High national and sub-national coverage of iodised salt in India: evidence from the first National Iodine and Salt Intake Survey (NISI) 2014-2015.

Objective: The National Iodine and Salt Intake Survey (NISI) 2014-2015 was undertaken to estimate household iodised salt coverage at national and sub-national levels in India.

Design: Cross-sectional survey with multistage stratified random sampling.

Setting: India was divided into six geographic zones (South, West, Central, North, East and North-East) and each zone was further stratified into rural and urban areas to yield twelve distinct survey strata.

Prevalence of paratuberculosis in organized and unorganized dairy cattle herds in West Bengal, India.

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence pattern of subsp. , the causative agent of paratuberculosis or Johne's disease, in unorganized as well as organized cattle herds in West Bengal.

Materials And Methods: Four organized cattle farms with identical management practice in Nadia (n=3) and South 24 Parganas (n=1) districts and three unorganized cattle herds, one each from three districts, namely, Burdwan, North 24 Parganas, and Purba Midnapur, were selected randomly and screened for paratuberculosis by delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

A reliable and accurate portable device for rapid quantitative estimation of iodine content in different types of edible salt.

Background: Continuous monitoring of salt iodization to ensure the success of the Universal Salt Iodization (USI) program can be significantly strengthened by the use of a simple, safe, and rapid method of salt iodine estimation. This study assessed the validity of a new portable device, iCheck Iodine developed by the BioAnalyt GmbH to estimate the iodine content in salt.

Materials And Methods: Validation of the device was conducted in the laboratory of the South Asia regional office of the International Council for Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders (ICCIDD).

The National Coalition for Sustained Optimal Iodine intake (NSOI): a case study of a successful experience from India.

Iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) constitute the single most important preventable cause of mental handicap at global level. Recognizing the importance of coordination and synergy of the activities of wide range of universal salt iodisation (USI) stakeholders, WHO/ Unicef/ ICCIDD has prescribed a national multi-sectoral coalition as one of the ten indicators essential for attaining sustainable elimination of IDD at national level. Challenge for coordination among different stakeholders of IDD/USI is even greater in democratic and diverse country like India.

Towards universal salt iodisation in India: achievements, challenges and future actions.

India is one of the first countries to introduce salt iodisation, but the national programme has experienced major setbacks. The purpose of this paper is to review the national efforts towards universal salt iodisation (USI) in India and highlight key challenges in programme implementation. A brief historical overview of the salt iodisation programme is provided and the current status of the household usage of iodised salt and population iodine status is described.