PESTICIDE POISONING MONITORING OF CLIENTS AT KEDI HEALTH CARE CENTER IN NAVRONGO

Abstract

Fruits and vegetables are highly nutritious and form a key food commodity in the human consumption.  They are highly perishable due to their low shelf life.  These food commodities are reported to be contaminated with toxic and health hazardous chemicals like calcium carbide, ethephon and oxytocin which are used for artificial ripening of fruits and for increasing the size of fruits and vegetables respectively. The indiscriminate use of chemicals has led to pesticide residues in humans due to crop contamination with natural occurring toxic substances and heavy metallic substances. Out of a sample of 70, 63% were males and 37% were females. The low number of females was due to financial constraints. Sixty seven percent of those who were interviewed were single, widowed or divorced. This indicates that those who were single took independent decisions as far as health care was concern. Ninety percent of the respondents had ever been to school and 81% could read so illiteracy was not the cause of pesticide poisoning. Forty nine percent of the respondents had no income and 99% eats vegetables. Of those who eat vegetables 57% occasionally eat vegetables while 43% eat vegetables frequently. Analysis indicated that, 54% of respondents obtained vegetables from their farms and 36% from the market. The 10% obtained vegetables from friends or relatives. Sixty eight percent female and 58% men had abnormal concentration of pesticides in their blood because the female eat a lot more vegetables than males. There was no much difference between the married (58%) and single (60%) in the concentration of pesticide in their blood and indicated that pesticide poisoning does not depend on ones marital status. Concentration of pesticide in the blood is a cumulative effect resulting from the consumption of other vegetables, fruits and grains which have been treated during production and storage. Vegetables and other food stuff should be properly cleaned before use. Those who use vegetables without washing had more abnormalities (67%) in their blood than those who washed (59%).

Keywords: Abnormal, Concentration, Pesticide, Cumulative, Organophosphate, Organochloride