Objective: To explore the characteristics of primigravid women seeking abortion services and find out the reasons for undergoing abortion. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study based on data collected in 5 years was carried out. All primigravid women who came to avail of the abortion services were included and their characteristics were recorded. Reasons for undergoing abortion in their first pregnancy were ascertained. The information was gathered by personal interview conducted by a trained person. Results: There were 11,141 MTP cases in the 5 years, with 740 (6.6%) women coming for abortion in their first pregnancy. There was a decrease in these cases during the years under study. Most of the women belonged to the 15-24 years age group. The majority of the women were from rural areas. Abortion services were less sought by women who were educated up to graduation or above. The majority of the women were unmarried. A little more than half of the women sought abortion services with 12 weeks of gestation or more. Parents referred these women for abortion services more than their partners. Sociocultural factor was the commonest reason for undergoing abortion among these women. Conclusion: Pregnancy in unwed girls was the main reason for seeking abortion services. They lack adequate knowledge of contraceptive methods. There is a need for encouraging adolescent health services including sex education.

Background: In highly competitive economies, the fast-paced development of new and improved products and services inevitably spurs the development of new technologies, of which one-fifth growth has been in the biotechnology sector. Advances in technologies provide opportunities to minimize the drudgery of work and to eliminate old hazards, but they may create new currently unrecognized risks to workers. Objectives: To assess the morbidity pattern among workers in the biotechnology industry and also to find out the health and safety measures provided to the workers. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a biotechnology industry in Bangalore, which covered 779 employees who underwent health examination and blood and urine investigations; of the 779 employees, 600 were permanent employees and 179 were contract employees. Results and Discussion: The common morbidity among the workers included refractory errors; allergic contact dermatitis; hypertension; abnormal pulmonary function tests (61, 10.2%), of which 23 (37.7%) were from the production department; high eosinophil count (110, 14.1%). Majority, i.e., 46 (41.8%) worked in the production department. The safety measures provided to the workers are adequate, but there is a need to insist on regular use of personal protective devices by newly employed and contract laborers.

Aim: To study the profile of infective hepatitis cases in the study village. Objective: 1. To study the time, place, and person distribution of hepatitis cases in the study village. 2. To find the source of infection in the study village. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Rethare Khurd village (15 km south of Karad, on bank of River Krishna), over a period of September 4, 2004 to December 5, 2004. Participants: All residents of Rethare Khurd village. Statistical Analysis: Proportions, attack rate, Chi-square test were performed. Results: Total 3749 individuals were surveyed and examined, of which 1920 (51.21%) were males and 1829 (48.78%) were females. Total 8 males and 17 females suffered from infective hepatitis. Blood samples collected from 10 patients for liver function test and serological investigation confirmed a hepatitis E outbreak. Maximum numbers of cases were in the age group of 15-30 years. The overall attack rate was 0.66%. The difference in attack rate of hepatitis of both the sexes was not statistically significant ( P >0.05).Only one ANC had infective hepatitis. Majority of the villagers (61.12%) defecated in the open near the intake well on the bank of River Krishna. Conclusion: This outbreak illustrates the role of the local Government in prevention and control of water borne epidemic and to strengthen the surveillance for water borne diseases in the rural area.

Objective: To evaluate the coverage of MCH services as against reported coverage and assess the extent of usage of health information system. Study Design : Community-based cross-sectional study. Setting: Twenty sub-centers of block Lakhanmajra, district Rohtak. Participants: Four hundred mothers having children between 1-2 years age. Statistical Analysis : Simple proportions percentages. Results: The study revealed marked variation in reported and evaluated coverage of various service indicators for MCH care. TT coverage and tubectomies performed were the only notable exceptions that where reported and evaluated coverage matched largely. Distressingly, only 10% of health workers used the eligible couple and child information register for prioritizing clients and preparing the sub-center action plans. The workers did not sufficiently use the information generated through registers, records, and reports maintained at sub-centers.