Background: Out of all Hospital-Associated Infections (HAIs),Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) is the... more Background: Out of all Hospital-Associated Infections (HAIs),Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) is the second most common infection that accounts for approximately 34%, and 80% are associated with indwelling catheters and hence with biofilm formation, which invites multi-drug resistant microorganisms. The present study was designed to study in-vitro biofilm forming uropathogens and their antimicrobial susceptibility in a tertiary care hospital in north India. Method:The present cross-sectional study consisted of 200 urine specimens collected over one year from patients with symptoms of urinary tract infection. Following their isolation and identification, all the isolates were subjected to screening for biofilm formation by Congo Red Agar (CRA) and the Tube Adherence (TA) methods. Subsequently, the Kirby Bauer-disk diffusion method performed the antimicrobial susceptibility test. Results: Out of the total samples (n = 200), a total of 46 (23%) were positive by the CRA method, while 33 (1...
Additional file 1: All the reference sequences (NCBI GenBank RefSeq) that were available for beta... more Additional file 1: All the reference sequences (NCBI GenBank RefSeq) that were available for betacoronaviruses and BLAST results of all LAMP primer binding sites.
Intestinal parasitic infections are among the most common infections world-wide.(Kang G et al 199... more Intestinal parasitic infections are among the most common infections world-wide.(Kang G et al 1998) Intestinal parasitic infection varies considerably from place to place in relation to the disease.(Luka SA et al 2000) According to the World Health Organization estimate; globally two billion individuals are infected with intestinal parasites(WHO 2002) and there are 800-1000 million cases of Ascariasis, 700-900 million of Hook Worm infection, 500 millions of Trichuriasis, 200 million of Giardiasis and 500 million of Entamoeba histolytica.(Roma B et al 1997)
Burn injury which itself is a life-threatening event is associated with high mortality and morbid... more Burn injury which itself is a life-threatening event is associated with high mortality and morbidity due to associated burn wound infection (BWI). Thermal destruction of the skin barrier and concomitant depression of local and systemic host cellular and humoral immune responses are pivotal factors contributing to infectious complications in patients with severe burns. In burns involving more than 40% of the total body surface area (TBSA) almost 75% of all deaths are either due to sepsis from burn wound infection or infection related complications and/or inhalation injury. The survival rates for burn patients have however improved substantially in the past few decades due to advances in modern medical care in specialized burn centers. Improved outcomes for severely burned patients have been attributed to medical advances in fluid resuscitation, nutritional support, pulmonary care, burn wound care, and infection control practices. The present study was undertaken to provide an insight...
Cross Current International Journal of Medical and Biosciences, 2021
Cervical cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality among women in India, and India ha... more Cervical cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality among women in India, and India has the largest burden of cervical cancer patients in the world. One out of every five women suffering from this disease belongs to India. The objective of this study was to assess knowledge and awareness of cervical cancer risk factors among college going female students of Jammu University and to study about their behavior regarding prevention and screening of cervical carcinoma. A descriptive selfadministered, e-questionnaire was employed for data collection. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics. Two hundred and fifty two female students (n = 252) between the age group 17 and 25 years participated with a response rate of 100%. Majority of students (81.7%) were aware of the term cervical cancer. However, only 68 (26.9%) thought that they could suffer from it as they had the perception that it affects married women or elderly only. Assessment of knowledge regarding the risk factors of cervical cancer revealed that only 99 (39.2%) knew that it is transmitted through sexual contact. With regard to attitude of the students towards cervical cancer, around 157 (62.3%) knew that regular screening leads to early diagnosis of the cancer. This study highlights unawareness of various aspects of cervical cancer among educated young women in Jammu city and the critical need for sustained continuing educational interventions to emphasize the importance and awareness of cervical cancer.
