Medical ethics is a sensible branch of moral philosophy and deals with conflicts in obligations/duties and their potential outcome. Two strands of thought exist in ethics regarding decision-making: deontological and utilitarian. In deontological approach, outcomes/consequences may not just justify the means to achieve it while in utilitarian approach; outcomes determine the means and greatest benefit expected for the greatest number. In brief, deontology is patient-centered, whereas utilitarianism is society-centered. Although these approaches contradict each other, each of them has their own substantiating advantages and disadvantages in medical practice. Over years, a trend has been observed from deontological practice to utilitarian approach leading to frustration and discontentment. Health care system and practitioners need to balance both these ethical arms to bring congruity in medical practice.

Entamoeba histolytica, the causative agent of intestinal and extraintestinal amebiasis, is a common parasitic cause of significant morbidity and mortality in the developing countries. Hence, early detection and differentiation of pathogenic E. histolytica from nonpathogenic/commensal Entamoeba spp (Entamoeba dispar/Entamoeba moshkovskii/Entamoeba bangladeshi) plays a crucial role in clinical management of patients with amebiasis. Most diagnostic tests currently available do not reliably differentiate between the species of Entamoeba and are less sensitive, cumbersome to perform. Molecular-based methods are highly sensitive, easy to perform and differentiates the pathogenic Entamoeba from nonpathogenic species, serving the criteria for an ideal diagnostic test for amebiasis. Recently, microarray technology has been found to be a promising tool for the diagnostic and epidemiological evaluation of amebiasis.

Taenia asiatica is a recently described species known to cause intestinal teniasis in humans and cysticercosis in animals. This species has close morphological resemblance to Taenia saginata and has a life cycle resembling Taenia solium, hence has been posing diagnostic dilemma and had been the reason for its comparatively late discovery. Recent diagnostic tools such as serological and molecular techniques have thrown light on its exact prevalence in the endemic countries. Hence introduction of utilization of these techniques in addition to the routine morphological analysis would be helpful in diagnosis of T. asiatica infections and early implementation of preventive measures.

Introduction: The highest estimated cause of death in South East Asian Region (SEAR) attributes to diarrheal diseases (Global Food Infection Network, 2011). According to the CDC, 20 to 40% of foods borne illness associated with the consumption of contaminated food were from catering establishments. The purpose of the study was to assess the enteric pathogen profile and knowledge, attitude and behaviour regarding food hygiene among food handlers in our tertiary care center. Methods: Food handlers (n=123) were included in the study (June 2013-July2014) by non-random sampling after obtaining consent. Standardized WHO Five Keys for Safer Food questionnaire was used to assess the knowledge, attitude and behaviour on food hygiene among the food handlers. Stool specimens were collected for saline-iodine wet mount examination for microscopic examination of parasite ova and cysts, culture for bacterial enteropathogens and multiplex PCR for detection of Entamoeba histolytica. Results: The prevalence of stool pathogens in the hospital kitchen staff was 3.24%. The parasites detected were Entamoeba histolytica (1), Giardia intestinalis (2) and Blastocystis hominis (1) and the bacterium isolated was Campylobacter jejuni (1). Moderate level of knowledge (76.4%), favorable attitude (87%) and satisfactory self reported behaviour (92.7%) regarding food hygiene was observed. A significant positive correlation existed between attitude and self-reported behavior of food handlers (p<0.05). Conclusion: An overall prevalence of 5.12% of enteric pathogens was identified among the food handlers of JIPMER. Positive correlation between attitude and self-reported behaviour regarding food hygiene was observed among food handlers. Food hygiene behaviour was influenced by the work experience of the food handler.

Published scientific research breeds the development of clinical management guidelines and pathways. Currently, scholarly proficiency is assessed using numerous primitive metrics for incentives that can kindle publication of hoax or flawed research content. Such flawed data can lead to wastage of resources, time, and most importantly harm to the society. Authors, editors, and peer reviewers need to be genuine in conducting, analyzing, and publication of scientific research. Institutions need to be aware and utilize advanced metrics to assess the scientific reputation of researchers. This short review discusses in brief the common authorship and editorial ethical issues encountered in scientific publication and the newer metrics available for the assessment of scholarly excellence. Editors and peer reviewers need to be acquainted with the common ethical issues and follow consensus international guidelines on publication ethics to tackle them appropriately.