Publications by authors named "Asit Kumar Biswas"
Background: High proportion of multibacillary (MB) among newly diagnosed leprosy cases poses a public health challenge.
Objectives: This study aimed to find out the factors associated with the high burden of MB leprosy in West Bengal.
Materials And Methods: This case-control study was conducted from August 2020 to December 2022 in three high-endemic districts (annual new case detection rate ≥10/lakh) of West Bengal.
Background: Japanese encephalitis (JE) is an emerging zoonotic disease caused by JE virus (JEV) and transmitted to humans from pigs or aquatic birds by vector mosquitoes in southeast Asian countries. In this study, JEV infection rate among vector mosquitoes and domestic pigs was determined by detecting viral RNA and anti-JEV antibody (immunoglobulin G), respectively.
Materials And Methods: A total of 146 pool mosquitoes of Culexvishnui subgroup and 278 pig blood samples were analyzed by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay methods, respectively.
Background & Objectives: Community participation is one of the key factors for implementation and success of a public health programme which depends upon knowledge about that disease. Therefore, understanding the community knowledge about malaria is important for designing sustainable control programmes. This study was conducted to assess the knowledge about malaria, to evaluate long lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) distribution and their use by LQAS method in endemic areas of Bankura district, West Bengal state, India Methods: It was a community based cross-sectional survey conducted in Bankura during December 2019-March 2020.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Elevated blood pressure or hypertension is responsible for around 10 million annual deaths globally, and people residing in low and middle-income countries are disproportionately affected by it. India is no exception, where low rate of treatment seeking for hypertension coupled with widespread out-of-pocket payments (OOPs) have been a challenge. This study assessed the pattern of health care seeking behaviour and financial protection along with the associated factors among hypertensive individuals in rural West Bengal, India.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEmergence and spread of resistance among vectors toward different insecticides is a serious problem for the Japanese encephalitis (JE) control program. Regularly monitoring the status of susceptibility of vector species to insecticides is important for formulating proper vector control measures. In this study, we studied the susceptibility status of major JE vectors from northern West Bengal, toward 4% DDT, 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Early diagnosis and effective treatment are the key areas in malaria control in India.
Objective: The present study was carried out to assess the knowledge and skill of health personnel at primary care level and the logistic support related to the program at subcenter (SC) level.
Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted among medical and paramedical personnel working at primary health-care institutions in two districts of West Bengal.
Background: India launched the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) on the principles of conditional cash transfer providing monetary incentive to needy women to improve access to institutional childbirth.
Objectives: This study was conducted among JSY-eligible women who delivered between April 2012 and June 2012 to assess the utilization of cash incentives toward institutional delivery, along with other associated factors influencing institutional delivery.
Methods: It was a cross-sectional, descriptive study conducted between July 2012 and May 2013 on 946 women selected through stratified random sampling of subcentres from better and worse performing districts of West Bengal.
Background & Objectives: Japanese encephalitis (JE) is one of the most important arboviral diseases of human beings with outbreaks in many parts of Southeast Asia including India. We present the entomological findings of an outbreak occurred in northern part of West Bengal during 2011-2012 with special emphasis on the role of JE vectors in different seasons.
Methods: Adult mosquito collections were made with the help of mouth aspirators, aided by flash lights during day time resting inside human and animal habitations as indoor, and resting outside field grasses, bushes, underneath of culverts and bridges as outdoor, and in and around the pig enclosures and cattle sheds during dusk period in JE affected villages from Cooch Behar, Dakshin Dinajpur, Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts in North West Bengal.
National iodine deficiency disorders control program needs to be continuously monitored. Hence, a cross-sectional study was conducted during the period from April-May 2011 to assess the prevalence of goiter, status of urinary iodine excretion (UIE) level and to estimate iodine content of salts at the household level in Darjeeling district, West Bengal. Study subjects were 2400 school children, aged 8-10 years selected through "30 cluster" sampling methodology.
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