We in India do not use that word, but use the Sanskrit word Sathaayush which means "may you live a hundred years".

I use that expression all the time,

I've never heard it used here in the UK. We would just say 'Bless you'.

1) No, but some language use a translation of this. For instance: "In Albanian, one says Shëndet (shuhn-det), to which typical responses are Faleminderit, meaning "Thank you", or Shëndet paç, meaning literally "May you have health"." "In Arabic (Levantine Arabic), the response is صحة (Sahha), which likely evolved from the word صحة (Sihha), meaning "health", or نشوة (Nashweh) which means "ecstasy". The response is either thank you شكراً (Shukran) or تسلم (Tislam/Taslam) which means "may you be kept safe"." "In Azeri, sneezing is usually followed by the response SaÄŸlam ol, which means "be healthy". Sometimes, Afiat is used, similar to the Persian response." "In Bosnian, one says Nazdravlje, meaning "To your good health". The person who sneezed usually responds with Hvala, meaning "Thank you". In Bulgarian, one says Наздраве (Nazdrave), which means "[to your] health" or "cheers". The person who has sneezed can then say Благодаря (Blagodarya), which means "Thank you". In Catalonian Language, one says Moose which is similar to the Spanish Jesus or Salude meaning heath of the body. The person who has sneezed would then reply Gracias for thank you." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Responses_to_sneezing --------------- (ADDED) ----------------------- 2) "Gesundheit (German pronunciation: [ɡəˈzÊŠnt.haɪt] ( listen)) is the German and Yiddish word for health. When a person sneezes, German, Yiddish, and North American English speakers typically say Gesundheit! to wish them good health, serving much the same purpose as "bless you" in English, "salud" in Spanish, "saúde" or "santinho" in Portuguese, "À vos souhaits!" (or "À tes souhaits!" in informal situations) in French or "Çok yaÅŸa!" or "SaÄŸlıklı yaÅŸa!" in Turkish. The expression arrived in America with early German immigrants, such as the Pennsylvania Dutch, and doubtless passed into local English usage in areas with substantial German-speaking populations. The expression is first widely attested in American English as of 1910, about the time when large numbers of Yiddish-speaking Ashkenazi Jews immigrated to the United States. The Yiddish form is gezunterheyt געזונטערהייט. When used in an English context, the word is sometimes given the spelling pronunciation /ɡəˈzÊŠnd.haɪt/." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gesundheit

In Mexico, and elsewhere, they say "Salud" which means health.