Climate change and predicted trend of fungal keratitis in Egypt.

Rising rates of invasive fungal infections may be linked to global climate change. A study was made of the trend of ophthalmic fungal corneal keratitis in the greater Cairo area of Egypt and its association with climate records during the same period. Data on diagnosed cases of fungal keratitis were collected from records of ophthalmic departments of Cairo University hospital and atmospheric temperature and humidity for the greater Cairo area were obtained from online records. Statistical analysis showed a significant increase in the relative frequency of keratomycosis during 1997-2007. The rise correlated significantly with rises n min,mum temperature and the maximum atmospheric humidity in the greater Cairo area over the same period (after exclusion of the effect of the maximum atmos pheric temperature). The predicted increase in keratomycosis up to the year 2030 corresponds to predicted increases in CO2 emissions and surface temperature from climate change models for Egypt.

Climate change and predicted trend of fungal keratitis in Egypt

Rising rates of invasive fungal infections may be linked to global climate change. A study was made of the trend of ophthalmic fungal corneal keratitis in the greater Cairo area of Egypt and its association with climate records during the same period. Data on diagnosed cases of fungal keratitis were collected from records of ophthalmic departments of Cairo University hospital and atmospheric temperature and humidity for the greater Cairo area were obtained from online records. Statistical analysis showed a significant increase in the relative frequency of keratornycosis during 1997-2007. The rise correlated significantly with rises in minimum temperature and the maximum atmospheric humidity in the greater Cairo area over the same period [after exclusion of the effect of the maximum atmospheric temperature]. The predicted increase in keratornycosis up to the year 2030 corresponds to predicted increases in CO[2] emissions and surface temperature from climate change models for Egypt

Seasonal and annual variations in air concentrations of Pb, Cd and PAHs in Cairo, Egypt.

A study is presented concerning the degree and extent of air pollution by cadmium, lead and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in atmospheric particulates of an urban area (El-Abasya) in Cairo, Egypt. The average yearly and seasonal concentrations are presented. The correlation coefficients between metals, and between metals and suspended PAHs are also reported. Statistical analysis showed seasonal and annual variations. Concentrations of PAHs, Pb and Cd were higher in winter than those measured at other times in the study area. The concentration of lead decreased by 40% from 3.36 microg(-3) in 1994 to 2.4 microg m(-3) in 1997 in consequence of the reduction of the Pb concentration in leaded gasoline fuel. The average cadmium concentrations showed significant decrease in 1997. The sum of the concentrations of PAHs was higher during the winter season 1997 (14.79 ng m(-3)) than in summer (7.53 ng m(-3)) and a highly significant difference was observed between the two seasons. In addition, the ratio of benzo(a)pyrene [B(a)P] to Pb was higher in winter than in summer, suggesting the contribution of a non-vehicular source of lead. The levels of lead observed are higher than those recorded in various other parts of the world.

Assessment of arsenic level in the hair of the nonoccupational Egyptian population: pilot study.

Arsenic level of hair samples of apparently healthy Egyptian was measured by means of hydride atomic absorption spectrophotometery. It ranged between 0.04 and 1.04 mg As/kg hair, about 55% of the analysed hair samples were within the range of allowable values (0.08-0.25 mg As/kg hair), but 45% were not. There were no considerable sex-related differences (0.303 and 0.292 mg As/kg hair for males and females, respectively). Different educational levels did not influence it either, when the effect of the age had been excluded. Children and adolescents proved to be more susceptible to arsenic as their mean levels (0.353 microg/g), and were significantly higher than those in the adults (0.233 microg/g). Smoking and some dietary habits had an important role in the elevation of arsenic levels among the nonoccupational Egyptian population: 60% of smokers and 66.7% of indoor passive smokers had arsenic levels >0.25 mg As/kg hair. Arsenic levels were also dependent on the kind of smoking, as hair arsenic of the subject smoking molasses tobacco was found to be significantly higher than that of cigarette smokers (0.459 and 0.209 mg As/kg hair, respectively). The frequency of meat and fish consumption per week was also found to be positively, significantly correlated with arsenic levels. On the other hand, the frequency of consumption of fruits, fresh and cooked vegetables, milk and milk products per week beneficially influenced the arsenic level of the hair samples examined. Arsenic content of the consumed water in Egypt was 0.001 mg/l, which is below the maximum drinking water level allowed by World Health Organisation (WHO). Therefore, the arsenic content of domestic tap water hardly contributed to the arsenic exposure of the Egyptian population in the regions of the study. It is likely that exposure routes by smoking, fish and animal protein consumption are the principal cause of arsenic accumulation in the general Egyptian population.

