Application of GIS for assessing the vulnerability of aquifers to pollution in the coastal zone of Essaouira, Morocco.

Groundwater remains the main water resource for consumption of potable water, irrigation in the agricultural field, and for the use in industrial and touristic domains by inhabitants of cities and villages in the coastal areas with arid and semi-arid climate. In order to protect the groundwater table of the coastal zone of Essaouira, located in the west central part of Morocco, a study of the intrinsic vulnerability to pollution was tackled by the use of the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) from the DRASTIC method. This tool serve to highlight the overexploitation problems and water quality degradation and help decision makers to take good decisions to solve them.

Study of the salinity of groundwater in the HAHA syncline by the Kohonen self-organized classification (Essaouira, Morocco).

The coastal aquifer of the Essaouira syncline (Morocco) was studied to identify the main processes at the origin of the salinization of groundwater. In fact, a multicriteria analysis approach on hydrochemical data and physicochemical parameters of the Plio-Pleistocene aquifer was used to understand their spatio-temporal variation and their origins. Currently, integrated water resource management has become paramount to both local, regional, national, and international.

Fatal scorpion envenomation in a 3-month-old infant.

Scorpion envenomation is a public health problem in several countries in the tropics and subtropics, with high mortality in the severe forms involving multiple organ failure. The correlation between young age and clinical manifestations of severe scorpion envenomation is well established. We report the case of a 3-month-old infant admitted for severe scorpion envenomation who rapidly developed fatal multiple organ failure, and we discuss the different physiopathological aspects of severe scorpion envenomation.

The antivenom efficacy against a viper bite without medical treatment for 3 days: a case report.

Snakebites can be deadly, depending on the course of extremely serious hemorrhagic complications in the absence of antivenom, which remains the only specific and effective treatment, if it is introduced in time. We report the case of a young patient of 18 years, bitten by a snake and receiving only tradition care until admission to intensive care 3 days later, with advanced bleeding and inflammation; four vials of FAV-Africa antivenom were administered and resulted in dramatic improvement in his condition. This result confirms the empirical concept that delay in management should under no circumstances exclude the administration of antivenom.

Refeeding syndrome: a forgotten and potentially lethal entity.

Refeeding syndrome (RS) is defined as the fluid, electrolyte, metabolic, and clinical disturbances that occur after nutrition of patients who have been undernourished or fasting for a prolonged period. This syndrome has been recognized for several decades but is most often overlooked and underdiagnosed by health professionals. The authors report a RS in a patient subjected to prolonged fasting after being kidnapped by a criminal gang.