Background Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of C... more Background Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of COVID-19 pandemic, has infected more than 179 million people worldwide. Testing of infected individuals is crucial for identification and isolation, thereby preventing further spread of the disease. Presently, Taqman™ Reverse Transcription Real Time PCR is considered gold standard, and is the most common technique used for molecular testing of COVID-19, though it requires sophisticated equipments, expertise and is also relatively expensive. Objective Development and optimization of an alternate molecular testing method for the diagnosis of COVID-19, through a two step Reverse Transcription Loop-mediated isothermal AMPlification (RT-LAMP). Results Primers for LAMP were carefully designed for discrimination from other closely related human pathogenic coronaviruses. Care was also taken that primer binding sites are present in conserved regions of SARS-CoV2. Our analysis shows that the primer...
Indian Journal of Community Medicine : Official Publication of Indian Association of Preventive & Social Medicine, 2021
Introduction: Definitive diagnosis of Enteric fever is by blood culture for Salmonella enterica s... more Introduction: Definitive diagnosis of Enteric fever is by blood culture for Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi, Paratyphi A, and Paratyphi B which takes long turnaround time and is costly, whereas Widal test is simple, rapid, and cost-effective test whose interpretation depends on the baseline Widal titers among healthy individuals in a defined population. Objectives: To determine the baseline Widal titers among apparently healthy urban population of district Jammu (J&K). Materials and Methods: 302 individuals in the age group of 18–50 years were recruited. A pretested questionnaire was used to collect demographic and clinical details. The Widal testing was done using commercial Salmonella antigen kit. Results: A total of 302 samples were screened by Widal test. 138 samples (45.69%) were reactive for TO antigen and 64 (21.19%) tested reactive for TH antigen, 3 (0.01%) samples showed agglutination for AH antigen and 3 (0.01%) were positive for BH antigen. Majority of seropositive sam...
Trichuris trichiura, commonly referred to as a whipworm, has a worldwide distribution, particular... more Trichuris trichiura, commonly referred to as a whipworm, has a worldwide distribution, particularly among countries with warm and humid climates. This parasite is carried by nearly one quarter of the world population especially less-developed countries. Poor hygiene is associated with trichuriasis transmission, and children are especially vulnerable because of their high exposure to risk factors. This is especially true in developing countries, where poor sanitary conditions correlate with heavy disease burden and infections. Only patients with heavy parasite burden become symptomatic. The diagnosis is typically confirmed by detection of T. trichiura eggs on examination of a stool sample. This case report deals with a patient with trichuriasis who were diagnosed by detection of the parasite on colonoscopy. Thus colonoscopy might be a useful diagnostic tool, especially in symptomatic patients who are infected by only a few male worms with no eggs in the stool and thus are not diagnosed by conventional methods.
Human listeriosis, a dreaded gastrointestinal disease of the West has surfaced in the last two de... more Human listeriosis, a dreaded gastrointestinal disease of the West has surfaced in the last two decades in India, and there have been a series of reports on sporadic cases. The causative organism, Listeria monocytogenes is an intracellular Gram-positive bacillus ubiquitous in soil and vegetation. It is responsible for cases and outbreaks of febrile gastrointestinal disease in otherwise healthy people and invasive listeriosis, which usually affects pregnant women, newborns & the elderly. Immunocompromised individuals and pregnant women have been identified as major risk factors for listeriosis. It is about 20 times more common in pregnant women than in the general population. It causes mild illness in mothers, but can be devastating to the fetus, in some cases leading to severe disease or fetal death. It may cause abortion, premature labour, fetal death or neonatal morbidity in the form of septicemia and meningitis. This review is an attempt to sensitize clinicians especially obstetricians to include listeriosis as a differential diagnosis in patients with high suspicion and institute early antimicrobial therapy. Also there is need to press upon proper counseling of pregnant women for preventive measures against this deadly infection.
Tuberculosis of the pancreas is a clinical rarity and mimics pancreatic carcinoma both clinically... more Tuberculosis of the pancreas is a clinical rarity and mimics pancreatic carcinoma both clinically and r a d i o l o g i c a l l y. A 3 2-y e a r-old Somali male patient presented with history of vague abdominal pain, weight loss, anorexia and jaundice. Radiological imaging showed gall stones, dilated common bile duct (CBD) and a hetrogenous pancreatic mass. Endoscopic retrograde cholangio pancreatography (ERCP) showed marked narrowing of the CBD with an impression of external compression. Cholecystectomy and Choledochoduodenostomy (CDD) were performed after frozen section histopathology revealed the mass to be tuberculosis. P reoperative diagnosis of pancreatic tuber c u l o s i s re q u i res a high index of suspicion and usually its diagnosis is established after surgical tre a t m e n t. T h e response to antituberculosis treatment is very effective.
