We used direct observer techniques to measure the frequency with which toddler-aged children were contaminated by poultry feces in homes in a peri-urban shanty town in Lima, Peru. The mean number of fowl was 5.4 (SD 3.1), with 10.0 (SD 10.7) poultry defecations per 12 hours. Toddlers' hand contact with poultry feces occurred a mean of 2.9 (SD 3.0) times/12 hours. A mean of 3.9 (SD 4.6) feces-to-mouth episodes per household/12 hours occurred both by direct hand-to-mouth contamination and indirectly by handling soiled objects which were then placed in the mouth. There was a strong correlation between feces-to-hand contamination and feces-to-mouth contamination (r = 0.94). There was also an IntroductionDiarrheal disease is an important factor in the infectionmalnutrition cycle of infants and young children in developing countries. In Peru, children under three years of age have a diarrheal incidence of 10 episodes per child-year, which can significantly affect their growth rates.' One important cause of diarrhea in Lima children less than one year of age is

OBJECTIVES. This study was conducted to determine whether poor hygiene practices are owing to difficulty in getting enough water and/or to ignorance of sanitary principles. METHODS. In a water-scarce shantytown in Lima, Peru, we observed in 12-hour periods over 3 consecutive days the amount of water and soap used for personal and domestic activities in 53 families and the frequency with which direct fecal contamination of hands was interrupted by washing. We also surveyed women in a similar shantytown concerning their knowledge of hygiene to ascertain whether noncompliance was owing to ignorance. RESULTS. Three hundred fecal contamination events were registered, of which only 38 (13%) were interrupted by hand washing within 15 minutes. The mean 12-hour per capita amount of water and soap used by the families was low. More than 80% of the water stored by these families had fecal coliforms. Yet the level of knowledge concerning the importance of hand washing and other hygienic practices was high. CONCLUSIONS. In water-scarce areas, sanitary education programs probably will not change hygiene practices. In these areas, an adequate supply of water is essential for good hygiene.

El estudio consistió en evaluar el aceite esencial de Erythroxylum coca Lam. var. coca (Coca) – proveniente de la provincia de Quillabamba, región Cusco y determinar su actividad antibacteriana; así mismo, elucidar su composición química por Cromatografía de Gases / Espectrometría de Masa (CG/EM). La parte usada de la planta fueron las hojas secas proporcionadas por la Empresa Nacional de la Coca ENACO S.A., las que se trataron con un sistema de destilación por arrastre con vapor de agua. El rendimiento del aceite esencial fue de 0,08% v/p y en éste se practicaron los ensayos fisicoquímicos: miscibilidad, densidad e índice de refracción. En la composición química se encontraron los siguientes componentes: Guaia-1(5),(11)–diene, t–cadinene, (2E,7R,11R)-3,7,11,15-tetrametil-2-hexadecen-1-ol, eudesm-4(14)-en-11-ol, hexahydrofarnesil cetona, ácido hexadecanoico, fitol, ácido cis-9-octadecenoico y ácido octadecanoico. El estudio de la actividad antibacteriana in vitro, utilizando el método de excavación placa cultivo a concentraciones de 10 y 50% del aceite, mostró mayor actividad a Staphylococcus aureus cepa ATCC 25923, que frente a las cepas de Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus epidermidis, y Pseudomonas aeruginosa cepa ATCC 27853. Se determinó que los componentes químicos del aceite esencial de Erythroxylum coca Lam. Var coca (Coca) poseen actividad antibacteriana contra Staphylococcus aureus.