Bangladesh-Bangladesh mass poisoning mystery solved
16 Nov 2009
New Scientist [edited][ProMed]
One of the world's great poisoning mysteries may have been solved -- the source of the arsenic that turns up in lethal quantities in hundreds of thousands of wells across Bangladesh. The answer is ponds.
Bangladesh occupies the flood-prone delta of the river Ganges. In the past half-century, villagers have had to dig pits for soil to raise their homes above the floods. Water-filled pits cover roughly a tenth of the delta, and appear to be poisoning the wells Bangladeshis sink for drinking water.
Organic carbon in silt and sewage settles on the bottom of the stagnant ponds and seeps underground, where it is eaten by microbes. This microbial oxidation releases arsenic already in the delta silt -- it washed down into the delta from the Himalayas over thousands of years. The arsenic dissolves in underground water and is tapped by village wells.
As long as Bangladeshis drank surface water they were safe. In the late 1970s the country switched to ground water and since then researchers estimate arsenic has poisoned 2 million Bangladeshis. Luckily for rice eaters, arsenic in the paddy fields is usually flushed away during the monsoon season.

BhutanFarmers' unsafe pesticide use
12 Aug 2009
Kuensel Online [edited][FSNet]
Farmers in Bhutan are at risk from pesticide mis-management, according to findings by the food and agriculture organization (FAO) and the national plant protection centre (NPPC).
The study was carried out over 45 days in eight dzongkhags this year after high, medium and low risk gewogs were identified, based on pesticide use in each dzongkhag.
The report pointed out many errors found in the usage of pesticide application, unsafe storage and disposal of containers, with farmers exhibiting symptoms of pesticide poisoning.
It was found that farmers used faulty preparation of pesticide spray solution, with no measuring devices, often resulting in over- or under-usage of pesticides on crops. Poor safety observation while applying toxic pesticides was found among a majority of farmers, including women, with no safety gear like hand gloves, masks or goggles. Even storage of pesticides was not done properly at various levels. There were no separate rooms for storing pesticides and herbicides, which are normally stored along with other pesticides, furniture, farm tools and ceilings that could result in leakage of pesticides.
Disposal of empty pesticides was also improper, says the report, as containers were buried in makeshift toilets, pits and forest areas or often burnt, while metal containers were sold as scrap.

India:Pesticide level in veggies, fruits rises
10 Jun 2009
Economic Times [edited] [FSNet]
The presence of pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables is getting higher than the maximum permissible levels (MPL), revealed a recent survey by the Union government. Besides, vegetables from some parts of Uttar Pradesh were found presence of banned pesticides. The survey, conducted over a year from November 2007 to October 2008 across the country by the Union agriculture and cooperation ministry, found that 18% vegetables and 12% fruits, both home grown and imported, contained pesticide residues, including banned pesticides.
In 4% vegetables and 2% fruits, these residues are higher than the maximum permissible levels. The survey, which considered water sample and market samples of vegetables, fruits, spices, cereal grains, milk, butter, fish, tea, honey, meat and marine products, for possible presence of pesticide residues, analysed a total of 12,004 samples during the year.

Bangladesh -Bacterial contaminants in carbonated soft drinks sold in markets
31 Mar 2009
International Journal of Food Microbiology, Volume 130, Issue 2, 31 March 2009, Pages 156-158 [edited] [iFSN]
Muhammad Ali Akond, Saidul Alam, S.M.R. Hasan, Sanzida Mubassara, Sarder Nasir Uddin
A total of 225 carbonated soft drink (CSD) samples from nine brands, from various locations in five metropolitan cities of Bangladesh were examined to determine their bacteriological quality. Most samples were not in compliance with microbiological standards set by organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO).Pseudomonas aeruginosawas the predominant species with an incidence of 95%.Streptococcusspp. andBacillus stearothermophiluswere the next most prevalent with numbers ranging from 6 to 122 and 9 to 105 cfu/100 ml, respectively. Fifty four percent of the samples yieldedSalmonellaspp. at numbers ranging from 2 to 90 cfu/100 ml. Total coliform (TC) and fecal coliform (FC) counts were found in 68–100% and 76–100% of samples of individual brands, at numbers ranging from 5 to 213 and 3 to 276 cfu/100 ml, respectively. According to WHO standards 60–88% of samples from six brands and 32% and 40% of samples from two other brands belonged to the intermediate risk group with FC counts of 100–1000 cfu/100 ml. Heterotrophic plate counts, however, were under the permissible limit in all 225 samples. These findings suggest that carbonated soft drinks commercially available in Bangladesh pose substantial risks to public health.

Surveillance of antimicrobial resistance ofSalmonella entericaserotype Typhi in seven Asian countries
01 Jan 2009
Epidemiology and Infection, 137:266-269 [edited][iFSN]
C.-H. CHUANG, L.-H. SU, J. PERERA, C. CARLOS, B. H. TAN, G. KUMARASINGHE, T. SO, P. H. VAN, A. CHONGTHALEONG, P.-R. HSUEH, J.-W. LIU, J.-H. SONG and C.-H. CHIU
Two hundred and fourSalmonella entericaserotype Typhi (S. Typhi) isolates were collected from seven Asian countries during 2002–2004. Multidrug-resistantS. Typhi (resistant to xs2A7E3 antibiotics) was detected in 84 (41.2%) isolates and 142 (69.6%) showed reduced susceptibility to ciprofloxacin (minimum inhibitory concentration=0·125–1·0 mg/l). This study highlights the worsening situation of antimicrobial resistance ofS. Typhi in Asia.
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