International Journal of Applied and Basic Medical Research, 2015
We believe that there is significant educational deficit amongst interns regarding up-to-date for... more We believe that there is significant educational deficit amongst interns regarding up-to-date formal knowledge and skills on healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) which might compromise patient safety. This urgently requires curriculum innovations to ensure their formal training on HAIs prevention and control. Education of interns to improve their knowledge and skills toward HAIs prevention and control. This pilot study was conducted in interns using a multimodal approach consisting of a combination of videos, PowerPoint presentation, and hands-on demonstration to provide applied and practical teaching on prevention and control of HAIs. Pre- and post-test assessment of knowledge, attitude, and skills was carried out by multiple choice questions, 5-point Likert scale, and Objective Structured Practical Examination respectively. Paired t-test. A statistically significant improvement in the overall score rates between pre- and post-test of intern's was seen, suggesting that educational programs have a positive effect. Intern's felt benefitted from interventions focused on HAIs prevention and control and hoped that such sessions are integrated in the regular undergraduate curriculum. A majority of the students felt that their learning style assessment matched well with their own perception of learning preference. Assessment drives learning; hence strengthening the contribution of health-care workers to HAIs prevention programs should include measures that enhance knowledge, improve skills and develop appropriate attitudes, resulting in safety and quality of patient care.
The international journal of tuberculosis and lung disease : the official journal of the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, 2009
Interferon-gamma assays (IGRAs) are alternatives to the tuberculin skin test (TST), but IGRA conv... more Interferon-gamma assays (IGRAs) are alternatives to the tuberculin skin test (TST), but IGRA conversions and reversions are not well understood. In a pilot study, we determined conversions and reversions using QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube((R)) (QFT) among household contacts of TB cases, and evaluated the effect of using various definitions and criteria for conversions. In a cohort of 250 contacts in India, 46% were TST-positive at baseline and 54% were QFT-positive. We re-tested this cohort after 12 months. Conversion rates were estimated using several definitions. Of the 250 contacts, 205 (82%) underwent repeat testing. Among 85 contacts with baseline TST-negative/QFT-negative results, TST conversion rates ranged between 7.5% and 13.8%, and QFT conversion rates ranged between 11.8% and 21.2%, depending on the definitions used. Among 109 contacts who were QFT-positive at baseline, seven (6.4%) had QFT reversions. QFT reversions were most likely when the baseline TST was negative and ...
N ESTIMATED ONE THIRD OF the world's population is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, 1 pr... more N ESTIMATED ONE THIRD OF the world's population is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, 1 presenting a major impediment to tuberculosis control. Despite the importance of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI), the tuberculin skin test (TST) was, until recently, the only test available for its diagnosis. 2-5 The TST measures hypersensitivity response to purified protein derivative (PPD), a crude mixture of antigens, many of which are shared among M tuberculosis, Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG), and several nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM). The TST has limitations with respect to accuracy and reliability. 2-6 Advances in genomics and immunology have led to a promising alternative,
BACKGROUND: We report on the higher prevalence of deaf-mutes from a village in Jammu and Kashmir ... more BACKGROUND: We report on the higher prevalence of deaf-mutes from a village in Jammu and Kashmir State of India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study among 79 deaf mutes using pedigree analysis, audiometry, imaging and molecular analysis. RESULTS: A high rate of hereditary deafness with 79 individuals diagnosed to be suffering from non-syndrome deafness in a total population of 2452 individuals residing in the village. INTERPRETATION: Flourishing of intermarriages led to a population with high prevalence of deafness.
