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Carbaryl effects on sperm
Information Section
et al., disappeared by day 50-70 (Faustini A. Occupational and Environmental Medicine 1996,53, 583).
Genotoxicity of vinclozolin Vinclozolin ((RS)-3-(3,5-dichlorophenyl)-5-methyl5-vinyl-l,3-oxazolidine-;!,4dione), a fungicide previously ranked as essentially non-genotoxic, has been found to produce chromosome damage (micronuclei) in the bone marrow cells of male mice treated with a sing:le intraperitoneal injection of 625 mg/kg body weight. There was no evidente of chromosome damage (aberrations) in human lymphocytes in culture (Hrelia P. et al., Mutagenesis 1996, 11,445).
Carbaryl effects on sperm Dose-dependent decreases in sperm motility and sperm counts, and increases in the percentage of abnormal sperm were reported in rats treated (by stomach tube) 5 days/wk for 60 days with 50 mg/ kg body weight/day and above. NO effects were seen at 25 mg/kg body weight/day. Young rats were found to be more susceptible to the spermatotoxic effects of carbaryl than were adults (Pant N. et ai., Human a:nd Experimental Toxicology 1996, 15,736).
Alachlor and colorectal cancer A slightly increased incidence of colorectal cancer was observed in a study of 943 Monsanto workers employed for at least 1 yr in the manufacture of the herbicide, alachlor. Three cases arose among men with 5 or more yr of high-leve1 cumulative occupational exposure, compared with an expected number of 0.58 [standardized incidence ratio (SIR) 5.2,95% CI 1.1-15.11. A fourth man with no high-exposure jobs also developed the disease (Leet T. et al., American Journal of Industrial Medicine 1996, 30, 300).
Sheep dips - acule versus chronic eff ects A study of 77 British sheep farmers with confirmed recent exposure to organophosphates provided no evidente of any link between the immediate (self-reported) symptoms following acute exposure and the chronic effects identified by neuropsychological testing and questionnaires. “Individuals may experience chronic effects without the benefit of earlier warning signs of ,toxic effects during acute exposures” (Stephens R. et al., Neurotoxicology and Teratology 1996, 18,449:).
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long-term effects of organophosphates in sheep dips? A study of British sheep farmers funded by the HSE has suggested subtle neurological defects may remain long after exposure to organophosphates in sheep dip. 10 farmers with acute symptoms suggestive of organophosphate effects at the time of dipping, 10 sheep farmers without such effects and 10 non-exposed quarry workers were subjected to a standard neurological examination. This examination of the farmers was “carried out as long after the previous year’s dipping as possible”. The ability to differentiate between two points on the back of the hand and on the top of the foot was shown to be significantly worse in the sheep farmers than the quarry workers. The clinical significance of these findings is unclear (Beach J.R. et al., Occupational and Environmental Medicine 1996, 53, 520).
Growth-promoting agents and bacterial resistance Writing in the medical journal Lancet, microbiologists from the University of Maastricht, The Netherlands have warned that the use of animal growth-promoting agents with coincidental antimicrobial activity may jeopardize the effectiveness of new antibiotics being developed to combat multi-resistant bacteria. Molecules rejected previously as having potential as antibiotics have been used extensively as growth-promoting agents. In the future they may be needed as templates for new life-saving antibiotics, and cross-resistance “is more than likely to occur”. The Dutch scientists suggest that resistant bacteria, or their genes, could reach man through the food chain and, with their selection advantage, replace the susceptible bacterial population. It was thus “of utmost importance not to feed any molecule having antimicrobial properties to animals so as to enhance their growth” (van den Bogaard A.E. and Stobberingh E.E., Lancet 1996, 348, 619).
Pesticide poisoning grossly underreported Substantial underreporting of pesticide poisoning has been identified in Nicaragua. Illnesses associated with pesticide use were reported by nearly half (48%) of the 633 agricultural workers interviewed and 11% had suffered symptoms in the preceding month. The data showed younger workers to be at particular risk. Out of a sample of 23 workers who had received medical attention for “probable”
et al., disappeared by day 50-70 (Faustini A. Occupational and Environmental Medicine 1996,53, 583).
