tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72811432852059019392024-03-04T22:58:58.867-08:00Teaching Community MedicineUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7281143285205901939.post-78767531123480501732012-03-22T10:54:00.001-07:002012-03-22T10:54:26.125-07:00Unrealistic Poverty estimates<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-03-21/india/31219795_1_pension-schemes-age-pension-poverty-ratio">http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-03-21/india/31219795_1_pension-schemes-age-pension-poverty-ratio</a><br />
<br />
The article highlights the gross deficiencies of the poverty estimates cutoff currently announced.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7281143285205901939.post-51079827349684436712012-02-17T10:44:00.000-08:002012-02-17T10:44:11.262-08:00Null hypothesis for Hosmer and Lemeshow goodness of fit test<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In logistic regression, we find a goodness of fit statistic with a p value displayed alongwith it. The null hypothesis is that the model is fit. If the p value is less than 0.05 and the null hypothesis is rejected, it means that the model is not fit.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7281143285205901939.post-74450494151459602172011-12-18T08:02:00.000-08:002011-12-18T08:02:38.315-08:00Difference between error and residual ...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>Error</b> is the difference between the <u>observed value in a sample/subject and the true value</u> in the population (which is actually not known).<br />
whereas <b>Residual</b> is the difference between the <u>observed value and the predicted (or estimated value)</u> from our regression equations.<br />
So, even they may sound quite similar but are actually quite different. In regression, we have to be very careful about the <b>residual diagnostics</b>. They are very vital.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7281143285205901939.post-60046135896684582902011-12-05T09:17:00.001-08:002011-12-05T09:20:42.393-08:00Maternal mortality rate .... Is it the same as Maternal mortality ratio ?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
No, Maternal mortality rate is the number of maternal deaths per 1000 women in the reproductive age group. Whereas Maternal mortality ratio is the number of maternal deaths per 1 lac live births. These two are different measures.<br />
Source: link is <a href="http://www.who.int/making_pregnancy_safer/documents/measuring_maternal_mortality.pdf">http://www.who.int/making_pregnancy_safer/documents/measuring_maternal_mortality.pdf</a><br />
<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7281143285205901939.post-21490855805799178732011-12-03T23:20:00.001-08:002011-12-03T23:30:12.645-08:00p-value and confidence interval<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
p - value is used in hypothesis testing. It reveals the probability of 'chance' to be responsible for the difference. The less the p value the less the probability that the difference is due to chance. Conventionally, a cut off of 5% or 0.05 or one in twenty is considered for saying that there is a statistically significant difference. But, always keep in mind that the difference in 0.049 and 0.051 is not great. The probability that the difference is due to chance is 4.9% and 5.1% respectively in the example given in the earlier line. So they are telling nearly the same story. But going by our cutoff of 5%, one is statistically significant and the other is statistically not significant. Human judgement, common sense and experience should prevail for interpretation of the result. One more word of caution: Increasing the sample size tends to magnify the differences and chances for finding a statistically significant difference increases.<br />
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95% Confidence interval arrived from our sample is the probability that the population value lies in that interval 95% of the time. The condition is that the sample should be representative of the population.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7281143285205901939.post-74068876796564804372011-11-29T10:00:00.001-08:002011-12-03T23:32:22.530-08:00Difference between Covariance and Correlation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Both measure the same thing, nearly the same to be more accurate. Covariance measures how the two variables are related. A positive value indicates a positive linear relationship. In R software, it can be calculated by cov(variable x, variable y).<br />
Correlation coefficient is covariance divided by the product of the standard deviations of the two variables. It is a normalized measurement of the relationship between two variables.If it is near to one means that there is a positive linear relationship. If '-1' means that negative linear relationship. If zero, it means no linear relationship. In R software, it can be calculated simply by cor(variable x, variable y)</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7281143285205901939.post-29160664875923017462011-09-28T09:23:00.001-07:002011-09-28T09:23:52.075-07:00Japanese Encephalitis reported for the first time in Delhi<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">A disease which was till now thought to be limited to Eastern UP has been reported from Delhi. Epidemiological investigations are ongoing. Lab reports from NCDC have confir med JE antibodies from the samples that were sent from suspected patients.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> If local transmission is confirmed, Delhi will have to gear up to take care of one more scourge: Culex tritaenorynchus. This will be in addition to the existing burden of other mosquito borne diseases like Malaria and Dengue, which cause deadly outbreaks in Delhi. It is hightime that sanitation is given a high priority in the capital city of India.</span><br />
