Suspected anthrax outbreak: Investigation in a rural block of west Bengal and public health response.

Anthrax is one of the top 10 diseases reported in India and also one of the major causes of death in livestock. This study was conducted to confirm the outbreak of suspected anthrax, determine the transmission mechanism, and implement control measures in Bhatar block of Burdwan district, West Bengal, India. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted through house-to-house visits in Oregram and Kathaldanga villages during the period from May 30, 2013 to June 8, 2013. Out of the 93 persons exposed to anthrax, 11 persons had history of slaughtering, while 82 consumed the meat. All of the 7 cases of suspected anthrax were male (mean age 41.14 ± 10.04 years) and involved in slaughtering the animal. Most cases presented with papule and vesicle over the upper extremity and the trunk. One patient among the suspected cases died. The outbreak was labeled as a suspected anthrax outbreak. A health awareness camp was organized to improve awareness of anthrax among villagers.

Nursing Personnel Planning for Rural Hospitals in Burdwan District, West Bengal, India, Using Workload Indicators of Staffing Needs.

Lack of appropriate human resources planning is an important factor in the inefficient use of the public health facilities. Workforce projections can be improved by using objective methods of staffing needs based on the workload and actual work undertaken by workers, a guideline developed by Peter J. Shipp in collaboration with WHO—Workload Indicators of Staffing Need (WISN). A cross-sectional study was carried out to estimate the nursing stuff requirement for the rural hospitals and provide a quantitative description of imbalances, if there is any, in the allocation at the district level during 2011. The average WISN turns out to be 0.35 for entire district, which means only 35% of the required nurses is available or 65% understaffed. So, there is an urgent need for more allocations and deployment of staff so that workload can be tackled and evenly distributed among all nursing personnel.

Domestic violence among ever married women of reproductive age group in a slum area of Kolkata.

Background: Domestic violence has serious impact on women's health and well-being. A nationwide survey conducted in India observed that 37.2% of women experienced violence after marriage. Objectives: To assess the prevalence of domestic violence among the ever married women in reproductive age group and to find out the types of domestic violence and factors associated with it. Materials and Methods: The study was a community based cross-sectional study, conducted in a slum area of Kolkata. Results and Conclusion: Overall prevalence of domestic violence was 54%, of which 41.9% suffered from both current and lifetime physical and psychological violence. Presence of property, higher per capita income and social support were protective factors against domestic violence, whereas alcohol addiction and multiple sex partners were the important contributory factors for it. The study recommended more social support, awareness and income generation for women in the slum areas.

Study comparing the management decisions by IMNCI algorithm and pediatricians in a teaching hospital for the young infants between 0 to 2 months.

Integrated management of neonatal and childhood illness (IMNCI) was already operational in many states of India, but there were very few studies in Indian scenario comparing its validity and reliability with the decisions of pediatricians. The general objective of the study is to compare the IMNCI decisions with the decisions of pediatricians and the specific objectives are to assess the agreement between IMNCI decisions and the decisions of pediatricians, to assess the under diagnosis and over diagnosis in IMNCI algorithm in comparison to the decisions of pediatricians and to assess the significance of multiple presenting symptoms in IMNCI algorithm. The study was conducted among the sick young infants presenting in pediatric department from January to March 2009. The IMNCI decision was compared with pediatrician's decisions by percent agreement, Kappa and weighted Kappa with the aids of SPSS version 10. The overall diagnostic agreement between IMNCI algorithm and pediatrician's decisions was 55.56%, (Kappa 0.32 and weighted Kappa 0.41) with 33.33% over diagnosis, and 11.11% under diagnosis. 71.88% young infants with multiple symptoms and 40% with single symptom were classified as red by IMNCI algorithm, which is statistically significant (P=0.004) whereas 56.25% young infants with multiple and 31.76% with single symptom were considered admissible by pediatricians, which is not statistically significant (P=0.052).

Monitoring of mass measles campaign in AILA-affected areas of West Bengal.

A mass measles campaign was organized in AILA-affected areas of West Bengal in July-August 2009. The present cross-sectional study was conducted with the objectives to monitor and assess the cold chain maintenance, safe injection practices, IEC methods adopted, and to observe the conduction of the sessions in the campaign. All the cold chain points at the block level had adequate vaccines and equipments, twice monitoring of temperature which was in optimal range. 82% sessions had team according to microplan, AWW was present and team members were actively mobilizing the children in 83% sessions, puncture proof container was used and vaccines were given in correct sites in more than 95% sessions. The study observed satisfactory conduction of the whole campaign, still the injection safety procedures should be strengthened considering the potential harm to the health care providers.