assessed BCWF microbial performance at laboratory level by continuous filtering of spiked water with microbial surrogates (Escherichia coli and MS2 bacteriophage) and highly contaminated surface water to evaluate physicochemical pollutants' removal. At field level, baseline studies in Nanegal and Gualea districts have been performed to evaluate water quality and hygiene practices among communities and a six-month BCWF field implementation study in the Santa Marianita community. Results revealed poor drinking water quality in communities studied. Water treatment practices at household level were reported in low percentages. Conversely, results in BCWF filter assays at laboratory level for 600 litres of usage have shown 5.36 logarithms of bacterial removal and 3.83 logarithms for viral removal and significant reductions of physicochemical pollutants considering international standards. BCWF implementation in the Santa Marianita community reveals promising results on microbial water quality in households using this new technology. However, it is important to reinforce correct BCWF maintenance for better performance at field level.

Shellfish have been identified as vehicles of foodborne enteric disease in the United States since the first part of the twentieth century. Between 1900 and 1983, 198 incidents or outbreaks involving 8,659 cases were reported nationally. In New York State, reports of shellfishborne gastroenteritis and/or hepatitis A began to increase in 1981, when one outbreak involving 234 cases of gastroenteritis was reported. In subsequent years, the following were reported: 1982, 103 outbreaks of gastroenteritis involving 1,017 cases and 10 cases of hepatitis A; 1983, 33 outbreaks of gastroenteritis involving 504 cases; 1984, 15 gastroenteritis outbreaks and 256 cases; and the first five months of 1985, 10 outbreaks of gastroenteritis involving 98 cases. States, countries or provinces identified as sources of shellfish implicated in these outbreaks included: New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, England North Carolina and Prince Edward Island. The source investigations were seriously impaired by numerous inadequacies in current shellfish-tagging regulations and the manner in which these are enforced. Possible solutions to prevent further shellfishborne disease outbreaks include: (a) improve shellfishborne disease surveillance and reporting; (b) embargo shellfish sold by shippers implicated in disease outbreaks; (c) adopt strict state and federal laws to control the sanitary quality of all shellfish; (d) accomplish greater participation in the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference; (e) provide an adequate number of enforcement officers; (f) develop a microbiologic growing water and/or product standard that assures viral as well as bacteriologic safety; (g) properly classify shellfish-harvesting waters; (h) mandate a manifest-type tagging system; (i) strictly enforce wholesale and retail shellfish-tagging requirements; (j) require depuration of all shellfish sold; and (k) advise the public against the consumption of raw or partially cooked shellfish. If these or other approaches fail to prevent morbidity, a ban on the sale of raw shellfish may be the only solution.

In developing countries including Ghana, giardiasis plays a major role in gastroenteritis in vertebrate. It poses health and socio-economic burden, and continues to be one of the causes of infant and calf mortality. Their infection continues to thrive in humans due to the zoonotic transmission of infected domesticated animals including cattle, dogs and cats, and their con­tinual presence in water bodies. The objective of this study was to establish their presence and evaluate the prevalence of Giardia sp. in cattle faecal matter in the environment in the Kpong and Weija communities. The Iron-haematoxylin staining techniques was used to analyze the faecal samples in order to identify Giardia sp. (Student t- test and Chi square were the statistical analyses) used for the studies. About five percent (5.3%) prevalence was obtained in both com­munities and this was significant (p> 0.05). The parasite was found to be most prevalent (9.4%) in calves less than 3 months old and this decreased with age of calf. It was also observed that Giardia plays an important role in the cause of diarrhoea in cattle. There is the need to educate people on the disease and its implication on the quality of water from the treatment plants. Keywords: Giardia sp, water, contamination, diarrhoea, infant mortality.

