scholarly journals Impact of landfill leachate contamination on surface and groundwater of Bangladesh: a systematic review and possible public health risks assessment

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fahmida Parvin ◽  
Shafi M. Tareq

AbstractDumping of solid waste in the non-engineered landfill is very common in the developing countries. Among the different disadvantages of this kind of landfilling, leachate is the major concern to public health, which is a toxic byproduct generated from the landfill; and can percolate to the ground water and consequently migrate in surface water. Using systematic review on published data, the present study endeavors to compare the leachate contamination potential of four major landfills of Bangladesh, named Amin Bazar, Matuail, Mogla Bazar and Rowfabad; which are situated in 3 of the 6 big mega cities of Bangladesh and assessed the effects of leachate leakage on surrounding water body as well as on human health. This study, for the first time calculated the leachate pollution index (LPI) for the landfill sites of Bangladesh and found that the LPI of Matuail landfill site (19.81) is much higher which is comparable to some polluted landfill sites of India and Malaysia. The concentrations of several potentially toxic metals found in the surface and ground water in the vicinity of the landfill sites were above the maximum permissible limit values of department of Environment, Bangladesh and World Health Organization (WHO). The human health risk index for toxic heavy metals in different vegetables and rice grain showed high health risk potential for Pb, Cd, Ni, and Mn. The total carcinogenic risk for Ni and Pb are found very high in the edible plants near those landfill sites, suggesting the risk of Ni and Pb induced carcinogenesis by the consumption of those plants. The present conditions of surface, ground water and agriculture products near the landfill sites of Bangladesh are much frightening to the biota and local inhabitants.

Author(s):  
E Yankovich ◽  
N Osipova ◽  
K Yankovich ◽  
I Matveenko

2015 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Cummings

Public health communication makes extensive use of a linguistic formulation that will be called the “no evidence” statement. This is a written or spoken statement of the form “There is no evidence that P” where P stands for a proposition that typically describes a human health risk. Danger lurks in these expressions for the hearer or reader who is not logically perspicacious, as arguments that use them are only warranted under certain conditions. The extent to which members of the public are able to determine what those conditions are will be considered by examining data obtained from 879 subjects. The role of “no evidence” statements as cognitive heuristics in public health reasoning is considered.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Mazin Barry

Objective. Data on the prevalence of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in Middle Eastern and North African countries are scarce. We aimed to review all relevant published data in countries belonging to this region to determine the overall prevalence of LTBI in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Methods. In this systematic review PubMed and Google Scholar databases were searched for observational, prospective, retrospective, cross-sectional, and cohort studies providing prevalence data of LTBI in any MENA country. Studies fulfilling the search criteria were incorporated in the review. Overall prevalence of LTBI with 95% confidence intervals (CI) was calculated using the random-effects model; heterogeneity was assessed using I 2 statistics. Gender and age group-based subgroup analyses were performed to evaluate the basis of heterogeneity. Results. The total number of overall LTBI studies identified was 956, of which 31 studies from ten countries within the MENA region were included that represented 12,439 subjects. The overall prevalence was 41.78% (95% CI 31.18% to 52.78%, I 2 = 99.31 % ). By gender-based subgroup analysis, the prevalence of LTBI was 33.12% (95% CI 18.97% to 49.04%, I 2 = 99.25 % ) and 32.65% (95% CI 19.79% to 47%, I 2 = 98.89 % ) in males and females, respectively, while in the age-based subgroup analysis, the prevalence of LTBI was 0.44% (95% CI -0.05% to 0.9%), 3.37% (95% CI 2.23% to 4.74%, I 2 = 0 % ), and 43.81% (95% CI 33.09% to 54.82%, I 2 = 99.18 % ) for children, adolescents, and adults, respectively. Conclusion. This systematic review reveals a high prevalence of LTBI in the MENA region; enhanced LTBI surveillance and prompt infection prevention steps are urgently needed to prevent active tuberculosis, this would help achieve the World Health Organization End TB Strategy 2035, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030 target in the MENA region.


2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (s1) ◽  
pp. s116-s116
Author(s):  
Ellen Bloomer ◽  
Tina Endericks

Introduction:Risk assessment for mass gatherings (MGs) is undertaken to enable public health authorities to systematically identify and assess the generic characteristics of an MG, which introduce or enhance particular threats and develop measures to reduce or mitigate these threats. The World Health Organization Collaborating Centres on Mass Gatherings and Global Health Security (WHO CCs) produced a comprehensive guide to MGs called “Public Health for Mass Gatherings: Key Considerations” (KC2). This is being converted into an eLearning resource. A public health risk assessment toolkit is being developed by the WHO CCs to complement and guide organizers in their planning process for the health risks associated with an MG event. Preparations for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games (BCG) are underway and it is important to involve a public health element in the planning for the BCG.Aim:To develop a public health risk assessment toolkit for MGs and pilot it as part of the planning process for the BCG.Methods:Based on KC2 principles, methods included developing and finalizing a public health risk assessment toolkit for MGs. This study also piloted the toolkit for the BCG.Results:A toolkit will be developed. Key learning will be documented on how the toolkit can be improved. The pilot will identify the key public health risks for the BCG, and assess how to mitigate them.Discussion:The development of this toolkit will be an innovative contribution to the resources available for those organizing MGs. It will support organizers to conduct risk assessments and thus maximize the potential for health from the event. Piloting the toolkit for the BCG is an opportunity for validating it, and provides valuable learning for its use in future events. It will support the risk assessment process for the BCG and share learning regarding the key risks for this event.


