Efficiency in Delivering Obstetric Care-A Comparison of Public and Private Hospitals in Ernakulam District

Department of Applied Economics, Cochin University of Science and Technology

Potential public health significance of faecal contamination and multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli and Salmonella serotypes in a lake in India

To assess the prevalence of faecal coliform bacteria and multiple drug resistance among Escherichia coli and Salmonella serotypes from Vembanadu Lake. Study design: Systematic microbiological testing. Methods: Monthly collection of water samples were made from ten stations on the southern and northern parts of a salt water regulator constructed in Vembanadu Lake in order to prevent incursion of seawater during certain periods of the year. Density of faecal colifrom bacteria was estimated. E. coli and Salmonella were isolated and their different serotypes were identified. Antibiotic resistance analysis of E. coli and Salmonella serotypes was done and the MAR index of individual isolates was calculated. Results: Density of faecal coliform bacteria ranged from mean MPN value 2900 -7100/100ml. Results showed multiple drug resistance pattern among the bacterial isolates. E. coli showed more than 50% resistance to amickacin, oxytetracycline, streptomycin, tetracycline and kanamycin while Salmonella showed high resistance to oxytetracycline, streptomycin, tetracycline and ampicillin. The MAR indexing of the isolates showed that they have originated from high risk source such as humans, poultry and dairy cows. Conclusions: The high density of faecal coliform bacteria and prevalence of multi drug resistant E. coli and Salmonella serotypes in the lake may pose severe public health risk through related water borne and food borne outbreaks

Occurrence of filamentous algae and soil characteristics in the paddy fields of Kuttanad and Kole lands of Kerala

The present work is the study of filamentous algae in the paddy fields of Kuttanad and Kole lands of Kerala. This investigation was initiated by sampling of filamentous algae in Kuttanad during December 2010 to February 2011. A second phase of sampling was done from November 2011 to February 2012. The sampling periodicity corresponded to the crop growth starting from field preparation through sowing, and continued till the harvest. Sampling locations were selected from the active paddy cultivation regions of the six agronomic zones of Kuttanad. The numbers of sampling locations were proportional to the area of each zone. Algae of the Kole lands were collected during from October 2011 to January 2012. It was observed that blue-green algae dominated in both Kuttanad and Kole lands. Thirty two species of blue-green algae and eight species of green algae were identified from Kuttanad. The highest number of algal species was observed from Kayal lands in Kuttanad throughout the cropping season. Among the thirty two species of blue-green algae twenty five species are nonheterocystous and seven species are heterocystous. Twenty eight species of blue-green and six species of green algae were identified from Kole lands, and highest number of species was observed in Palakkal throughout the cropping season. Among the twenty eight species of blue-green algae collected from Kole lands twenty one species are non-heterocystous, and only seven species are heterocystous filamentous algae. Blooms of Spirogyra were observed during the second phase of sampling in Kuttanad and also in the Kole lands. The results of the germination study revealed that the extract of Spirogyra sp. inhibited seed germination and reduced seedling vigour. The growth of the treated seedlings was evaluated by pot experiments. The results clearly showed that Spirogyra sp. can negatively affect the seed germination, seedling vigour, and the yield of rice.