Background:Cholera remains an important public health concern in developing countries including Kenya where 11,769 cases and 274 deaths were reported in 2009 according to the World Health Organization(WHO).This ecolog...Background:Cholera remains an important public health concern in developing countries including Kenya where 11,769 cases and 274 deaths were reported in 2009 according to the World Health Organization(WHO).This ecological study investigates the impact of various climatic,environmental,and demographic variables on the spatial distribution of cholera cases in Kenya.Methods:District-level data was gathered from Kenya’s Division of Disease Surveillance and Response,the Meteorological Department,and the National Bureau of Statistics.The data included the entire population of Kenya from 1999 to 2009.Results:Multivariate analyses showed that districts had an increased risk of cholera outbreaks when a greater proportion of the population lived more than five kilometers from a health facility(RR:1.025 per 1%increase;95%CI:1.010,1.039),bordered a body of water(RR:5.5;95%CI:2.472,12.404),experienced increased rainfall from October to December(RR:1.003 per 1 mm increase;95%CI:1.001,1.005),and experienced decreased rainfall from April to June(RR:0.996 per 1 mm increase;95%CI:0.992,0.999).There was no detectable association between cholera and population density,poverty,availability of piped water,waste disposal methods,rainfall from January to March,or rainfall from July to September.Conclusion:Bordering a large body of water,lack of health facilities nearby,and changes in rainfall were significantly associated with an increased risk of cholera in Kenya.展开更多
The waste management challenge in university campuses includes food and food packaging materials. Being foremost affected by the food-related waste stream, 92 employees from food establishments located inside the Univ...The waste management challenge in university campuses includes food and food packaging materials. Being foremost affected by the food-related waste stream, 92 employees from food establishments located inside the University of the Philippines were provided expert-validated survey questionnaire to identify their perception on environment and pollution as well as describe their awareness on environmental education and environmental ethics concepts. Thirty-nine （42.4%） related the concept of environment mainly to trees, plants, animals, and the physical environment such as rivers. Only twenty-six （28.3%） expressed an attitude of concern on the current state of the environment. Six （6.5%） conveyed negative human behavior as the reason why the environment is in a dismal state and the same percentage （6.5%） showed concern for the environment mainly because humans benefit from it. Fifteen （16.3%） opted not to share their opinion. For perception on pollution, thirty-six （39.1%） linked the concept to the presence of land, air, or water pollution and twenty-three （25%） associated the pollution to negative effects on human health and on the environment. Twelve （13%） mentioned concern over the presence of pollution and twenty-one （22.8%） did not share their opinion on pollution. Awareness on environmental ethics concepts was identified using 15-item Likert Scale Questionnaire. Areas in environmental concepts where participants most strongly agreed include ＂value of life,＂ diversity and intrinsic value, cooperation, common good, and social responsibility. Results of this survey will be integrated into the discourse on the proposed policy of the University of the Philippines to segregate waste at-source. The said policy seeks to ensure that： （1） only food waste from concessionaires will be deposited directly to the compost site; （2） recyclables are to be sold; and （3） only residuals such as non-biodegradables and non-recyclables are to be sent to the dumpsite.展开更多
基金This work was supported by funding from St.George’s University’s small research grant initiative.We extend our sincere appreciation to the Division of Disease Surveillance and Response,Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation,Kenyathe Meteorological Departmentthe National Bureau of Statistics in Kenya for providing all the necessary data for this research.We also thank Ms.MyNgoc Nguyen and Shinika Peters for finalizing editorial changes and formatting the paper.
文摘Background:Cholera remains an important public health concern in developing countries including Kenya where 11,769 cases and 274 deaths were reported in 2009 according to the World Health Organization(WHO).This ecological study investigates the impact of various climatic,environmental,and demographic variables on the spatial distribution of cholera cases in Kenya.Methods:District-level data was gathered from Kenya’s Division of Disease Surveillance and Response,the Meteorological Department,and the National Bureau of Statistics.The data included the entire population of Kenya from 1999 to 2009.Results:Multivariate analyses showed that districts had an increased risk of cholera outbreaks when a greater proportion of the population lived more than five kilometers from a health facility(RR:1.025 per 1%increase;95%CI:1.010,1.039),bordered a body of water(RR:5.5;95%CI:2.472,12.404),experienced increased rainfall from October to December(RR:1.003 per 1 mm increase;95%CI:1.001,1.005),and experienced decreased rainfall from April to June(RR:0.996 per 1 mm increase;95%CI:0.992,0.999).There was no detectable association between cholera and population density,poverty,availability of piped water,waste disposal methods,rainfall from January to March,or rainfall from July to September.Conclusion:Bordering a large body of water,lack of health facilities nearby,and changes in rainfall were significantly associated with an increased risk of cholera in Kenya.
文摘The waste management challenge in university campuses includes food and food packaging materials. Being foremost affected by the food-related waste stream, 92 employees from food establishments located inside the University of the Philippines were provided expert-validated survey questionnaire to identify their perception on environment and pollution as well as describe their awareness on environmental education and environmental ethics concepts. Thirty-nine （42.4%） related the concept of environment mainly to trees, plants, animals, and the physical environment such as rivers. Only twenty-six （28.3%） expressed an attitude of concern on the current state of the environment. Six （6.5%） conveyed negative human behavior as the reason why the environment is in a dismal state and the same percentage （6.5%） showed concern for the environment mainly because humans benefit from it. Fifteen （16.3%） opted not to share their opinion. For perception on pollution, thirty-six （39.1%） linked the concept to the presence of land, air, or water pollution and twenty-three （25%） associated the pollution to negative effects on human health and on the environment. Twelve （13%） mentioned concern over the presence of pollution and twenty-one （22.8%） did not share their opinion on pollution. Awareness on environmental ethics concepts was identified using 15-item Likert Scale Questionnaire. Areas in environmental concepts where participants most strongly agreed include ＂value of life,＂ diversity and intrinsic value, cooperation, common good, and social responsibility. Results of this survey will be integrated into the discourse on the proposed policy of the University of the Philippines to segregate waste at-source. The said policy seeks to ensure that： （1） only food waste from concessionaires will be deposited directly to the compost site; （2） recyclables are to be sold; and （3） only residuals such as non-biodegradables and non-recyclables are to be sent to the dumpsite.
