Reductions of human enteric viruses in 10 commonly used activated carbon, polypropylene and polyester household drinking-water filters.

Drinking-water treatment in non-networked rural communities relies on the use of point-of-use (PoU) household filters. Source waters treated by PoU filters are often microbially contaminated, but information about human enteric virus reductions in these filters is limited. This study evaluated human rotavirus, adenovirus and norovirus reductions in 10 commonly used, new PoU carbon, polypropylene and polyester microfilters.

Intake and risk assessment of nitrate and nitrite from New Zealand foods and drinking water.

Exposure to excess nitrite is a potential health risk for humans. One hundred meat and processed foods and 100 vegetable samples purchased from New Zealand retail outlets were prepared as for consumption and analysed for nitrite and nitrate concentration using a standard, validated methodology. Nitrate concentrations ranged from less than the limit of detection (LOD = 5 mg kg-1) in cheddar cheese and cream cheese-based dips to 3420 mg kg-1 in lettuce.

Anthelmintic treatment improves the hemoglobin and serum ferritin concentrations of Tanzanian schoolchildren.

To investigate the relationships between helminth infections and iron status among school-aged children, 1,115 Tanzanian children in grades 2 through 5 were randomly assigned to treatment or control groups. The children in the treatment group were screened for infection with Schistosoma haematobium and hookworm at baseline, 3 months, and 15 months; infected children were given albendazole against hookworm and praziquantel against schistosomiasis. The control group received a placebo and did not undergo parasitological screening until 15 months after the baseline.

Heavy schistosomiasis associated with poor short-term memory and slower reaction times in Tanzanian schoolchildren.

Cross-sectional studies of the relationship between helminth infection and cognitive function can be informative in ways that treatment studies cannot. However, interpretation of results of many previous studies has been complicated by the failure to control for many potentially confounding variables. We gave Tanzanian schoolchildren aged 9-14 a battery of 11 cognitive and three educational tests and assessed their level of helminth infection.

Self-treatment by Kenyan and Ugandan schoolchildren and the need for school-based education.

Studies on Kenyan and Ugandan primary schoolchildren's knowledge of medicines and self-treatment practices show that children aged between 10 and 18 years have a broad knowledge of herbal and biomedical remedies and that they use them frequently, often without adults' involvement. They use pharmaceuticals, including prescription-only drugs, but lack knowledge about indications and dosages. There is a gap between the children's life worlds and the school health education as it is presently designed and taught in Kenya and Uganda.