Legacy pesticides of breast mile in Aka and Ngandu peoples of the Central African Republic and attractant study of the Asian oyster drill Ocinebrellus inornatus

Aaron McCall Todd

Environmental contaminants have been detected in human milk from around the globe. Although studies have examined environmental chemical burden in peoples from Africa, this study focuses on two groups from the Central African Republic, the Aka and Ngandu. We examined breast milk samples from Aka foragers and Ngandu farmers to determine organochlorinated pesticide burden. All samples were extracted and analyzed using solid phase microextraction gas chromatography mass spectrometry operating in selected ion monitoring mode (SPME-GC/MS-SIM). For all of the individuals, one milliliter aliquot pesticide burden levels fell below our methodological detection level (MDL). We pose that either these peoples are sufficiently removed from pesticide application and global depositional patterns, the applied method and analysis did not produce sufficient limits of detection or quantitation compared with other organochlorine pesticide analyses [e.g. electron capture detection (ECD), high resolution gas chromatography/high resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC/HRMS)], or a combination of the two. Improving collective knowledge of organochlorine pesticide body burden may inform best nursing practices in passing on the lowest levels of these contaminants to future generations through understanding both the extent of contamination and means of accumulation. Asian (Ocinebrellus inornatus) and Atlantic (Urosalpinx cinerea) oyster drill species were inadvertently introduced to Willapa Bay, Washington. Studies suggest that targeting reproduction would be most effective in reducing their negative impact on local oyster populations. We used findings from a variety of mollusc studies to test potential oyster drill chemical attractants and repellants, design primers for real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and isolate proteins of interest. Additionally, we collected prey preference data, tested trap designs, and utilized a sexing method that does not require denuding. We had difficulty isolating proteins of interest and designing primers based on orthologous DNA sequences, but both approaches may still produce viable means to elicit a response from oyster drills. Avoiding denuding snails allowed us to perform various experiments removing sex as a confounding factor, and certain oyster drill traps were successful in collecting drills based on placement and design. Further protein isolation work is needed to address the impact of invasive oyster drill species in Willapa Bay, Washington.

Legacy pesticides of breast mile in Aka and Ngandu peoples of the Central African Republic and attractant study of the Asian oyster drill Ocinebrellus inornatus

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