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Biomedical subjects

B K Sircar

Publications and source records attributed to B K Sircar.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

Maternal knowledge on risk behavioural practices and it's association with diarrhoea in a rural community of West Bengal, India.

Knowledge of rural mothers related to five diarrhoeagenic risk behaviours, identified in an earlier study, was ascertained. A high proportion of mothers (67%-79%) had knowledge about risk of bottle feeding, non-use of soap for cleaning feeding containers, storage of drinking water in wide-mouthed vessels and indiscriminate disposal of children's faeces. However, only around 31% of mothers were aware about danger of using pond water for cleaning feeding containers. Risk behavioural practices were less amongst mothers who had knowledge about them. Risk of diarrhoea amongst children of mothers having risk practice without knowledge as compared to those who utilised their knowledge to avoid risk practice was found significantly higher (p < or = 0.005) except for bottle feeding (p = 0.330). The results of this study indicate that children can be protected significantly from diarrhoea if mothers' diarrhoeagenic behaviours can be altered through educational intervention.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Value of faecal leucocyte count as an indicator of invasiveness in mucoid diarrhoea.

Importance of faecal leucocyte count as an indicator of invasiveness in mucoid diarrhoea was studied. A total of 290 faecal specimen, 170 from mucoid diarrhoea and 120 from watery diarrhoea were examined for faecal leucocyte count under high power field (hpf) from rural children below four years of age during the period from November 1992 to October 1995. Faecal leucocyte count > 10/hpf was noted in 45.9% of mucoid diarrhoea as against 19.2% of watery diarrhoea (p < 0.0001) samples. From faecal samples with > 10 faecal leucocyte count, invasive pathogens could be recovered in 19 (24.5%) to none of 23 patients with watery diarrhoea (p < 0.006 Fisher exact test). This sample test appears to be of value as an indicator of invasiveness in mucoid diarrhoea in the absence of culture facility.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1997

Risk behavioural practices of rural mothers as determinants of childhood diarrhoea.

Maternal behaviours related to certain child care practices which possibly have a contributory role in causation of diarrhoea in children were studied. Comparison was made between behaviours of mothers in 108 families having diarrhoeal children (Case families) with mothers of 72 families having age and neighbourhood matched non diarrhoeal children (control families) using a logistic regression model. Five risk behaviours were identified and these are bottle feeding (OR-2.87; CI-1.30 to 6.34), non-use of soap for cleaning feeding container (OR-2.61; CI-1.30 to 5.23), water storage in wide-mouthed container (OR-2.75; CI-1.27 to 5.96), use of pond water for the same (OR-2.36; CI-1.15 to 4.84) and indiscriminate disposal of children's stool (OR-1.99; CI-0.97 to 4.08). Around 83 per cent of diarrhoeal families could be predicted using these five variables only. The first three of these five risk behaviours were responsible for occurrence of significantly higher incidence (3 or more episodes) of diarrhoea in the case families. All these risk behaviours are amenable to change if suitable intervention is initiated. The result of this study would be helpful in reducing diarrhoea associated morbidity to a substantial level.

Case-Control Studies↗
PubMed1997

Investigation of the outbreak of cholera in Alleppey & Palghat districts, south India.

In May 1996, a massive outbreak of cholera occurred in Alleppey district of Kerala which spread to Palghat district by July 1996. Of the 575 patients hospitalized at the Alleppey Medical College hospital between May 1 and August 2, 1996, 30 deaths occurred with a case fatality rate of 5.2 per cent while of the 638 diarrhoea patients admitted at Agali PHC of Attapadi area in Palghat district, 30 (4.7%) deaths were recorded. Clinically, the patients had profuse watery diarrhoea with vomiting. The epidemic of cholera in Alleppey and Palghat districts was caused by V. cholerae O1 of the EITor biotype, Ogawa serotype which possessed both the ctxA and tcpA genes when examined by multiplex PCR. Gross contamination of water sources was incriminated as the cause of the epidemic.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Isolation of Escherichia coli to detect faecal contamination of infants and their mothers in West Bengal.

