Search

Household food practices in marginalized areas of Veracruz-Boca del Rio, Mexico, were characterized by the Household Dietary Diversity Score and its associated socioeconomic variables in 120 households. Households were classified into four socioeconomic levels, 99% lied under poverty conditions. Food expenditure represented 52%-71% of household income. Foods high in calories and low quality animal protein are predominant in diet. Fruit and vegetable consumption is low. At all income brackets, households showed lower dietary diversity, not exceeding 50% of basic foods needed for a good nutrition. Most respondents (56%) reported the presence of someone in the household affected by some kind of Non-Communicable Chronic Disease). Also, at least one member of the extended kin (80%) has a medical prescription of dietary modification and increased physical exercise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Willingness to pay (WTP) for environmental services from a cattle ranching region encompasing Veracruz, La Antigua, and Boca del Rio, Veracruz State, Mexico, is reported. A survey questionnaire, randomly applied to a stratified sample of 199 individuals, about regional demographic attributes, natural resources, wildlands condition, environmental quality and animal husbandry was administered. Contingent valuation techniques were applied, and supplemented with interviews and anthropologic field work. Results revealed that 83,42% of the sampled individuals have a positive WTP for an improved environment, and 84.42% of respondents will accept increases in taxation as the venue to that end: 85,93% of the public in the sample will rather see that cattle ranchers should be compensated by government for the extra cost of an environmentally conscious management. WTP through increased taxation has statistically significant influences (p < 0,05) from household income, severity of regulations, and restrictions to ranching practices. Direct payment resulted acceptable, as well as additional government regulations mandating best ranching practices. Hence, these results led to support that public opinion favors a variety of payment mechanisms. Approval of additional environmental legislation, as well as strict enforcement of existing cattle raising regulations was also noticed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leptospirosis is an infectious zoonotic disease of special importance in tropical regions of the world and is closely related to climatic conditions. In Mexico, at least eight Leptospira serogroups are known to affect sheep, but little is known about their distribution. The aim was to analyse the spatial distribution of seroreactive sheep to eight serogroups of Leptospira spp. through ecological niche modelling from the state of Veracruz. We carried out a cross-sectional, multistage, and stratified epidemiological study, sampling 405 sheep in different regions of the state (north, center, and south). The sera were analysed using the microscopic agglutination test (MAT) to identify seropositivity to eight Leptospira serogroups (Icterohaemorrhagiae, Pyrogenes, Grippotyphosa, Canicola, Pomona, Hardjo, Wolffi, and Tarassovi). Management variables in the sampled herds were evaluated through a survey among the producers, which was analysed using the chi-squared test for cross-tabulation. Geospatial modelling was conducted using MAXENT and 19 climatic variables, and validation was carried out using the area under the curve (AUC). No positive animals were found for Pomona in any area of Veracruz, and there was only one case of seroreactivity to Grippotyphosa. The total seroprevalence found was 53.83% (95% confidence interval [CI] 48.84-58.75). The main serogroup found was Sejroe (55.31%, 95% CI 50.32-60.20%), followed by Canicola (8.64%, 95% CI 6.17-11.92%), Icterohaemorrhagiae (4.69%, 95% CI 2.93-7.36%), Tarassovi (3.95%, 95% CI 2.35-6.47%), Pyrogenes (2.47%, 95% CI 1.26-4.64%), Australis (0.99%, 95% CI 0.32-2.69%), and Grippotyphosa (0.25%, 95% CI 0.01-1.59%). The predictive model for Australis was not significant. Acceptable predictive models (AUC > 0.7-0.8) were found for Canicola, Icterohaemorrhagiae, Pyrogenes, and Tarassovi, while for Sejroe, it was excellent (AUC > 0.85); consequently, the climatic variables that most contributed to the model were those related to precipitation. The potential distribution of Pyrogenes, Icterohaemorrhagiae, and Canicola was located to a greater extent in the three regions; Pyrogenes and Tarassovi were distributed mostly in the north and central regions, and Sejroe was mostly located in the center and south of the state. Ecological niche modelling could support epidemiological control and surveillance programs for affected sheep herds in the state of Veracruz., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)