J Vector Borne Dis 47, December 2010, pp. 249–256 Short Research Communications Predictors of knowledge of selected mosquito-borne diseases among adults of selected peri-urban areas of Puducherry A.V. Boratne, V. Jayanthi, S.S. Datta, Z. Singh, V. Senthilvel & Y.S. Joice Department of Community Medicine, Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences, Puducherry, India Key words Coastal area; India; knowledge, attitudes and practices; mosquito-borne diseases The mosquito borne diseases of public health impor- tance are complex and their occurrence depends on the interaction of various biological, ecological, so- cial and economic factors. Though several measures for their prevention and control are followed, yet the problem density is too high with 300–500 million cases and 1.1–2.7 million deaths due to malaria alone globally per year 1 . Puducherry (earstwhile Pondicherry) has 64 species of mosquitoes causing severe mosquito nuisance 2 . The burden of vector- borne diseases (malaria, dengue, chikungunya and filaria) is low while Japanese encephalitis and kala- azar have not been reported from Puducherry 3 . The mosquito-borne diseases result in avoidable ill-health and death which also has been emphasized in Na- tional Health Policy 4 and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 5 . National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) 6 under the aegis of National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) 7 is one of the most comprehensive and multifaceted public health activity in India including prevention and con- trol of mosquito-borne diseases. Inspite of mass communication and educational ap- proaches, community participation is far below ex- pectation. Community participation in turn depends on peoples’ awareness, knowledge and attitude to- wards the disease 8 . Several socioeconomic studies in different countries indicate variations in knowl- edge and practice-related to mosquito-borne dis- eases 9–11 . However, taking socially acceptable mea- sures by the local government, in collaboration with other relevant sectors and social mobilization for full involvement of the community is crucial. Thus, a need was felt to know the existing knowledge of the study population regarding mosquito-borne diseases usu- ally reported from Puducherry and its predictors which may be helpful in designing evidence-based effective prevention and control strategies as well as sustainable community participation. The present community-based cross-sectional study was undertaken during February 2010 in selected peri-urban areas (Solai Nagar and Samipillaithottam) in Puducherry which falls in the geographical juris- diction of field practice area of Department of Com- munity Medicine, Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences, Puducherry. Geographically it is located at 162 km south of Chennai, the capital of south In- dian state, Tamil Nadu and is surrounded by the Bay of Bengal on the east, and on the other sides by the Cuddalore and Villipuram districts of Tamil Nadu. Puducherry experiences hot and humid climate and the temperature normally varies between 26 and 38°C 12 . Average annual rainfall is 1254 mm and rela- tive humidity varies from 70 to 80% 13 . The study area has the population of 11,600 with the facilities like two schools, one Primary Health Centre, one Urban Health Centre run by our Institute and private practitioners providing medical care. The study popu- lation primarily consists of housewives, fishermen and daily wage workers.