Analia Ferloni

Introduction An increasing number of rural communities express perception of health damage from glyphosate and other agrochemicals. We measure the presence of glyphosate in the human body, in order to create, together with the local community, a systemic model that highlights modifiable causal socio-environmental conditions. Materials and methods Participatory Action Research. Measurement of environmental factors and self-reported oncological disease were obtained in a three-stage probabilistic sampling (blocks, houses, family) of people living in French city - 9 de Julio-Buenos Aires. Glyphosate in urine was analyzed by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. The exposure pathway was obtained by interviewing positive cases. A conceptual systemic model was designed. Results of the total 46 blocks of French, 23 were included with systematic sampling and from the 76 houses selected (50%) one person was included in the study. Oncological disease was reported in 21.8% of the households. 13% of the population (95% CI 6.5-23) presented quantifiable glyphosate in urine in June 2023. Occupational exposure was ruled out in all cases. The main self-reported sources were: unloading agrochemicals in the nearby warehouse, the grain storage complex, pesticide drift and self-propelled sprayers that pass by on the street, variables belonging to economic and cultural conditions. A network of actors emerged who, gathered on a website, propose actions to the mayor’s office. Discussion This study has high external validity for public health decision makers regarding the determinants. It is necessary to notify the Argentine Integrated Health System, both suspected exposure and possibly related health events, and to design how to refer human samples to highly complex laboratories to measure pesticides. Conclusion the presence of glyphosate in urine was due to environmental exposure; It expresses a path of passive, involuntary and chronic absorption of environmental pollutants and is due to French’s agricultural activity with dominance of market forces in the system, poorly antagonized by care forces.

La vacunación COVID-19 ayuda a limitar la pandemia. En Argentina, se aprobaron tres vacunas y se priorizó a los trabajadores de la salud (TDS). El objetivo fue determinar la efectividad de las vacunas COVID-19, analizando el cambio en los niveles de Inmunoglobulina G y la incidencia de nuevos casos de COVID-19 hasta 12 meses después de la segunda dosis. Métodos: Cohorte prospectiva de TDS entre marzo de 2021 y 2022. Se utilizó la prueba COVIDAR IgG para medir los anticuerpos. Se empleó un modelo de efectos mixtos para comparar los niveles de inmunoglobulina G en diferentes puntos temporales, se utilizó Kaplan Meier para estimar los casos de COVID-19 incidentes. Resultados: se incluyeron 82 participantes. Los eventos adversos fueron frecuentes pero leves. Todos los participantes mostraron anticuerpos positivos a los 12 meses. Los niveles de anticuerpos mostraron un aumento un año después de la segunda dosis. Sinopharm tardó mucho tiempo en arrojar resultados positivos. Más de la mitad de las personas tuvieron una enfermedad leve de COVID-19. Conclusión: Las vacunas COVID-19 son seguras y efectivas.

Introduction: Bisphenol A (BPA) is an endocrine disruptor (ED) possibly linked to adverse reproductive and neurodevelopmental effects that is used as an additive in food and beverage containers. There are no data of BPA levels in the Argentine population. The objective of this study was to measure BPA in the urine of pregnant women. Methods: Cross-sectional study. Detection of BPA in pregnant women of the Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires in 2013, using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry with a limit of quantification of 2 ng / ml and detection of 0.8 ng / ml. The proportion of women exposed to BPA within the 95% confidence interval (IC 95%) is described. Results: 149 pregnant women, average age 32 years (Standard Deviation 5.3), 81% (95% CI 73.9-86.9) workers and 83.7% (95% CI 76.7-89.1) have university or higher education, 66.4% (95% CI 58-74.0) of the urinary samples were quantifiable, with a median BPA of 4.3 ng/mg Cr (RI 3.2-6.7). Conclusions: This study shows that exposure to BPA during the process of embryonic development in a sector of the population of Argentina is widespread. In Argentina, the use of this ED is only regulated in baby bottles.