Environmental health & Toxicology Flashcards
Name two disease Asbestos can cause
Mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis (a type of pneumoconiosis)
Who publishes guidelines for human vaccinations?
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, CDC
What type of poisoning do alkaloid containing plants cause?
Liver damage
What type of poisoning does foxglove cause
Digitalis - nausea, diarrhoea and cardiac effects
List some of the direct health effects of climate change and population in greatest risk
Exposure to extreme temperatures (elderly), UV radiation (coastal, outdoor) , floods and wildfires.
List some of the indirect health effects of climate change and population in greatest risk
increase in vector borne and zoonotic diseases (populations at disease borders), respiratory disease due to changes in air quality (children, asthmatics, elderly), malnutrition due to food and water related effects (poor) and allergic diseases (children)
Most relevant climate sensitive mosquito borne diseases
Malaria, West nile virus, Chikungunya, Dengue
Name important tick borne climate sensitive diseases
Lyme borreliosis, tick-borne encephalitis, tularemia and Crimean Congo Hemorragic fever
Name important rodent borne climate sensitive diseases
Yersinia Pestis (plague), leptospirosis, hanta-virus
top three causes of death attributed to air pollution
- Stroke 2. Heart Attack and 3. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease(COPD)
Major health effects of Hurricanes
Drowning, Carbon monoxide poisoning, Displaced persons/animals, Power loss, Contaminated drinking water, Damaged/destroyed infrastructure, Non-functional clinics and hospitals, Affected medical and public health staf, Mold in homes and buildings
Health related issues impacted by power outage
mental health, temperature contorl, light, clean water, sewage disposal, food and medication storage, med tech/life support, safety mechanisms, transport, communication, air quality
Describe the 3+4 sections of public health emergency response
Monitoring and surveillance of mortality, shelters, syndromes and support for states. Communication to educate, advice, prevent, dissipate rumors - to partners, timely and accurately to public, monitoring news and social media. Environmental health - water safety, mold control, vector control and occupational health
Mold clean up guidelines
Protect your self, dry it in 24-48h with natural or fanned ventilation, toss it out do not cover!, scrub with detergents (don’t mix bleach and ammonia as produces toxic gas)
Correct generator usage
Outdoors, away from windows or doors and instal a CO-detector.
Occupational health hierarchy of controls (6 steps)
First substitute, then engineer, next administrate, then train, lastly use PPE and monitor.
Issues of veterinary occupational safety
musculoskeletal issues, safety culture, hazardous drugs and chemicals, infectious diseases and zoonotic diseases, sharps, mental health, injuries caused by animals, extreme weather conditions, noise, respiratory and reproductive hazards
Why is molybdenum of interest to veterinarians?
Ruminants get molybdenosis - ie secondary copper deficiency which shows as diarrhoea, depigmentation and pica for example. Copper and sulfates both play a role in it’s development.
Blood lead level limit
5 micrograms per deciliter (lowered from 10, lead levels across us falling, so might be lowered more)
How can you prevent lead leaching to drinking water from pipes?
With the use of corrosion control, ie adding orthophosphate to water that will forms a protective coating of insoluble mineral scale on the inside of service lines and household plumbing
What water contaminants can you reduce with water filtration?
Asbestos, Lead, Mercury Atrazine, Benzene, Carbofuran, Chlorobenzene, Cyst, Endrin, Ethylbenzene, Lindane, MTBE, O-Dichlorobenzene, P-Dichlorobenzene, Tetrachloroethylene, Toxaphene, Turbidity, Volatile organic compounds
Steps for foreign animal diseases response.
