Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) are crucial but often underplayed parts of the prevention and control of a number of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Access to safe water and adequate sanitation, together with good hygiene practices, can reduce the transmission of some NTDs, for example trachoma and intestinal worms (page 29). Trachoma is transmitted by flies, fomites (e.g. skin, hair, ...

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), abundant in mixed contaminant sites, often coexist with heavy metals. The fate and remediation of PAHs depend heavily on the sorption and desorption behavior of these contaminants. The sorption behavior can in turn be highly affected by certain soil components and properties, such as soil organic matter (SOM) and the presence of heavy metals. Through rev...

In the urban sites the lead addition in petrol, as an antidetonation agent, allows pollution of exposed surfaces of buildings, soils and vegetation. In a preliminary way a research work has been carried out simulating lead pollution of the slab surfaces of the Roman-Travertine stone. The Roman-Travertine is a limestone dimensional stone widely employed in Italy especially for dressing of the ol...

Tests of effectiveness of disinfection of metal and polypropylene bedpans were made in a washer fitted with a steam generator. Broth cultures of Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, or Streptococcus faecalis (approximately 4 x 10(8) organisms) were sealed in lengths of capillary tubing and attached to the surface of the pans. In other tests, pans were contaminated wi...

We studied the relationships between assemblages of soil microfungi and plant communities in the southern boreal mixed-wood forests of Quebec. Sampling took place in 18,100 m2 plots from an existing research site. Plots were separated into three categories based on dominant overstory tree species: (i) trembling aspen, (ii) white birch and (iii) a mixture of white spruce and balsam fir. Within e...

A two phases process consisting of a soya lecithin (SL)-based soil washing process followed by the photocatalytic treatment of resulting effluents was developed and applied at the laboratory scale in the remediation of an actual-site soil historically contaminated by 0.65 g/kg of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Triton X-100 (TX) was employed in the same process as a control surfactant. SL and...

This outbreak provided an opportunity to study the incubation period of V. corneae keratoconjunctivitis in otherwise healthy persons. Time from soil exposure to development of ocular symptoms of microsporidial keratitis has been reported to be 2–21 days (median 14 days) (2) and 5–14 days (mean 6.8 days) (3). The incubation period during this outbreak was 5–31 days (median 15 days). An investiga...