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Pesticide is the villain: Dubai Municipality
Pesticide is the villain: Dubai Municipality Staff Reporter / 11 July 2013 Misdiagnosis of pesticide poisoning as food poisoning in some recent cases in the country has prompted the Dubai Municipality to come out with an explanatory note for making the public and the medical fraternity better aware of the real ‘villain’ in such cases. In an elaborate press statement titled “Vomiting: Is it because of food or fumigant?,” the municipality’s Food Control Department’s officials referred to the news reports about food poisoning cases which are, within a couple of days, changed into cases of chemical poisoning. “The villain of the story that often occurs during summer is a fumigant used against bed bugs and not food in most cases,” stated the officials. The statement comes as the Iraqi mother and brother of Farah Ebrahim, who died of pesticide poisoning in Sharjah on July 1, are still fighting for their lives in hospitals. The 11-year-old girl was the latest victim in a spate of pesticide poisoning deaths that have plagued the country in the recent summers. Khalid Mohammed Sharief Al Awadhi, director of the Food Control Department said many cases that were termed ‘food poison’ at first instance, turned out to be caused by fumigants, after investigations by sections with the authorities concerned. “These cases are diagnosed as food poisoning because it is hard to identify the source of the toxin based on clinical symptoms such as vomiting. And we normally blame the last meal as the suspected cause of illness,” he observed. “We need to develop an effective preventive system with the co-ordination of several departments concerned. We should intensify our efforts to curb illegal use of chemicals both by awareness and by stringent enforcement actions.” He said the Dubai Municipality, along with the Dubai Health Authority, uses an efficient system to follow illness notifications from the hospitals regarding any case of food poisoning. “We have a special team trained by the United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention to investigate food-borne illnesses. When we receive the notification, the Food Control Department’s team of investigators acts immediately and contacts the doctors, and the people who are affected to collect the details of their food exposure. This helps us to find any food that could be suspected as the cause of illness and then take adequate measures to protect others if necessary.” Al Awadhi noted that the department found pesticide poisoning as the cause of illness among a group of men in March 2012 after a joint investigation was conducted by it along with the Pest Control Section of the municipality after it received the notification from the DHA of ‘suspected food poisoning.’ “We contacted the victims and our investigation revealed no common food exposure and we knew that it was unlikely to be a case of food-borne illness as suspected by the hospital.” During investigation, officials found about 20 cans of Aluminium Phosphide in the neighbouring apartment of the affected people. “Neighbours had left their apartment for a day after leaving the chemical that was illegally procured. In the cases that occurred before that, we couldn’t do this because the notifications came too late and it is not easy to detect the chemical once the room is ventilated for a few hours.” Food control expert at DM, Bobby Krishna said: “During summer, we used to get several notifications from hospitals regarding suspected cases of food poisoning often with severe vomiting among several members of the same family. Some of these cases involving children were fatal. After initial investigation, we found that there was nothing in the food history of the person that could be attributed to bacterial poisoning.” “What we noticed was the pattern of symptoms, the sudden onset of vomiting and sometimes the victims complained about chest burn and severe abdominal cramps. It was also noticed that the affected people stayed in the same room or same flat. However, none of these cases had diarrhea, a classic symptom of bacterial food poisoning or fever, another indicator of bacterial infection. The stool and blood results also came negative with no indication of bacterial toxin.” The official said fatality occurs when neighbours are unaware of such fumigation and they stay in the room that has toxic case. Such an exposure leads to a severe onset of vomiting and fatality, especially among children who cannot tolerate even small levels of these toxins. According to Basheer Hassan Yousif, senior food safety specialist at the department, people do not die by food-borne infections within 24 hours. Bacterial infections take time to set in and it could be anything from a day to weeks or months. Organisms such as Salmonella, some type of EColi cause severe illness, and lack of treatment can lead to death. It may take weeks in such cases. Some bacteria such as Bacillus Cereus, Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium Botulinum produce toxin in food. Toxins of Clostridium Botulinum can cause serious illness and is always associated with canned foods and foods packed without oxygen. Good epidemiological investigation and a close look at the meal history can tell us whether a common food is involved. “If a chemical is intentionally added to a food, you would see that all the people who have eaten the food are ill. In case a