Background: Mosquito control is the cornerstone in the prevention of dengue. There is a need for active community participation in the control of the disease. However, there have been various barriers in preventive activities. Understanding the barriers to the preventive activities would help in designing appropriate intervention/awareness program.Methods: A community based descriptive cross-sectional study was done in the villages of Kudikadu and Echangadu. House-to-house visit was done and persons above 15 years of age, present at the time of visit were included in the study. The data was captured using ‘Epicollect 5’, a mobile application for data collection based on the constructs of health belief model.Results: A total of 155 individuals were interviewed, whose mean age was 41.3 (±13.8). A majority of them were females (71.3%), had no formal education (27.5%) and belonged to socio-economic class 5. Majority of households 140 (87.5%) responded they have mosquito problem in the house and 103 (64.3%) of them perceived that there were barriers for carrying out dengue preventive activities. The barriers reported by the participants were lack of awareness (30%), poor government support (25%), financial issues (16.9%) and lack of motivation (7.5%). There was a significant association of socioeconomic class with lack of motivation and financial issues, with a high number of participants belonging to socioeconomic class IV and V reporting lack of motivation (p=0.028) and financial issue (p=0.025).Conclusions:Health providers have to find an appropriate and effective strategy to create awareness among people about the simple ways to prevent mosquito breeding.

BACKGROUND:Fever is an extremely common occurrence in paediatric patients and the most common cause for a child to be taken to the doctor. Most of the infants less than 1yr of age have fever without focus. The aim of the study is to document the rate of bacteremia and their predictors in infants with fever without source. OBJECTIVES: To assess the rate of bacteremia in febrile infants attending OPD and inpatient department of pediatrics at a tertiary hospital and to analyze factors that predicts the possibility of having serious bacterial infection. METHODS: This is a hospital based prospective study carried out for a period of 1yr. The study included 85 infants from 1 month to 12 months of age who presented with fever without source (FWS). All infants with fever without source were subjected to septic screen, which includes CBC, CRP, Chest x-ray Urine routine, urine culture and Blood culture and sensitivity. Percentage of blood culture positivity among those febrile infants were calculated and tabulated. Most frequently isolated pathogen was documented. Predictors of serious bacterial infection among febrile infants were documented. RESULTS: Among 85 Febrile infants 57 infants have serious bacterial infection which constitutes around 67.05%. Among 57 Serious Bacterial Infection (SBI) patients, 35 patients had positive chest x-ray. 22 patients have abnormal leucocyte count. Positive blood culture and urine culture were 38.6% and 29.6% respectively. The p value for blood culture and urine culture were statistically significant. The most frequently isolated pathogen was Escherichia coli (E.coli), followed by staphylococcus aureus (Staph. aureus) in blood culture. The most frequently isolated pathogen was Escherichia coli in urine culture. CRP and Platelet count were not good predictors of bacteremia in febrile infants. CONCLUSION: A positive blood culture rate of 38.9% was found in infants with FWS. CRP and platelet count were not good bacteremia predictors in infants with fever without source. We recommend obtaining a blood and urine culture in infants with FWS, particularly those with elevated leucocyte count and positive chest x-ray.

BACKGROUND: WHO RECOMMENDS:Initiation of breastfeeding within the first hour of life, exclusive breast feeding on demand for six months, followed by sequential addition of semisolid and solid foods to complement breast milk and breast feeding to be continued for 2 years. Most of the time, these recommendations are not followed, due to false beliefs or cultural factors. This has resulted in malnutrition and increasing health hazards in children. 1 This study is being done to know about the feeding practices, nutritional status, anaemia prevalence in children residing in rural areas of Puducherry. OBJECTIVES: 1. To study feeding practices, nutritional status, prevalence of anemia in children from 1 month to 2 years of age. 2. Influence of feeding practices on nutritional status and hemoglobin levels. METHODS: This is a hospital based prospective study done for a period of 1yr. The study included 200 children from 1 month to 2 years of age. Patients from rural areas of Puducherry nearing Tamil Nadu border and people from adjoining rural areas of Tamil Nadu come to our hospital. A questionnaire is provided to parents/guardians of children asking about feeding practices. Participants weight in kilograms and length in centimeters are measured. Blood samples are drawn from participants for the estimation of hemoglobin levels. Peripheral smear study will be done if hemoglobin level is less than 11 gram/dl. Observations are tabulated. RESULTS: 85% children under study were initiated feed according to guidelines and 15% were not initiated. 54% children were exclusively breastfed for 6 months and 46% children were not exclusively breast fed. 54% children were given complementary feeds after the age of 6 months. 70% had normal weight for length, 12% were moderately wasted, 18% children were severely wasted, 86% children were anemic and 14% children were not anemic. CONCLUSION: 1. The study shows the effect of feeding practices on the nutritional status and hemoglobin levels in the young children of rural area. 2. Malnutrition and anemia have higher prevalence, there is a need for health education to the mothers, especially antenatal mothers.