- Detection and confirmation of a disease
- Determine a method and carry out euthanasia
- Carcass disposal
- Clean and disinfection of the premise
- Environmental sampling
Name the primary agencies responsible for international animal health and U.S. animal health
USDA APHIS (animal plant health inspection service) Veterinary Services
what agencies are responsible for the importation of animals
FDA, HHS, CDC, USDA, and US Fish and Wildlife Service
list the 5 steps in the import quarantine process
- animal is imported through a USDA Import Center (NY/ /Miami/LA)
- preliminary examination and ID, health certificate and permit check by APHIS port vet
- animal is taken to the local quarantine facility or refused entry (held at the import center until the problem is corrected or the animal is returned to its origin
- p/e, sprayed for external parasites, taken to isolation facilities for 3, 7, 30, or 60 days
- tested for diseases
- state is notified of release if it all goes well
describe the difference between an Assistant District Director (ADD) and a State Animal Health Official (SAHO)
SAHO is an employee of the state and AVIC (ADD) is a federal employee who has responsibility for a state
Explain the roles of the National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) the National Animal Health Laboratory Netork (NAHLN), and international reference laboratories in diagnosing an exotic disease in the US
NVSL (Ames, Iowa and Orient Point (Plum Island), New York) - FAD testing, export certification, surveillance, eradication, and control programs for domestic disease
NAHLN- assists the NVSL if high laboratory submissions, and surveillance testing
-IRL: can help diagnose exotic disease outbreaks or assist
Steps of foreign animal disease (FAD) recognition
- Recognition: private practitioners suspect exotic disease
2 Report: to the federal authorities: State Animal Health Official (SAHO) or the Assistant District Director of APHIS (ADD) - Investigation: trained FADD to investigate (samples, necropsy, question) and enter it into the Emergency Management Response System (EMRS). Primary testing to the NVSL (to NAHLN if there is a high outbreak
response) - Notification: feds notify OIE and neighboring countries, 5. Response: APHIS consults with other countries and coordinates a response to the disease
- Recovery: US APHIS VS works towards recovery through local and state gov as well as livestock industries (pay for euthanasia, lift quarantines, renegotiate protocols)
Emergency Management Response System (EMRS)
A record-keeping system to update responsible parties on the situation during a foreign animal disease investigation or outbreak. The EMRS is only accessible to those with major responsibilities in foreign animal disease detection and response.
List some of the most common chemical water contaminants
Aluminum, ammonia, arsenic, copper, fluoride, lead, nitrates/nitrites, mercury, radium, selenium, uranium, bleach, salts, pesticides, toxins produced by bacteria, and human or animal drugs.
What are chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticides and how do they work?
DDT, DDE, chlordane, lindane (medical - treatment of lice and scabies), Cyclodienes (chlordane, dieldrin). Widely in agriculture, structural pest control, and malaria control programs around the world. Neurotoxins, absorbed from the GI tract, across the skin, and by inhalation. Highly lipid-soluble and accumulate with repeated exposure. Elimination does not follow first-order kinetics; compounds are released slowly from body stores over days to several months or years.
Cyanide poisoning in animals
Also known as prussic acid poisoning or hydrocyanic acid poisoning can. Causes asphyxiation. Plants - grain sorghum, forage sorghum, sudangrass, sorghum sudangrass crosses, Johnsongrass, sweet sorghums. Susseptible: Cattle, sheep, and goats. Treat with inhaled sodium nitrate and sodium thiosulfate
How can you safely use of Sorghum Forages?
Taking care when:
Grazing young sorghum plants.
Grazing sorghum plants stressed by rain, drought or freeze.
Grazing plants that have regrown following tissue damage from livestock traffic, haying, or mowing.
What are the criteria air pollutants monitored regularly?
- Ozone (ground level)
- Sulfur Dioxide SO2
- Nitrogen Oxides NOx
- Particulate
- Carbon Monoxide
- Lead
Ozone quidelines
Index below 50 is good, over 150 unhealthy, over 300 hazardous
CO exposure levels and their effects
20% or over 200ppm headache, dizziness, shortness of breath. 50-80% or over 400 ppm for several hours lethal. No effect under 2%or under 35ppm
Ways to control Hazardous Air pollutants
Scrubbers, Limiting amount of materials usage, Inspections and permitting
Ways to control air pollutants from mobile sources
Reformulated gasoline, automobile pollution control
devices, and vapor recovery nozzles on gas pumps
Ways to control indoor air pollution
Changing stoves, OSHA - Threshold limit values (TLV), Use of ventilation or personal protective equipment
