Food behavior and folate status of hill-tribe schoolchildren and women of childbearing age on the northern border of Thailand.

An insight into the folate nutritional status of the population is important from a public health perspective. The protective effect of folate against neural tube defects (NTDs) is widely recognized. To assess the health and nutritional status, especially folate status, of vulnerable hill-tribe groups, a cross-sectional study was conducted on 197 schoolchildren and 136 women of childbearing age in Chaloem Phra Kiat District, Nan Province, Thailand. The nutritional status of the study group was investigated by dietary survey, and blood samples were taken to determine hematocrit, protein, and serum and red blood cell folate. Anthropometric measurements were taken to assess body size, composition and nutritional indexes. The health and nutritional status of the hill-tribe schoolchildren and women of childbearing age were found to be unacceptable, particularly inregard to folate status, which was indicated by low folate levels found in the blood samples, and in the intake of this micronutrient.

Intertidal snail-trematode communities on the southern Thailand before and after the South Asia tsunami.

Intertidal snail-trematode communities in southern Thailand were examined before and after the South Asia tsunami. Infection rates and species diversity of cercaria in the host snail Cerithidea in tidal zones did not change significantly from one year before to one month after the tsunami. However, the host snails C. quadrata, C. alata and C. obtusa disappeared from greatly damaged sites. It is important to follow up on the intertidal snail-trematode community recovery process after destruction of the intertidal ecosystem.

Freshwater mollusks at designated areas in eleven provinces of Thailand according to the water resource development projects.

The study was conducted at 75 collecting loci in 15 districts of 11 provinces in Thailand during 1999-2004. A total of 12,079 live mollusks were collected, 11,874 were snails and 205 were clams. The snails were comprised of 39 species and classified into 9 families: Ampullariidae, Bithyniidae, Buccinidae, Potamiopsidae, Stenothyridae, Thiaridae, Viviparidae, Planorbidae and Lymnaeidae. The clams were comprised of 14 species classified into 2 families: Amblemidae and Corbiculidae. Fifteen species were medically important snails: Pomacea canaliculata, Pila ampullacea, P. pesmei, P. polita, Bithynia (Digoniostoma) funiculata, B. (D.) siamensis goniomphalos, B. (D.) s. siamensis, Filopaludina (Siamopaludina) martensi martensi, F. (Filopaludina) sumatrensis polygramma, Melanoides tuberculata, Tarebia granifera, Helicorbis umbilicalis, Gyraulus convexiusculus, Indoplanorbis exustus and Radix rubiginosa. Of these 3 snail species harbored trematode cercariae. I. exustus harbored Echinostoma malayanum, Xiphidio and Schistosoma spindale, and R. rubiginosa and B. (D.) siamensis goniomphalos harbored Xiphidio and intestinal flukes, respectively.

Malacological survey in Phang-Nga Province, southern Thailand, pre- and post-Indian Ocean tsunami.

Three malacological surveys were conducted in the Takua Pa District of Phang-Nga Province, southern Thailand, before and after the Indian Ocean Tsunami disaster. Twenty-nine species of fresh- and brackish-water snails were found, in which 10 species of freshwater snails were present, including live Pila polita; 8 species were of medical importance. Two brackish-water snails, Nerita articulata and Littorinopsis scabra, were absent after the tsunami disaster, while brackish-water Cerithidea cingulata and C. djadjariensis harbored 9 types of trematode cercariae.

Health and nutrition survey of tsunami victims in Phang-Nga Province, Thailand.

The post-tsunami health and nutritional statuses of survivors were surveyed three months after the disaster struck. Non-participant observations and questionnaires were used to study the effects of the disaster on their lifestyles and health while residing in temporary shelters provided by the government and private donors. Anthropometrics were measured and dietary surveys conducted to elicit nutritional status. Our findings indicated good management of drinking water in the temporary shelters. Toilet construction and water supply were adequate, but wastewater and sewage systems were poorly managed. The study group still suffered from injuries after the disaster, and complained of back pain, stress, and sleep disorders. Most in the study group had unsatisfactory health behaviors, and obesity was an increasing problem among female participants.