Seroprevalence of dengue virus in a tertiary care hospital, Andhra Pradesh, South India

Background: Dengue fever and Dengue Haemorrhagic fever (DF/DHF) is an acute viral disease caused by Dengue virus. The infection is transmitted by the bite of an infected female mosquito- Aedes aegypti. The Dengue virus causes significant morbidity and mortality in many parts of the world, including India, where it was first isolated in Calcutta, West Bengal during 1945. This study was conducted to know the seroprevalence of Dengue virus in a tertiary care hospital, HyderabadMethods: Blood for serological studies are carefully collected taking due universal precautions from suspected DF/DHF cases (a) as soon as possible after hospital admission or attendance. All the patients were screened for anti-Dengue IgG and IgM antibodies By Enzyme Immunoassay. The study period was 18 months from 2012. Results: From a total of 1327serum samples tested were screened for Dengue IgM and IgG among which 706(53.2%) were positive. 125(17.7%) were only IgM positive and 198(28.05%) of the tested samples showed only IgG positive. 383(54.25%) of the tested samples revealed positive for both IgM and IgG antibodies. Conclusion: Surveillance is prerequisite for monitoring the dengue situation in the area and should be carried out regularly for early detection of an impending outbreak and to initiate timely preventive and control measures

Hand hygiene practices among health providers working in tertiary care hospitals in and around Hyderabad, Telangana State, South India

Background:Infection control is ac knowledge universally as a solid and essential basis towards patients’ safety and support the reduction of health care association infection and their consequences. Simple hand hygiene is cost effective method in preventing cross transmission of microorganism. The compliance of health providers with hand washing guidelines seems to be vital in preventing the disease transmission among patients but unfortunately hand hygiene practices have been found to be faulty in most of the health care facilities including tertiary care hospitals.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the awareness and compliance of hand hygiene among different health care providers, that includes 100 doctors, 100 nurses, 100 medical students, 50 ward boys working in different tertiary care Hospitals attached  to medical colleges, in and around Hyderabad, in Telangana state (India) from April to July - 2014. Knowledge was assessed using WHO hand hygiene questionnaire. Attitude and practices was evaluated by using self-structure questionnaire. A value less than 0.05 was considered significant.Results: Only 16.5 % of participants had good knowledge regarding hand hygiene. Nurses’ knowledge is better than doctors, Knowledge, attitude and practices of doctor and nurses were better than medical students and ward boys, trained staff have better knowledge on hand hygiene and effective infection control committees have some impact on hand hygiene practicesConclusion:Hand hygiene practices among health providers irrespective of public sector or private sector hospitals were found to be low. It was concluded that serious efforts are need to improve the hand hygiene practices among all health providers.

To evaluate the prevalence of female genital tuberculosis in Hyderabad

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is an increasing public health concern worldwide. It is one of the most important causes of infectious morbidity and mortality. Genital TB is one form of extra pulmonary TB and is not uncommon, particularly in communities where pulmonary TB is prevalent. The objective of the study was to evaluate the prevalence of female genital tuberculosis in Hyderabad and its presentational symptoms and methods of diagnosis.Methods: A total of 1102 cases of suspected genital TB who had been registered and treated in the AIMSR and few selected government urban health post and private hospitals and clinics in different zones of Hyderabad, from 2012 January to 2013 March were retrospectively and prospectively studied. From this group, 23 women were diagnosed as having genital TB based on the standard pathological and microbiological criteria of tissue specimens. Results:Out of 23 cases diagnosed as having genital tuberculosis, 3 patients (13.04 %) presented with abdominal or pelvic pain. In 17cases (73.91%) tuberculosis was diagnosed during studies performed to evaluate the cause of their infertility, and the most common diagnostic procedure was endometrial curettage. Remaining 3 cases (13.05 %) have past, present or contact history of tuberculosis. Female genital TB accounted for 2.08 % of all tuberculosis patients in this study.Conclusions: This study indicates the presence of a strong relationship between genital TB and infertility; therefore genital TB would be more frequently diagnosed if this possibility was considered in the evaluation of every infertile patient in areas where tuberculosis is endemic