Varietal differences influence arsenic and lead contamination of rice grown in mining impacted agricultural fields of Zamfara State, Nigeria.

In Zamfara state, Nigeria, rice is cultivated in fields contaminated with Pb (lead) from artisanal and illicit mining activities. Rice grown in such contaminated agricultural areas risks not only Pb contamination but also contamination from other toxic elements, like arsenic (As); co-contamination of Pb and As in rice cultivated in mining impacted areas has been previously reported and rice is a hyperaccumulator of As. A field study was conducted with ten different commonly-cultivated Nigerian rice varieties in the mining-impacted farmlands of Dareta village, Zamfara State. The aim was to determine the optimal rice variety for cultivation on these contaminated farmlands; an optimal variety would have the lowest contaminant concentrations and highest essential elements concentrations in the rice grains. A total of 300 paired soil and rice plants were collected. The mean As and Pb concentrations in paddy soils were 0.91 ± 0.82 mg kg-1 and 288.5 ± 464.2 mg kg-1, respectively. Mean As (30.4 ± 15.1 μg kg-1) content in rice grains was an order of magnitude lower than the Codex recommendation of 200 μg kg-1 (for milled rice) while the Pb content in all the rice varieties (overall mean of 743 ± 327 μg kg-1) was approximately four times higher than the Codex recommendation of 200 μg kg-1. Contrary to previous studies, a negative correlation was observed between As and Pb in rice grains across all the varieties. Rice variety Bisalayi was the variety with the lowest Pb transfer factor (TF = 0.08), but the average Pb concentration in rice grain was still above the Codex recommendation. Bisalayi also had the highest TF for iron. Variety ART_15, which had the lowest As uptake (TF = 0.10), had the highest TF for essential elements (magnesium, potassium, manganese, zinc, and copper). In areas of Pb contamination, Bisalayi rice may therefore be a suitable variety to choose for cultivation

Inter-varietal variation in elemental uptake by rice and its implications for public health : a case study of Dareta village, Zamfara State, Nigeria

Nigeria is ranked first among the countries affected by Pb poisoning since it was reported in 2010 inZamfara State. The Pb poisoning epidemic in Zamfara received global attention from variousstakeholders and dietary Pb intake through rice which was identified as a major exposure route. Thereis a need to understand the extent to which different rice varieties accumulate Pb and whether varietalselection could be used to reduce dietary Pb exposure.Whilst the Pb poisoning is having a truly devastating consequence, the dietary transfer of othercontaminants in Nigeria also needs to be understood. One group of contaminants that have receivedvery little attention to date in Nigeria is anthropogenic radionuclides. Nigeria is developing nuclearpower generation as part of its energy mix, there is a need to understand the potential food-chain transferof radionuclides released into the environment. Two radionuclides of importance in both operationaldischarges and emergency (accident) situations are likely to be radio-caesium and radio-strontium.Therefore, in addition to Pb, this thesis provides an evaluation of inter-varietal variation in stablecaesium (Cs) and stable strontium (Sr); stable isotopes are assumed to show the same environmentalbehaviour as their radioisotopes. The uptake of nine essential elements was also evaluated.Site characterisation was conducted first in Dareta village Zamfara Nigeria to select a suitable site forthe rice varieties’ field trial; local rice samples were collected from four selected rice farms to examinePb accumulation and partitioning in different parts of the rice plant (experiment 1). This was followedby the field trial for the 10 most commonly grown Nigerian rice varieties (experiment 2). The field trialwas complemented by a pot trial for the same rice varieties at the University of Abuja, Nigeria(experiment 3). At maturity, the rice varieties were harvested together with their respective soil samplesand analysed.Experiment 1; Pb accumulation in the rice plant was in the order of root>shoot>seed. Pb accumulationin shoots and rice seeds exceeded the FAO/WHO permissible limits of 10 mg/kg and 0.3 mg/kgrespectively. Bisalayi rice, ncro-49, ita-315 and art3-7l demonstrated low uptake and accumulation ofPb in both experiment 2 and 3, whereas nerica-l34, nerica-l19, wita-4 and sipi rice varieties were foundto have high Pb uptake and accumulation. Statistically, there were no significant differences (p>0.05)in the uptake and accumulation of the stable Cs and Sr in both trials using the concentration ratio (CR).All the selected rice varieties were good source of the nine essential elements in terms of theirpercentage contribution to the recommended daily intake (RDI)

Non-necrotising Facial Cellulitis in an Adult with Sickle Cell Disease – A Case Report

Streptococcus preumonae is a major pathogen commonly reported to cause widespread disease in subjects with sickle cell disease especially in developing countries, increasing the fatality of the conditon. Group B Streptococcus is infrequently reported as a cause of infections in patients with sickle cell disease although it causes fatal outcomes as well. Case Presentation: We report the case of a 60-year-old Nigerian woman with haemoglobin SC disease who presented with a facial cellulitis caused by Beta haemolytic Streptococcus. The clinical presentation and outcome of treatment with cheap, effective antibiotics is highlighted. KEY WORDS: Cellulitis, face, sickle cell disease. Nigerian Journal of Health and Biomedical Sciences Vol.3(2) 2004: 93-9