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The objective of this work was to evaluate the impact of the cassava flour humidification detoxification method in the control of konzo.To achieve this we resorted to a retrospective study of data collected during three years, from 2011 to 2013.The results obtained show that when the method of humidification of cassava flour is applied, the level of thiocyanate decreases significantly in the urine of the population studied. This result is encouraging and leads us to affirm that the method of detoxification by humidification of cassava flour has a significant impact on the improvement of the health status of the population exposed to the consumption of cassava as a staple food. This method deserves to be popularized on a large scale in order to save human lives from disability caused by cassava cyanide.
About the author
Ignace BALOW'A é Nutricionista, Doutor em Saúde Pública, actualmente ocupando o cargo de Chefe de Secção Adjunto responsável pelo ensino na secção de Saúde Comunitária do ISTM/Kinshasa. É também o director de publicação da revista científica de Técnicas Médicas de Kinshasa.
