Surveillance of bacteriological quality of drinking water in Chandigarh, northern India.

The study was carried out in Chandigarh, India with the following objectives: (1) to monitor the bacteriological quality of drinking water; (2) to collect data on bacteriological contamination of water collected at point of use; (3) to test both groundwater being supplied through hand pumps and pre-treated water; and (4) to determine the pattern of seasonal variations in quality of water. The community-based longitudinal study was carried out from 2002 to 2007. Water samples from hand pumps and tap water were collected from different areas of Chandigarh following a simple random sampling strategy. The time trends and seasonal variations in contamination of water according to area and season were analysed. It was found that the contamination of water was higher during the pre-monsoon period compared with the rest of the year. The water being used in slums and rural areas for drinking purposes also had higher contamination levels than urban areas, with highest levels in rural areas. This study found that drinking water supply in Chandigarh is susceptible to contamination especially in rural areas and during pre-monsoon. Active intervention from public health and the health department along with raising people's awareness regarding water hygiene are required for improving the quality of drinking water.

Immunization status in children.

OBJECTIVE: Recent studies and surveys are observing a declining trend of routine immunization coverage and fully immunized children in India are reported to be 38%. A rapid assessment technique was used on National Immunization Day (PPI) to assess the immunization status among children in the age group of 12-23 months covering urban, rural and slum areas in UT, Chandigarh. METHODS: The study covered 796 children in proportion of their distribution in urban, rural and slum areas. RESULTS: Evaluation recorded fully immunized children as 72.23%, partially immunized as 22.99% and unimmunized as 4.64%. Only 58.66% children in urban slums were fully immunized. The overall coverage for various vaccines was BCG: 93.09%, DPT1/OPV1: 93.97%, DPT2/OPV2: 90.57%, DPT3/OPV3: 85.92% and measles: 76%. No sex-wise difference was noticed in the study. CONCLUSION: Efforts must be made to strengthen routine immunization programme especially in the underprivileged groups and areas such as slum in cities so that target of universal coverage can be achieved as envisaged at national level.

Rosiglitazone-induced granulomatous hepatitis.

Granulomatous hepatitis has many causes. Drugs are an important etiologic factor. Several oral hypoglycemic agents are available for treatment of type II diabetes. Rosiglitazone, a thiazolidinedione, is a newer agent in this class. It has not been shown to be hepatotoxic in the premarketing trials. However, a few case reports have implicated it as a cause of acute hepatocellular injury. The authors report a case of granulomatous hepatitis associated with use of rosiglitazone. Liver function tests should be done regularly to monitor patients on this medication.