ENDEMIC ELEPHANTIASIS OF THE LOWER LEGS AS A HEALTH HAZARD OF BAREFOOTED AGRICULTURALISTS IN CAMEROON, WEST AFRICA

作者：Emmett W. Price, W. J. McHardy, Frederick D. Pooley · 发表于：The Annals of Occupational Hygiene · 年份：1981 · DOI：10.1093/annhyg/24.1.1 · 被引用次数：23 · 研究领域：Phytoplasmas and Hemiptera pathogens、Cerebral Palsy and Movement Disorders

The observation in the field of a relationship between endemic elephantiasis of the lower legs and the local red clays is strengthened by the elemental analysis of mineral microparticle observed in the femoral lymph nodes of the barefooted people. The present study attempts to establish the mineral phases present in the residue of the nodes after digestion and to compare these with the soil of the subject's plantation. The predominance of silica and alumina in the soil is reflected in the nodes, but the low degree of crystallinity and the varying proportions of Al relative to Si in the nodes made mineral identification difficult. The results are interpreted in terms of the high solubility of Al in the acid milieu of the phagolysosomes which contain the particles. The residual silica is recognized as an agent toxic to macrophages. The fibrosis of the afferent lymphatics of the feet is a possible result of the passage of damaged macrophages containing alumino-silicate particles absorbed through the feet. There appears to be no notable elemental difference between the percentage content of nodes of elephantiasics and of non-elephantiasics. However, the clinical observation of greatly enlarged nodes in diseased persons indicates a heavier total mineral load in elephantiasics. The difference in fibrotic response is interpreted as a tissue variability, as in the lung disease of miners.