Household biocide use and personal safety practices among rural population in South India: A community-based study

摘要

Background: Household pesticides (biocides) are widely used for the purpose of controlling vector-borne diseases. Exposure tobiocides causes various health hazards in human beings. Prevalence of biocide use, storage methods, and personal protectionmeasures while handling biocides are not known among rural households in South India. Material and Methods: A communitybasedcross-sectional study was conducted among 416 households in rural Puducherry (union territory). Information on householdbiocide use, frequency of use, storage and personal safety practices were captured using pretested questionnaire. Continuousvariables like age are summarized by mean and standard deviation. Categorical variables like gender, education, a type of a house,biocide usage and related handling practices are summarized as proportions. Results: Majority (85%) of the households reportedpresence of at least 1 biocide. Mosquito liquidizer was the most commonly used biocide (45%) followed by mosquito coil (31%), antpowder (30%) and ant chalk (20%). Protection measures against the majority of used biocides were used only in few householdsand no personal protection measures were used while handling mosquito coil, mat, ant chalk and rat powder. Conclusions: Theprevalence of household biocide use is high in the study setting. Storage, handling and post handling practices were not sufficientto protect health. Med Pr 2016;67(5):599–604