Pesticide use on agricultural fields and health problems in various activities

Objectives: To assess the health status, attitude and level of awareness of safe pesticide handling practices of farm workers engaged in the application of pesticides on agricultural farms. Design: Cross sectional study. Setting: Two farms in northwest Ethiopia, 2004.Subjects: Farm workers of job categories; sprayers, pest assessors, supervisors, spraymachine mechanics and tractor operators. Results: The farm workers had respiratory symptoms of cough, phlegm and wheezing. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures did not show abnormalities. Liver function tests showed elevated values. Respiratory symptoms in the farm workers revealed that cough phlegm and wheezing at Ayehu farm were significantly (