Indian journal of public health
-
Indian J Public Health · Oct 2011
Provocative poliomyelitis causing postpolio residual paralysis among select communities of two remote villages of North Karnataka in India: a community survey.
Intramuscular injections can provoke muscular paralysis especially, if the child has had exposure to polio virus. The purpose of the study was to determine the association with known risk factors for motor disabilities in two remote villages of North Karnataka (India), where an increased number of disabled people among select communities had been reported. A community based survey was conducted. ⋯ Data analysis was done by estimation of percentages. Among the physical disabilities identified, the most common was post-polio residual paralysis. 35.65% (n = 41) subjects had developed paralysis following the administration of an intramuscular injection when they had acute viremia in childhood, indicating that (probably) muscle paralysis would have been provoked by intramuscular injections, resulting in provocative poliomyelitis. Unnecessary injection must be avoided in children during acute viremia state and use of oral polio vaccine should be encouraged.
-
Indian J Public Health · Oct 2011
Health impact of supplying safe drinking water containing fluoride below permissible level on flourosis patients in a fluoride-endemic rural area of West Bengal.
The problem of high fluoride concentration in groundwater resources has become one of the most important toxicological and geo-environmental issues in India. Excessive fluoride in drinking water causes dental and skeletal fluorosis, which is encountered in endemic proportions in several parts of the world. World Health Organization (WHO) guideline value and the permissible limit of fluoride as per Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS) is 1.5 mg/L. About 20 states of India, including 43 blocks of seven districts of West Bengal, were identified as endemic for fluorosis and about 66 million people in these regions are at risk of fluoride contamination. Studies showed that withdrawal of sources identified for fluoride often leads reduction of fluoride in the body fluids (re-testing urine and serum after a week or 10 days) and results in the disappearance of non-skeletal fluorosis within a short duration of 10-15 days. ⋯ Increased prevalence of dental, skeletal, and non-skeletal fluorosis was found among the study population. Withdrawal of source(s) identified for fluoride by supplying domestic and community filters, dietary restriction, and other nutritional interventions led to decrease in manifestation of the three types of fluorosis within 5 months.
-
Typhoid has been reported to be a common and significant cause of morbidity in pre-school and school-age children in the endemic countries like India. The incidence of typhoid has been reported to be as high as 27.3 per 1000 person-years in children less than 5 years of age. ⋯ The mean cost of treatment per episode of blood culture-confirmed typhoid fever has been calculated as INR 3,597 (1996 prices) in an outdoor setting, whereas in case of hospitalization, the cost of illness increases by several folds (INR 18,131). Vi polysaccharide vaccine is safe, efficacious and affordable for use as a cost-effective public health tool to protect children from typhoid and related complications, when given at 2 and 5 years of age as a part of National Immunization Schedule.
-
Indian J Public Health · Jul 2011
Tobacco use among youth and adults in member countries of South-East Asia region: review of findings from surveys under the Global Tobacco Surveillance System.
This paper examines the prevalence of current tobacco use among youth and adults in selected member countries of the South-East Asia Region using the data from school and household-based surveys included in the Global Tobacco Surveillance System. ⋯ Tobacco use among youth and adults in member countries of the region is high and the pattern of tobacco consumption is complex. Tobacco products other than cigarettes are commonly used by youth and adults, as those products are relatively cheaper than cigarettes and affordable for almost all segments of the population. As a result, use of locally produced smoked and smokeless tobacco products is high in the region. Generating reliable data on tobacco use and key tobacco control measures at regular intervals is essential to better understand and respond with effective tobacco control intervention.