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Links: <a href="http://zeenews.india.com/news/delhi/delhi-japanese-encephalitis-reported-for-1st-time_733807.html" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #1155cc; cursor: pointer; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">http://zeenews.india.<wbr></wbr>com/news/delhi/delhi-japanese-<wbr></wbr>encephalitis-reported-for-1st-<wbr></wbr>time_733807.html</a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7281143285205901939.post-58062948233101184072011-07-14T21:43:00.000-07:002011-07-14T21:43:28.053-07:00Levene's test for equality of variancesIn an earlier post, I discussed about Bartlett's test for homogeneity of variances. But I found out that Bartlett's test is very sensitive to normality assumption. Even if the data is slightly non-normal, then it does not hold good. In that case Levene's test for equality of variances becomes the test of choice.<br />
<br />
In R we can go for library(car) and then apply Levene's Test by using the following formula:<br />
leveneTest(age~sex): in this e.g. sex is a categorical variable having male and female as two groups. This formula will test the null hypothesis that the variances of age in male and female groups are equal. If p is less than 0.05 then it means that the null hypothesis is rejected i.e. the variances are not equal in the two groups.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7281143285205901939.post-22392921673072666762011-06-24T15:48:00.000-07:002011-06-24T16:03:15.280-07:00Test for homogeneity of variance: Bartlett test<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">First an important assumption: that the normal distribution is followed by the data.<br />
Null hypothesis for this test is that the variances are equal in the groups.<br />
So if, p value less than 0.05, null hypothesis is rejected and interpretation being that the variances are not equal (or homodescacity is absent).<br />
<br />
In case, the normality assumption is violated, then we can go for Levene test.<br />
<br />
For further discussion using R: <a href="http://wiki.stdout.org/rcookbook/Statistical%20analysis/Homogeneity%20of%20variance">http://wiki.stdout.org/rcookbook/Statistical%20analysis/Homogeneity%20of%20variance</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7281143285205901939.post-19259994123776007682011-06-24T06:53:00.000-07:002011-12-18T08:05:02.315-08:00Test for normality: Shapiro Wilk test<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In order to test the normality of the distribution pattern of a variable, we can use the Shapiro Wilk test. <b>The null hypothesis is that: There is no difference in the distribution of the given data and a normal distribution curve (or in other words the data is normally distributed).</b><br />
So if the P value is less than 0.05, means that the null hypothesis is rejected or in other words, there is a difference in the distribution of the given data and a normal distribution curve or the given data is not normally distributed.<br />
<br />
For this type of data which is not normally distributed, it is time to go for a non parametric test.<br />
<br />
Note: Shapiro Wilk can be used to test the normality of residuals in a linear regression model. In R using the epicalc package, it can be done as: shapiro.test(lm(age ~ case.factor)$residuals). In this example, age is the numerical variable and case.factor is the categorical variable as cases and controls and lm stands for linear model.<br />
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<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7281143285205901939.post-43134755597771534812011-06-13T07:50:00.000-07:002011-08-25T10:25:02.597-07:00My comments for the Medical Council of India Vision Document 2015<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"></span><br />
<div style="font-size: small;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">My comments for the vision document of MCI:</span></div>
<div style="font-size: small;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="font-size: small;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">a. The common entrance test, PG entrance exam right at the end of third professional exams and before internship and a licentiate examn at the end of internship are good steps towards removing some of the deficiencies of the current Medical education system. I highly appreciate them.</span></div>
<div style="font-size: small;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="font-size: small;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">b.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> Duration of MBBS course:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> The long duration of MBBS course and when coupled with PG course/s is a major deterrent for opting for Medical streams as careers nowadays. This issue has been not looked into. If somehow the duration could be reduced even by one year would be a great achievement. The point to ponder is whether 4 1/2 years are really needed ?</span></div>
<div style="font-size: small;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="font-size: small;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">c. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Change in nomenclature of Diploma courses to Master of Medicine:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> In my opinion the change in nomenclature is unwarranted as it will create confusion by having two types of Masters degrees in the field of Medicine. I think changing the fundamental structure of Diploma courses is fine but tampering with the name of the course is a futile exercise which can create confusions later on at the field level and also at the institutional levels. </span></div>
<div style="font-size: small;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">d. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Career opportunities after PG</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">: It is a very good step to think in lines of creating more career opportunities for the medical students. All the career opportunities have been created after PG of two years duration. I think it would be better if career opportunities are created after MBBS course. This would help the students to focus on their careers right from start. e.g. A student wants to enter into hospital administration after completing MBBS should be given the opportunity to rather than that he/she has to wait for two years further to enter into the career of his choice.</span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">This is in response to the comments invited by MCI for improving the medical education standards in the country. The vision document is available online at</span></div>