Human listeriosis, a dreaded gastrointestinal disease of the West has surfaced in the last two de... more Human listeriosis, a dreaded gastrointestinal disease of the West has surfaced in the last two decades in India, and there have been a series of reports on sporadic cases. The causative organism, Listeria monocytogenes is an intracellular Gram-positive bacillus ubiquitous in soil and vegetation. It is responsible for cases and outbreaks of febrile gastrointestinal disease in otherwise healthy people and invasive listeriosis, which usually affects pregnant women, newborns & the elderly. Immunocompromised individuals and pregnant women have been identified as major risk factors for listeriosis. It is about 20 times more common in pregnant women than in the general population. It causes mild illness in mothers, but can be devastating to the fetus, in some cases leading to severe disease or fetal death. It may cause abortion, premature labour, fetal death or neonatal morbidity in the form of septicemia and meningitis. This review is an attempt to sensitize clinicians especially obstetricians to include listeriosis as a differential diagnosis in patients with high suspicion and institute early antimicrobial therapy. Also there is need to press upon proper counseling of pregnant women for preventive measures against this deadly infection.
Human listeriosis, a dreaded gastrointestinal disease of the West has surfaced in the last two de... more Human listeriosis, a dreaded gastrointestinal disease of the West has surfaced in the last two decades in India, and there have been a series of reports on sporadic cases. The causative organism, Listeria monocytogenes is an intracellular Gram-positive bacillus ubiquitous in soil and vegetation. It is responsible for cases and outbreaks of febrile gastrointestinal disease in otherwise healthy people and invasive listeriosis, which usually affects pregnant women, newborns & the elderly. Immunocompromised individuals and pregnant women have been identified as major risk factors for listeriosis. It is about 20 times more common in pregnant women than in the general population. It causes mild illness in mothers, but can be devastating to the fetus, in some cases leading to severe disease or fetal death. It may cause abortion, premature labour, fetal death or neonatal morbidity in the form of septicemia and meningitis. This review is an attempt to sensitize clinicians especially obstetricians to include listeriosis as a differential diagnosis in patients with high suspicion and institute early antimicrobial therapy. Also there is need to press upon proper counseling of pregnant women for preventive measures against this deadly infection.
Background: Out of all Hospital-Associated Infections (HAIs),Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) is the... more Background: Out of all Hospital-Associated Infections (HAIs),Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) is the second most common infection that accounts for approximately 34%, and 80% are associated with indwelling catheters and hence with biofilm formation, which invites multi-drug resistant microorganisms. The present study was designed to study in-vitro biofilm forming uropathogens and their antimicrobial susceptibility in a tertiary care hospital in north India. Method:The present cross-sectional study consisted of 200 urine specimens collected over one year from patients with symptoms of urinary tract infection. Following their isolation and identification, all the isolates were subjected to screening for biofilm formation by Congo Red Agar (CRA) and the Tube Adherence (TA) methods. Subsequently, the Kirby Bauer-disk diffusion method performed the antimicrobial susceptibility test. Results: Out of the total samples (n = 200), a total of 46 (23%) were positive by the CRA method, while 33 (1...
Additional file 1: All the reference sequences (NCBI GenBank RefSeq) that were available for beta... more Additional file 1: All the reference sequences (NCBI GenBank RefSeq) that were available for betacoronaviruses and BLAST results of all LAMP primer binding sites.
Intestinal parasitic infections are among the most common infections world-wide.(Kang G et al 199... more Intestinal parasitic infections are among the most common infections world-wide.(Kang G et al 1998) Intestinal parasitic infection varies considerably from place to place in relation to the disease.(Luka SA et al 2000) According to the World Health Organization estimate; globally two billion individuals are infected with intestinal parasites(WHO 2002) and there are 800-1000 million cases of Ascariasis, 700-900 million of Hook Worm infection, 500 millions of Trichuriasis, 200 million of Giardiasis and 500 million of Entamoeba histolytica.(Roma B et al 1997)
Burn injury which itself is a life-threatening event is associated with high mortality and morbid... more Burn injury which itself is a life-threatening event is associated with high mortality and morbidity due to associated burn wound infection (BWI). Thermal destruction of the skin barrier and concomitant depression of local and systemic host cellular and humoral immune responses are pivotal factors contributing to infectious complications in patients with severe burns. In burns involving more than 40% of the total body surface area (TBSA) almost 75% of all deaths are either due to sepsis from burn wound infection or infection related complications and/or inhalation injury. The survival rates for burn patients have however improved substantially in the past few decades due to advances in modern medical care in specialized burn centers. Improved outcomes for severely burned patients have been attributed to medical advances in fluid resuscitation, nutritional support, pulmonary care, burn wound care, and infection control practices. The present study was undertaken to provide an insight...
