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Biomedical subjects

M G Rowland

Publications and source records attributed to M G Rowland.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1979

Infant foods as a potential source of diarrhoeal illness in rural West Africa.

It is common practice in rural areas of The Gambia to prepare infant foods in quantities which are sufficient to meet the needs of the day rather than one meal. These are then stored at ambient temperatures for periods up to 12 hours for feeding to the child on demand. The total viable counts and levels of Bacillus cereus, Clostridium welchii, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli were determined in 294 infant foods samples from nought to eight hours after preparation. The presence of Salmonella was determined in 10 g samples of food. In the first hour after preparation the proportion of foods dangerously contaminated was high during the rainsy season, significantly more so than during the dry season. Foods not consumed fresh were very often hazardous and almost always so after 8 hours. This problem may be a causal factor in weanling diarrhoea which also shows marked seasonal variation in prevalence.

Diarrhea, Infantile↗
PubMed1979

The relationship between rainfall and well water pollution in a West African (Gambian) village.

Water pollution was monitored in six Gambian village wells over a period of 8 months spanning the 5-month monomodal rains and the pre- and post-rains dry periods. Faecal coliform (FC) and faecal streptococci (FS) counts were high throughout and there was a massive increase associated with the onset of the rains, maximum counts exceeding 5 x 10(5)/100 ml. This pattern was largely sustained throughout the rainy season. Some individual variations in patterns of pollution could be ascribed to well design, in particular lining of the shaft, but no well was protected from the seasonal increase in faecal pollution. The source of the increased pollution appeared to be a flushing in of faecal material of indeterminate or mixed human and animal origin, probably over considerable distances. Peaks of pollution not associated with rainfall episodes could have resulted from the practice of communal laundering in the near vicinity of the wells. Specific pathogens including Salmonella spp. were isolated only intermittently. Attention has been drawn to a problem complicating the standard method for assessing FC counts.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Factors influencing lactation performance in rural Gambian mothers.

Breast-milk consumption has been measured in a rural African community in which breast-feeding on demand is universally practised until the baby is 18 mos old. The mother's long-term capacity for breast-milk production is determined by the end of the second month of lactation, yield being closely correlated with the infant's birth-weight. Other factors significantly influencing output were parity, month of lactation, baby's weight-for-age, season, and maternal diet. Daily milk consumption was limited primarily by the amount delivered per feed, not the frequency of feeding.

Body Weight↗
PubMed1978

Bacterial contamination in traditional Gambian weaning foods.

Although emphasis on infant feeding is rightly being placed on breast-feeding, the need for safe weaning foods for the developing world must also receive its due attention. Traditional weaning foods used for young infants in a typical West African village can be as hazardous, bacteriologically, as commercial milk products, and providing a breast-fed child with supplements under the conditions which prevail in much of the developing world is potentially dangerous, whatever the source of the food.

Bacteria↗
PubMed1977

Malnutrition and gastroenteritis in The Gambia.

There is a strong association between failure to thrive and diarrhoeal disease in young Gambian children. The high prevalence of diarrhoeal disease seen is not due to frequent attacks of "acute infantile diarrhoea" of viral orgin. The picture of protracted diarrhoea is almost certainly due to colonization of the upper bowel and the high prevalence demonstrated to be at least partly due to the environment to which the children are exposed, particularly in terms of food and water hygiene. Until this cycle of upper bowel colonization and protracted diarrhoea is broken, a diet-based nutrition programme cannot be expected to function effectively.

Bile Acids and Salts↗
PubMed1977

A quantitative study into the role of infection in determining nutritional status in Gambian village children.

1. Growth in weight and height in 152 children between the ages of 0-6 and 3 years was investigated in Keneba, a rural Gambian village. By 1 year of age the average weight-for-age of the children was only 75% of the Jelliffe (1966) standard. 2. The relationship between the prevalence of nine different categories of diseases and growth was investigated to determine the quantitative contribution of the diseases to the growth faltering observed. There was a highly significant negative relationship between gastroenteritis and both weight gain and height gain. The only other disease category having a similar relationship was malaria, but in this instance only with weight gain. 3. Although over-all growth in weight and height was considerably below the standard values, multiple regression analysis indicated that after the age of 1 year, except in July and August, normal and sometimes slow 'catch-up' growth would be possible in the absence of gastroenteritis. 4. Attention is drawn to the limitations of the use of anthropometry in a settled village community as the only criterion by which dietary adequacy can be judged.

Age Factors↗