Author(s):  
Paddy C. Dempsey ◽  
Stuart J. H. Biddle ◽  
Matthew P. Buman ◽  
Sebastien Chastin ◽  
Ulf Ekelund ◽  
...  

Abstract Background In 2018, the World Health Organisation (WHO) commenced a program of work to update the 2010 Global Recommendations on Physical Activity for Health, for the first-time providing population-based guidelines on sedentary behaviour. This paper briefly summarizes and highlights the scientific evidence behind the new sedentary behaviour guidelines for all adults and discusses its strengths and limitations, including evidence gaps/research needs and potential implications for public health practice. Methods An overview of the scope and methods used to update the evidence is provided, along with quality assessment and grading methods for the eligible new systematic reviews. The literature search update was conducted for WHO by an external team and reviewers used the AMSTAR 2 (Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews) tool for critical appraisal of the systematic reviews under consideration for inclusion. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) method was used to rate the certainty (i.e. very low to high) of the evidence. Results The updated systematic review identified 22 new reviews published from 2017 up to August 2019, 14 of which were incorporated into the final evidence profiles. Overall, there was moderate certainty evidence that higher amounts of sedentary behaviour increase the risk for all-cause, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer mortality, as well as incidence of CVD, cancer, and type 2 diabetes. However, evidence was deemed insufficient at present to set quantified (time-based) recommendations for sedentary time. Moderate certainty evidence also showed that associations between sedentary behaviour and all-cause, CVD and cancer mortality vary by level of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), which underpinned additional guidance around MVPA in the context of high sedentary time. Finally, there was insufficient or low-certainty systematic review evidence on the type or domain of sedentary behaviour, or the frequency and/or duration of bouts or breaks in sedentary behaviour, to make specific recommendations for the health outcomes examined. Conclusions The WHO 2020 guidelines are based on the latest evidence on sedentary behaviour and health, along with interactions between sedentary behaviour and MVPA, and support implementing public health programmes and policies aimed at increasing MVPA and limiting sedentary behaviour. Important evidence gaps and research opportunities are identified.


BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. e031840 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhaoli Dai ◽  
Cynthia M Kroeger ◽  
Sally McDonald ◽  
Matthew J Page ◽  
Joanne E McKenzie ◽  
...  

IntroductionCurrent recommendations for vitamin D and calcium in dietary guidelines and bone health guidelines vary significantly among countries and professional organisations. It is unknown whether the methods used to develop these recommendations followed a rigourous process and how the differences in methods used may affect the recommended intakes of vitamin D and calcium. The objectives of this study are (1) collate and compare recommendations for vitamin D and calcium across guidelines, (2) appraise methodological quality of the guideline recommendations and (3) identify methodological factors that may affect the recommended intakes for vitamin D and calcium. This study will make a significant contribution to enhancing the methodological rigour in public health guidelines for vitamin D and calcium recommendations.Methods and analysesWe will conduct a systematic review to evaluate vitamin D and calcium recommendations for osteoporosis prevention in generally healthy middle-aged and older adults. Methodological assessment will be performed for each guideline against those outlined in the 2014 WHO handbook for guideline development. A systematic search strategy will be applied to locate food-based dietary guidelines and bone health guidelines indexed in various electronic databases, guideline repositories and grey literature from 1 January 2009 to 28 February 2019. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarise the data on intake recommendation and on proportion of guidelines consistent with the WHO criteria. Logistic regression, if feasible, will be used to assess the relationships between the methodological factors and the recommendation intakes.Ethics and disseminationEthics approval is not required as we will only extract published data or information from the published guidelines. Results of this review will be disseminated through conference presentations and peer-reviewed publications.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42019126452


Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (7) ◽  
pp. 1501 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chung-Pei Chang ◽  
Po-Hsun Hou ◽  
Wei-Cheng Yang ◽  
Ching-Fen Wu ◽  
Chia-Chia Chang ◽  
...  