Cross Current International Journal of Medical and Biosciences, 2021
Cervical cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality among women in India, and India ha... more Cervical cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality among women in India, and India has the largest burden of cervical cancer patients in the world. One out of every five women suffering from this disease belongs to India. The objective of this study was to assess knowledge and awareness of cervical cancer risk factors among college going female students of Jammu University and to study about their behavior regarding prevention and screening of cervical carcinoma. A descriptive selfadministered, e-questionnaire was employed for data collection. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics. Two hundred and fifty two female students (n = 252) between the age group 17 and 25 years participated with a response rate of 100%. Majority of students (81.7%) were aware of the term cervical cancer. However, only 68 (26.9%) thought that they could suffer from it as they had the perception that it affects married women or elderly only. Assessment of knowledge regarding the risk factors of cervical cancer revealed that only 99 (39.2%) knew that it is transmitted through sexual contact. With regard to attitude of the students towards cervical cancer, around 157 (62.3%) knew that regular screening leads to early diagnosis of the cancer. This study highlights unawareness of various aspects of cervical cancer among educated young women in Jammu city and the critical need for sustained continuing educational interventions to emphasize the importance and awareness of cervical cancer.
Background Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of C... more Background Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of COVID-19 pandemic, has infected more than 179 million people worldwide. Testing of infected individuals is crucial for identification and isolation, thereby preventing further spread of the disease. Presently, Taqman™ Reverse Transcription Real Time PCR is considered gold standard, and is the most common technique used for molecular testing of COVID-19, though it requires sophisticated equipments, expertise and is also relatively expensive. Objective Development and optimization of an alternate molecular testing method for the diagnosis of COVID-19, through a two step Reverse Transcription Loop-mediated isothermal AMPlification (RT-LAMP). Results Primers for LAMP were carefully designed for discrimination from other closely related human pathogenic coronaviruses. Care was also taken that primer binding sites are present in conserved regions of SARS-CoV2. Our analysis shows that the primer...
Indian Journal of Community Medicine : Official Publication of Indian Association of Preventive & Social Medicine, 2021
Introduction: Definitive diagnosis of Enteric fever is by blood culture for Salmonella enterica s... more Introduction: Definitive diagnosis of Enteric fever is by blood culture for Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi, Paratyphi A, and Paratyphi B which takes long turnaround time and is costly, whereas Widal test is simple, rapid, and cost-effective test whose interpretation depends on the baseline Widal titers among healthy individuals in a defined population. Objectives: To determine the baseline Widal titers among apparently healthy urban population of district Jammu (J&K). Materials and Methods: 302 individuals in the age group of 18–50 years were recruited. A pretested questionnaire was used to collect demographic and clinical details. The Widal testing was done using commercial Salmonella antigen kit. Results: A total of 302 samples were screened by Widal test. 138 samples (45.69%) were reactive for TO antigen and 64 (21.19%) tested reactive for TH antigen, 3 (0.01%) samples showed agglutination for AH antigen and 3 (0.01%) were positive for BH antigen. Majority of seropositive sam...
Trichuris trichiura, commonly referred to as a whipworm, has a worldwide distribution, particular... more Trichuris trichiura, commonly referred to as a whipworm, has a worldwide distribution, particularly among countries with warm and humid climates. This parasite is carried by nearly one quarter of the world population especially less-developed countries. Poor hygiene is associated with trichuriasis transmission, and children are especially vulnerable because of their high exposure to risk factors. This is especially true in developing countries, where poor sanitary conditions correlate with heavy disease burden and infections. Only patients with heavy parasite burden become symptomatic. The diagnosis is typically confirmed by detection of T. trichiura eggs on examination of a stool sample. This case report deals with a patient with trichuriasis who were diagnosed by detection of the parasite on colonoscopy. Thus colonoscopy might be a useful diagnostic tool, especially in symptomatic patients who are infected by only a few male worms with no eggs in the stool and thus are not diagnosed by conventional methods.
