Quantitative assessment of the health risk, associated with drinking water quality in the Gusinoozersk industrial hub

Drinking water, as one of the main components of the habitat, determines human health and quality of life. In the past few decades, almost all water sources, both surface and underground, have been subject to intensive anthropogenic and technogenic impact. Lake Gusinoye, which is the main source of drinking water supply to adjacent settlements, is experiencing significant anthropogenic pressure. Based on the results of hydrochemical studies, the toxic effect of heavy metals on the population health, resulting from the consumption of drinking water of the centralised water supply from Gusinoye Lake, was considered. The results of a quantitative assessment of public health hazards showed that the risk of non-carcinogenic (toxic) effects is high in the territory of the Gusinoozersk industrial hub.

Model Action Plan for the Implementation of Vector Surveillance at the International Airports/ Seaports: Point of Entries (PoEs)

As per International Health Regulations (2005), all the International airports and seaports are to be kept free from the vectors, which may cause public health hazards through transmission of pathogen through them. The country is presently connected by air, sea and road through porous borders. Due to the new challenges/ requirements brought about by the IHR (2005), necessary efforts are being made in India to ensure effective vector surveillance and control at POEs. It is also intended for use by the concerned port health officers, airport health officers, border health officers, regulators, port operators, and other competent authorities in charge of implementing the IHR (2005) at points of entry. This present SoP/ guidelines regarding vector surveillance and control may be used as a basis for the development of a management plan for preparing and performing vector surveillance and applying public health measures within the framework of the IHR (2005). The primary aim of developing model action plan is to assist public health authorities at PoE in strengthening core capacities and managing vector surveillance and control programmes by providing technical guidance on the optimal use of resources, planning, monitoring, and decision-making. There seems to be an urgent need for the vector control experts to be engaged at each international airport/ seaports due to fast expansions of the areas of the airports/ seaports and in view of receptivity and presence of breeding potential habitats of Aedes mosquitoes.

MEDICAL EVALUATION OF THE POTENTIAL BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL DANGERS IN HIGH-RISK FOODS

Purpose: The current European legislation assigned the responsibility for food safety to the food producers and traders. In this aspect, the aim of the survey was to provide critical analysis of the functioning of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) systems in the production of foods, presenting certain risks of specific public health hazards - foodborne toxicoinfections, infections and intoxications, for chemical contamination and additives, etc. The survey covered HACCP-systems and prerequisite programmes of 4 enterprises manufacturing confectionery products, ready-to-serve foods, pasteurized egg products, sterilized canned foods. Material/methods: Monitoring and critical analysis of the In-plant control system and HACCP of four enterprises for the production of: confectionery products, ready-to-serve-dishes in public catering, sterilized canned foods, pasteurized egg semi-ready products Results: The current experience has revealed major defects in hazard analysis, adequacy of critical points, corrective actions and verification procedures. The article contains recommendations and suggestions for improving the work of manufacturers and harmonizing relationships with regulatory authorities in the event of inconsistencies in production. Conclusions: The authors concluded that a comprehensive medical evaluation of the HACCP systems was necessary for the prevention of foodborne diseases.

A Systematic Review on the Effectiveness of Pre-Harvest Meat Safety Interventions in Pig Herds to Control Salmonella and Other Foodborne Pathogens

This systematic review aimed to assess the effectiveness of pre-harvest interventions to control the main foodborne pathogens in pork in the European Union. A total of 1180 studies were retrieved from PubMed® and Web of Science for 15 pathogens identified as relevant in EFSA’s scientific opinion on the public health hazards related to pork (2011). The study selection focused on controlled studies where a cause–effect could be attributed to the interventions tested, and their effectiveness could be inferred. Altogether, 52 studies published from 1983 to 2020 regarding Campylobacter spp., Clostridium perfringens, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Mycobacterium avium, and Salmonella spp. were retained and analysed. Research was mostly focused on Salmonella (n = 43 studies). In-feed and/or water treatments, and vaccination were the most tested interventions and were, overall, successful. However, the previously agreed criteria for this systematic review excluded other effective interventions to control Salmonella and other pathogens, like Yersinia enterocolitica, which is one of the most relevant biological hazards in pork. Examples of such successful interventions are the Specific Pathogen Free herd principle, stamping out and repopulating with disease-free animals. Research on other pathogens (i.e., Hepatitis E, Trichinella spiralis and Toxoplasma gondii) was scarce, with publications focusing on epidemiology, risk factors and/or observational studies. Overall, high herd health coupled with good management and biosecurity were effective to control or prevent most foodborne pathogens in pork at the pre-harvest level.