restaurant is suspected, we can see whether other people who have eaten the same meal are ill or well and identify common foods. In the absence of a common food, environmental exposure has to be suspected. After the massive campaign that we launched last year with the help of media, the number of chemical poisoning cases in Dubai has dropped to almost nil. We have not had any reports this year. But, still we need to keep telling people not to use Aluminium Phosphide, commonly known as the “bomb,” added Yousif. Municipality officials said rapid notification of illnesses can help to identify the common exposure and stressed that prevention is not possible without the help of the public. Two days back, the Pest Control section at the municipality, in a statement to public, urged not to resort to illegal persons or companies to get out of the nuisance caused by pests including bed bugs and issued basic instructions to be followed to avoid havocs. A specialist with the section also revealed that eight pesticide companies were recently shut down by the municipality after they were found to be using pesticides banned for domestic use. In case of suspected poisoning The Food Control Department of the Dubai Municipality have suggested the following rules for the public to save human lives in case of suspected poisoning: If severe vomiting is noticed, don’t conclude that it is a case of food poisoning. Notify the food control and the pest department immediately. In Dubai, a notification would trigger an investigation to check both food and environmental exposure. You can also avoid the last meal bias by allowing us to investigate. It may not be the food that you think that has caused the illness. Notification should be done immediately so that authorities can go and check the premises. Any delay would reduce the probability of finding the problem. Public should refrain from using such chemicals. Notify the municipality at 800900 if anyone is found selling Aluminium Phosphide, popularly known as ‘bomb.’ You should also look for signs of fumigation such as bugs falling dead and neighbours sealing their doors with tapes especially during weekends. Contact a pest control agency approved by the Dubai Municipality for managing pests. Take preventive measures. news@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
UNWFP urge to help fight starvation during Ramadan
UNWFP urge to help fight starvation during Ramadan Sarah Young / 11 July 2013 The UN is appealing to the online community to help fight starvation around the world, as the holy month of Ramadan begins and people experience the kind of hunger others around the world face every day. A Ramadan online gift-matching campaign by the United Nations World Food Programme (UNWFP) is hoping to raise funds to the equivalent of 800,000 school meals during the next month, to help fight hunger in Muslim countries around the world. A Syrian girl gets her ration from WFP personnel at the Zaatari Syrian Refugee Camp, Jordan; and (right) WFP personnel distributing food to Syrian refugee children at the camp. — KT file photos The Rotary Clubs of the UAE will match each dollar donated during the holy month. UNWFP Middle East, North Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia partnerships and business development manager Elise Bijon said the campaign would help families who most needed it, and wanted to celebrate Ramadan but did not have enough food to break their fast. “For hundreds of thousands of families celebrating Ramadan this month, Iftar is just a distant dream.” This is what “Ramadan is about”, she said. “Ramadan is a chance for anyone, regardless of religion, to connect with the poor. Through the experience of fasting, it’s a chance to feel in your body what hunger is like. It’s a chance to feel that connection — and to contribute.” She said she felt the target was feasible, particularly considering how active the Arab world was online. “We are a bit crazy but we are convinced hunger can be eradicated. Solutions exist, and they are affordable. It only costs one dirham to feed a child for a day.” Online donations to WFP campaigns from individuals in the UAE ranked the country the sixth most generous online donor country in the world, she said. The UAE comes in number one worldwide in the average gift amount donated. An average online gift from the UAE was a “super generous” $145. “And when it comes to social media, our Arab youth is our second biggest online Facebook community (behind England). If it follows this pace, it might be bigger than the English (Facebook WFP) community by the end of the year.” The programme’s largest operations were in Syria, Pakistan, Sudan, Yemen and Indonesia. Last year, WFP provided food to more than 97 million people in 80 countries — and more than half of the beneficiaries came from Muslim countries, she said. In particular, Yemen, Sudan and Indonesia were countries “people tended to forget.” Nearly half of Yemen’s population was hungry or on the edge of hunger, she said. “It’s a major, major food crisis that is happening next door. Nearly half of kids under five are stunted as a result of malnutrition. And this is so close (to us). “(And) literacy among Yemen women is a huge issue. So we are deploying the core of our efforts to send little girls to school, and we do that by giving take-home rations to families to act as an incentive to let their girls go to school. “It’s so important — if they don’t go to school, they will likely be married