An outbreak of acute diarrhoea occurred in the Belgundi area (population 3896) of Belgaum Taluka (population 815 581) in Karnataka, South India, in June 2010. An estimated 16.22 % of people were affected and 0.16 % deaths were reported. Vibrio cholerae O1 El Tor was isolated from 18 of the 147 stool samples cultured. Seven out of eight drinking water samples collected from different sources were found to be grossly contaminated with faecal coliforms. All isolates were multidrug resistant, with some showing resistance to quinolones, gentamicin and cephalosporins in addition to co-trimoxazole and tetracycline, the drugs that were being used by the state health authorities for empirical treatment. Two serotypes and at least eight genotypes of V. cholerae were observed among the isolates. Cholera was confirmed as one, if not the only, cause of the outbreak, which, to our belief, is the first report of cholera from this region. It might have occurred due to a 'flare up' in the number of endemic strains triggered by shortage of portable water, onset of monsoon rains and breakdown of sanitation systems, rather than being a de novo outbreak arising out of new exogenous infectious sources. A change in the empirical treatment, coupled with chlorination, improvement in sanitation measures and extensive Information Education Communication activities, resulted in decline of the outbreak and prevention of further deaths.
Mosquitoes enjoy wide geographical distribution and act as vectors for diverse pathogenic organisms from viruses to protozoans. Mosquito-borne diseases have a long history with some of them like Malaria dominating the scene for centuries. New diseases like Dengue fever, Zika viral disease etc. get added to the list from time to time. Vector control is an effective and widely accepted strategy in the management of mosquito-borne diseases. Mosquito repellents are an important product range extensively used for the management of mosquito-borne diseases. The research and development activities on mosquito repellents of plant origin have been reviewed in this article and classified into three categories like research reports, patents and commercial products, based on their outcomes. The relevance of plant-based mosquito repellents is discussed with reference to current societal and market trends. The review has revealed an increasing trend among researchers towards product development and entry of effective and innovative products into the market. The market analysis reports also confirm competitive advantage for herbal repellents in the coming years.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.