A Comparative study of three types of measles vaccines was undertaken among 1005 children. Of these 527 were vaccinated with the Serum Institute of India (SII) vaccine, 230 with Schwarz (SC) and 248 were vaccinated with Edmonston-Zegreb (EZ) vaccine (imported from Zegreb). Though the majority of children reacted favourably with all the three vaccines (SII: 98.43%; SC: 93.40%; EZ: 93.0%) with a rise in titre, but the percentage of seroconversion was significantly higher with the SII vaccine (p < 0.01). The Schwarz and Edmonston Zagreb vaccines showed significantly less GM titre as compared with the other age group i.e. 9-12 months (p < 0.05). With Serum Institute of India (SII) vaccine the GM titres were almost similar in the different age groups. The overall GM titre obtained with the SII vaccine was significantly higher than the SC vaccine (p > 0.001) as well as the EZ vaccine (p > 0.001). It is of interest to note that among the infants, 22.5% children had measles antibody in them before vaccination.

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Presterilized (disposable) syringes and needles were subjected to sterility testing for aerobic cultures. It was found that 56.3% of the samples were contaminated indicating failure of the sterilisation process. The implications of this could be far reaching and is discussed alongwith.

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Sputum samples from 100 patients of pulmonary tuberculosis were processed. These patients were admitted in group of Tuberculosis Hospital at Sewri, Mumbai, which is a referral tuberculosis hospital. Isolates were identified as M. Tuberculosis by biochemical tests. Antitubercular sensitivity testing for Isoniazid, Rifampicin, Ethambutol and Streptomycin was performed by resistance ratio method. Total resistance was 36% in our study. Resistance to Isoniazid was 61%: to Rifampicin was 50%, to Ethambutol was 8% and to Streptomycin was 41%. Primary drug resistance to Isoniazid was 45% to Rifampicin was 27%, to Ethambutol was 9%, and to Streptomycin was 54%. Secondary drug resistance to Isoniazid was 68% to Rifampicin was 60%, to Ethambutol was 8% and to Streptomycin was 36%. Secondary drug resistance to Isoniazid and Rifampicin is rising as compared to primary drug resistance to Isoniazid and Rifampicin. This is statistically significant (p < 0.001). 11 out of 36 cases (30%) showed multi drug resistance to Isoniazid and Rifampicin.

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The present study has been conducted to assess social and behavioural factors predisposing individuals suffering from sexually transmitted diseases to seek treatment and the role of the health provider in them. Out results showed that the demographic, socio-economic and behavioural characteristics of patients seeking treatment at alternative places and those attending the referral hospital in the first instance were comparable. Inhibition, time and distance were important considerations for selecting a health facility. Private clinics were the most preferred (72.4%) source of treatment. In 60.3% of cases written prescriptions were not given and advice regarding treatment of sexual partner was not there in any of the cases. 98.3% of the patients lacked awareness about their disease and 91.4% patients about the treatment they were receiving.

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A retrospective analysis of hospital records of inpatients of Medicine department of North Bengal Medical College and Hospital during the period between 1988-90 revealed that 6.2% of all medical admissions were on account of peptic ulcer and or acute gastritis. Duodenal ulcer was prevalent accounting for more than 50% of the cases of peptic ulcer and acute gastritis. Duodenal ulcer was more common in the working age groups (> 21 years) among males and more than 31 yrs among females. Gastric ulcer was more common among older age groups. In respect to ethnicity, Bengali speaking hindus showed high probability for gastric ulcers in both sexes. The probability for duodenal ulcer was within confidence limits among all social groups.

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450 hospitalised cases of hepatic and non hepatic disorders and 100 normal individuals were examined for serum Hepatitis B Surface antigen and Delta Virus antigen by ELISA to find out its association with different clinical disorders. 105 patients (23.3%) and 2 control (2%) were positive for HBsAG. 60 cases with jaundice (26%) were HBsAg positive. 65% of HBsAg positive jaundiced patients had serum bilirubin level more than 2 mg per dl with a mean SGPT level of 488 iu/L. Only two cases were positive for HDV antigen among 60 HBsAg positive jaundice patients indicating a lower rate of prevalence of infection (3.3%). 62 (59%) out of 105 HBsAg positive cases did not show any history of blood transfusion or surgical interference indicating a positive HBV transmission through needle prick during investigative procedures.

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Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) was exposed to different adverse conditions for varying period of time to assess its survival under such circumstances. From the results it is extrapolated that EPEC survive for a very long time when shielded from sunlight and after several hours of exposure to UV irradiation.

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A 5 year sentinel surveillance (1989-93) of paralytic poliomyelitis and neonatal tetanus was undertaken at a rural Medical College Hospital at Burdwan, West Bengal. Poliomyelitis incidence showed an overall declining trend, which corroborated with the increased OPV coverage over the years. Incidence was more in males than females. Male:female ratio varied between 2.31:1 to 1.2:1. From 1989 to 1992, age-shift in poliomyelitis was observed when more cases were occurring above 1 year subjects. Cases were reported to be high during the months June to September every year. Incidence of neonatal tetanus (NNT) also showed a declining trend during the 5 year study period. A male preponderance was observed. NNT cases were more prevalent during the months between August and November. In an attempt for eradication of paralytic poliomyelitis and elimination of NNT, containment and other public health measures were undertaken a part of surveillance activities. The obstacles encountered in the surveillance system, as well as lacunae identified in undertaking appropriate health measures was discussed.

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