<p>Despite the fact of being the largest economy in Latin America, piped water service coverage and sewage collection is not universal in Brazil. The relationship between access to water/sanitation and health was the objective of many studies recently. The majority of the existing work focuses on the impact of access to water and sewage, not investigating the effects of water quality and treatment. Moreover, the existing literature usually focuses on infant mortality and life expectancy indicators. Although these measures are important, they may not capture all the relevant public costs associated with health and related to hospitalizations. This paper aims at filling this gap by identifying the effects of sanitation policies on children morbidity rates by certain diseases in Brazilian municipalities.</p>

Background: Inappropriate infant and young child complementary feeding practices related to a lack of maternal knowledge contributes to an increased risk of malnutrition, morbidity, and mortality. There is a lack of data regarding the effect of nutrition education on maternal knowledge, feeding, and hygiene practices as part of a supplementary feeding intervention targeting infants and young children with moderate acute malnutrition in low-income countries like Uganda. Objective: To determine whether nutrition education improves knowledge, feeding, and hygiene practices of mothers with infants and young children diagnosed with moderate acute malnutrition. Methods: A cross-sequential study using a pretest–posttest design included 204 mother–infant pairs conveniently sampled across 24 randomly selected clusters. Weekly nutrition education sessions were embedded in a supplementary porridge intervention for 3 months. Mean scores and proportions for knowledge, feeding, and hygiene practices were determined at baseline and end line. The difference between mean scores at the 2 time points were calculated with the paired t test analysis, while the proportions between baseline and end line were calculated using a z test analysis. Results: Mean scores for knowledge, dietary diversity, and meal frequency were higher at end line compared to baseline ( P < .001). Handwashing did not improve significantly ( P = .183), while boiling water to enhance water quality improved ( P < .001). Conclusion: Nutrition education in conjunction with a supplementary feeding intervention targeting infants and young children with moderate acute malnutrition improved meal frequency, dietary diversity and water quality.

Foodborne and waterborne viruses are a major cause of human morbidity. Of them, noroviruses are recognised as the leading causative agents of sporadic infections and epidemic outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis in humans. Contaminated food products and water are the main source of infection with noroviruses. The infection of bivalve molluscs with human pathogenic viruses occurs by faecal contamination in the production coastal waters. In this study, 47 samples of live bivalve molluscs, including 15 samples of cultivated mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) and 32 samples of wild mussels (Tapes decussatus), collected from the Bulgarian and Mediterranean coasts, respectively, were submitted to RT-real-time TaqMan PCR to detect the presence of noroviruses genotype GI and GII. Norovirus genotype GII was found in 11 (23.4%) of all the samples tested. A single mollusc sample (2.1%) was positive for both norovirus genotypes. Our results demonstrated that shellfish intended for sale on the Bulgarian market might pose a potential risk for acquiring norovirus infection. Thus, food safety quality control of shellfish by optimised and standardised methods for detection of foodborne viruses, including noroviruses, should be urgently implemented in Bulgaria.

Three birth cohorts are currently being followed in Pelotas, Southern Brazil, in order to assess changes in birth conditions, growth, development, morbidity, and infant mortality, as well as the influence of pre- and perinatal factors on the subsequent morbidity of participants in their adult lives. We provide a description of the methodology used for the cohort studies that began in 1982, 1993, and 2004 in Pelotas, and a description of the economic conditions of the families involved. For the three cohorts, similar strategies were used to recruit babies born to mothers living in the municipality's urban area. These included daily visits to maternity hospitals where births were identified, mothers interviewed, and newborns examined. Over this time frame, there has been a significant reduction in the number of births due to declining fertility rates amongst the target population. Salaries (measured as a multiple of the minimum wage) were stable across cohorts, but quality of life indicators - such as the availability of piped water, flushing toilets and refrigerators - showed clear improvements. Mothers' levels of education improved markedly. Important changes in the demographic profile of risk factors and health outcomes are being recorded by the Pelotas cohorts.

