Prevalence of polymorphisms in marker genes associated with antimalarial drug resistance in following 10 years of artemisinin-based combination therapy implementation in urban Kolkata.

Context: Resistance to antimalarial drugs is one of the major challenges for malaria elimination. In India, artemisinin combination therapy (artesunate-sulfadoxin pyrimethamine) was introduced in place of chloroquine (CQ) for the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria in 2010. Periodical monitoring of polymorphisms in antimalarial drug resistance marker genes will be useful for assessing drug pressure, mapping and monitoring of drug resistance status; and will be helpful for searching alternative treatments.

Coexistent malaria and filaria among the febrile patients attending for malaria diagnosis: A clinic-based study.

Context: Both malaria and lymphatic filariasis (LF) are mosquito-borne diseases caused by protozoal and nematode parasites, respectively, and are serious public health problem in India. Although the vectors of the diseases are different, they can coexist in favorable conditions. Fever is the common symptom for both the diseases, but the emphasis is given for diagnosis and treatment of malaria due to its life-threatening severity, LF remained neglected.

Insecticide susceptibility status of Phlebotomus argentipes and polymorphisms in voltage-gated sodium channel (vgsc) gene in Kala-azar endemic areas of West Bengal, India.

Rational use of insecticides, as advocated by World Health Organisation, plays a crucial role for vector control in eliminating visceral leishmaniasis from endemic countries. Emergence and spread of resistance among vector sand flies is of increasing concern for achieving these goals. Information on insecticide susceptibility status of sand fly populations and potential association between the former and polymorphisms in the insecticide target genes is important for formulating proper vector control measures.