ABSTRACT Improvements in the health standards of developed and developing societies depend primarily on the relationships between economy and environment. Recent long-term changes in the chemical composition of man-made environments may be linked to changes in the biology of human beings. Here we argue that children are at the greatest risk of being affected by the dangerous effects of these changes, with particular reference to cancer. The concept of cancer risk must be extended to new contexts. Considering the increasing […]

OBJECTIVE: Analyse how basic sanitation conditions, water supply and housing conditions affect the concentration of Culex quinquefasciatus METHODS: Populations of C. quinquefasciatus in 61 houses in the municipality of Olinda, PE, were monitored between October 2009 and October 2010. Observations were carried out in homes without the presence of preferred breeding sites in order to identify characteristics that may be aggravating factors for the development of the mosquito. Five aggravating factors were analysed: vegetation cover surrounding the home, number of […]

The areas in which american cutaneous leishmaniasis was reported in 1993 and 1994 for the region around the town of Lagoinha, S. Paulo, Brazil (Lat 23º 05′ S; Long 45º 11w) were plotted on a TM-Landsat image. The false color composition of bands 3, 4 and 5 made it possible to identify the relevant vegetation (shrubs and trees) within the boundaries of those areas and in their proximity, where they were found at a distance of not more than about […]