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Background: Nipah virus infection is an emerging infectious disease of south-east Asia region, which has gained public health importance. Nipah virus is classified internationally as a biosecurity level (BSL) 4 agent. Objective was to assess knowledge, practice and attitude regarding Nipah virus infection. Methods: A cross sectional study was done in urban and rural health training centers among adult population, data was collected using pre-designed and pre-tested proforma. Data was entered in Microsoft excel, frequencies and percentages were calculated. Results: In present study majority of study participants belonged to less than 25 years. Nuclear families were common in both urban (76%) and rural (44%) areas. 41% and 35% of urban and rural study participants belonged to class II status respectively. In present study it was found that both urban and rural study participants had heard about Nipah virus infection in recent few months. 73% of urban study participants considered themselves at risk of Nipah virus infection when compared to 36% of rural participants. Rural study participants did not have clarity of spread, signs and symptoms. 11% and 6% of urban and rural study participants had heard health education talks about Nipah virus infection respectively and most common source was social media. Conclusions: The present study finding is suggestive of good knowledge regarding Nipah virus infection among urban population when compared to rural setting. Continuous health education has to be imparted at all levels of health care so as to make community aware about spread, clinical presentation and prevention aspects of Nipah virus infection.

Back ground: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic progressive metabolic disorder, most common non-communicable disease globally.The global prevalence of diabetes among adults over 18 years of age rose from 4.7% in 1980 to 8.5% in 2014. In 2016, diabetes was the direct cause of 1.6 million deaths. Objectives: To assess the self-care practices among elderly with type 2 diabetes mellitus and to know the factors influencing it. Methodology: A community based crosssectional study was conducted by selecting elderly through systematic random sampling; socio-demographic details and self-care practices were assessed by Summary Diabetes Self-Care Activities questionnaire (SDSCA).Data were entered in excel,descriptive statistics and chi-square were calculated.Results:177 elderly diabetics participated in the study. A majority of 49.71% were in the age group of 69-70years. 58.76% were females, 40.11% were literates, and 55.93% resided in joint families. The self-care practices were computed based on Summary Diabetes Self-Care Activities questionnaire (SDSCA) 72.88% had good and poor self-care practices.Significant factors were 60-69 years age group, male gender, literates and duration of diabetes (1-5years) (p<0.05).Conclusion: Diabetes and related complications impose a high-burden of catastrophic economic costs by increasing out of pocket expenditure.Self-care in diabetes plays a pivotal role in managing the disease, which has to be practiced more efficiently at individual level with the support from family and community so as to promote healthy ageing amid co-morbidities.

Background: Menstrual cycle is one of the phases in a woman's life wherein there are multiple physiological changes in the body. Various phases of menstrual cycle show a different physiological behavioral pattern of the body as well as hormonal changes which can lead to multiple changes in the oral cavity. Aims: The aim of this study is to assess the attitude and awareness of oral health changes in females during menstrual cycle. Materials and Methods: The present study was conducted as a cross-sectional study among the general population of Karnataka, India. A self-administered semi-structured questionnaire consisting of 19 questions was used to assess the attitude and awareness of oral health changes in females during menstruation. Data were entered in Excel and analyzed using IBM SPSS statistics version 22. Results: In the present study, a total of 300 females participated comprising different age groups, of which maximum participants were in the age group of 18–24 years. 57.7% of population had a duration of 28–30 days' menstrual cycle. About 44.3% of participants had experienced an overall health change. 18.3% of participants experienced oral changes, of which 15% of participants had developed aphthous ulcers. 7.3% of participants experienced bleeding gums. 81.3% of participants believed that the use of antimicrobial mouthwash reduces bad breath and 55.7% believed that brushing twice can reduce swelling of gums. Conclusion: This study gives an inference that participants were though aware of menstruation and related complaints, but they were not aware of oral changes occurring during the cycle.