Laboratory case identification of arsenic in Ronpibul village, Thailand (2000-2002).

Ronpibul village dwellers in the southern part of Thailand have been exposed to arsenic in the water and the environment over three generations. Over the past decades, clean water supplies, utilization and consumption have been introduced to the area. The villagers still use and select rainwater to other forms of potable water. In 2000, the epidemiological survey by Siripitayakunkit (Siripitayakunkit, U. Survey of Chronic Arsenic Poisoning in Ronpiboon, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand, 2000. Proc. 6th International Conference on the Biochemistry of Trace Elements, Guelph, Canada) showed prevalence rate at 24.7%, by using the skin lesion as selection criteria. In 2000-2002, attempt to initiate the local arsenic patient center, we investigated the population at risk in three villages. The laboratory analyses cover urine arsenic level, urine sugar screening and skin lesion classified by dermatologist. The result showed the prevalence of 5.99% of melanosis and 8.67% of hyperkeratosis, 3.84% of urine sugar > 100 mg/dL and 6.33% urine arsenic > 50 microg/g creatinine. There were low to negligible correlation between arsenic urine with urine sugar (r2 = 0.241) and arsenic urine with skin lesion (r2 = 0.058).