Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Catholic University of Cameroon (CATUC), P.O. Box 782, Bamenda, Big Mankon; College of Technology, The University of Bamenda Cameroon, P.O. Box 39, Bambili; Faculty of Agronomy and Agricultural Science: CRESA, Foret-Bio, The University of Dschang, P.O Box 138, Yaounde, Cameroon; Department of Forestry, the University Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon E-mail:
College of Technology, The University of Bamenda Cameroon, P.O. Box 39, Bambili.
J Water Health. 2024 Jun;22(6):1075-1087. doi: 10.2166/wh.2024.057. Epub 2024 May 28.
This study evaluated pesticide exposure practices, and the potential health risks of drinking water and consuming fish from the cultivated wetlands of Ndop, Cameroon. Six hundred and twenty-six questionnaires were conveniently administered to farmers (≥ 26 years old) in a cross-sectional study to assess exposure practices and dietary risks. The Chi-square and Pearson correlation coefficients were used to establish relationships between variables. The PRIMET model was used to predict a worst-case dietary risk. The pesticide handling practices of 90% of farmers were inadequate. Chlorpyriphos, lambda-cyhalothrin, fipronil, and paraquat dichloride posed a possible dietary risk at recommended and applied doses, with chlorpyrifos having the highest exposure toxicity ratio (ETR = 36.72). Paraquat dichloride, fipronil, and lambda-cyhalothrin posed a possible dietary risk at 26.3%, 58.3%, and 62.2% of their recommended concentrations, respectively. Remarkably, the dietary risk for cypermethrin was acceptable at 5.8 times its recommended dose (ETR = 0.29). The significant positive correlation (p = 0.000) between PEC and ETR, suggests a possible health risk of consuming fish and drinking water harvested from the wetlands, thus the need for replacing pesticides posing possible risks at lower or recommended concentrations with less toxic alternatives and to train farmers on pesticide application practices.
本研究评估了喀麦隆恩多普湿地农民的农药使用实践以及饮用水和食用鱼类的潜在健康风险。采用横断面研究方法，方便地向 626 名（≥26 岁）农民发放问卷，以评估暴露实践和饮食风险。使用卡方检验和皮尔逊相关系数来建立变量之间的关系。采用 PRIMET 模型预测最坏情况下的饮食风险。90%的农民的农药处理方式不够完善。氯吡硫磷、氯氟氰菊酯、氟虫腈和敌草快在推荐剂量和使用剂量下可能存在饮食风险，其中氯吡硫磷的暴露毒性比（ETR=36.72）最高。敌草快、氟虫腈和氯氟氰菊酯在推荐浓度的 26.3%、58.3%和 62.2%时可能存在饮食风险。值得注意的是，氯氰菊酯的饮食风险在推荐剂量的 5.8 倍时是可以接受的（ETR=0.29）。PEC 和 ETR 之间的显著正相关（p=0.000）表明，食用从湿地收获的鱼类和饮用水可能存在健康风险，因此需要用毒性较低的替代品替代存在潜在风险的农药，并对农民进行农药使用实践的培训。
