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Effectiveness of wetting method for control of konzo and reduction of cyanide poisoning by removal of cyanogens from cassava flour

Banea, J P; Bradbury, James; Mandombi, C.; Nahimana, D; Denton, Ian; Kuwa, N; Tshala Katumbay, D.

Description

Background. Konzo is an irreversible paralysis of the legs that occurs mainly among children and young women in remote villages in tropical Africa and is associated with a monotonous diet of bitter cassava. Konzo was discovered in 1938 by Dr. G. Trolli in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It also occurs in Mozambique, Tanzania, Cameroon, Central African Republic, and Angola. It was first controlled in Kay Kalenge village, DRC, in 2011 with the use of a wetting method to remove cyanogens...[Show more]

dc.contributor.authorBanea, J P
dc.contributor.authorBradbury, James
dc.contributor.authorMandombi, C.
dc.contributor.authorNahimana, D
dc.contributor.authorDenton, Ian
dc.contributor.authorKuwa, N
dc.contributor.authorTshala Katumbay, D.
dc.date.accessioned2015-12-10T23:22:19Z
dc.identifier.issn0379-5721
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1885/66470
dc.description.abstractBackground. Konzo is an irreversible paralysis of the legs that occurs mainly among children and young women in remote villages in tropical Africa and is associated with a monotonous diet of bitter cassava. Konzo was discovered in 1938 by Dr. G. Trolli in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It also occurs in Mozambique, Tanzania, Cameroon, Central African Republic, and Angola. It was first controlled in Kay Kalenge village, DRC, in 2011 with the use of a wetting method to remove cyanogens from cassava flour. Fourteen months later, another visit was made to Kay Kalenge. Objective. To determine whether Kay Kalenge women were still using the wetting method, whether there were new cases of konzo, and whether the wetting method had spread to other villages. Methods. Meetings were held with chiefs, leaders, and heads of mothers' groups, women from 30 households were interviewed, and three nearby villages were visited. Total cyanide and thiocyanate were analyzed in cassava flour and urine samples, respectively. Results. The women in Kay Kalenge village still used the wetting method. There were no new cases of konzo. The mean cyanide content of the flour samples was 9 ppm, and no child had a mean urinary thiocyanate content greater than 350 μmol/L. The use of the wetting method had spread naturally to three adjacent villages. Conclusions. The wetting method has been readily accepted by rural women as a simple and useful method to control konzo by removing cyanide from cassava flour, and its use has spread to nearby villages. The wetting method should be promoted by health authorities to control konzo and reduce cyanide poisoning from high-cyanide cassava flour.
dc.publisherInternational Nutrition Foundation
dc.sourceFood and Nutrition Bulletin
dc.titleEffectiveness of wetting method for control of konzo and reduction of cyanide poisoning by removal of cyanogens from cassava flour
dc.typeJournal article
local.description.notesImported from ARIES
local.identifier.citationvolume35
dc.date.issued2014
local.identifier.absfor111716 - Preventive Medicine
local.identifier.ariespublicationu9511635xPUB1288
local.type.statusPublished Version
local.contributor.affiliationBanea, J P, Programme National de Nutrition
local.contributor.affiliationBradbury, James, College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, ANU
local.contributor.affiliationMandombi, C., Hopital General de Reference
local.contributor.affiliationNahimana, D, Programme National de Nutrition
local.contributor.affiliationDenton, Ian, College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, ANU
local.contributor.affiliationKuwa, N, Programme National de Nutrition
local.contributor.affiliationTshala Katumbay, D., Universite de Kinshasa
local.description.embargo2037-12-31
local.bibliographicCitation.issue1
local.bibliographicCitation.startpage28
local.bibliographicCitation.lastpage32
local.identifier.absseo920199 - Clinical Health (Organs, Diseases and Abnormal Conditions) not elsewhere classified
dc.date.updated2015-12-10T10:29:37Z
local.identifier.scopusID2-s2.0-84901606123
CollectionsANU Research Publications

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