FundaÃÃo Cearense de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Cientifico e TecnolÃgico
As doenÃas de veiculaÃÃo hÃdrica sÃo consideradas surtos caracterÃsticos de regiÃes, em que o abastecimento de Ãgua potÃvel e a estrutura sanitÃria encontram-se desorganizados e atà mesmo inexistentes. Objetivou-se traÃar um diagnÃstico das doenÃas de veiculaÃÃo hÃdrica prevalentes em crianÃas (na faixa etÃria de 0 a 4 anos) na cidade de Crato/CE. Trata-se de uma pesquisa quantitativa, do tipo documental, desenvolvida no municÃpio de Crato - CE. Com relaÃÃo ao nÃmero de crianÃas atendidas pelas Equipes de SaÃde da FamÃlia viu-se que na zona rural, no ano de 2010, 2096 crianÃas e na zona urbana 4812, jà no ano de 2011 na zona rural, 2012 crianÃas e na zona urbana 4319. A coleta pÃblica passou a atender 78,7% das famÃlias, com reduÃÃo na dispersÃo do resÃduo sÃlido em cÃu aberto para 10%. Houve um aumento das canalizaÃÃes das residÃncias passando para 35,6% das famÃlias, bem como um aumento do acesso à Ãgua prÃpria para consumo humano passando em mÃdia para 83,4% das famÃlias. Percebe-se que a Zona Rural, nos distritos de Campo Alegre, Monte Alverne e Dom Quintino, encontra-se recebendo Ãgua de outras fontes que nÃo a Rede PÃblica o que compromete a qualidade da saÃde. No ano de 2010, ocorreram 55 casos de dengue, com um de FHD, 6 casos de Leishmaniose Tegumentar, um caso de Hepatite A. No ano de 2011 foi possÃvel evidenciar 21 casos de Dengue, um caso de FHD, 4 casos de Leishmaniose Tegumentar, e uma notificaÃÃo de Hepatite A. Quanto a Gastroenterite, no ano de 2010 e 2011, foram acometidas 1039 e 930 crianÃas respectivamente, jà no HMSFA nos respectivos anos, foram atendidas 1043 e 766 crianÃas. Percebe-se que as DVH sÃo encontradas em regiÃes em que nÃo hà planejamento urbano, acesso à Ãgua de qualidade, distribuiÃÃo desigual de renda, ausÃncia de saneamento bÃsico, bem como, estÃo relacionadas com o desenvolvimento In-SustentÃvel. Dessa maneira, todas as suas formas de transmissÃo e contÃgio poderiam ser quebradas melhorando a renda, a moradia, o saneamento, serviÃos essenciais que possibilitam a qualidade de vida da populaÃÃo. Cabe, assim, aos gestores, observar a cadeia das DVH e trabalhar para que as comunidades recebam a assistÃncia com acesso igual e de qualidade, favorecendo a saÃde.
The water-borne diseases are considered outbreaks from regions in which the drinking water supply and sanitary conditions are unorganized or even inexistent. The main aim of this work was to raise up a diagnosis about the water-borne diseases from Crato, CE. The documental quantitative research observed that in 2010 there were 2096 children attended by the Family health team in the countryside of the city, while there were 4812 in the urban area. In 2011, 2012 and 4319 children were attended in the countryside and urban area, respectively. The garbage gathering attended 78.9% with a reduction of the waste open to 10%. There was an increasing in the houses with sewage up to 36.5% with the families being attended, as well as there was an increasing of the access to own water to human consumption getting 83.4% of the families in average. It was observed the districts of Campo Alegre, Monte Alverne and Dom Quintino, in the countryside, get water from other sources than the public one. This implicates the health quality. Thus, it was observed that in 2010 it occuried 55 cases of dengue, being one of FHD; 6 cases of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis and one of Hepatitis A. In 2011, occurred 21 cases of dengue, being one of FHD; 4 cases of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis and one of Hepatitis A. It was registered 1039 and 930 cases of children with gastroenteritis in 2010 and 2011, respectively. In the same period, 1043 and 766 children were attended in the HMSFA. We can observe that the water-borne diseases are really related to regions that have not urban planning, access to good quality water, income distribution, sanitation, as well as they are related with the non- sustainable development. Thus, all the transmission and contamination ways could be pull out getting improvements in the conditions cite above. Therefore, it is up to managers observe the water-borne diseases chain and to work to pull out this conditions to improve the health conditions.