Genotoxicity of vinclozolin Vinclozolin ((RS)-3-(3,5-dichlorophenyl)-5-methyl5-vinyl-l,3-oxazolidine-;!,4dione), a fungicide previously ranked as essentially non-genotoxic, has been found to produce chromosome damage (micronuclei) in the bone marrow cells of male mice treated with a sing:le intraperitoneal injection of 625 mg/kg body weight. There was no evidente of chromosome damage (aberrations) in human lymphocytes in culture (Hrelia P. et al., Mutagenesis 1996, 11,445).
Carbaryl effects on sperm Dose-dependent decreases in sperm motility and sperm counts, and increases in the percentage of abnormal sperm were reported in rats treated (by stomach tube) 5 days/wk for 60 days with 50 mg/ kg body weight/day and above. NO effects were seen at 25 mg/kg body weight/day. Young rats were found to be more susceptible to the spermatotoxic effects of carbaryl than were adults (Pant N. et ai., Human a:nd Experimental Toxicology 1996, 15,736).
Alachlor and colorectal cancer A slightly increased incidence of colorectal cancer was observed in a study of 943 Monsanto workers employed for at least 1 yr in the manufacture of the herbicide, alachlor. Three cases arose among men with 5 or more yr of high-leve1 cumulative occupational exposure, compared with an expected number of 0.58 [standardized incidence ratio (SIR) 5.2,95% CI 1.1-15.11. A fourth man with no high-exposure jobs also developed the disease (Leet T. et al., American Journal of Industrial Medicine 1996, 30, 300).
Sheep dips - acule versus chronic eff ects A study of 77 British sheep farmers with confirmed recent exposure to organophosphates provided no evidente of any link between the immediate (self-reported) symptoms following acute exposure and the chronic effects identified by neuropsychological testing and questionnaires. “Individuals may experience chronic effects without the benefit of earlier warning signs of ,toxic effects during acute exposures” (Stephens R. et al., Neurotoxicology and Teratology 1996, 18,449:).
1191
long-term effects of organophosphates in sheep dips? A study of British sheep farmers funded by the HSE has suggested subtle neurological defects may remain long after exposure to organophosphates in sheep dip. 10 farmers with acute symptoms suggestive of organophosphate effects at the time of dipping, 10 sheep farmers without such effects and 10 non-exposed quarry workers were subjected to a standard neurological examination. This examination of the farmers was “carried out as long after the previous year’s dipping as possible”. The ability to differentiate between two points on the back of the hand and on the top of the foot was shown to be significantly worse in the sheep farmers than the quarry workers. The clinical significance of these findings is unclear (Beach J.R. et al., Occupational and Environmental Medicine 1996, 53, 520).
Growth-promoting agents and bacterial resistance Writing in the medical journal Lancet, microbiologists from the University of Maastricht, The Netherlands have warned that the use of animal growth-promoting agents with coincidental antimicrobial activity may jeopardize the effectiveness of new antibiotics being developed to combat multi-resistant bacteria. Molecules rejected previously as having potential as antibiotics have been used extensively as growth-promoting agents. In the future they may be needed as templates for new life-saving antibiotics, and cross-resistance “is more than likely to occur”. The Dutch scientists suggest that resistant bacteria, or their genes, could reach man through the food chain and, with their selection advantage, replace the susceptible bacterial population. It was thus “of utmost importance not to feed any molecule having antimicrobial properties to animals so as to enhance their growth” (van den Bogaard A.E. and Stobberingh E.E., Lancet 1996, 348, 619).
Pesticide poisoning grossly underreported Substantial underreporting of pesticide poisoning has been identified in Nicaragua. Illnesses associated with pesticide use were reported by nearly half (48%) of the 633 agricultural workers interviewed and 11% had suffered symptoms in the preceding month. The data showed younger workers to be at particular risk. Out of a sample of 23 workers who had received medical attention for “probable”