Landfills are a source of groundwater pollution in Gaza Strip. This study focused on Deir Al Balah landfill, which is a unique sanitary landfill site in Gaza Strip (i.e., it has a lining system and a leachate recirculation system). The objective of this article is to assess the generated leachate quantity and percolation to the groundwater aquifer at a specific site, using the approaches of (i) the hydrologic evaluation of landfill performance model (HELP) and (ii) the water balance method (WBM). The results show that when using the HELP model, the average volume of leachate discharged from Deir Al Balah landfill during the period 1997 to 2007 was around, 6800 m3/year. Meanwhile, the average volume of leachate percolated through the clay layer was 550 m3/year, which represents around 8% of the generated leachate. Meanwhile, the WBM indicated that the average volume of leachate discharged from Deir Al Balah landfill during the same period was around 7660 m3/year--about half of which comes from the moisture content of the waste, while the remainder comes from the infiltration of precipitation and re-circulated leachate. Therefore, the estimated quantity of leachate to groundwater by these two methods was very close. However, compared with the measured leachate quantity, these results were overestimated and indicated a dangerous threat to the groundwater aquifer, as there was no separation between municipal, hazardous and industrial wastes, in the area.
A total of 1,134 finger-pricked blood samples were collected from residents of Setiu, Terengganu. A drop of blood was used to make thick blood smear and about four drops were used for obtaining serum. The smears were stained and examined by the State Vector Control Unit in Kuala Terengganu, while the serum samples were tested for specific IgG4 antibodies to a novel recombinant antigen using Brugia-Elisa. Prevalence of filariasis in these areas were found to be 0.26% (3/1,134) using thick blood smear examination and 2.47% (28/1,134) using Brugia-Elisa, thus demonstrating the greater sensitivity of the latter test. In addtion, Brugia-Elisa showed a high level of specificity (97.8%, 1,106/1,131) when compared to thick blood smear examination.
Stool samples from 836 cases with diarrhea and acute gastroenteritis from the Pediatric ward, Penang General Hospital, were examined for Cryptosporidium oocysts. A dimethyl sulfoxide modified acid fast technique was used for the identification of the parasites. 36 samples or 4.3% were found to be positive for Cryptosporidium. The prevalence of infection was higher (2.39%) in children with diarrhea and vomiting than in children with acute gastroenteritis alone (0.8%). Stool examination and cultures from the Cryptosporidium positive samples revealed no other parasites, rotavirus or enteropathogenic bacteria. This suggests that Cryptosporidium may be an important agent in the causation of diarrhea in young children. A routine laboratory examination for the detection of Cryptosporidium in the search for causal agents of childhood diarrhea in our environment may, therefore, be significant.
Hantaviruses are primarily rodent-borne and transmission is by inhalation of virus-contaminated aerosols of rodent excreta, especially urine and saliva. The genus Hantavirus, family Bunyaviridae, comprises at least 14 serotypes and the symptoms of clinical illness range from mild fever to severe hemorrhagic manifestations with renal complications. Many countries in Southeast Asia are unaware of the importance of hantavirus infections and give them low priority. Malaysia, like other countries in the region, has conducted very few studies on the epidemiology of hantaviruses - and even these were conducted in the 1980s. Using a more extensive range of hantavirus antigens, we conducted a seroprevalence study of rodents and humans and found further evidence of hantavirus infections. Moreover, the data from the antibody profiles strongly suggest the presence of different hantaviruses at the study sites.