Performance of engineering parameters of a water treatment plant: a case study

Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA), constructed a 30 mgd. capacity water treatment plant at Kamarhati, a municipal town, which is nearly 15 km. away from Kolkata. The plant started functioning in April, 1993. The plant consisted of conventional clariflocculators and rapid gravity filters. The source of water is river Hoogly; The plant supplies treated surface water to six adjoining municipalities catering the need of nearly 1.3 million population. In order to operate an efficient treatment system to achieve water of desirable quality, environmental safety and amenability for sustenance, a study was conducted throughout a year to identify and evaluate the performance of engineering parameters of treatment units such as clariflocculators, filter bed etc. A few technical findings are discussed in this paper on the efficiency of clarifloculators. The filter bed performance is assessed in terms of filter media, size distribution. Samples of backwash water is also collected for estimation of selective physico-chemical parameters

Rectal bleeding in children

Rectal bleeding is quite common in children. Often the bleeding is self-limiting. Rectal polyps are very important cause of rectal bleeding. Infections like shigellosis are important causes and should be kept in mind for differential diagnosis

Treatment Cost for Typhoid Fever at Two Hospitals in Kolkata, India

The purpose of this study was to estimate treatment cost for typhoid fever at two hospitals in Kolkata, India. This study was an incidence-based cost-of-illness analysis from the providers’ perspective. Micro-costing approach was employed for calculating patient-specific data. Unit costs of medical services used in the calculation were directly measured from the study hospital by standard method. The study hospitals were selected based on accessibility to data and cooperation. Eighty-three Widal-positive and/or culture-confirmed patients with typhoid fever during November 2003–April 2006 were included in the study. Most (93%) patients were children. Eighty-one percent was treated at the outpatient department. The average duration of hospitalization for child and adult patients was 8.4 and 4.2 days respectively. The average cost of treating children, adults, and all patients was US$16.72, 72.71, and 20.77 respectively (in 2004 prices). Recalculation based on 80$ 14.53, 36.44, and 16.11 respectively

Visceral Leishmaniasis

Clinically, leishmaniasis is of three types—visceral leishmaniasis (VL) or kala-azar, cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis (MCL). Post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) is considered as a complication of VL. VL is characterized by fever, anemia and splenomegaly in a VL-endemic area (malaria excluded). A subject with such symptoms should be subjected to an rK39 strip test. Confirmation of diagnosis is made by demonstration of the parasite (Leishmania donovani) from samples obtained by aspiration of bone marrow or iliac crest puncture. Miltefosine, stibogluconate, amphotericin B, liposomal amphotericin B and paromomycin are effective available anti-leishmaniasis drugs. Vector (Phleblotomus argentipes) control for reduction of transmission and early diagnosis and complete treatment are essential elements of case management. There is no effective vaccine against VL. This review on VL aims at providing state-art knowledge on epidemiology, diagnosis and case-management and vaccine development

Treatment Cost for Typhoid Fever at Two Hospitals in Kolkata, India

The purpose of this study was to estimate treatment cost for typhoid fever at two hospitals in Kolkata, India. This study was an incidence-based cost-of-illness analysis from the providers\u2019 perspective. Microcosting approach was employed for calculating patient-specific data. Unit costs of medical services used in the calculation were directly measured from the study hospital by standard method. The study hospitals were selected based on accessibility to data and cooperation. Eighty-three Widal-positive and/or cultureconfirmed patients with typhoid fever during November 2003\u2013April 2006 were included in the study. Most (93%) patients were children. Eighty-one percent was treated at the outpatient department. The average duration of hospitalization for child and adult patients was 8.4 and 4.2 days respectively. The average cost of treating children, adults, and all patients was US$16.72, 72.71, and 20.77 respectively (in 2004 prices). Recalculation based on 80occupancy rate in inpatient wards (following the recommendation of the World Health Organization) found that the cost of treating children, adults, and all patients was US$ 14.53, 36.44, and 16.11 respectively

Comparisons of predictors for typhoid and paratyphoid fever in Kolkata, India

BACKGROUND: Exposure of the individual to contaminated food or water correlates closely with the risk for enteric fever. Since public health interventions such as water improvement or vaccination campaigns are implemented for groups of individuals we were interested whether risk factors not only for the individual but for households, neighbourhoods and larger areas can be recognised? METHODS: We conducted a large enteric fever surveillance study and analyzed factors which correlate with enteric fever on an individual level and factors associated with high and low risk areas with enteric fever incidence. Individual level data were linked to a population based geographic information systems. Individual and household level variables were fitted in Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) with the logit link function to take into account the likelihood that household factors correlated within household members. RESULTS: Over a 12-month period 80 typhoid fever cases and 47 paratyphoid fever cases were detected among 56,946 residents in two bustees (slums) of Kolkata, India. The incidence of paratyphoid fever was lower (0.8/1000/year), and the mean age of paratyphoid patients was older (17.1 years) than for typhoid fever (incidence 1.4/1000/year, mean age 14.7 years). Residents in areas with a high risk for typhoid fever had lower literacy rates and economic status, bigger household size, and resided closer to waterbodies and study treatment centers than residents in low risk areas. CONCLUSION: There was a close correlation between the characteristics detected based on individual cases and characteristics associated with high incidence areas. Because the comparison of risk factors of populations living in high versus low risk areas is statistically very powerful this methodology holds promise to detect risk factors associated with diseases using geographic information systems