<br />
<a href="http://www.mciindia.org/tools/announcement/MCI_booklet.pdf"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">http://www.mciindia.org/tools/announcement/MCI_booklet.pdf</span></a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7281143285205901939.post-57724276596574249612011-06-03T02:00:00.000-07:002011-06-03T02:00:16.454-07:00Definition of categories of exposure and use of rabies biologicals<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These are the WHO recommended definitions of categories of exposure and use of rabies biologicals:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Category III</span>: -single or multiple transdermal bites or scratches, licks on broken skin, contamination of mucous membrane with saliva (i.e. licks) and suspect contacts with bats: <b>use immunoglobulin plus vaccine</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Category II</span>: -minor scratches or abrasions without bleeding or and nibbling of uncovered skin: <b>use vaccine alone</b></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Category I</span> : -touching, feeding of animals or licks on intact skin no exposure therefore <b>no prophylaxis if history reliable</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">References:</span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.who.int/rabies/PEP_prophylaxis_guidelines_June10.pdf"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">http://www.who.int/rabies/PEP_prophylaxis_guidelines_June10.pdf</span></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<a href="http://www.who.int/wer/2007/wer8249_50.pdf"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">http://www.who.int/wer/2007/wer8249_50.pdf</span></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7281143285205901939.post-60625621739225161352011-05-24T03:11:00.000-07:002011-05-24T03:11:56.132-07:00Facility based care IMNCI (Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Ilnesses))<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
This <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">facility-based-care IMNCI</span> (Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illness) training focuses on providing appropriate <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">inpatient management</span></b> of major causes of neonatal and childhood mortality such as asphyxia, sepsis, and low birth weight in neonates; and pneumonia, diarrhoea, malaria, meningitis, and severe acute malnutrition in children. <br />
Reference: <a href="http://www.nihfw.org/NCHRC/Publication/Facility%20Based%20IMNCI%20F%20IMNCI%20Facilitators%20Guide-1161.pdf">http://www.nihfw.org/NCHRC/Publication/Facility%20Based%20IMNCI%20F%20IMNCI%20Facilitators%20Guide-1161.pdf</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7281143285205901939.post-32689509826600422432011-03-19T01:10:00.000-07:002011-03-19T01:10:17.362-07:00The Hindu : News / National : Two drugs banned<a href="http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article1551233.ece?sms_ss=blogger&at_xt=4d8464e27c60ca88%2C0">The Hindu : News / National : Two drugs banned</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7281143285205901939.post-53938804638239375022011-03-18T09:58:00.000-07:002011-03-18T09:58:50.735-07:00http://www.medindia.net/news/Organ-Donation-Act-Simplified-82397-1.htm<a href="http://www.medindia.net/news/Organ-Donation-Act-Simplified-82397-1.htm">http://www.medindia.net/news/Organ-Donation-Act-Simplified-82397-1.htm</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7281143285205901939.post-82624719527324529802010-11-22T07:37:00.000-08:002010-11-22T07:37:26.163-08:00Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) - Doctors Without Borders! Vacancy notice for MD-Obs n Gynae<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) - Doctors Without Borders!</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">MSF is constantly looking out for medical professionals for their projects</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">in India as well as for emergency interventions. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">At present there is a vacancy notice for MD-OBG (MD Obs and Gynae) at our project in Bijapur, Chhattisgarh</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">If you wish to join, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">please submit your letter of interest and CV to </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a href="mailto:msfh-india-admin@field.amsterdam.msf.org" style="color: #333333;">msfh-india-admin@field.<wbr></wbr>amsterdam.msf.org</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7281143285205901939.post-4627488464002510122010-09-06T02:41:00.000-07:002010-09-06T02:41:36.171-07:00What is Lyophilization ?We read of lyophilize vaccines and it is but natural that this question comes to our mind. Lyophilization or freeze drying is a process in which water is removed from a product after it is frozen and placed under a vacuum, allowing the ice to change directly from solid to vapor without passing through a liquid phase. e.g. Measles, BCG vaccine, antibiotics etc.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7281143285205901939.post-36562408528603894452010-09-06T02:31:00.000-07:002010-09-06T02:31:27.379-07:00What is meant by waste disposal ?During the course of teaching I found that students considered the collection of wastes in dustbins as disposal of waste. This is actually waste collection and not disposal. The steps involved in waste management is waste generation, collection, transportation and disposal. <strong>Waste disposal is the final treatment and disposal in waste management process. </strong>For more details click on the following link which tells how the waste disposal is defined by Basel Convention, European Union and OECD/Eurostat Joint questionnaire http://scp.eionet.europa.eu/definitions/disposalUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7281143285205901939.post-86303767581694178892010-08-29T05:02:00.000-07:002010-09-06T03:15:53.725-07:00If I started Hepatitis B immunization and did not complete the course, what should I do ?According to guidelines created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) you do not have to restart the vaccine series if you received only one or two doses - even if it has been a few years since your last dose of the vaccine. You only need to complete the series by getting the remaining shot(s).Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7281143285205901939.post-69188067118615367552010-08-14T22:11:00.000-07:002010-08-14T22:14:54.599-07:00Recrudescence and relapse in Malaria<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://pakiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/malaria.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="104" src="http://pakiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/malaria.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Recrudescence is a re-attack of malaria because of the surviving malaria parasites in red blood cells. Characteristic of P.malariae infections. This may be short term or delayed.<br />
<div>Relapse is a re-attack of malaria because of infection by the malarial parasites which were surviving in the liver (i.e. hypnozoites). This is usually a delayed feature.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7281143285205901939.post-84914140657161632252010-08-14T21:49:00.000-07:002010-08-14T21:49:57.784-07:00Vector competence and vectorial capacityVector competence refers to the ability of mosquitoes to receive a disease agent microorganism (arbovirus etc.) from the reservoir host and then later transmit the infectious agent to another susceptible host.<br />
Vectorial capacity includes a number of factors like vector competence, mosquito population density, host preferences, biting rate, immunity of the mosquitoes etc.<br />
To be an effective vector, mosquitoes must have a high vector competence and vectorial capacity.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7281143285205901939.post-44326056198010087712010-08-04T10:42:00.000-07:002010-08-04T10:44:23.857-07:00In infectious disease epidemiology; what is the difference b/w vehicle and fomite ?A vehicle is a substance which can carry a microorganism into your body. e.g. air, water or food. A fomite is an object which is capable of retaining a microorganism, and may be a source of infection.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7281143285205901939.post-16466375026142001582010-08-03T10:41:00.000-07:002010-08-04T10:37:11.292-07:00What are 'standards', e.g. as in Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) ?Standards are a means of describing the level of quality that health care organizations are expected to meet or aspire to.<br />
<div>In contrast to standards, 'norms' are the typical expected patterns of a particular group.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7281143285205901939.post-21372113997268616692010-07-23T11:45:00.000-07:002010-07-23T11:45:59.127-07:00Kangra valley pilot project - the pioneer of National Iodine Deficiency Disorder Control Programme in India<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://johnlarroquetteproject.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/goiter-lady.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://johnlarroquetteproject.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/goiter-lady.jpg" width="181" /></a></div>In order to find out whether iodine deficiency is a causative factor of endemic goiter in the Himalayan belt and to find out the effectiveness of iodine prophylaxis, a prospective study was organized in 1956 in Kangra valley of Himachal Pradesh in India. (Sooch and Ramalingaswami, 1965). The study region was divided into A,B and C zones. After a baseline survey in 1956, the salt distributed to zones A and C was fortified with potassium iodide and potassium iodate, respectively, while zone B was supplied with unfortified salt. The salt fortification was at a level that supplied approximately 200 microgram of iodine per person per day. After six years of iodization, in 1962, a marked decrease in the prevalence of goiter was observed in zone A (from 38% to 19%) and zone C (38% to 15%) without any significant change in zone B. Six years later, in 1968, a systematic survey of goiter prevalence showed a further reduction in zones A and C (8.5% and 9.1% respectively). This project laid the foundation of National Goiter control project which later on was changed to National Iodine deficiency disorder control programme in India.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7281143285205901939.post-32955554040242314262010-07-20T11:26:00.000-07:002010-07-20T11:26:16.955-07:00Secondary attack rate and Basic reproductive rate; what is the difference?<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Secondary attack rate (SAR) is the proportion of susceptibles infected by getting exposed by one diseased individual in one incubation period. </div><div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Basic reproductive rate; whereas is the potential for a contagious disease to spread from person to person in a population (in which all are susceptible). The basic reproduction rate (BRR) takes into account the population dynamics as we can know by this formula:<br />
BRR= a x b x d<br />
where; a is the risk of transmission per contact; b is the number of such contacts that an average person in the population would normally have per time unit and d is the duration of infectivity of an infected person, measured in the same time unit as b was. </div><div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">We find that the formula is very trivial (which i hv tried to keep for explaining the basic concept) and tells us that if the risk of transmission per contact is high, the number of contacts is also high among the people<br />
in a population and the duration of infectivity of the diseased person is high then the BRR or the potential for a contagious disease to spread in a population will by high.<br />
</div><div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">These all things are not taken into account by the Secondary attack rate which is very much representative of a fixed (static) model estimate whereas BRR is representative of a dynamic model estimate. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0