Assessing the Fatty Acid, Carotenoid, and Tocopherol Compositions of Seeds from Apple Cultivars (Malus domestica Borkh.) Grown in Norway

Apple production generates large amounts of apple pomace including seeds, leading to high transportation costs, public health hazards and undesirable odor. A new reuse strategy of this kind of waste could solve environmental issues and/or create unconventional sources of health beneficial products. In total, seeds from 75 apple cultivars grown in Norway (both domestic and international) have been analyzed for the first time for oil content and fatty acid profile together with tocopherols and carotenoids quantification in defatted seeds. Seeds from cultivar Håkonseple had the highest oil content (22.10%), with linoleic, oleic acid, and palmitic acid as the most abundant fatty acids. The levels of β-carotene and lycopene carotenoids and α-tocopherol were the highest in defatted seeds of the cultivar Sureple Grøn. Principal component analysis separated cultivars according to the total oil content. The Norwegian apple cultivars Håkonseple, Kviteple, Tolleivseple, Vinterrosenstrips, and Tokheimseple are recommended for obtaining vegetable oil due to their high oil contents, while cultivar Sureple Grøn can be separated due to its high levels of β-carotene, lycopene and total tocopherols.

Uganda Mountain Community Health System—Perspectives and Capacities towards Emerging Infectious Disease Surveillance

In mountain communities like Sebei, Uganda, which are highly vulnerable to emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, community-based surveillance plays an important role in the monitoring of public health hazards. In this survey, we explored capacities of village health teams (VHTs) in Sebei communities of Mount Elgon in undertaking surveillance tasks for emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases in the context of a changing climate. We used participatory epidemiology techniques to elucidate VHTs’ perceptions on climate change and public health and assessed their capacities to conduct surveillance for emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. Overall, VHTs perceived climate change to be occurring with wider impacts on public health. However, they had inadequate capacities in collecting surveillance data. The VHTs lacked transport to navigate through their communities and had insufficient capacities in using mobile phones for sending alerts. They did not engage in reporting other hazards related to the environment, wildlife, and domestic livestock that would accelerate infectious disease outbreaks. Records were not maintained for disease surveillance activities and the abilities of VHTs to analyze data were also limited. However, VHTs had access to platforms that could enable them to disseminate public health information. The VHTs thus need to be retooled to conduct their work effectively and efficiently through equipping them with adequate logistics and knowledge on collecting, storing, analyzing, and relaying data, which will improve infectious disease response and mitigation efforts.

A HYPOTHETICAL DESIGN TO INHIBIT COVID 19 DISEASE DISASTER BY DIAGRAMMATIC MODEL

SARS-CoV-2 is a new entity in the globe studied vigorously in the present world. The estimated populations are around 47 million people who are affected by the virus and around 300,000 (16th May 2020) deaths resulted from the outbreak. The rate might keep on increasing due to the non-availability of a proper vaccine, following proper management with epidemiological studies, and displacement of contact individuals as a source of transmission in particular viral-prone regions. CoVID 19 is on its vigorous spread leading to a global impact on lots of sectors. The outreaching impacts play a role in international politics, scientific developments, and economic crises over the world, and global relations among the countries. This model attempts to determine the possible impacts and outcomes of the Pandemic over the international level and some possible ways to handle it effectively. An unpredictable catastrophe in the present scenario of the world is following a high range of public health hazards. Analytical plotted data assembles for imposing in multidisciplinary segments to cure and control morbidity, a mortality rate of disease clusters, and hotspots zone. The contagious outbreak was reprogrammed as a pandemic from Wuhan in China through the transmissible chain of human contacts. Currently, the infective chain is spreading day by day with high morbidity in the United States, Europe, Scandinavian countries, and India. The transmissible chain of the virus needs to break until any effective medicine or vaccine is launched.

