Background: The World Health Organization biomedical waste guidelines of 2004 emphasizes the importance of the “human factor” over technology and equipment. Housekeeping staff members are directly involved in the collection, transport, and disposal of biomedical waste and are at high risk of acquiring infections. At the same time, they are usually unskilled, uneducated, and have little to no knowledge about the segregation and disposal of biomedical waste, which further compounds their health risk. Objective: To assess the awareness and practices regarding biomedical waste management in housekeeping staff of a tertiary care hospital. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 100 housekeeping staff members of a tertiary teaching hospital in Pune, Maharashtra, from February to April 2022. A semi-structured, pretested questionnaire was used for data collection. Knowledge of the study participants was scored on a scale of 0–10 and the median score of all the study participants was taken as a cutoff for determining good and poor knowledge. The data were entered into MS Excel 2010 and analyzed using IBM SPSS software 16-trial version. The Chi-square test was used as a test of significance. Results: In the present study, 73% of study participants had good knowledge regarding biomedical waste management. All the participants (100%) were following appropriate practices regarding biomedical waste management. Age and experience were found to be significantly associated with knowledge regarding biomedical waste management (P < 0.05). Conclusion: There is a gap in the knowledge regarding biomedical waste management among the study subjects which needs to be addressed through repeated and diligent training exercises.

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Background: Diwali is a major festival in India and is celebrated with great enthusiasm and fervor. Due to bursting of firecrackers on large scale during Diwali releases harmful gases and toxic substances into the atmosphere leading to air pollution. It causes health problems for children, patients, and senior citizens. Objectives: The objective of this study was (1) To assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of school-going students regarding the use of firecrackers. (2) To determine the prevalence of symptoms related to bursting of firecrackers among students and their families. (3) To find out the association between students' knowledge about health effects of firecrackers and their parents' education. Materials and Methods: An observational, cross-sectional study was done by using self-administered, validated, and pretested pro forma. The study was conducted in all schools located within 250 m² of distance from the urban health training center of a private medical college. There were three schools falling under these criteria. All 8^th standard students (215) of these three schools were included in the study. Results: Out of the total, 77% were boys. Many, i.e. 63% of students burst firecrackers during Diwali. The majority of students, i.e. 67% have knowledge about health effects of firecrackers. The majority, i.e. 80% of students promote eco-friendly Diwali celebration. The use of firecrackers was highly significant among boys (<0.001) and whose parent's education was below graduate level (<0.001). Symptoms of cough (30%), shortness of breath (22%), and eye injuries (3%) were reported due to bursting crackers. Conclusions: Overall knowledge about health effects of crackers was higher among students whose father's education was graduate and above. Thus, students have a positive attitude toward eco-friendly Diwali celebration.

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The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has changed the dynamics of health care once for all, and we have to continue to mount an unprecedented response to eventually defeat the novel virus pandemic. A wide range of neurological manifestations have been reported among pediatric and adult patients with COVID-19 infection both during and after the patient has recovered from the illness. In terms of preexisting neurological conditions, people with these illnesses are not only vulnerable to acquire the novel viral infection, but at the same time are prone to experience an exacerbation of their preexisting illnesses, and also have poor treatment outcomes, including death. To conclude, a wide range of acute and postacute neurological manifestations have been attributed to the COVID-19 infection worldwide. This calls for the need to create awareness among health-care professionals about neurological symptoms and complications in the post-COVID period.

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Marburg virus disease is a severe viral disease that is often associated with high mortality. The outbreak of the fatal hemorrhagic disease has been reported for the first time in Ghana in 2022, wherein two cases of the disease were reported in hospitals. The World Health Organization has strengthened its ongoing activities by alerting the neighboring nations, deployment of experts in the nation, and increasing the availability of personal protective equipment. The success of sustainable control of the infection lies in the engagement of the community and this essentially requires measures to create awareness about the infection. It is of paramount importance to safeguard the well-being of healthcare professionals and thus each and every one of them should be sensitized and trained about the safety measures. To conclude, Marburg virus disease results in hemorrhagic manifestations, which makes the infected persons highly prone to adverse clinical outcomes. The first outbreak of the infection reported in Ghana is a reminder for international health agencies and public health authorities that we cannot let our guard down and there is an indispensable need to strengthen infection prevention and control measures.

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