Human listeriosis, a dreaded gastrointestinal disease of the West has surfaced in the last two de... more Human listeriosis, a dreaded gastrointestinal disease of the West has surfaced in the last two decades in India, and there have been a series of reports on sporadic cases. The causative organism, Listeria monocytogenes is an intracellular Gram-positive bacillus ubiquitous in soil and vegetation. It is responsible for cases and outbreaks of febrile gastrointestinal disease in otherwise healthy people and invasive listeriosis, which usually affects pregnant women, newborns & the elderly. Immunocompromised individuals and pregnant women have been identified as major risk factors for listeriosis. It is about 20 times more common in pregnant women than in the general population. It causes mild illness in mothers, but can be devastating to the fetus, in some cases leading to severe disease or fetal death. It may cause abortion, premature labour, fetal death or neonatal morbidity in the form of septicemia and meningitis. This review is an attempt to sensitize clinicians especially obstetricians to include listeriosis as a differential diagnosis in patients with high suspicion and institute early antimicrobial therapy. Also there is need to press upon proper counseling of pregnant women for preventive measures against this deadly infection.
Tuberculosis of the pancreas is a clinical rarity and mimics pancreatic carcinoma both clinically... more Tuberculosis of the pancreas is a clinical rarity and mimics pancreatic carcinoma both clinically and r a d i o l o g i c a l l y. A 3 2-y e a r-old Somali male patient presented with history of vague abdominal pain, weight loss, anorexia and jaundice. Radiological imaging showed gall stones, dilated common bile duct (CBD) and a hetrogenous pancreatic mass. Endoscopic retrograde cholangio pancreatography (ERCP) showed marked narrowing of the CBD with an impression of external compression. Cholecystectomy and Choledochoduodenostomy (CDD) were performed after frozen section histopathology revealed the mass to be tuberculosis. P reoperative diagnosis of pancreatic tuber c u l o s i s re q u i res a high index of suspicion and usually its diagnosis is established after surgical tre a t m e n t. T h e response to antituberculosis treatment is very effective.
International Journal of Applied and Basic Medical Research, 2015
We believe that there is significant educational deficit amongst interns regarding up-to-date for... more We believe that there is significant educational deficit amongst interns regarding up-to-date formal knowledge and skills on healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) which might compromise patient safety. This urgently requires curriculum innovations to ensure their formal training on HAIs prevention and control. Education of interns to improve their knowledge and skills toward HAIs prevention and control. This pilot study was conducted in interns using a multimodal approach consisting of a combination of videos, PowerPoint presentation, and hands-on demonstration to provide applied and practical teaching on prevention and control of HAIs. Pre- and post-test assessment of knowledge, attitude, and skills was carried out by multiple choice questions, 5-point Likert scale, and Objective Structured Practical Examination respectively. Paired t-test. A statistically significant improvement in the overall score rates between pre- and post-test of intern's was seen, suggesting that educational programs have a positive effect. Intern's felt benefitted from interventions focused on HAIs prevention and control and hoped that such sessions are integrated in the regular undergraduate curriculum. A majority of the students felt that their learning style assessment matched well with their own perception of learning preference. Assessment drives learning; hence strengthening the contribution of health-care workers to HAIs prevention programs should include measures that enhance knowledge, improve skills and develop appropriate attitudes, resulting in safety and quality of patient care.
