Meliani Amina. You ask a very interesting question; however, I believe it needs to be more specific. Pesticides refer to natural and artificial materials that affect many different actions. First, "pests" refer to viruses, bacteria, insects, fungi, weeds and many other organisms. In many cases, use of pesticides may actually improve health for human populations at large, while causing poorer health in some smaller human population that is exposed to higher concentrations of active pesticides. For example, controlling tick-borne diseases may be beneficial to the population at large, but it may not be beneficial for the humans that work in the manufacturing facility that makes the pesticide to control ticks.

Help us address your question by being more specific. Are you focused more on farmers than the population at large? Are you focused on those that work in factories that manufacture pesticides? Or are you focused on a country or regions of a country that may be exposed to greater or lesser levels of certain pesticides? For example, pesticide use in the USA is below the world average and ranks about 71st among about 200 countries for which we have data. So one needs to account for how different countries utilize pesticides. I encourage you to focus your question more specifically so that we can help you get better answers. Good luck !

Endocrine dysfunctions, genotoxicity/ mutations, cancers/ tumors, infertility, neurological disorders, embryo malformation etc.

I agree with Jack as there are many adverse effects of pesticides on environment and the living beings.

Parmi les problèmes perte de la réflexion.

Dear Dr. Britt

Yes, absolutely I agree with you about the importance of focusing a population of farmers or professionals exposed to different risks in a direct or indirect way. We will do a comparative study between two different regions and take the autoimmune diseases such as indicators for example.

The use of pesticide has been well optimized and reduced in some countries, but here it is anarchic (unfortunately) especially question dose-risk and effect. First we will make an inventory of the pesticides used and therefore select the one with adverse effect for health (age, sex, .......) Statistical data are sometimes not credible, but we will try to conduct our own study in a very correct and honest way.

As soon as I have the inventory; I will contact you to share your opinion and your expertis.

Happy Day Best regards

Amina

Parkinson's disease; asthma; depression and anxiety; cancer, including leukaemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma; and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are all health effects arising from long term use. For details on this and those for short-term pesticide use, please follow the link attached.Article Long- and Short-Term Health Effects of Pesticide Exposure: A...

Please se the following link:

http://www.pan-uk.org/health-effects-of-pesticides/

You can find information on ACUTE TOXICITY:

Pesticides can be acutely toxic. This means that they can cause harmful or lethal effects after one single episode of ingestion, inhalation or skin contact. The symptoms are evident shortly after exposure or can arise within 48 hours. They can present as:

• respiratory tract irritation, sore throat and/or cough
• allergic sensitisation
• eye and skin irritation
• nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea
• headache, loss of consciousness
• extreme weakness, seizures and/or death

CHRONIC TOXICITY:

Pesticides can cause harmful effects over an extended period, usually following repeated or continuous exposure at low levels. Low doses don’t always cause immediate effects, but over time, they can cause very serious illnesses. Long term pesticide exposure has been linked to the development of

• Parkinson’s disease;
• asthma;
• depression and anxiety;
• cancer, including leukaemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma;
• attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Pesticides can act as ENDOCRINE DISRUPTORS.

The endocrine effects can be activated by very low concentrations of chemicals. They can manifest as:

• reduced semen quality with consequent decreased fertility, genital malformations, testicular and prostate cancer
• early puberty, appearance of cysts in the ovaries, uterus anomalies, breast cancer, pregnancy complications with early abortions, decreased fertility
• diabetes and obesity
• neurological disorders, especially disorders in brain development, and degenerative diseases in the brain, such as Parkinson’s disease
• hyper and hypo thyroidism and thyroid tumours.

There exist very specific Impacts of pesticides on women and children (for example http://www.pan-uk.org/effects-pesticides-women-children/).

You can see that pesticides impact on human health is very complex and must be monitored and studied accordingly.

Best regards

Vit

..... and some sources of information (https://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/health/case_studies/pesticides.html)

Recommended Readings

• Carson, Rachel. Silent Spring. Boston: Houghton Mifflin,1962.

Rachel Carson had a masters in Zoology and worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for 15 years. Carson published many books on ecology but her most famous was published in 1962. Silent Spring displays the harmful effects of agriculture pesticides such as DDT. This book was intended to educate the scientific community as well as the general public. It is the perfect example of a widely used agricultural pesticide that was not known to be harmful, the publication led to the subsequent banning of this pesticide in the U.S. and most other developed nations.

• Steingraber,Sandra. Living Downstream. New York City:Da Capo Press,1997.

Steingraber was diagnosed with cancer and as a biologist she searched for the roots of her disease. She found that it most likely came from the high concentrations of toxins in her hometown drinking water supply. She then goes on to draw connections about other incidences of cancer in major cities where there were high toxin levels.

• Van Den Bosch, Robert. The Pesticide Conspiracy. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1989.

Robert Van Den Bosch is a professor at the University of California and has conducted research exploring the harmful effects of agricultural pesticides. In his book he explains how truly detrimental these pesticides are and advocates for the end of their use. As this book was published in 1989, Van Den Bosch received much criticism from the pesticide industry and many supporting government officials as the detrimental effects were not very well known at that time.

• Wheeler, Willis. Pesticides in Agriculture and the Environment. New York City: CRC Press, 2002.

This book describes in depth what exactly agricultural pesticides are and the harmful effects they can have on the environment. It also looks at solutions to the inefficiency of using pesticides. It analyzes the current trends in pesticide use as well as extrapolates on future advancements.

Related Links

• "Agriculture." Pesticides. 27 June 2012. EPA. 03 Nov. 2012 .

This is a link to the EPA's page on Agricultural Pesticides. It provides a breadth of information of general aspects of these pesticides as well as their use and the current methods of regulation and control.

• "The Life and Legacy of Rachel Carson." Biography. 2012. Connecticut College. 03 Nov. 2012

This website provides information on Rachel Carson who is the most famous biologist on the harmful effects of agricultural pesticides. It provides a biography, links to all of her books, and links to additional research sources.

• Monosson, Emily. "The Encyclopedia of Earth." Agricultural pesticide contamination. 11 Feb. 2011. National Council for Science and the Environment. 04. Nov. 2012 .

This link provides general information about agricultural pesticides and their harmful contamination effects.

• "Top Ten Toxic Pollution Problems 2011." Agricultural Production, Pesticide Pollution. 2012. Blacksmith Institute. 03 Nov. 2012 .

This site looks at the top pollution problems each year and states Agricultural Pesticides as being one of the top ten for 2011. It displays the worldwide distribution and where the majority of the population that is at risk is located.

Good luck!!

Vit

Dear Mr Maurice and Dear Mr.Vit

Thank you very much for this contribution

Best regards

Amina

Dear Dr. Vit

The mentionned references and link will help us very well

thank you again

yes absolutely, the relationship between pesticide exposure and human health remains contreverse specialy for the sexe ratio and the Long-term effects or short term effects.

Furthermore an important factor is that of genetic predisposition, resistance or sensitivity. Not to mention the link between the nature of the disease and the chemical interaction with the pesticide

we can analyse the same rate of exposition in the two sexes with equal repartition!

Best regards

Amina

YOU ARE WELCOME, AMINA and GOOD LUCK!!

Regards

Vit

Thank you again

Happy day