The impacts of exposure to organic compounds occurrence of natural origin in thermal water on health in Békés, Hungary.

Deep thermal well (75 degrees C) in Békés county, South East Hungary has been studied. The chemical measurements showed that the thermal water coming from deep geological layers (> 800 m) contains up to 117.2, 35.2, 30.2 and 26 micrograms/l of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes, respectively. The objectives of this study are: to measure these naturally occurring compounds; estimating to potential risk and hazard index for the population who are using this well mainly for swimming and health baths; assessing the relationship between exposure to environmental chemical and human health; and to stimulate thinking about possible broader uses of risk assessment in identifying and solving public health problems. This paper is not intended as a complete study concerning the four measured compounds. A particular emphasis on benzene which is highly toxic and carcinogenic has been paid. The exposure assessment of benzene based on Risk Assistant model was done. The results showed that the Hazard Quotient (H.Q.) for benzene is more than 1 (requiring actions) and the probability of getting cancer from this exposure is 8E-5 exhibiting high risk for exposed population.

Sensitivity analysis of risk assessment programs to various input parameters.

HESP 2.b risk assessment program was studied in detail concerning the effect of changing different input parameters for the output ADI values calculated by the program. We used the standard Netherlands 1.0 scenario offered by the program. With this we fixed a lot of input parameters which define the area, human and animal recipient parameters etc. The remaining 31 unfixed parameters were fixed at first to "BASE" input values and the BASE output values were calculated by HESP. Later we chose only one parameter at a time and changed it to an another value. The calculated ADI values were then compared to BASE output values. Seven parameters (soil type, soil usage, site length, soil pH, groundwater fraction in drinking water, basement floor type and Qev) were studied. We found, that changing soil pH or Qev have not any influence on the output ADI values in case of any contaminant. Soil type change has not any effect on the output ADI value in case of Pb or Cd but it seems to play important role in all cases of the four organic material we investigated. Changing soil usage have influence on the output ADI value almost in every case. It seems to be linear relation between the maximal concentration of contaminant and calculated ADI. Changing the site length and basement floor type gave in some cases different ADI values compared to BASE values. If we alter the groundwater fraction in drinking water we got usually different ADI values. With Risc Human risk assessment program we got similar results: nor the changes in soil type, site diameter or soil pH gave any changes in output ADI values. Our results hint that using HESP and Risc Human requires enhanced caution.

Lead risk assessment for children in Hungary by predicting their blood lead levels using US EPA integrated Exposure Uptake Biokinetic model.

The US EPA integrated Exposure Uptake Biokinetic (IEUBK 0.99d) lead exposure for children was validated, updated, and applied to predict mean blood lead levels based on lead uptake from multiple sources and provide assessment of risk. Surveys were carried out around houses in a polluted area (Heves, Hungary) in 1995. The collected data from that area have shown very high levels of lead in soil. In some cases the level of lead in soil has reached more than 1000 times the allowable limit value used (100 mg/kg) in Hungary. Moreover, the concentration of lead in air was measured and the concentration of lead in air varied from 0.05-1.83 micrograms/m3. The environmental data within the community were used to predict the children blood lead levels and to compare the observed estimates with the other predicted ones. The age of the investigated group of children varied from 0-60 months. The estimated blood lead levels have illustrated variation according to age, sex, and the specific site. It can be concluded from this study that the model can be used on a wide range to give us an excellent picture for site cleanup, to decision makers, and finally to use the environmental data to predict blood lead level for the community or population. Results of several validation exercises utilizing the IEUBK model comparing predicted and measured blood lead levels with international guidelines and the percent of risk of exceeding a specific blood lead level (i.e., 10 micrograms/dl) are presented in this paper.