Background: Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC) is commonly associated with tobacco and alcohol consumption. The aim of this study is to find the association between the risk factors with HNSCC in a small tribal population of Mizoram, North-East India. Methods: Data were obtained through consented questionnaires and Logistic Regression was used to calculate the Odds Ratio (OR) between the parameters and HNSCC. Result: Significant association was observed for smoking and alcohol with an OR of 6.703 and 4.527, respectively. The OR was found to increase with increase in smoking and alcohol consumption. Majority of the patients consumed local made alcohol and smoked the local made cigarettes known as Zozial. Moreover, the First-Degree Family History of Cancer showed a significant OR of 1.921 (95% CI: 1.040-3.547). Conclusion: Regardless of the duration of smoking or alcohol consumption, Family History of Cancer might influence the risk of HNSCC. Further screening is essential to evaluate the potential role of germline mutational effect on development of HNSCC in the population.

BackgroundThe present study attempts to identify and determine the pattern of drug susceptibility of the microorganisms present in mobile phones of health care workers (HCWs) and non-HCWs in a hospital environment. Mobile phones of 100 participants including both genders were randomly swabbed from nine different wards/units and the bacterial cultures were characterized using VITEK 2 system.ResultsForty-seven mobile phones were culture positive and a total of 57 isolates were obtained which consisted of 28 Gram-positive organisms and 29 Gram-negative organisms. The predominating organisms were Acinetobacter baumannii and Staphylococcus hominis. Among all the isolates from the mobile phones of HCW and non-HCWs, five isolates had ESBL and three isolates had colistin resistance. Incidentally, MRSA was not found on the mobile phones tested. The isolated organisms showed 100% susceptibility to linezolid, daptomycin, vancomycin, imipenem, meropenem, gentamicin, amikacin, ciprofloxacin and tigecycline, while high resistance was shown against benzylpenicillin (75.0%), cefuroxime and cefuroxime axetil (56.5%). Non-HCWs’ mobile phones were more contaminated as compared to HCWs (P = 0.001) and irrespective of individuals’ gender or toilet habits, both Gram-positive and Gram-negative organisms were present on the mobile phones.ConclusionThis study reports for the first time that the mobile phones of non-health care workers harbour more bacterial diversity and are more prone to cause transmission of pathogens. This study can serve to educate the public on personal hand hygiene practices and on maintaining clean mobile phones through antiseptic measures.

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