Dietary Habits of adolescents in higher secondary school in Bhutan: An In-Depth Analysis of Nationally Representative Data

Bhutan is a small landlocked country that lies between the two most populous countries in the world India and China, with a total area of 38,394 square kilometers. A peaceful mountainous kingdom in the Himalayas mandated free education to all children of school-going age up to the 12th standard. Recognizing that education is the fundamental link to national progress, the Royal Government of Bhutan has always and will continue to emphasize education as a priority sector, In doing so, through a dynamic professional health system in the country, Bhutan has made enormous strides in the field of education that promote healthy and happy school children.  However, as Bhutan steadily proceeds along its development path, substantial challenges remain, including the dietary habits of an adolescent in higher secondary schools. Therefore, this paper intends to explore the dietary habits among adolescents in higher secondary school. And this will contribute empirical data evidence for the policy framers and implements of the nutrition department at higher authority and school level to improve the dietary habits of adolescents

Special Sensory Function Deficit among Patients with Post-COVID-19 Visiting a Tertiary Care Centre

Introduction: Several patients who recover from COVID-19 infection continue to have persistent symptoms even after recovery from the disease. The special sensory functions such as taste, smell and hearing are affected by COVID-19 infection even after recovery from the illness. The aim of the study was to find out the prevalence of special sensory deficits among patients with post-COVID-19 visiting a tertiary care centre. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among adult patients who recovered from COVID-19 visiting a tertiary care centre from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2022. After obtaining ethical approval from the Research Ethics Board of Health, data on patients who were diagnosed with COVID-19 one year ago was obtained from the surveillance register from the Ministry of Health. They were contacted by phone call and invited to the centre to participate in the study. Appropriate clinical examination and tests were carried out to assess the special sensory deficits. A convenience sampling technique was used. The point estimate was calculated at a 95% Confidence Interval. Results: Among 271 patients, the prevalence of sensory function deficit was 39 (14.39%) (10.21-18.57, 95% Confidence Interval). Conclusions: The prevalence of special sensory deficits after recovery from COVID-19 infections was found to be similar to the findings of other studies

Circumstances of human conflicts with bears and patterns of bear maul injuries in Bhutan: Review of records 2015-2019.

Bhutan is one of the biological hotspots in the world where humans and natural flora and fauna co-exist in close proximity. Bhutan is home to two species of bears: Sloth Bear and Himalayan Black Bear. Human conflicts with bears are reported from all over the country. This study describes the profile of the victims and the pattern of injury resulting from bear attacks and circumstances around human conflicts with bears in Bhutan between 2015 and 2019. This was a cross-sectional study with a review of hospital records of patients treated at the National Referral Hospital from 01 January 2015 till 31 December 2019. Data were extracted into a structured pro forma and entered into EpiData Entry 3.1 and analysed in STATA 13.1. There were thirty-four patients who were provided care for bear maul injuries, with an average annual caseload of 6.8 cases per year. The injury prevalence was 100% and the kill prevalence was 0%. Bear attacks were reported from fourteen of twenty districts of the country. The mean age of the victims was 49 (±13) years. Males (26, 76%) and farmers (26, 76%) were the common victims; the risk of bear attacks was 0.16 per 100,000 farmers per year. The commonest region of the body attacked was the face (29, 85%) and victims were provided emergency and rehabilitative care within and outside the country. Thirty-three victims (97%) were provided post-exposure prophylaxis for rabies. All victims received antibiotics despite the lack of national guidelines on the choice of antibiotics post-bear maul. Human-bear conflict is multi-faceted, puts a considerable strain on bear-conservation efforts and requires multi-disciplinary efforts in the prevention of human injury and socioeconomic losses

Where chloroquine still works: the genetic make-up and susceptibility of Plasmodium vivax to chloroquine plus primaquine in Bhutan

