HighlightsPentavalent reassortant rotavirus vaccine was tested for efficacy in infants.The vaccine (BRV-PV) showed excellent tolerability and a good safety profile.Primary analysis efficacy was 36% against SRVGE and up to 60.5% against VSRVGE.The efficacy through 2 years of age was 39.5% (SRVGE) and 54.7% (VSRVGE).The intent to treat analyses confirmed all the per protocol analyses.

Introduction:An extensive search on PubMed reveals very little in terms of evidence regarding the current knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) of the population in general and rural population, in particular, in this part of the country. Therefore, a study was conducted with the aim to assess the communities’ knowledge of malaria transmission, recognition of signs and symptoms, treatment seeking.Materials and Methods:A stratified two-stage design was used to conduct a house-to-house survey using a semi-structured questionnaire in RS Pura block of Jammu District of Jammu and Kashmir State in North India.Results:A total of 300 households were included in the study. However, data on 4 households was found to be incomplete at the time of analysis and, therefore, were excluded. Out of 296 study participants interviewed 65.5% were males, while 34.5% females. All of the study participants (100%) had heard of malaria, and the main source of their information was television/newspaper. 92.5% of the study population considered malaria to be a serious health problem, thus reflecting their attitude to the disease. Regarding practices, 71.6% of the study participants preferred going to doctors at government hospitals for malaria treatment, and 56% were willing to seek medical help in <24 h in case of a child has a febrile episode.Conclusions:Results revealed that KAP among respondents were reasonably good and key sociocultural, and related indicators need to be identified as a part of malaria elimination strategy.

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Background: More and more children are being pushed on the street for various reasons. Children "on" and "of the street" continue to languish at the fringes of society. They will continue to do so unless we wake up to the harsh reality that the phenomenon of street children does not exist only in numbers; it is evident in myriad colors of deprivation and poor physical and psychological health. Programs and strategies to address their condition are not effectively implemented due to lack of information in Jammu region.Objective: To explore and understand the psychosocial, demographic, educational and health characteristics of street children in an urban area.Material and Methods: 80 street children were observed and interviewed in-depth employing an open-ended questionnaire supplemented with probes wherever necessary. The participants were chosen after mapping potential sites in urban Jammu using purposive and snowball sampling.Result: More than half (52.5%) of all children studied were females. The street children were aged between 7 and 18 years and majority of them (81.25%) were not attending school and were engaged in petty jobs. Almost all of them suffered from common morbidities such as respiratory problems, gastrointestinal problems, fever, injuries, and dental problems. Content analysis of the transcripts yielded five major themes: poverty, family disharmony, civil unrest, unplanned migration and discontinuation of schooling with number of major and minor categories. Conclusion:The study substantiates that multiple factors are responsible for them being on street. There was an apparent lack of organised health and social services for street children in Jammu. Near absence of non-governmental organizations was noticeable.

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Background: WHO is advocating a policy towards 100% voluntary non-remunerated blood donation by year 2020. The youth in general and medical students in particular constitute the core group for recruitment and retention of voluntary donor population in order to ensure safe and sustainable blood transfusion practices in India. The objective of the present study is to elucidate the knowledge, attitude and practices about voluntary blood donation among medical undergraduate students.Methods: A pretested, close ended questionnaire was administered to second and third year MBBS students of a tertiary care teaching hospital in Northwest India. Results were expressed in proportions and chi-square test was used as a test of significance (p<0.05).Results: More than 90% of the respondents knew the suitable age for blood donation and interval between two blood donations. Knowledge parameters like age for blood donation, minimum weight for blood donation and volume of blood collected for blood donation were found to be statistically significant (p<0.5) between boys and girls. More females than males had positive attitude for voluntary blood donation which was statistically significant (p<0.05). In the practice part, voluntary blood donation rate was 26.69%.Conclusions: Every opportunity should be availed to sensitise medical students about voluntary blood donation after their entry into medical colleges. It can greatly enhance the movement for voluntary non-remunerated blood donation and ensure safe and adequate quality of blood.

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