In the Aral Sea basin, human activities have resulted in the severe degradation of water and soil, which is considered to cause serious human health problems. This study investigated the risk factors: water, sanitation and related hygiene issues for diarrhoeal disease in Khorezm province, Uzbekistan. The risk factors were studied using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods including water quality monitoring, standardised questionnaires and spot checks. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that visible contamination of drinking water during storage and the absence of anal cleansing materials were significantly associated with the number of diarrhoeal episodes per household. Overall, the findings of the study show that the domestic domain plays a major role with regard to faecal-oral disease transmission in Khorezm, Uzbekistan. Unhealthy excreta disposal habits and unsafe drinking water storage practices have to be urgently tackled in order to break the faecal-oral transmission route.
Children in Central Asia and the Middle East bear disproportionate environmental threats to health, of which the most widespread and serious result from poverty, malnutrition, lack of access to safe drinking water and food, and exposures to toxic chemicals. Their psychological health is threatened in several parts of this region by internal wars and strife. Many, or even most, children are regularly exposed to environmental tobacco smoke. In many of these countries, children constitute very high percentages of the population. Because children constitute the future, it is critical that these threats to their health be addressed and reduced to the greatest extent possible through both provision of safe and adequate drinking water and nutrition and reduction of exposures to environmental contaminants.
Introduction: The cumulative effect of limited investment in public water systems, inadequate public health infrastructure, and gaps in infectious disease prevention increased the incidence of waterborne diseases in Uzbekistan. The objectives of this study were:(1) to spatially analyze the distribution of the diseases in Tashkent Province, (2) to identify the intensity of spatial trends in the province, (3) to identify urban-rural characteristics of the disease distribution, and (4) to identify the differences in disease incidence between pediatric and adult populations of the province. Methods: Data on four major waterborne diseases and socio-demographics factors were collected in Tashkent Province from 2011 to 2014. Descriptive epidemiological methods and spatial-temporal methods were used to investigate the distribution and trends, and to identify waterborne diseases hotspots and vulnerable population groups in the province. Results: Hepatitis A and enterobiasis had a high incidence in most of Tashkent Province, with higher incidences in the eastern and western districts. Residents of rural areas, including children, were found to be more vulnerable to the waterborne diseases compared to other populations living in the province. Conclusions: This pilot study calls for more scientific investigations of waterborne diseases and their effect on public health in the region, which could facilitate targeted public health interventions in vulnerable regions of Uzbekistan.
The Aral Sea Area is the stage of one of the most staggering man-made environmental disasters. The Aral Sea, once the fourth-largest inland body of water, is reduced to half its size and one-third of its volume as a result of overirrigation and cotton monoculture. Overirrigation also creates increasing soil salinity and degradation of drinking water sources. While the consequences for ecology and agriculture have been extensively researched, relatively little research is devoted to the public health consequences of the Aral Sea disaster. Of the health effects, high rates of urinary tract diseases in the Aral Sea Area are frequently mentioned. Urologic diseases were specified as the most problematic groups of pathology for this territory, with the tendency to increasing during the period for last several years. Kidney and urinary tract diseases have special interest for studying the existence of an environmental effect, in this case the impact of water quality on human health in the Aral Sea Area. Among the problems frequently mentioned are the high level of total dissolved solids and total hardness in the potable water. The epidemiological study has been conducted with regard to the diseases of the urinary tract in order to better understanding the most important environmental health problems of the population of h s area. A study of the association between the water quality and diseases of the kidney and urinary tract is necessary for assessment of the contribution of environmental causes to the morbidity that is necessary for recommending of grounded preventive strategies.
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