early, and remain illiterate like their mothers and grandmothers before them. How can we expect to build a better Yemen if the women cannot support and educate their children? Educated women are the key to the wellbeing of a nation, and this is a very specific example of what is going on in a Muslim country that is right next door.” President of the Rotary Club of Jumeirah, Ahmad Belselah, said Ramadan was “a precious opportunity to feel, with our bodies and hearts, a connection with the world’s hungry poor”. He hoped the club’s commitment would encourage more people to support the campaign this year. Last year’s inaugural Ramadan campaign raised enough funds to provide 400,000 school meals to children in the Middle East. To make a donation visit: wfp.org/Ramadan. sarah@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
Soaking up the spirit of Ramadan
Soaking up the spirit of Ramadan Silvia Radan / 11 July 2013 In the olden days, the ones before supermarkets came into existence, Ramadan preparations would start two weeks before the holy month. People would prepare for Ramadan two weeks before or from the blessed night of mid Shaban, the month preceding Ramadan. They would go shopping in the souq to secure foodstuff needed during the fasting month. At home, housewives would gather in the biggest house of the neighbourhood to grind barley and grains for baking the thin bread, a popular item in the Iftar and Suhoor (meal consumed early in the morning by Muslims before fasting) menus. Nowadays, such preparations are no longer needed, but the excitement of Ramadan still builds up days in advance. Despite the nearly 15-hour long fasting day and temperatures reaching 50 degrees Celsius, Muslims across the UAE could hardly wait for the holy month. Khaleej Times catches up with some of them and asked them what it is that they like most about Ramadan. Khaled Sadek (Dubai resident from Egypt): There are quite a few things I specially like about our holy month. First of all, the spirit of Ramadan is different from any other month when any Muslim feels more relaxed and closer to Allah. Secondly, where I come from, in Egypt, we say Ramadan loves numbers or crowds, which means in Ramadan we never spend time alone; we are either with close family or relatives or friends or sometimes all of them. Thirdly, it feels great when you find all Muslims are doing the same things at the same time. It also feels great when you stay up till late hours with your friends waiting for the Suhoor meal. Saleh Al Romaithi (Emirati, Abu Dhabi): There is so much I like about Ramadan, but what comes to mind first is the spirit of giving, the atmosphere of sharing and caring. Also, there is a feel of togetherness, as family and friends come together. There is this feeling of a higher level of spirituality too and more socialising with people especially at night over food … and you even get a chance to lose weight by fasting. Khaled Al Magboul (Sudanese, Abu Dhabi): For me, I feel purely the spirit. I enjoy worshipping Allah, giving special time to thank and glorify Him. I enjoy, of course, the Ramadan atmosphere, gathering and sitting with family and friends, sharing food and thoughts, but ultimately it is the deep sense of worship that I like most. Nasser Al Kurby (Emirati, Abu Dhabi): From a religious point of view, this is that time when Allah the Almighty tests us to evaluate our belief, because while people do good for their own selves, fasting is done for Allah the Almighty alone. From a social point of view, Ramadan inspires family gatherings and visits. Each week we will be invited to have Iftar at one of our relatives, where elaborate feasts are laid out. From a wellbeing point of view, fasting is good for a person’s health. Ask doctors and specialists — they will tell you so. Maitha Al Ali (Emirati, Dubai): Once, some years ago, I lost my temper at work and shouted at someone during Ramadan. That colleague told me I just broke my fast, pointing out that fasting is not just for food and drink, but also abstaining from negative thoughts and angry impulses. Since that day I never get angry during Ramadan. It is not just a decision. I fill my heart with love for Allah and that love gets me through all fasting so easily. That’s what I like most about the holy month of Ramadan: the feeling of spirituality. Of course, I love all the rest of it, the traditional food and sharing this special time with family, friends and the community. Ayoob Ali (Emirati, Abu Dhabi): Ramadan is a great lesson that makes us realise how it feels to be hungry and thirsty. I love the whole atmosphere during Ramadan because you feel the change in people’s behaviour, how they treat each other and how they work harder to do good. Also, you can see that in many places, like in mosques, more people attend the prayers and greet each other warmly, and they are inviting each other for Iftar — breaking the fast together. Another thing is that in Ramadan people are donating more to the poor and those in need, and it is really a great pleasure to put a smile on the face of those in need. Of course, you can’t forget the food! In Ramadan we always have our traditional food like harees, threed, matchboos and so on and people send food items in their neighbourhood. All those things make the community stronger and you see people taking care of each other. It’s like one long holiday that we are waiting for year after year. silvia@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
