Screening of high arsenic water resourees and prevalence analysis of endemic arsenic poisoning cases in Bengbu City

Objective in order to further ascertain the distribution of high-arsenic water and the prevalence of endemic arsenic poisoning case and provide a basis for disease prevention.Methods Based 2003 and 2005 surveys,disease screening and investigation were conducted in villages surrounding areas of high arsenic and along the Huaihe River.Five different directions i,e.east,west,south,north,center in the villages were selected for the survey.10% water sources were investigated.Residents in the villages with a high level of arsenic in drinking water(more than 0.15mg / L) were all investigated.Results in the 400 water samples,65 water samples exceeded arsenic standard,the highest concentration was up to 0.62mg / L.The average water arsenic was 0.14 mg / L.Average depth of the wells was 24.69 meters.a total of 2411 people were investigated and 157 endemic arsenic poisoning cases were founded.Attack rate was 6.51%.No difference was founded between men and women(χ2= 1.02,P 0.05).Attack rate increased with age(χ.2= 190.84,P0.01).Conclusion High arsenic areas existed along the Huaihe River areas,the causes should be further studied.Water improvement should be implemented as soon as possible in high arsenic and high-prevalence villages.Further research and analysis should be done to clarify the relationship between water and prevalence of arsenic poisoning