Bhutan has made substantial progress in reducing malaria incidence. The national guidelines recommend chloroquine (CQ) and primaquine (PQ) for radical cure of uncomplicated Plasmodium vivax, but the local efficacy has not been assessed. The impact of cases imported from India on the genetic make-up of the local vivax populations is currently unknown.Patients over 4 years of age with uncomplicated P. vivax mono-infection were enrolled into a clinical efficacy study and molecular survey. Study participants received a standard dose of CQ (25 mg/kg over 3 days) followed by weekly review until day 28. On day 28 a 14-day regimen of PQ (0.25 mg/kg/day) was commenced under direct observation. After day 42, patients were followed up monthly for a year. The primary and secondary endpoints were risk of treatment failure at day 28 and at 1 year. Parasite genotyping was undertaken at nine tandem repeat markers, and standard population genetic metrics were applied to examine population diversity and structure in infections thought to be acquired inside or outside of Bhutan.A total of 24 patients were enrolled in the clinical study between April 2013 and October 2015. Eight patients (33.3 %) were lost to follow-up in the first 6 months and another eight patients lost between 6 and 12 months. No (0/24) treatment failures occurred by day 28 and no (0/8) parasitaemia was detected following PQ treatment. Some 95.8 % (23/24) of patients were aparasitaemic by day 2. There were no haemolytic or serious events. Genotyping was undertaken on parasites from 12 autochthonous cases and 16 suspected imported cases. Diversity was high (H E 0.87 and 0.90) in both populations. There was no notable differentiation between the autochthonous and imported populations.CQ and PQ remains effective for radical cure of P. vivax in Bhutan. The genetic analyses indicate that imported infections are sustaining the local vivax population, with concomitant risk of introducing drug-resistant strains

Where chloroquine still works: the genetic make-up and susceptibility of Plasmodium vivax to chloroquine plus primaquine in Bhutan

Bhutan has made substantial progress in reducing malaria incidence. The national guidelines recommend chloroquine (CQ) and primaquine (PQ) for radical cure of uncomplicated Plasmodium vivax, but the local efficacy has not been assessed. The impact of cases imported from India on the genetic make-up of the local vivax populations is currently unknown.Patients over 4\ua0years of age with uncomplicated P. vivax mono-infection were enrolled into a clinical efficacy study and molecular survey. Study participants received a standard dose of CQ (25\ua0mg/kg over 3\ua0days) followed by weekly review until day 28. On day 28 a 14-day regimen of PQ (0.25\ua0mg/kg/day) was commenced under direct observation. After day 42, patients were followed up monthly for a year. The primary and secondary endpoints were risk of treatment failure at day 28 and at 1\ua0year. Parasite genotyping was undertaken at nine tandem repeat markers, and standard population genetic metrics were applied to examine population diversity and structure in infections thought to be acquired inside or outside of Bhutan.A total of 24 patients were enrolled in the clinical study between April 2013 and October 2015. Eight patients (33.3\ua0%) were lost to follow-up in the first 6\ua0months and another eight patients lost between 6 and 12\ua0months. No (0/24) treatment failures occurred by day 28 and no (0/8) parasitaemia was detected following PQ treatment. Some 95.8\ua0% (23/24) of patients were aparasitaemic by day 2. There were no haemolytic or serious events. Genotyping was undertaken on parasites from 12 autochthonous cases and 16 suspected imported cases. Diversity was high (H E 0.87 and 0.90) in both populations. There was no notable differentiation between the autochthonous and imported populations.CQ and PQ remains effective for radical cure of P. vivax in Bhutan. The genetic analyses indicate that imported infections are sustaining the local vivax population, with concomitant risk of introducing drug-resistant strains

Climate Change Impacts in Bhutan: Challenges and opportunities for the agricultural sector

This project was undertaken to examine the suitability of 8 keys crops in Bhutan under current conditions and future climate scenarios (RCP 8.5) up to 2050. This was a collaborative initiative between MoAF, CIAT and UNEP, funded through the Asia-Pacific Climate Technology Network and Finance Center (AP-CTNFC). The project had two principal objectives: Objective 1: Build capacities of key technical staff to produce suitability maps for a wider range of crops under different emission scenarios. Furthermore enhance the understanding and interpretation of uncertainties of the projections and introduce climate-resilient crop management practices in Bhutan. Objective 2: Assess the impacts of climate change on the climatic suitability of maize, rice, potato, chili and tomato growing areas in Bhutan. Share and discuss the results and implications of crop suitability studies with key stakeholders from Bhutan and relevant international agencies such as UNEP and FAO

Climate Change Impacts in Bhutan: Challenges and opportunities for the agricultural sector

This project was undertaken to examine the suitability of 8 keys crops in Bhutan under current conditions and under a high emission climate scenario (RCP 8.5) for the year 2050. This was a collaborative initiative between MoAF, CIAT and UNEP, funded through the Asia-Pacific Climate Technology Network and Finance Center (AP-CTNFC). The project had two principal objectives: Objective 1: Build capacities of key technical staff to produce suitability maps for a wide range of crops under different emission scenarios. Furthermore enhance the understanding and interpretation of uncertainties of the projections and introduce climate-resilient crop management practices in Bhutan. Objective 2: Assess the impacts of climate change on the climatic suitability of maize, rice, potato, chili and tomato growing areas in Bhutan. Share and discuss the results and implications of crop suitability studies with key stakeholders from Bhutan and relevant international agencies such as UNEP and FAO