Dengue is the most rapidly increasing arthropodborne
disease globally. The disease burden has increased
exponentially, doubling almost every decade from the
estimated 8.3 million cases in 2010 to about 58.4 million
cases in 2013.1
The number of countries reporting
dengue has also increased. Before 1970, less than 9
countries reported dengue but now it has been reported
in more than 100 countries worldwide. It is transmitted
by two species of Aedes mosquito, Aedes aegypti and Ae.
albopictus. (Copied from article).
Introduction During haze, at what level should Air Pollutant Index (API) showed, public
or private school be closed is not without controversy and is very much
debated. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to objectively quantify the
potential inhaled dose of PM10 associated with exposure at school and home
microenvironments during haze. The result of the health risk assessment will
be used to propose the API level for closing the school during haze episode.
Methods A hypothetical haze exposure scenario was created using the breakpoints of
PM10 concentration for calculation of API and respective inhaled dose during
haze. To determine the potential inhaled dose, we have considered many
factors that include time spent for specific physical intensity at school and
home microenvironments, age-specific and physical intensity-specific
inhalation rate (m3/min), and the indoor/outdoor ratio of PM10. To calculate
risk quotient (RQ), the inhaled dose was compared with the health reference
dose computed based on the concentration of PM10 in the Malaysian
Ambient Air Quality Standard.
Results When considering the specific exposure at each microenvironment (school
and home), the potential inhaled dose of PM10 was substantially lower when
school is closed for both primary and secondary school. The calculated risk
quotient (RQ) indicates that primary school children are likely to be affected
at slightly lower PM10 concentration (equivalent to API of 197) as compared
to secondary school children. Short duration of high physical activity
intensity during school breaks has contributed to a large proportion of inhaled
dose among school children indicating the important to avoid physical
activities during haze.
Conclusion Based on the assessment, taking into account the uncertainty of risk
assessment methodology, we proposed school to be closed when API reach
190 for both primary and secondary schools. These findings and
recommendations are only valid for naturally ventilated school and applicable
in the context of the current API calculation system and the existing
Recommended Air Quality Guideline values in Malaysia.
A survey was conducted to investigate the level of consumption of ‘ulam’ in Selangor State among 252 adults (> 17 years) (male 28.6%, female 71.4%) of major ethnics (Malays-51.6%; Chinese-30.5%; Indians-17.5%) with the mean age of 42.7 ± 13.9 years. Consumption data were collected using 24 hours duplicate samples together with questionnaire on perceptions of ‘ulam.’ Results showed that ‘ulam’ was preferred by majority of the subjects (82.1%), especially amongst Malays (92.3%). A total of 52% of the subjects consumed partially or boiled ‘ulam.’ Factors that affect their preferences on ‘ulam’ were the perception of therapeutic effects of the ‘ulam’ towards health, its good taste and unique
aroma. The most consumed ‘ulam’ were cucumber (Cucumis sativus) (60.6%) ‘kacang botol’ (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus) (33%), Indian pennywort (Hydrocotyle asiatica) (31.5%), lettuce (Lactuca sativa) (27.6%), ‘petai’ (Parkia speciosa) (29%) and ‘ulam raja’ (Cosmos caudatus) (21.9%). The most preferred partially or boiled ‘ulam’
were tapioca shoot (Manihot esculenta) (31.5%), ocra (Hibiscus esculentus) (12.5%) and ‘jantung pisang’ (Musa sapientum) (20.1%). There was no significant difference (P > 0.05) amongst the three different ethnic groups on the consumption of ‘ulam’ and the median for total intake per day was within the range of 30-39 g/day. Ulam is a potential
source for increasing vegetable consumption to meet recommendation by World Health Organization (WHO), which is 400 g per day.
Keywords: Adults; perception; ‘ulam;’ Selangor State