The Effect of Smoking on Carbon Monoxide Respiration among Active Smokers in Palembang City, Indonesia

Smoking leads to disease and disability as well as harm nearly every organ of the body. Furthermore, smoking of tobacco is known to cause pulmonary dysfunction and lead to complications, pain, or even death. This study aimed to measure the risk factors for the respiration of carbon monoxide among smokers. A cross-sectional design was implemented by involving 156 smokers in Karyajaya Subdistrict, Palembang City. The dependent variable was carbon monoxide levels (ppm), while the independent variables were smoking frequency, duration, and the last period of smoking. The carbon monoxide levels (ppm) measured with a PiCO + Smokerlyzer® device from Bedfont Scientific Limited were the research tool and the independent variables of the questionnaire. The Pearson Correlation and multiple linear regression were used for the analysis. The results of the multiple linear regression analysis revealed that smoking duration assessment is related to carbon monoxide respiration after controlling smoking frequency, the last period of smoking, and the distance of residence to sources of exposure. The smoker's respiration of carbon monoxide level was 72.5% influenced by the duration, frequency, last period of smoking, and distance of residence to sources of exposure. Reducing the frequency of smoking and stopping may prevent and control carbon monoxide respiration

Climatic Factors Influencing Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever in Kolaka District, Indonesia

Dengue hemorrhagic fever in Indonesia is one of the serious health problems and requires understanding the occurrence of this disease. Climate Factors have a role that needs attention in the prevention of DHF disease. Understanding of disease patterns will benefit the health surveillance system and provide a way to tackle this problem. The records of dengue fever cases and climate data for the years 2010-2015 were obtained from the Health Office Kolaka District, southeast Sulawesi province and Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency in Southeast Sulawesi province, respectively. Data for the period 2010 to 2014 were used for model development through multiple linear regressions. The prediction model was used to forecast dengue cases in 2015 and the predicted results were compared with reported dengue cases in Kolaka in the past and forecasting period. Rainfall, humidity, temperature average, minimum temperature, and maximum temperature are significantly correlated with monthly cases of dengue fever. Predicted results showed a good performance where the model was able to predict 3 out of 5 epidemic outbreak events that occurred in January-March 2015 and November-December 2015. The sensitivity of detecting the outbreaks was estimated to be 60%, the specificity was 100%, positive and negative predictive value were estimated to be 100% and 77.8%, respectively. Climate has a major influence on the occurrence of dengue hemorrhagic fever infection in Kolaka district. Although the predictive model has some limitations in predicting the number of cases of monthly dengue fever, it can estimate the possibility of an outbreak three months in advance with a fairly high accuracy. The predictive model can be used to explain the incident rate of DHF of approximately 71%

The influence of air pollution on disease and related health problems in Northern Thailand

Air pollution is a significant health risk factor. Long-term exposure to ambient air pollution has a significant impact on chronic respiratory illnesses and diseases related to health problems. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between air pollution, respiratory diseases and diseases related to health in Northern Thailand. The daily mean concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5, including meteorological condition data from 2015 to 2020, were measured and recorded by Pollution Control Department (PCD), Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Thailand. The daily cumulative number of respiratory diseases and related health problems data from 2015 to 2020 was measured and recorded by Information and Communication Technology Centre, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand. The daily mean concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 were positively associated with CO, NO2, SO2, O3, circulatory system (I00-I99), respiratory system (J00-J99.8), eye (H10-H19.8), rash and other nonspecific skin eruption (R21), and neoplasms (C00-D48). After adjusting for confounding factors, the multiple linear regression analysis revealed that the escalating daily mean PM10 concentrations were connected to the increasing daily mean PM2.5 concentrations. This indicates that providing health education programmes and pollution protection, as well as policymakers and legislation, is required for better health

GeoHealth Thai Platform: towards a network to gather expertise, knowledge and resources in health geography

International audienceDriven by the recent awareness of the magnitude of climate and environmental changes and their impact on human health, interdisciplinary approaches are increasingly being implemented to understand health inequalities and the dynamics of diseases. Although the availability of data is growing, researchers are facing difficulties in identifying and accessing relevant data and, above all, in using these data, resulting in a paradoxically limited use of geographical information.The GeoHealth Thai Platform project aims to promote geographical and environmental approaches in the understanding of health inequalities through the use of Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing techniques. It proposes to address the difficulties encountered by many individual researchers by:•gathering experts and researchers together during workshops, in order to define the needs and identify the barriers to be solved; •training and providing expertise to researchers for the use of Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing techniques; •building an open geocatalogue to facilitate the access to spatial data.This project will be supported by a dedicated website, which will integrate the catalogue of geo-referenced data, together with online resources (documents, courses and tutorials). This poster will present the geocatalogue, at the heart of the project, as well as current and future project activities.GeoHealth Thai Platform is funded by Franco-Thai Cooperation Program in Higher Education and Research 2013-2014

Non-linear effect of different humidity types on scrub typhus occurrence in endemic provinces, Thailand.

