Complex agricultural livelihoods and aflatoxin exposure in rural Uganda.
Complex agricultural livelihoods and aflatoxin exposure in rural Uganda.
复制标题
DOI：
10.18697/ajfand.77.16065
复制
发表时间：
2017-01-01
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Seeley, J.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Agol, D.;Newton, R.;Seeley, J.
黄曲霉毒素是由真菌黄曲霉和寄生曲霉产生的次生代谢产物。它们具有剧毒，已被国际癌症研究机构(IARC)指定为人类致癌物(第1类：对人类绝对致癌)。高水平的暴露可导致急性肝脏坏死和死亡，而长期暴露可导致肝癌，还可能导致儿童生长发育障碍和免疫力下降。对农作物的污染最常发生在收获和储存期间，此时潮湿、温暖的条件使真菌得以繁殖。通过审查乌干达西南部农村人口队列中的农业生计和家庭食物消费模式，探讨了有效的地方干预措施减少接触的可能障碍。该队列和乌干达其他地方以前的研究表明，接触黄曲霉毒素无处不在，而且接触来源多种多样。通过对200户家庭的调查收集了有关农业做法的数据；随机选择了其中22户进行深入访谈。虽然玉米、木薯、豆类和花生等作物--所有这些都是黄曲霉毒素的潜在来源--都是在当地种植、储存和消费，但出售本地种植的食品、不利的气候、虫害和疾病以及有限的劳动力，都助长了粮食短缺和随之而来的不安全，导致购买储存不良的食品，这些食品也可能含有黄曲霉毒素。许多家庭很容易从村子里建立的众多交易中心获得加工食品。本文提供了关于乌干达农村家庭饮食异质性和食物消费季节性趋势的背景信息，并以此确定了研究地区黄曲霉毒素污染的潜在危险因素。黄曲霉毒素污染的风险是多方面的，这种复杂性使设计和实施风险控制措施和宣传战略具有挑战性。这篇论文的论点是，乌干达农村地区复杂的农业生计和家庭食物消费模式可能会减轻当地为减少黄曲霉毒素暴露而采取的简单干预措施的影响。因此，干预方法需要考虑到这种复杂性，以便最大限度地减少风险因素，特别是在农村地区的贫困人口中。
Aflatoxins are secondary metabolites produced by Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus species of fungi. They are highly toxic and have been designated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as human carcinogens (Class 1: definitely carcinogenic to humans). High levels of exposure can cause acute hepatic necrosis and death while chronic exposure can cause carcinoma of the liver and possibly also growth impairment in children and compromised immunity. Contamination of crops most often occurs during harvest and storage, when damp, warm conditions allow the fungi to proliferate. Possible barriers to effective local interventions to reduce exposure were explored, by examining agricultural livelihoods and patterns of household food consumption within a population cohort in rural south west Uganda. Previous work in this cohort and elsewhere in Uganda showed that aflatoxin exposure was ubiquitous and that there are multiple sources of exposure. Data on agricultural practices were collected through a survey of 200 households; 22 of those were randomly selected for in-depth interviews. While crops such as maize, cassava, beans and groundnuts - all potential sources of aflatoxin - are grown, stored and consumed locally, the sale of home-grown foods, unfavourable climate, pests and diseases and limited labour, all facilitate food scarcities and subsequent insecurities leading to purchase of poorly stored foods which may also contain aflatoxins. Processed foods are easily accessible by many households, from the numerous trading centres established within villages. This paper gives background information on heterogeneity of household diets and seasonal trends in food consumption in rural Uganda and by so doing, identifies potential risk factors for aflatoxin contamination in the study area. Risks of aflatoxin contamination are multifaceted and this complexity makes it challenging to design and implement risk control measures and advocacy strategies. The argument of the paper is that the complexity of agricultural livelihoods and patterns of household food consumption in rural Uganda may mitigate the impact of simple, local interventions to reduce aflatoxin exposure. Therefore, intervention approaches need to take into account this complexity in order to minimize risk factors, especially amongst poor populations in rural areas.