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Article Abstract

In order to assess the prevalence of nonzoonotic soil-transmitted helminths in the Yenagoa Metropolis, 480 soil samples were collected from five communities for 12 months. The soil samples were collected along two transects from the waterfront and community playgrounds. Analysis was by standard methods. The results obtained from the study described in this article showed that 44.79% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 40.34%–49.24%) of the soil samples tested positive for nonzoonotic soil-transmitted helminths. Ascaris lumbricoides was the most common helminth with a prevalence rate of 35% (95% CI = 30.73%–39.27%). Mixed occurrence of nonzoonotic soil-transmitted helminths was 10.21%. Although the community playgrounds had a higher prevalence of nonzoonotic soil-transmitted helminths than the waterfront (p > .05), more cases of mixed occurrence of nonzoonotic soil-transmitted helminths occurred in the waterfront  than the community playgrounds (p > .05). The wet season had a higher prevalence rate of nonzoonotic soil-transmitted helminths than the dry season (p < .05). The observed high prevalence of nonzoonotic soil-transmitted helminths in soil is considered a potential public health risk to swimmers and children playing outdoors in the Yenagoa metropolis.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the association of asthma hospital visits with ozone concentrations in Maricopa County, Arizona. We used time plots and distributed lag nonlinear models to achieve these objectives while accounting for some potential confounders including temperature and day of the week. A total of 90,381 asthma hospitalizations were retrieved from the dataset (daily median = 39, range: 8–122). Asthma hospitalizations were highest in 2008 (16,949), during the months of November through December, and lowest in 2011 (13,213), during the months of June through July. By contrast, the average daily ozone concentration ranged from 27.05 parts per billion (ppb) in 2012 to 30.15 ppb in 2008 and from 13.96 ppb in December to 40.58 ppb in May. The association between asthma hospitalizations (relative risk [RR/per 10 ppb increase of ozone]) start at ~1.046 (95% confidence interval [1.029, 1.064] at lag 0) and gradually decrease over several days. Our findings suggest exposure to ozone is associated with increased RR of asthma hospital visits in Maricopa County lasting several days. This study used recently developed methods that are freely available and could be used to evaluate other health events that are measured over time.

Most prior research investigating the health effects of extreme cold has been limited to temperature alone. Only a few studies have assessed population vulnerability and compared various weather indicators. The study described in this article intended to evaluate the effects of cold weather on admissions due to ischemic heart disease, especially acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and to examine the potential interactive effects between weather factors and demographics on AMI. The authors found that extremely low universal apparent temperature in winter was associated with increased risk of AMI, especially during lag4–lag6. Certain demographic groups such as the elderly, males, people with Medicaid insurance, people living in warmer areas, and areas with high PM2.5 concentration showed higher vulnerabilities to cold-AMI effects than other groups.

Abstract

Ultrafine particles (UFPs) are ubiquitous in urban air and have been recognized as a risk to human health. The aim of this study was to measure the relationships among ultrafine particles and other ambient air pollutants and meteorological factors in the Tampa Bay Area. This study measured continuous UFPs, black carbon, oxides of nitrogen (NO_x), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), nitric oxide (NO), carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O₃), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), particulate matter having an aerodynamic diameter of 10 microns or less (PM₁₀), relative humidity, wind speed, and ambient temperature during January to March 2014. Moreover, the study compared the relationship between UFPs and various co-pollutants daily, including during morning rush hour periods. This study found a moderate correlation among UFPs and black carbon, NO_x, NO₂, and NO during hourly continuous measurements and rush hour periods, and a low level of correlation among UFPs and CO, O₃, SO₂, PM₁₀, relative humidity, wind speed, and ambient temperature. This study indicates that co-pollutants should not be used as a surrogate to assess the human health risk from ultrafine particles exposure.