The present study was undertaken to gain insight into the sources of faecal contamination of infants in rural Bengal. It was carried out in three villages near Calcutta, India, from June 1993 to August 1995 among 148 infants and their mothers. Escherichia coli was used as an indicator of faecal pollution. A total of 725 samples, including hand rinsings of children and mothers, feeding utensils and leftover food were examined. The total isolation rate of faecal E. coli was 30%. The isolation rates from hands of children and mothers were 17% and 40% respectively. The germs from 30% of utensils and 59% of leftover food and drinks were recovered further. The study highlights the precarious hygiene in rural Bengal.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Occurrence of diarrhoeal diseases in relation to infant feeding practices in a rural community in West Bengal, India.

In a rural community-based prospective study, diarrhoea in relation to the feeding patterns of a cohort of infants was studied. A total of 148 infants between the ages of 0 and 2 months were enrolled and followed until the completion of 1 year of age. Survival analysis showed that by the fourth month of age exclusive breastfeeding dropped by 75%. The proportion of complementary breastfeeding increased from 18.6 to 52.9% during the same period and to 83.7% by the eighth month. This study clearly highlights the tendency for early switch over from exclusive breastfeeding to complementary breastfeeding. Early weaning was associated with an incidence rate ratio (IRR) of 3.02 (95% CI 1.043-8.802). The IRR of 3.02 and its confidence limits (1.043-8.02) suggest a significant protective effect of exclusive breastfeeding against diarrhoea in infants. The results of this study indicate that promotion of exclusive breastfeeding has a potential role to reduce the incidence of diarrhoea amongst infants. The findings of this study will be useful for Diarrhoeal Disease Control Programme in reducing diarrhoeal morbidity.

Breast Feeding↗
PubMed1995

Epidemiology of Vibrio cholerae O139 with special reference to intrafamilial transmission in Calcutta.

A total of 27 families of hospitalised patients (index case families) suffering from acute watery diarrhoea caused by Vibrio cholerae O139, and 14 neighbourhood families were bacteriologically screened for 4 consecutive days to determine the extent of V. cholerae O139 infection amongst healthy contacts and other suspected vehicles of transmission at the intrafamilial level. V. cholerae O139 was isolated from faeces of 14.6% of healthy contacts in index case families as compared to none in neighbourhood families (P = 0.002). The organism could be recovered from 3.7% of handwashings of contacts of index cases and also from stored drinking water (8.0%), open well water (28.6%), flies (3.8%) and pond water (25.0%) used by the index case families and none from neighbourhood families. The large number of asymptomatic infected persons indicate an epidemiological similarity to that of eltor cholera. The organisms may be carried on hands and may act as a potential source of infection to other inmates through contamination of stored drinking water, open wells etc. The results will be useful in formulating strategies for intervention of transmission of V. cholerae O139 at the community level.

Cholera↗
PubMed1995

Intestinal parasitism: a childhood problem in rural Bengal.

A study was undertaken to assess the parasitic infection rate in a rural community of West Bengal amongst children below four years of age suffering from gastrointestinal complaints. A total of 221 faecal samples were examined during November 1992 to April 1994. G. lamblia (17.2%) and E. histolytica (8.1%) were the predominant protozoas, whereas E. vermicularis (12.2%) and A. lumbricoides (8.1%) were found to be common amongst helminthic infection. A significantly lower infection rate was observed in children below one year (24.4 per cent) as compared to older age groups (66.4 per cent).

Age Distribution↗
PubMed1994

Epidemic of Vibrio cholerae 0139 in Calcutta.

As one of large outbreaks of cholera-like illness in the Indian subcontinent, Calcutta and its neighbouring areas experienced an unprecedented epidemic due to a new strain of V. cholerae non-01, designated as V. cholerae 0139 Bengal, since January 1993. This epidemic predominantly affected the adult population of Calcutta as evidenced by the hospitalization of more adults at the Infectious Disease Hospital, Calcutta (IDH), which bore the main brunt of the epidemic in and around Calcutta. During the peak of the epidemic about 180 to 300 diarrhoea patients were admitted daily at the IDH. Of the 807 patients screened, 407 were positive for V. cholerae 0139 and majority (82.8%) of the cases were > 10 yr of age. Severe dehydration was recorded in 85.5 per cent of the cases.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

An outbreak of acute diarrhoeal disease amongst tribal population in Tripura.