The international journal of tuberculosis and lung disease : the official journal of the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, 2009
Interferon-gamma assays (IGRAs) are alternatives to the tuberculin skin test (TST), but IGRA conv... more Interferon-gamma assays (IGRAs) are alternatives to the tuberculin skin test (TST), but IGRA conversions and reversions are not well understood. In a pilot study, we determined conversions and reversions using QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube((R)) (QFT) among household contacts of TB cases, and evaluated the effect of using various definitions and criteria for conversions. In a cohort of 250 contacts in India, 46% were TST-positive at baseline and 54% were QFT-positive. We re-tested this cohort after 12 months. Conversion rates were estimated using several definitions. Of the 250 contacts, 205 (82%) underwent repeat testing. Among 85 contacts with baseline TST-negative/QFT-negative results, TST conversion rates ranged between 7.5% and 13.8%, and QFT conversion rates ranged between 11.8% and 21.2%, depending on the definitions used. Among 109 contacts who were QFT-positive at baseline, seven (6.4%) had QFT reversions. QFT reversions were most likely when the baseline TST was negative and ...
N ESTIMATED ONE THIRD OF the world's population is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, 1 pr... more N ESTIMATED ONE THIRD OF the world's population is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, 1 presenting a major impediment to tuberculosis control. Despite the importance of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI), the tuberculin skin test (TST) was, until recently, the only test available for its diagnosis. 2-5 The TST measures hypersensitivity response to purified protein derivative (PPD), a crude mixture of antigens, many of which are shared among M tuberculosis, Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG), and several nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM). The TST has limitations with respect to accuracy and reliability. 2-6 Advances in genomics and immunology have led to a promising alternative,
BACKGROUND: We report on the higher prevalence of deaf-mutes from a village in Jammu and Kashmir ... more BACKGROUND: We report on the higher prevalence of deaf-mutes from a village in Jammu and Kashmir State of India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study among 79 deaf mutes using pedigree analysis, audiometry, imaging and molecular analysis. RESULTS: A high rate of hereditary deafness with 79 individuals diagnosed to be suffering from non-syndrome deafness in a total population of 2452 individuals residing in the village. INTERPRETATION: Flourishing of intermarriages led to a population with high prevalence of deafness.
Human listeriosis, a dreaded gastrointestinal disease of the West has surfaced in the last two de... more Human listeriosis, a dreaded gastrointestinal disease of the West has surfaced in the last two decades in India, and there have been a series of reports on sporadic cases. The causative organism, Listeria monocytogenes is an intracellular Gram-positive bacillus ubiquitous in soil and vegetation. It is responsible for cases and outbreaks of febrile gastrointestinal disease in otherwise healthy people and invasive listeriosis, which usually affects pregnant women, newborns & the elderly. Immunocompromised individuals and pregnant women have been identified as major risk factors for listeriosis. It is about 20 times more common in pregnant women than in the general population. It causes mild illness in mothers, but can be devastating to the fetus, in some cases leading to severe disease or fetal death. It may cause abortion, premature labour, fetal death or neonatal morbidity in the form of septicemia and meningitis. This review is an attempt to sensitize clinicians especially obstetricians to include listeriosis as a differential diagnosis in patients with high suspicion and institute early antimicrobial therapy. Also there is need to press upon proper counseling of pregnant women for preventive measures against this deadly infection.
Human listeriosis, a dreaded gastrointestinal disease of the West has surfaced in the last two de... more Human listeriosis, a dreaded gastrointestinal disease of the West has surfaced in the last two decades in India, and there have been a series of reports on sporadic cases. The causative organism, Listeria monocytogenes is an intracellular Gram-positive bacillus ubiquitous in soil and vegetation. It is responsible for cases and outbreaks of febrile gastrointestinal disease in otherwise healthy people and invasive listeriosis, which usually affects pregnant women, newborns & the elderly. Immunocompromised individuals and pregnant women have been identified as major risk factors for listeriosis. It is about 20 times more common in pregnant women than in the general population. It causes mild illness in mothers, but can be devastating to the fetus, in some cases leading to severe disease or fetal death. It may cause abortion, premature labour, fetal death or neonatal morbidity in the form of septicemia and meningitis. This review is an attempt to sensitize clinicians especially obstetricians to include listeriosis as a differential diagnosis in patients with high suspicion and institute early antimicrobial therapy. Also there is need to press upon proper counseling of pregnant women for preventive measures against this deadly infection.
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