JUSTIFICATION OF RISK-ORIENTED ASSESSMENT SYSTEM FOR ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF ATMOSPHERIC AIR POLLUTION ON POPULATION HEALTH BASED ON ASSESSMENT OF BENZENE LEVEL IN KAMIANSKE

Air pollution in industrial cities is one of the sources of the formation of non-infectious diseases of the population. Timely identification and application of preventive measures makes it possible to control and reduce the incidence rate of the population of technogenically loaded settlements. Purpose of the study. on the basis of a hygienic assessment of the concentration of benzene in the atmospheric air of Kamianske, substantiate the need for a risk-oriented approach to assessing the impact of the environment on the health of the population. Materials and research methods. Based on the monitoring studies carried out for the period 2016-2020. carried out a hygienic assessment of the quality of atmospheric benzene content in. Kamenskoe. The calculation and assessment of carcinogenic risks and analysis of the current regulatory levels in Ukraine have been carried out. Results. According to the results of the research, the tendency to increase the content of benzene in the atmospheric air of Kamianske was revealed. In 2020, the MPC was exceeded. Carcinogenic risk (CR) in Kamianske is unacceptable and requires the development of measures to reduce or eliminate the risk. The population carcinogenic risk (PCR) for city residents is 906 additional cancer cases. The analysis of the obtained results showed that the analysis of air pollution in comparison with the maximum concentration limit, which for benzene is 1.5 mg / m3 for maximum single concentrations and 0.1 mg / m3 for average daily concentrations, does not allow to identify public health hazards in time. and develop the necessary set of preventive measures, in contrast to the risk assessment system. Conclusions. The tendency to increase the concentrations of benzene in the air in Kamyanske has been established. It is proved that the calculated carcinogenic risk is unacceptable for the population of an industrial city. The necessity of calculation and risk assessment for timely identification, risk assessment and development of preventive measures is substantiated. The use of risk assessment techniques allows to identify potentially dangerous effects for the population affected by the actual concentrations of benzene within the MPC.

Uganda Mountain Community Health System Perspectives and Capacities Towards Emerging Infectious Disease Surveillance

In mountain communities like Sebei, Uganda, that are highly vulnerable to emerging and reemerging infectious diseases, community-based surveillance plays an important role in the monitoring of public health hazards. In this survey, we explored capacities of Village Health Teams (VHTs) in Sebei communities of Mount Elgon in undertaking surveillance tasks for emerging and reemerging infectious diseases in the context of a changing climate. We used participatory epidemiology techniques to elucidate VHTs’ perceptions on climate change and public health and assess their capacities in conducting surveillance for emerging and reemerging infectious diseases. Overall, VHTs perceived climate change to be occurring with wider impacts on public health. However, they have inadequate capacities in collecting sur-veillance data. The VHTs lack transport to navigate through their communities and have in-sufficient capacities in using mobile phones for sending alerts. They do not engage in reporting other hazards related with the environment, wildlife and domestic livestock that would ac-celerate infectious disease outbreaks. Records are not maintained for disease surveillance ac-tivities and the abilities of VHTs to analyze data are also limited. However, VHTs have access to platforms that can enable them to disseminate public health information. The VHTs thus need to be retooled to conduct their work effectively and efficiently through equipping them with adequate logistics and knowledge on collecting, storing, analyzing, and relaying data, which will improve infectious disease response and mitigation efforts.

Managing crisis and living in crisis: health & place, what separation? A holistic view of the community environment at Sherbourne and Dundas

A person’s environment greatly influences and informs their emotional health, wellbeing and ability to live with dignity and express agency. The Sherbourne and Dundas neighborhood presents a matrix of spaces entrenched with high levels of violence, incivilities and public health hazards. Currently, there are numerous institutions working within and surrounding this community all with a mandate to support the vulnerable and stigmatized who live here yet to date has not been actualized on any level at Sherbourne and Dundas. The environmental living conditions for the neighborhood and the participants of this study are quickly deteriorating putting everyone within and surrounding the area at increased risk Findings of this narrative study with three residents indicate that there to be a stronger balance between community and service user voice in developing and informing programming as well at determining who occupies space in their environment as ‘helpers ’and other structural and systemic representations which yield a great amount of power as brokers in this marginalized and vulnerable neighbourhood space. In doing so this community would be able to hold power accountable in this environment, disrupt the hybridization of institutionalization that is in effect in this space.