Pesticide Research on Environmental and Human Exposure and Risks in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Literature Review

On the African continent, ongoing agriculture intensification is accompanied by the increasing use of pesticides, associated with environmental and public health concerns. Using a systematic literature review, we aimed to map current geographical research hotspots and gaps around environmental and public health risks research of agriculture pesticides in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Studies were included that collected primary data on past and current-used agricultural pesticides and assessed their environmental occurrence, related knowledge, attitude and practice, human exposure, and environmental or public health risks between 2006 and 2021. We identified 391 articles covering 469 study sites in 37 countries in SSA. Five geographical research hotspots were identified: two in South Africa, two in East Africa, and one in West Africa. Despite its ban for agricultural use, organochlorine was the most studied pesticide group (60%; 86% of studies included DDT). Current-used pesticides in agriculture were studied in 54% of the study sites (including insecticides (92%), herbicides (44%), and fungicides (35%)). Environmental samples were collected in 67% of the studies (e.g., water, aquatic species, sediment, agricultural produce, and air). In 38% of the studies, human subjects were investigated. Only few studies had a longitudinal design or assessed pesticide’s environmental risks; human biomarkers; dose-response in human subjects, including children and women; and interventions to reduce pesticide exposure. We established a research database that can help stakeholders to address research gaps, foster research collaboration between environmental and health dimensions, and work towards sustainable and safe agriculture systems in SSA.

Stakeholders′ Perceptions of Environmental and Public Health Risks Associated with Hydrocarbon Activities in and around the Vasilikos Energy Center, Cyprus

The Vasilikos Energy Center (VEC) is a large hydrocarbon industrial hub actively operating in Cyprus. There is strong public interest by the communities surrounding VEC to engage with all stakeholders towards the sustainable development of hydrocarbon in the region. The methodological framework of the exposome concept would allow for the holistic identification of all relevant environmental exposures by engaging the most relevant stakeholders in industrially contaminated sites. The main objectives of this study were to: (i) evaluate the stakeholders’ perceptions of the environmental and public health risks and recommended actions associated with the VEC hydrocarbon activities, and (ii) assess the stakeholders’ understanding and interest towards exposome-based technologies for use in oil and gas applications. Methods: Six major groups of stakeholders were identified: local authorities, small-medium industries (SMIs) (including multi-national companies), small-medium enterprises (SMEs), academia/professional associations, government, and the general public residing in the communities surrounding the VEC. During 2019–2021, a suite of stakeholder engagement initiatives was deployed, including semi-structured interviews (n = 32), a community survey for the general public (n = 309), technical meetings, and workshops (n = 4). Results from the semi-structured interviews, technical meetings and workshops were analyzed through thematic analysis and results from the community survey were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: Almost all stakeholders expressed the need for the implementation of a systematic health monitoring system for the VEC broader area and its surrounding residential communities, including frequent measurements of air pollutant emissions. Moreover, stricter policies by the government about licensing and monitoring of hydrocarbon activities and proper communication to the public and the mass media emerged as important needs. The exposome concept was not practiced by the SMEs, but SMIs showed willingness to use it in the future as part of their research and development activities. Conclusions: The sustainable development of hydrocarbon exploitation and processing prospects for Cyprus involves the VEC. Continuous and active collaboration and mutual feedback among all stakeholders involved with the VEC is essential, as this may allow future environmental and occupational health initiatives to be formalized.

Coronavirus legislative responses in the UK: regression to panic and disdain of constitutionalism

The United Kingdom has considerable prowess in handling emergencies, not just in counterterrorism but also in a wide range of other real or imagined disasters, including public health risks. Core legislation has been installed, including the all-encompassing Civil Contingencies Act (CCA) 2004 and the more specialist Public Health (Control of Disease) Act (PHA) 1984. Despite these finely honed models, the UK state regressed to panic mode when faced with the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather than turning to the laws already in place, Parliament fast-tracked the Coronavirus Act 2020, with scant debate of its shabbily drafted contents. In addition, the UK Government has relied heavily, with minimal scrutiny, on regulations under the PHA 1984. The article analyses the competing legal codes and how they have been deployed to deal with COVID-19. It then draws out the strengths and weaknesses of the choices in terms of the key themes of: the choice of sectoral versus general emergency legislation; levels of oversight and accountability; effectiveness; and the protection of individual rights. Following this survey, it will be suggested that the selection of legal instruments and the design of their contents has been ill-judged. In short, the emergency code which is the most suitably engineered for the purpose, the CCA 2004, has been the least used for reasons which should not be tolerated.

Ineffective neutralization of the SARS-CoV-2 Mu variant by convalescent and vaccine sera

On August 30, 2021, the WHO classified the SARS-CoV-2 Mu variant (B.1.621 lineage) as a new variant of interest. The WHO defines “comparative assessment of virus characteristics and public health risks” as primary action in response to the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants. Here, we demonstrate that the Mu variant is highly resistant to sera from COVID-19 convalescents and BNT162b2-vaccinated individuals. Direct comparison of different SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins revealed that Mu spike is more resistant to serum-mediated neutralization than all other currently recognized variants of interest (VOI) and concern (VOC). This includes the Beta variant (B.1.351) that has been suggested to represent the most resistant variant to convalescent and vaccinated sera to date (e.g., Collier et al, Nature, 2021; Wang et al, Nature, 2021). Since breakthrough infection by newly emerging variants is a major concern during the current COVID-19 pandemic (Bergwerk et al., NEJM, 2021), we believe that our findings are of significant public health interest. Our results will help to better assess the risk posed by the Mu variant for vaccinated, previously infected and naïve populations.