Water quality, sanitation, and hygiene among the tribal community residing in Jawadhi hills, Tamilnadu: An observational study from Southern India.

Objectives: To assess the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) practice among the tribal population of Tamil Nadu, India and to determine the physiochemical and bacteriological quality of drinking water at the principal source and at the households along with the household-level determinants of WASH practices.

Methods: A door-to-door survey was conducted in 150 households, distributed across six villages of hills, a tribal area in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Water samples were collected from the principal sources and a subset of households for assessing water quality.

Mosquito repellent activity of volatile oils from selected aromatic plants.

Essential oils from fresh leaves of four aromatic plants viz., Ocimum sanctum, Mentha piperita, Eucalyptus globulus and Plectranthus amboinicus were extracted by hydrodistillation. The test solutions were prepared as 20% essential oil in ethanol and positive control as 20% DEET in ethanol.