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An estimated 69% of the population of Bhutan is engaged in agriculture. Farmers are exposed to a wide variety of pesticides during the preparation, transport, storage, mixing and application of pesticides posing a significant health risk. A controlled cross-sectional study of farmers in selected sites of Bhutan was conducted to characterize the level of exposure to pesticides and assess their knowledge attitude and practice on the safe handling of pesticides. A total of 399 participants were enrolled in the study comprising of 295 exposed farmers and 104 healthy and unexposed controls. A structured investigator administered questionaries was used to assess their Knowledge, Attitude and practice, and their blood samples were taken for measuring Acetyl Cholinesterase enzyme activity level. There was a significant difference between the Acetyl Cholinesterase enzyme inhibition of exposed and non-exposed control groups observed in the study (P < 0.001). Of the total of 295 farmers, 62 (21.01%) had severe enzyme inhibition of >30% as compared to the unexposed group. Safety practices of handling pesticides were low. The most common symptoms self-reported were headache (OR 1.08, 0.60–1.93) and neurological problems like forgetfulness, lack of concentration (OR 1.12, 0.50–2.48) and increased tiredness (OR 1.075, 0.52–2.19) that were significantly associated with the enzyme inhibition. In addition, we record a very low level of knowledge (17.0%), a fair attitude (63.0%) and poor practice (35.0%) on the safe handling and management of pesticides. This pilot study provides indication of exposure to pesticides in the selected sites of the country. Furthermore, it provides evidence for public health interventions by identifying the exposure patterns and pathways of individuals most at risk in the farming communities of the country. Surveillance and bio-monitoring programs are deemed necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluates the prevalence and severity of perceived stress amongst 638 students ranging from grade nine to twelve in Phuntshothang School under Punakha district, Bhutan. The quantitative method was used with the perceived stress scale (PSS) as a research tool to understand the level of stress in students. A questionnaire with a 5-Point Likert scale was instituted to understand the symptoms of stress and the factors causing stress. The Cronbach's alpha was calculated to be 0.90 and 0.83 for symptoms and factors, respectively, which were greater than 0.7 and in conformity with the reliability test. Findings showed low to severe levels of stress amongst students, with minimum students experiencing low and severe stress, and a majority of them experiencing moderate stress. Symptoms like fatigue, difficulty falling asleep, boredom, depression, diarrhea, cramps, gastritis, constipation, restlessness, and itching were experienced less frequently, while the majority of the students experienced headache, tense muscles, sore neck and back, anxiety, worries, phobias, irritability, anger and eating disorder more frequently. Among the five factors, physical factors, family factors, academic factors, relationship factors, and social factors, the study found social factors to be the greatest cause of stress, followed by academic factors. Family factors and relationship factors contributed least to stress after physical factors. The Significant gender difference was observed, with more male students suffering from stress than female students. The school management, counselors, and teachers are recommended to organize stress management programs and design recreational activities to engage students and keep them stress-free. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Influenza burden estimates help provide evidence to support influenza prevention and control programs. In this study, we estimated influenza‐associated respiratory hospitalization rates in Bhutan, a country considering influenza vaccine introduction. Methods: Using real‐time reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction laboratory results from severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) surveillance, we estimated the proportion of respiratory hospitalizations attributable to influenza each month among patients aged <5, 5‐49, and ≥50 years in six Bhutanese districts for 2015 and 2016. We divided the sum of the monthly influenza‐attributed hospitalizations by the total of the six district populations to generate age‐specific rates for each year. Results: In 2015, 10% of SARI patients tested positive for influenza (64/659) and 18% tested positive (129/736) in 2016. The incidence of influenza‐associated hospitalizations among all age groups was 50/100 000 persons (95% confidence interval [CI]: 45‐55) in 2015 and 118/100 000 persons (95% CI: 110‐127) in 2016. The highest rates were among children <5 years: 182/100 000 (95% CI: 153‐210) in 2015 and 532/100 000 (95% CI: 473‐591) in 2016. The second highest influenza‐associated hospitalization rates were among adults ≥50 years: 110/100 000 (95% CI: 91‐130) in 2015 and 193/100 000 (95% CI: 165‐221) in 2016. Conclusions: Influenza viruses were associated with a substantial burden of severe illness requiring hospitalization especially among children and older adults. These findings can be used to understand the potential impact of seasonal influenza vaccination in these age groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the existing source materials of treasure tradition, visionary masters and account of life and death of Terton Drukdra Dorji.