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Human Health Risk from Consumption of Marine Fish Contaminated with DDT and Its Metabolites in Maputo Bay, Mozambique

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Abstract

Many countries with incidence of malaria, including those surrounding Maputo Bay, use dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) to reduce mosquitoes. This study is the first to estimate the human health risk associated with consumption of marine fish from Maputo Bay contaminated with DDTs. The median for ∑DDTs was 3.8 ng/g ww (maximum 280.9 ng/g ww). The overall hazard ratio for samples was 1.5 at the 75th percentile concentration and 28.2 at the 95th percentile. These calculations show increased potential cancer risks due to contamination by DDTs, data which will help policy makers perform a risk–benefit analysis of DDT use in malaria control programs in the region.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Leading Program at Hokkaido University and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 16J02013). Also thanks to Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (Nos. 16H0177906​, 15H0282505 and 15K1221305), and the foundation of the Soroptimist Japan, the Nakajima, the Sumitomo, and JSPS Core-to-Core Program (AA Science Platforms) and Bilateral Program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Toxicology, Department of Environmental Veterinary Sciences, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan

    L. A. Thompson, Y. Ikenaka, Y. B. Yohannes, T. Ichise, G. Ito, N. Bortey-Sam, W. S. Darwish, S. M. M. Nakayama & M. Ishizuka

  2. Water Research Group, Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa

    Y. Ikenaka, J. J. van Vuren, V. Wepener & N. J. Smit

  3. Department of Chemistry, College of Natural and Computational Science, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia

    Y. B. Yohannes

  4. Food Control Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt

    W. S. Darwish

  5. Department of Environmental Veterinary Sciences, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan

    H. Mizukawa

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  1. L. A. Thompson
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  2. Y. Ikenaka
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  3. Y. B. Yohannes
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  4. T. Ichise
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  5. G. Ito
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  6. N. Bortey-Sam
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  7. J. J. van Vuren
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  8. V. Wepener
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  9. N. J. Smit
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  10. W. S. Darwish
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  11. S. M. M. Nakayama
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  12. H. Mizukawa
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  13. M. Ishizuka
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. Ishizuka.

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Thompson, L.A., Ikenaka, Y., Yohannes, Y.B. et al. Human Health Risk from Consumption of Marine Fish Contaminated with DDT and Its Metabolites in Maputo Bay, Mozambique. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 100, 672–676 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-018-2323-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-018-2323-7

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