Exposure to residues of antibiotics (e.g., sulfonamides) and insecticides (e.g., organophosphorus insecticides) in aquacultured food can adversely affect humans and animals and thus affect public health globally. Here, using a validated method, we examined the levels of residues of 12 sulfonamides as well as 18 organophosphorus insecticides in aquacultured fish in Taiwan. A total of 52 fish samples (i.e., 20 tilapia, 16 milk fish, and 16 perch samples) were obtained from Taiwanese aquafarms from June 2018 to October 2019. We detected 0.02 and 0.03 mg/kg of sulfamethazine (a sulfonamide) in one tilapia and one milk fish, respectively, and 0.02, 0.05, and 0.03 mg/kg of chlorpyrifos (an organophosphorus insecticide) in one tilapia, one milk fish, and one perch, respectively; thus, among the samples, 3.85% and 5.77% contained sulfonamides and organophosphorus insecticide residues, respectively. Furthermore, we assessed human health risk based on the estimated daily intakes (EDIs) of these residues: EDIs of sulfonamide and organophosphorus insecticide residues were <1.0% of the acceptable daily intake recommended by the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations/World Health Organization Expert Committee on Food Additives. The risk of exposure to sulfonamide and organophosphorus insecticide residue by consuming aquacultured fish in Taiwan was thus negligible, signifying no immediate health risk related to the consumption of fish. Our findings can constitute a reference in efforts geared toward ensuring food safety and monitoring veterinary drug and insecticide residue levels in aquacultured organisms. Residue levels in fish must be continually monitored to further determine possible effects of these residues on human health.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ajaykumar Kadam ◽  
Vasant Wagh ◽  
James Jacobs ◽  
Sanjay Patil ◽  
Namdev Pawar ◽  
...  

Abstract Groundwater occurrence in hard rock basaltic terrains is restricted to weathered and fractured zones and pockets wherein slow movement of groundwater, prolonged rock-water interactions and higher residence time alter the natural chemistry of groundwater raising water quality issues. The qualitative geochemical analysis, contamination levels and human health risk assessment (HHRA) of groundwater is an integral step in groundwater management in the Deccan Plateau basalt flow region of India. Representative groundwater samples (68) collected from the Shivganga River basin area during pre-monsoon (PRM) and post-monsoon (POM) seasons in 2015 were analyzed for major cations and anions. According to World Health Organization (WHO) EC, total dissolved solids, hardness, bicarbonate, calcium and magnesium surpassed the desirable limit. Boron and fluoride content exceeded the prescribed desirable limit of the WHO. The pollution and drinking suitability were assessed by computing pollution index of groundwater (PIG), groundwater quality index (GWQI), and HHRA particularly for boron and fluoride toxicity. PIG values inferred that about 6% of groundwater has moderate, 24% has low, and 70% has insignificant pollution in the PRM season; while, only 1 sample (3 %) showed high pollution, 6% showed low, and 91% showed insignificant pollution in the POM season. GWQI results indicate that 27% and 15% samples are within the poor category, and only 15% and 18% of the samples fall within the excellent water quality category in the PRM and the POM season, respectively. Total hazard index (THI) revealed that 88% of children, 59% of adults, and about 38% of infants are exposed to non-carcinogenic risk, as THI values (> 1) were noted for the PRM season; while, 62% of children, 47% of adults and 24% of infants, are vulnerable to non-carcinogenic health hazard during the POM period.


Author(s):  
Krishna Regmi ◽  
Cho Mar Lwin

AbstractIntroductionSocial distancing measures (SDMs) protect public health from the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, the impact of SDMs has been inconsistent and unclear. This study aims to assess the effects of SDMs (e.g. isolation, quarantine) for reducing the transmission of COVID-19.Methods and analysisWe will conduct a systematic review meta-analysis research of both randomised controlled trials and non-randomised controlled trials. We will search MEDLINE, EMBASE, Allied & Complementary Medicine, COVID-19 Research and WHO database on COVID-19 for primary studies assessing the effects of SDMs (e.g. isolation, quarantine) for reducing the transmission of COVID-19, and will be reported in accordance with PRISMA statement. The PRISMA-P checklist will be used while preparing this protocol. We will use Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines (JBI Critical Appraisal Checklists) to assess the methodological qualities and synthesised performing thematic analysis. Two reviewers will independently screen the papers and extracted data. If sufficient data are available, the random-effects model for meta-analysis will be performed to measure the effect size of SDMs or the strengths of relationships. To assess the heterogeneity of effects, I2 together with the observed effects (Q-value, with degrees of freedom) will be used to provide the true effects in the analysis.Ethics and disseminationEthics approval and consent will not be required for this systematic review of the literature as it does not involve human participation. We will be able to disseminate the study findings using the following strategies: we will be publishing at least one paper in peer-reviewed journals, and an abstract will be presented at suitable national/international conferences or workshops. We will also share important information with public health authorities as well as with the World Health Organization. In addition, we may post the submitted manuscript under review to bioRxiv, medRxiv, or other relevant pre-print servers.Strengths and limitations of this studyTo our knowledge, this study will be the first systematic review to examine the impact of social distancing measures to reduce transmission of COVID-19.This study will offer highest level of evidence for informed decisions, drawing a broader framework.This protocol reduces the possibility of duplication, provides transparency to the methods and procedures that will be used, minimise potential biases and allows peer-review.This research is not externally funded, and therefore time and resource will be constrained.If included studies will be variable in sample size, quality and population, which may open to bias, and the heterogeneity of data will preclude a meaningful meta-analysis to measure the impact of specific SDMs


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