Background: Influenza A (H1N1) is the most recent of the pandemic diseases that has affected the world's population. The aim of this study was to assess knowledge, attitude and behavioural responses of an Indian community toward Influenza A (H1N1). Methodology: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted in Udaipur (Rajasthan, India) among 791 individuals (57% males and 43% females) from 23 July to 27 August 2009. Outcome measures were perceived seriousness of the disease, opinion about government and health authorities, perceived efficacy of various preventive measures, avoidance behaviours, and increased hygiene maintenance in relation to Influenza A (H1N1). Results: Of 791 respondents, 83.1% had heard about Influenza A (H1N1), but 47.4% felt that they did not have enough information about the pandemic. Only 34.5% felt that their health would be seriously affected if they contracted Influenza A (H1N1). Over half of the respondents (59.6%) had no idea about the duration of the pandemic. Knowledge differed significantly according to gender, age groups, and educational status as well as working status; however, females had better attitude than males. Respondents rated face masks and vaccines as the most effective preventive measures. Conclusion: Results showed that in spite of having acceptable knowledge and attitude, behavioural response to Influenza A (H1N1) was poor. Therefore, increased efforts should be made by the government to understand what factors are associated with adaptive behaviour changes among the general public. Emphasizing the efficacy of recommended actions and the possible duration of the outbreak may further help to improve public compliance.

The prevalence of dental injuries in a group of individuals with blind. This should alert caregivers to carry out a profound investigation of the events and suggest methods to reduce this type of morbidity.

Prevalence of traumatic dental injuries in a group of individuals with visual impairment was higher than that of sighted. This should alert caregivers to carry out a profound investigation of the events and suggest methods to reduce this type of morbidity.

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Little information is available about perceptions of influenza vaccination of parents with healthy children in daycare. Therefore, we systematically explored the relationship between parental risk perception and influenza vaccination in children attending daycare. We distributed a self-administered paper survey to parents of children aged 6-59 months attending licensed daycare centres in Tarrant County, Texas. We used conditional logistic regression with penalized conditional likelihood to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% profile likelihood confidence limits (PL) for parental risk-perception factors and influenza vaccination. A high level of parental prevention behaviours (OR 9.1, 95% PL 3.2, 31) and physician recommendation (OR 8.2, 95% PL 2.7, 30) had the highest magnitudes of association with influenza vaccination of healthy children in daycare. Our results provide evidence about critical determinants of influenza vaccination of healthy children in daycare, which could help inform public health interventions aimed at increasing influenza vaccination coverage in this population.

In addition to their important functions in mastication and esthetics, the teeth may also be used as a weapon and under certain circumstances, may leave information as to the identity of the biter. The individuality of the human dentition frequently allows the Forensic Odontologist to reach a strong opinion of association in cases of identification and bite mark analysis. Such analysis can often be useful during the investigation of violent crimes, especially those involving sexual assault. The high number of murder, rape, and child abuse cases has led to increased numbers of forensic cases being heard in courts. Analysis of the bite mark is the second major responsibility of the forensic dentist.

Objective: The objective of the study is to evaluate the level of knowledge and perception towards Zika virus (ZIKA) outbreak in a dental institute as this vector borne virus has become a major public health concern worldwide. Materials and Methods:A cross sectional study was conducted among 177 persons including interns, Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) and Master of Dental Surgery (MDS) faculty. A wide variety of questions on the study topic including, basic knowledge and other characteristic features of ZIKA virus and its prevention and treatment modalities. Student's t test and One way ANOVA were used to find the significance at p<0.05.Results: Overall 61.7% had correct views about ZIKA outbreak. The findings showed that 90% participants possessed knowledge about the viral origin of the condition. It was further revealed that almost 88% practitioners were aware about the mosquito bite to be the main cause of the spread of ZIKA infection. Moreover, only 29% correctly responded about the incubation period of ZIKA virus. It was also noticed that female participants had greater knowledge regarding ZIKA. The results showed significant differences in the mean values according to the level of education. Conclusion:It was revealed that all the participants had adequate knowledge on the topic of ZIKA and the scores almost increased with proceeding age and education.

Background/purpose: The present study was undertaken to assess the knowledge and personal experience with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) among dentists in Udaipur, India. Material and methods: In a cross-sectional study, 241 dentists (113 males and 128 females) consisting 190 faculty dental practitioners of two colleges along with 51 local dental practitioners were surveyed using a self-administered, structured questionnaire pre-tested through a pilot survey. The frequency, percentage of distribution, and mean rank were calculated. KruskaleWallis and Wilcoxon signed-rank nonparametric tests were used to test for significance. Results: In this study, 75.9% of dentists had received information about basic CPR but only 56.0% had the correct concept of performing it, and only 12% had received practical training in basic CPR. One in ten dentists had seen patients suffering from cardiopulmonary arrest (CPA) in their practice, but none of them mentioned any fatality because of CPA. The level of knowledge was significantly higher among faculty dental practitioners (126.61) compared with local dental practitioners (100.10). In addition, a positive linear correlation was found between educational level and knowledge level (r Z 0.307, P Z 0.01). Conclusions: As only a few dentists (12%) had undergone training in CPR, there is a perceived need for training among dentists in its management.