Editorial

No Abstrac

Fatal road traffic accidents in Mauritius (2006 – 2011) – A retrospective study

Road traffic injuries are the leading case of death worldwide. It is a real public health challenge for all the concerned agencies in reducing the number of road accidents. Road traffic accidents are becoming alarming in Mauritius and the present study was carried out to analyze the trends of fatal road traffic accidents in Mauritius from January 2006 to December 2011. The data was reviewed from the records of Traffic Management and Road Safety Unit, and the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Land Transport and Shipping with ethics clearance obtained from the Ministry of Health and Quality of Life. A total of seven hundred and seventy seven (777) fatal road traffic accidents were reported during the study period. The road traffic accidents involving male drivers outnumbered those of female drivers. Most of the fatalities recorded occurred during weekends (35.26%), especially on Sundays. About half of the cases (51%) belonged to 16 – 44 years age group. Pedestrians and riders comprised of 63.4% of all the victims of fatal accidents. Given that young and productive males and females that can contribute the economic growth of a nation lose their lives unnecessarily in road traffic accidents, the outcome of this study can help the planners to take safety measures, to implement strict traffic rules, to risk stratification in the susceptible population and to educate the people regarding road safety measures.Keywords: Road traffic accidents; Gender; Age; Road users; Road safety measures; Public health challenge; Retrospective study; Mauritiu

Conference Abstracts: Translational Science and Drug Discovery: Impact on Health, Wellness, Environment and Economics

Abstracts prsented at the "Translational Science and Drug Discovery: Impact on Health, Wellness, Environment and Economics" conference, July 27-29th, 2015, at the Hennessy Park Hotel, Ebène Cybercity, Mauritius. The conference was hosted by the Society for Free radical Research Africa and the International Association of Medical and Biomedical Researchers

Editorial: Small group teaching and learning

No Abstract

Suicide Prevention: does it work?

The risk factors of suicide which occur in people of all genders, ages and ethnicities, although complex to fully understand, share certain characteristics that include depression (other mental disorders, psychosis or substance abuse disorder), a prior suicide attempt, family history of a mental disorder or substance abuse, family history of suicide, family violence (including physical or sexual abuse), having guns or other firearms in the home, incarceration and exposure to others' suicidal behavior (such as that of family members, peers, or media figures). Research suggests that people who attempt suicide differ from others in many aspects of how they think, react to events, and make decisions. This paper reviews the global trends on suicide and the prevention of suicide according to program evaluation, risk and protective factors, type of intervention, level of intervention and the interface between clinical and public health levels. The major interventions for the prevention of suicide are reasonable care and treatment of mental and addictive disorders, restricted access to lethal means of suicide such as firearms, pesticides, etc., improvement of media portrayal of suicide, school-based programs, availability of hotlines and crisis centers, and training of primary health care personnel.Keywords: Suicide; Risk factors; Global trends; Preventio

Cure of diabetes by Ayurvedic and Ethnomedicinal formulations

89-92Diabetes is a well known widespread disease of modern times. Not only the elder persons but even the youth, infantsand children are suffering from it in entire world including India. This disease is caused due to imbalance of insulinhormone secreted by beta cells of Langerhance of pancreas gland, resulting in excess of sugar in blood. Presentresearch is based on cure of diabetes by some Ayurvedic and ethnomedicinal formulations. The effectiveness ofthese formulations has been well studied for the treatment of diabetes. It has been found that use of powder of amalki(Emblica officinalis Gaertn.) and haldi (Curcuma longa L.) 2 to 3 times per day regularly is very effective in thecontrol of blood sugar. In the same way, the powder of dried leaves of neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss) with thecombination of jamun (Eugenia jambolana L.) seeds keeps blood sugar under control. The powder of leaves ofmeetha neem (Murraya koenigii L.) and sharefa (Annona squamosa L.) is beneficial in all types of diabetes. Thepowder of tulsi (Ocimum sanctum L.) with the decoction of methi (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) is also veryeffective in the cure diabetes. There is no complete treatment of diabetes in any system of medicines, but patient canlead normal life with some changes in his life style and proper use of these formulations. The main purpose of thisstudy is to encourage the utility of traditional formulations for eliminating diabetes

Spectrum Of Opportunistic Infections In Aids Cases In A Tertiary Care Hospital In Nepal

A retrospective study was carried out, 404 clinically suspected cases attending AIDS clinic at Manipal Teaching Hospital, Pokhara, Nepal to assess an occurance of opportunistic infections in AIDS cases. Study reveals that Tuberculosis (60%), Cryptospridiosis (13.33%) and candidasis (11.11%) are the predominant opportunistic infection in HIV/AIDS patients in the Pokharo village. Next common pathogen was found an ubiquitous yeast. Candida obtained from skin, oral cavity, oesophagus, sputum and stool. The least common documented documented infection was pneumocystis carini pneumonia (2.22%)