ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: 1. To determine the incidence and the prevalence of pesticide poisoning in Kelaniya Medical Officer of Health (MOH) area. 2. To establish causes of pesticide poisoning in the community. DESIGN: Questionnaire survey based on 10% cluster sample of agricultural workers. SETTING: Kelaniya MOH area situated 10 km north-east of Colombo, during April 1986 to May 1987. FUNDING: Natural Resources Energy and Science Authority of Sri Lanka. RESULTS: The percentage of pesticide users ever poisoned in the past was 21.7% and during the year before the study was 7.5%. CONCLUSION: Lack of knowledge on pesticides and inability to afford protective clothing are the major factors contributing to pesticide poisoning.
Subject(s)
Agricultural Workers' Diseases/chemically induced , Cluster Analysis , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Humans , Incidence , Pesticides/poisoning , Prevalence , Protective Clothing , Sri Lanka/epidemiologyABSTRACT
This communication reports of two cases of digital clubbing in a factory manufacturing matches in Vitilevu, Fiji Islands. Both these cases were occupationally exposed to chemicals used in the manufacture of matches. They had physical contact with these chemicals including rhodamine B dye. Subjects who worked in the same factory area, including one worker who had FEV1.0 and FVC values below the predicted normal, but who did not handle chemicals showed no evidence of finger clubbing.