Psychobehavioural responses to the 2014 Middle East respiratory syndrome-novel corona virus (MERS CoV) among adults in two shopping malls in Jeddah, western Saudi Arabia.

Sporadic cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome caused by a novel corona virus (MERS-CoV) were first detected in Saudi Arabia in June 2012. The number of cases was highest during April and May 2014. To assess determinants of psychobehavioural responses among the general population in Jeddah, western Saudi Arabia, a cross-sectional survey was conducted at the end of June 2014. Data included sociodemographic characteristics, level of anxiety, protective measures and social avoidance responses. A total of 358 participants completed the questionnaire; 58.4% were female, and the age range was 18-72 years. None of the participants was diagnosed with MERS-CoV. More than half (57.7%) recorded a moderate anxiety score using a visual analogue scale. Anxiety level was significantly associated with increased perception of susceptibility to infection and social avoidance behaviours related to travel and being in public places.

Psychobehavioural responses to the 2014 Middle East respiratory syndrome-novel corona virus [MERS CoV] among adults in two shopping malls in Jeddah, western Saudi Arabia

Sporadic cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome caused by a novel corona virus [MERS-CoV] were first detected in Saudi Arabia in June 2012. The number of cases was highest during April and May 2014. To assess determinants of psychobehavioural responses among the general population in Jeddah, western Saudi Arabia, a cross-sectional survey was conducted at the end of June 2014. Data included sociodemographic characteristics, level of anxiety, protective measures and social avoidance responses. A total of 358 participants completed the questionnaire; 58.4% were female, and the age range was 18-72 years. None of the participants was diagnosed with MERS-CoV. More than half [57.7%] recorded a moderate anxiety score using a visual analogue scale. Anxiety level was significantly associated with increased perception of susceptibility to infection and social avoidance behaviours related to travel and being in public places

Des cas sporadiques d'infection par le coronavirus du syndrome respiratoire du Moyen-Orient [MERS-CoV] ont été détectés pour la première fois en Arabie saoudite en juin 2012. Le nombre de cas le plus élevé a été observé en avril et mai 2014. Afin de mesurer les déterminants des réactions psycho-comportementales de la population générale de Djeddah, dans la partie occidentale de l'Arabie saoudite, une étude transversale a été conduite fin juin 2014. Les données incluaient les caractéristiques socio-démographiques, le niveau d'anxiété, les mesures de protection et la mise en place de mesures d'éviction sociale. Un total de 358 participants ont rempli le questionnaire, dont 58,4% de femmes, les âges étant compris entre 18 et 72 ans. Le MERS-CoV n'a été diagnostiqué chez aucun patient. Plus de la moitié [57,7%] a rapporté un score d'anxiété modéré en se basant sur une échelle visuelle analogue. Le niveau d'anxiété était associé de façon significative à une perception augmentée de sensibilité à l'infection et au phénomène d'éviction sociale lié à la possibilité de voyager ou de se rendre dans les lieux publics

Evaluation of an educational intervention for farming families to protect their children from pesticide exposure.

A culturally appropriate educational intervention was developed and directed towards farming families in Menoufia governorate, Egypt, to improve their knowledge and practices in protecting their children from exposure to pesticides. Parents were randomly assigned to either a lecture or videotape training group. Ability to recall information or improve practices among parents was evaluated in 3 sessions: pretraining and 2 weeks and 1 month after training. Knowledge and practice scores after training of younger and more educated participants were significantly higher than older, less educated participants. Knowledge and practice performance of the videotape group was better than the lecture group and in both groups the improvement of knowledge scores after training was significantly higher than that of practice scores.

Evaluation of an educational intervention for farming families to protect their children from pesticide exposure

A culturally appropriate educational intervention was developed and directed towards farming families in Menoufia governorate, Egypt, to improve their knowledge and practices in protecting their children from exposure to pesticides. Parents were randomly assigned to either a lecture or videotape training group. Ability to recall information or improve practices among parents was evaluated in 3 sessions: pretraining and 2 weeks and 1 month after training. Knowledge and practice scores after training of younger and more educated participants were significantly higher than older, less educated participants. Knowledge and practice performance of the videotape group was better than the lecture group and in both groups the improvement of knowledge scores after training was significantly higher than that of practice scores

Neurobehavioural effects among workers occupationally exposed to organophosphorous pesticides.

AIMS: To identify neurobehavioural deficits among workers exposed to organophosphorous (OP) pesticides in their occupation. METHODS: This study was conducted during the period when pesticides were applied to cotton crops in the fields in Menoufiya Governorate, Egypt. Fifty two occupationally exposed male workers were compared to 50 unexposed male controls who were similar in age, socioeconomic class, and years of education (> or =12 years). All participants completed a questionnaire (assessing personal, occupational, and medical histories), general and neurological clinical examination, neurobehavioural test battery (including tests for verbal abstraction, problem solving, attention, memory, and visuomotor speed), personality assessment, and serological analysis for serum acetylcholinesterase. RESULTS: After correcting for confounders of age and education, the exposed participants exhibited significantly lower performance than controls on six neurobehavioural tests (Similarities, Digit Symbol, Trailmaking part A and B, Letter Cancellation, Digit Span, and Benton Visual Retention). A longer duration of work with pesticides was associated with lower performance on most neurobehavioural tests after adjusting for multiple comparisons. Although serum acetylcholinesterase was significantly lower in the exposed than the control participants, it was not significantly correlated with either neurobehavioural performance or neurological abnormalities. CONCLUSIONS: Occupational exposure to OP pesticides was associated with deficits in a wider array of neurobehavioural functions than previously reported, perhaps because of higher exposure in this population. Moderate chronic OP exposure may not only affect visuomotor speed as reported previously, but also verbal abstraction, attention, and memory.