Climate change and its impact on vector-borne diseases.

Climate change is one of the most critical global challenges of our times and its issue of concern for every global citizen. Many important public health challenges are attributed to climate change and rise of vector-borne diseases is one of them. The most deadly vector-borne disease, malaria, caused an estimated 660000 deaths in 2010. However, the world's fastest growing vector-borne disease is dengue, with a 30-fold increase in disease incidence over the last 50 years. Multiple factors have impact on transmission of vector-borne diseases, and causing their appearance in countries where they were previously unknown.

First referral units (FRU): needs focus in Indian context.

Health care delivery in India has been envisaged at three levels namely primary, secondary and tertiary. The secondary level of health care essentially includes Community Health Centres (CHCs), constituting the First Referral Units (FRUs) and the Sub-district and District Hospitals. The CHCs were designed to provide referral health care for cases from the Primary Health Centres level and for cases in need of specialist care approaching the centre directly. CHC is a 30-bedded hospital providing specialist care in Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Surgery, Paediatrics, Dental and AYUSH. These centres are however fulfilling the tasks entrusted to them only to a limited extent. The launch of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) gives the opportunity to have a fresh look at their functioning. For the first time under National Rural Health Mission, an effort had been made to develop Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) for a vast network of peripheral public health institutions in the country to provide optimal specialized care to the community and achieve and maintain an acceptable standard of quality of care.

Is India prepared for an impending epidemic of cancers.

Cancer can have profound social and economic consequences for people in India, often leading to family impoverishment and societal inequity. Roughly one million new cases of cancer are added every year in India, which is one-fourth of that recorded in Europe. Recently published India’s National Health Profile 2013, projected that by 2020 India will see a 21% rise on an average in the incidence of cancer with a 19% increase in cancer among men, and a 23 % increase among women. Data from 25 population-based registries across the country was analysed and extrapolated to reach the projections. The incidence of mouth cancers will rise by 51%, 48% increase in the incidence of prostate cancers, 31% for liver cancers and 22% for lung cancers. Cancers of the brain, hypopharynx and oesophagus will dip very marginally. Gall bladder cancers will increase 45%, and ovarian cancers 28%. All cancers are projected to rise in women, including cervical and breast cancers, which will continue to be the two most common types.

Various Anthropometric Methods of Assessment of Nutritional Status in Under Five Children.

Background: For assessment of nutritional status of under five children various anthropometric indices are being used indiscriminately and so the estimated prevalence of malnutrition varies in different methods. Objectives: 1. To determine the prevalence of under nutrition is assessed as per various methods assessment of nutritional status in children under five years of age attending Anganwadi. 2. To compare the common anthropometric measurements in order to find out best suitable method for individual assessment of malnutrition. Materials & Methods: The under-five children attending Anganwadies were selected randomly and each child underwent different anthropometric measurement such as Gomez classification (Weight for age), Wasting (Weight for height), Stunting (Height for age) and mid-arm circumference by Bangle test. Statistical Analysis: Percentage, proportion and discriminant analysis were applied. Results: Total 235 under five children were included in the study. As per Gomez classification 119 (51.14%) children were undernourished. 67 ((28.52%) children were wasted, 116 (49.36%) children were stunted and as per Bangle test 75 (31.91%) children were undernourished. The discriminant analysis of all these methods observed that stunting has the highest proportion of correctly classifying a child into normal or malnourished group. Conclusion: Stunting should be preferred over other methods for assessment of nutritional status of under five children.