BACKGROUND: Reported monthly scrub typhus (ST) cases in Thailand has an increase in the number of cases during 2009-2014. Humidity is a crucial climatic factor for the survival of chiggers, which is the disease vectors. The present study was to determine the role of humidity in ST occurrence in Thailand and its delayed effect. METHODS: We obtained the climate data from the Department of Meteorology, the disease data from Ministry of Public Health. Negative binomial regression combined with a distributed lag non-linear model (NB-DLNM) was employed to determine the non-linear effects of different types of humidity on the disease. This model controlled overdispersion and confounder, including seasonality, minimum temperature, and cumulative total rainwater. RESULTS: The occurrence of the disease in the 6-year period showed the number of cases gradually increased summer season (Mid-February - Mid-May) and then reached a plateau during the rainy season (Mid-May - Mid-October) and then steep fall after the cold season (Mid-October - Mid-February). The high level (at 70%) of minimum relative humidity (RHmin) was associated with a 33% (RR 1.33, 95% CI 1.13-1.57) significant increase in the number of the disease; a high level (at 14 g/m3) of minimum absolute humidity (AHmin) was associated with a 30% (RR 1.30, 95% CI 1.14-1.48); a high level (at 1.4 g/kg) of minimum specific humidity (SHmin) was associated with a 28% (RR 1.28, 95% CI 1.04-1.57). The significant effects of these types of humidity occurred within the past month. CONCLUSION: Humidity played a significant role in enhancing ST cases in Thailand, particularly at a high level and usually occurred within the past month. NB-DLNM had good controlled for the overdispersion and provided the precise estimated relative risk of non-linear associations. Results from this study contributed the evidence to support the Ministry of Public Health on warning system which might be useful for public health intervention and preparation in Thailand

Association of Sanitary Conditions and Bacteriological Quality of Tube Ice in Ice Plants in Metropolitan Bangkok, Thailand

This investigation aimed at studying the correlation between ice plant sanitary conditions and bacteriological quality of ice. The sanitary conditions in accordance with GMP regulations, the bacteriological quality of tube ice, and the processing water in 20 plants in Bangkok were studied. A modified inspection form from the Office of Food and Drug Administration was used for sanitary condition surveys. Ice and processing water samples were collected 2 times per plant with 3 samples each time. All 120 samples were analyzed for bacteriological quality by means of Standard Plate Count technique (Pour plate method) and Most Probable Number technique (MPN method). The results indicated that forty percent (8 Tube plants) failed and the remaining passed sanitary condition criteria. 23% of Tube Ice samples were acceptable in the standard permission level in terms of Total coliform bacteria and Fecal coliform bacteria. All Tube Ice plant processing water samples were acceptable in comparison with the standard permission level. Ice plant sanitary conditions were significantly correlated to bacteriological quality of the ice (p<0.05). Ice plant manufacturers should develop and implement Sanitary Standard and Operational Procedures (S.S.O.P.) in accordance with all GMP requirements to improve Ice plant sanitary conditions

Suitable Types and Constituent Ratios for Clay-Pot Water Filters to Improve the Physical and Bacteriological Quality of Drinking Water

This study aimed to investigate suitable types and ratios of materials for making clay-pots, and their performance to improve the physical and bacteriological quality of drinking water. Synthetic water was prepared and used to select suitable types and ratios for clay-pot water filters. The clay-pots were prepared by combining clay with sand, coconut-shell charcoal, and rice-husk charcoal, at various ratios. The results indicated that all types and ratios could remove 100% of coliform bacteria and Escherichia coli, and were thus suitable for treating drinking water. However, for practical use, the system should have real-world application. Therefore, filtration rate/inner surface area/time was used as a criterion to determine suitable types and ratios. Different types of clay-plot water filter yielded significantly different filtration rates (p 0.01). A ratio with a maximal filtration rate of 60:40(0.38 ± 0.28 mL/cm2/hr) was found to be suitable. The quality of filtered water was acceptable in terms of turbidity, coliform bacteria level, and Escherichia coli, according to WHO drinking-water quality guidelines

Factors Influencing the Quality of Drinking Water From Vending Machines in the Inner City of Bangkok

Objective: To investigate coliform contamination in drinking water from vending machines in the Rajvithi area of Bangkok.Study Design: Cross-sectional studyMethods: Associated environmental factors were observed and self-administered questionnaires conducted. In total, 123 drinking-water samples were collected to test coliform bacteria contamination.Results: Coliform bacteria were detected in 28.5% of samples. Links were found between coliform contamination and filter cleaning practices in 57 maintenance persons' responses. Filters cleaned &lt; 3 times per year were at higher risk of coliform contamination (OR 14.49, 95% CI 1.76-125.00). A negative association was found between coliform contamination and vending-machine filters' being cleaned within 100 days (OR 0.21, 95% CI 0.05-0.83).Conclusion: A negative association was found between coliform contamination and vending-machine filters' being cleaned within 100 days (OR 0.21, 95% CI 0.05-0.83). These results emphasized the importance of effective vending-machine maintenance and monitoring drinking-water quality

Relationships between Meteorological Parameters and Particulate Matter in Mae Hong Son Province, Thailand

Meteorological parameters play an important role in determining the prevalence of ambient particulate matter (PM) in the upper north of Thailand. Mae Hong Son is a province located in this region and which borders Myanmar. This study aimed to determine the relationships between meteorological parameters and ambient concentrations of particulate matter less than 10 &#181;m in diameter (PM10) in Mae Hong Son. Parameters were measured at an air quality monitoring station, and consisted of PM10, carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3), and meteorological factors, including temperature, rainfall, pressure, wind speed, wind direction, and relative humidity (RH). Nine years (2009&#8315;2017) of pollution and climate data obtained from the Thai Pollution Control Department (PCD) were used for analysis. The results of this study indicate that PM10 is influenced by meteorological parameters; high concentration occurred during the dry season and northeastern monsoon seasons. Maximum concentrations were always observed in March. The PM10 concentrations were significantly related to CO and O3 concentrations and to RH, giving correlation coefficients of 0.73, 0.39, and &#8722;0.37, respectively (p-value &lt; 0.001). Additionally, the hourly PM10 concentration fluctuated within each day. In general, it was found that the reporting of daily concentrations might be best suited to public announcements and presentations. Hourly concentrations are recommended for public declarations that might be useful for warning citizens and organizations about air pollution. Our findings could be used to improve the understanding of PM10 concentration patterns in Mae Hong Son and provide information to better air pollution measures and establish a warning system for the province