ABSTRACT
In Trinidad, small ruminant farms are semi-intensively managed under tropical conditions which support the development and survival of the infective stages of the helminths. Local farmers use anthelmintics to control gastrointestinal nematodes frequently. Frequent use of anthelmintics has the potential to select for populations of nematodes resistance to those chemicals. Hence, an attempt was made to study the efficacy of commonly used drugs on gastrointestinal nematodes of sheep. Three farms situated in different counties in Trinidad were selected. Sheep aged 6-15 months and not treated with anthelmintics for a minimum of six months previous and with faecal egg count (FEC)>150 eggs per gram were selected for study. They were allocated into 5 groups, each consisting 10 animals. The Group TA animals were treated once with albendazole (5mg/kg. b.wt.), group TF with fenbendazole (5mg/kg.b.wt.), group TI animals with ivermectin (200 µg/kg b.wt.), group TL with levamisol (7.5mg/kg b.wt.). The group NTC animals were not given any drug and served as control. The number of nematode eggs per gram of faeces from each animal was determined before treatment and at 14 days after treatment. The anthelmintic susceptibility to different drugs was detected by FECRT (in vivo) with EPG recorded at 14 day post-treatment. The data analysis using FECRT revealed that efficacy of albendazole (46-62%), fenbendazole (44-61%) and levamisol (53-81%) were reduced compared to ivermectin (95-97%). An attempt has also been made to find a suitable method for calculation of FECR (%).
Subject(s)
Anthelmintics/pharmacology , Drug Resistance, Multiple , Gastrointestinal Diseases/veterinary , Nematoda/drug effects , Nematode Infections/veterinary , Sheep Diseases/drug therapy , Albendazole/pharmacology , Animals , Feces/parasitology , Fenbendazole/pharmacology , Gastrointestinal Diseases/drug therapy , Gastrointestinal Diseases/epidemiology , Gastrointestinal Diseases/parasitology , Ivermectin/pharmacology , Nematode Infections/drug therapy , Nematode Infections/epidemiology , Nematode Infections/parasitology , Parasite Egg Count/veterinary , Sheep , Sheep Diseases/epidemiology , Sheep Diseases/parasitology , Sheep, Domestic , Trinidad and Tobago/epidemiologyABSTRACT
The aim of this study is to describe the epidemiological features of acute poisoning in children less than 16 years old who were admitted to a paediatric hospital in north Trinidad. The specific objectives included the determination of the age range most susceptible to poisoning, which agents are mainly responsible, an examination of the need for preventive strategies and educational programmes as well as to evaluate the need for a poison control centre in the country. Data were extracted from the medical records of 169 patients (83 males (49%) and 86 females (51%) with acute poisoning during the period of January 1998 to December 2000. The results revealed that the majority of cases of poisoning were accidental (84.6%), suicide (11.2%) and forced poisoning (4.1%). The largest category of poisoning was a miscellaneous group (24.8%) followed by the drug category (21.8%), kerosene (19.5%), pesticides (15.9%) and bleach (9.4%). Paraquat ingestion constituted 5.3% of cases. The highest prevalence of acute poisoning occurred within the age group of 0-4 years (69.2%), followed by the age group of 10-13 years (13.6%), 5-9 years (9.4%) and the age group with the lowest incidence was 14-16 years (7.6%). The only fatality was a female (10-13 year-group) and this was due to suicidal ingestion of paraquat. All other cases were treated and subsequently discharged. The frequency of accidental poisoning in Trinidad merits more widespread public education aimed at preventing exposure to toxic substances while increasing the use of deterrents such as child-resistant containers.
Subject(s)
Poisoning/epidemiology , Acute Disease , Adolescent , Child , Child, Preschool , Humans , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Kerosene/poisoning , Pesticides/poisoning , Poisoning/diagnosis , Retrospective Studies , Suicide, Attempted , Trinidad and Tobago/epidemiologyABSTRACT
The aim of this study is to describe the epidemiological features of acute poisoning in children less than 16 years old who were admitted to a paediatric hospital in north Trinidad. The specific objectives included the determination of the age range most susceptible to poisoning, which agents are mainly responsible, an examination of the need for preventive strategies and educational programmes as well as to evaluate the need for a poison control centre in the country. Data were extracted from the medical records of 169 patients (83 males (49) and 86 females (51) with acute poisoning during the period of January 1998 to December 2000. The results revealed that the majority of cases of poisoning were accidental (84.6), suicide (11.2) and forced poisoning (4.1). The largest category of poisoning was a miscellaneous group (24.8) followed by the drug category (21.8), kerosene (19.5), pesticides (15.9) and bleach (9.4). Paraquat ingestion constituted 5.3 of cases. The highest prevalence of acute poisoning occurred within the age group of 0-4 years (69.2), followed by the age group of 10-13 years (13.6), 5-9 years (9.4) and the age group with the lowest incidence was 14-16 years (7.6). The only fatality was a female (10-13 year-group) and this was due to suicidal ingestion of paraquat. All other cases were treated and subsequently discharged. The frequency of accidental poisoning in Trinidad merits more widespread public education aimed at preventing exposure to toxic substances while increasing the use of deterrents such as child-resistant containers
Subject(s)
Humans , Infant, Newborn , Infant , Child, Preschool , Adolescent , Adult , Poisoning/epidemiology , Acute Disease , Poisoning/diagnosis , Retrospective Studies , Pesticides/poisoning , Kerosene/poisoning , Suicide, Attempted , Trinidad and Tobago/epidemiologyABSTRACT
The purpose of this project is to study rubella immunity percentage in one hundred pregnant women and to try to get some guidance as to the necessity for an effective rubella vacination programme. Excluded from the study were women who were vaccinated against rubella and women who had had recent rubella and requested a termination of pregnancy. The method used to determine the rubella immunity was the rubella test which is a complement fixation method. Of the 100 patients studied, 51 percent were in the age group 15 to 25, 36 percent in the 25-35-age group and 13 percent in the 35-year group and over. Fifty-three per cent of the patients showed immunity and 47 percent were non-immune. A survey done in Trinidad in 1969 showed that 75 percent of women 15 to 30 years of age were non-immune and 60 percent of 15-year-olds and over were not immune. A W.H.O. collaborative study showed rubella positive percentage to be low in Trinidad and other islands. It had been previously proposed that a certain minimum population density is necessary to maintain the disease in epidemic form. Theoretically, the minimal levels is not reached on the island, and the disease must be periodically introduced from mainland areas. Although the rubella immunity rate has increased over the years, the authors feel that a 53 percent immunity rate is still low and, coupled with the increasing numbers of rubella syndrome babies being born at Mount Hope, we recommend that a more intensive programe of vaccination be instituted. Rubella reinfection after vaccination has been demonstrated. However, 85 percent of vaccinated patients may be sero-positive after 5 years (AU)
