ABSTRACT
Background: Safe motherhood is about informing and educating woman about danger signs in pregnancy, how to identify and seek advice from health personnel and prepare for safe confinement. In public health system, in India it is the responsibility of ASHA to motivate the pregnant woman in her area for safe institutional delivery. BPACR is a tool which assesses, how well the pregnant women are prepared for the challenges in pregnancy. Aim& Objective: To ascertain the level of awareness of Birth Preparedness and Complication Readiness (BPACR) among antenatal mothers residing in urban slums . Methodology: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted among pregnant women residing in urban slums of Shivamogga, Karnataka. Data was collected using pre-designed questionnaire, 揗onitoring BP/CR?tools and indicators for maternal and new born health� of the 揓HPIEGO�. Data was analysed and results were tabulated. Results: In this study, only 42% of pregnant women knew about the term 態irth preparedness� while the rest 58% pregnant women did not know it. Education status and complication experienced during present or previous pregnancy were found to have significant association with BPACR. Identification of blood donor and skilled birth provider were less among study group. Conclusions: Awareness of danger signs and complication readiness was found to be good in our study.
ABSTRACT
Background & objectives: Kyasanur Forest disease (KFD) is a febrile illness characterized by haemorrhages and caused by KFD virus (KFDV), which belongs to the Flaviviridae family. It is reported to be an endemic disease in Shimoga district of Karnataka State, India, especially in forested and adjoining areas. Several outbreaks have been reported in newer areas, which raised queries regarding the changing nature of structural proteins if any. The objective of the study was to investigate amino acid composition and antigenic variability if any, among the envelope glycoprotein (E-proteins) from old and new strains of KFDV. Methods: Bioinformatic tools and techniques were used to predict B-cell epitopes and three-dimensional structures and to compare envelope glycoprotein (E-proteins) between the old strains of KFDV and those from emerging outbreaks till 2015. Results: The strain from recent outbreak in Thirthahalli, Karnataka State (2014), was similar to the older strain of KFDV (99.2%). Although mutations existed in strains from 2015 in Kerala KFD sequences, these did not alter the epitopes. Interpretation & conclusions: The study revealed that though mutations existed, there were no drastic changes in the structure or antigenicity of the E-proteins from recent outbreaks. Hence, no correlation could be established between the mutations and detection in new geographical areas. It seems that KFDV must be present earlier also in many States and due to availability of testing system and alertness coming into notice now.