title: High prevalence of household pesticides and their unsafe use in rural South India.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To estimate the prevalence of usage, unsafe practices and risk perception regarding household pesticides in a rural community of Tamil Nadu, India.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a cross-sectional survey we used a pre-tested questionnaire and trained interviewers to collect information on household pesticide use for the past 6 months from any adult member of randomly selected households.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Out of 143 households, 95% used at least one household pesticide (95% CI: 93.5-99.5) and 94% used at least one household pesticide specifically for mosquito control. The most commonly used pesticides were mosquito coils (75%), mosquito liquid vaporizers (36%), ant-killing powder (24%) and moth/naphthalene balls (18%). The major non-chemical methods of pest control were rat traps (12%) and mosquito bed nets (7.5%). Out of the mosquito coil users, 61% kept the windows and doors closed while the coil was burning. Out of the moth ball users, 88% left them in the place of use till they fully vaporized. Nearly half of the users did not know that household pesticides were harmful to their health and the health of their children.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The use of household pesticides was highly prevalent in this rural community. The prevalence of unsafe practices while handling them was also high. We recommend that the users of household pesticides be educated about the health hazards and about safe practices and non-chemical methods of pest control be promoted.
authors.affiliation: ICMR School of Public Health, National Institute of Epidemiology, Ayapakkam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. chitragrace@yahoo.co.uk
authors.forename: Grace A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Chitra
authors.forename: Prabhdeep
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kaur
authors.forename: Tarun
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bhatnagar
authors.forename: Ponnaiah
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Manickam
authors.forename: Manoj V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Murhekar
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009032:Mosquito Control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D057147:Mosquito Nets / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009281:Naphthalenes; D010575:Pesticides; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014691:Ventilation; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D009281:Naphthalenes; D010575:Pesticides; C031721:naphthalene