A massive outbreak of acute diarrhoeal diseases occurred during March-April, 1992 in the north district of Tripura. Investigation of the outbreak revealed Vibrio cholerae 01 biotype ElT or as the main etiologic agent in 50 per cent of patients. The outbreak which started amongst the tribal population might have spread due to prevailing illiteracy, poverty, low personal and domestic hygiene and vulnerable water sources (chhara water).

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Occurrence of multi-resistant Salmonella typhimurium infection in a pediatric hospital at Calcutta.

Salmonella typhimurium was isolated from 55 (15.9%) of the 347 hospitalized diarrheal children and 14 (11.1%) of the 126 non-diarrheal controls. All the 98 asymptomatic children attending hospital outpatients were negative. Six (3.7%) of the 162 samples of different categories examined from the hospital were positive for S. typhimurium. Finger washing of one female food handler, feces of two cats of the wards, surface of wash basin, lavatory seat and shelf yielded positive isolations. In vitro antibiotic sensitivity testing showed majority of the strains were resistant against commonly used antimicrobial agents while they were uniformly sensitive to norfloxacin and ciprofloxacin. The present study points to cross-infection by multi-resistant S. typhimurium strains in the hospital wards.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1991

An operational study on implementation of oral rehydration therapy in a rural community of West Bengal, India.

An operational study of a 3-tier strategy for implementation of oral rehydration therapy (ORT) was conducted in a block of West Bengal with 216,825 population through the existing health services facilities. All the grassroot level, health workers including their supervisors at various levels were trained regarding the management of patients of diarrhoea with mild to moderate degree of dehydration, by ORT. Another block in the same district with similar demographic features where this intervention was not provided served as control. After 22 months of observation, it was evident that despite adequate training, the performance of Community Health Guides (CHGs) and Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) was not encouraging because of the low utilization of both home available fluids (32.0%) and oral rehydration solution (18.0%) in the study area. Similarly, diarrhoea associated mortality could not be reduced significantly. Lack of motivation and failure to maintain sustained level of skill by the CHGs and AWWs constitute the major bottlenecks for the successful implementation of the programme at the community level.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1988

Beliefs and practices related to diarrhoeal diseases among mothers in Gondar region, Ethiopia.

A survey was carried out amongst a population of 6236 on diarrhoeal mortality and morbidity along with beliefs and practices at Addis Zemen, Northwestern Ethiopia. The prevalence (13.5%) and the proportion of diarrhoea related deaths (41.7%) were high among children below five years. Most of the mothers believed that diarrhoea was caused by the will of God (33.1%) and by sorcery (11.5%). Medication ranged from modern drugs (37.4%) oral rehydration therapy (ORT) (26.2%), and traditional medicine (22.4%). 86.1% continued breast feeding during diarrhoea. About 81.2% of mothers who used ORT believed that ORT would stop diarrhoea. The prevalent beliefs related to breast feeding and the usage of ORT are useful and should be encouraged with proper education of mothers on the significance of ORT in prevention and correction of dehydration.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Studies on interventions to prevent eltor cholera transmission in urban slums.

Transmission of eltor cholera infection in endemic communities continues without diminishing because of the absence of effective intervention measures. Two methods-chlorination of stored water and the use of a narrow-necked earthenware vessel (called a 'sorai') for storing the water-were found to be effective in reducing the transmission of infection among the family contacts of cholera patients. The cholera carrier rates in the chlorination and 'sorai' intervention groups were 7.3% and 4.4%, respectively, compared with 17.3% in the control group. The 'sorai' is cheap and was well accepted by the local communities; its narrow neck prevented the introduction of the hand and contamination of the stored water.

Adolescent↗