ABSTRACT
Water borne diseases such as cholera, enteric fever and dysentery were expected after the tsunami, which hit the coastal areas of Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu. In the present study 151 drinking water sources were collected from the tsunami affected villages and relief shelters and tested for coliforms and pathogens. Nine well water samples were also collected for specific bacteriological analysis. Presence of coliforms was detected in 56 (37%) water samples. One isolate each of Salmonella Paratyphi B and NAG Vibrio were isolated from two well water samples. There was no report of acute diarrhoeal diseases or typhoid illness during the post tsunami period monitored by a field microbiology laboratory for a month.
Subject(s)
Disaster Planning , Disasters , Environmental Monitoring/methods , Fresh Water/microbiology , Water Pollution , Water Supply , Diarrhea/prevention & control , Enterobacteriaceae/isolation & purification , Escherichia coli/isolation & purification , Humans , India , Salmonella paratyphi B/isolation & purification , Typhoid Fever/prevention & control , Vibrio/isolation & purificationABSTRACT
In the present report, we have analysed C.trachomatis infection and HIV positivity among patients (n-143) who attended the STD clinic at the Institute of STDs, Government General Hospital, Chennai. HIV positivity rate was significantly high among those with chlamydial infection than in those without chlamydial infection (29.5% (13/44) vs. 11.1% (11/99); p<0.05). The results of the present study suggest the association between C.trachomatis and HIV infections and reinforce the need for routine screening for C.trachomatis as a necessary intervention to reduce the burden of chlamydial diseases and to reduce the risk of HIV and its spread in India.
