Development of the India COVID-19 vaccine tracker.

COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020. Since then, efforts were initiated to develop safe and effective vaccines. Till date, 11 vaccines have been included in the WHO's emergency use list.

A science-based response to COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic behaves like many other viruses spread through respiratory routes. This is generally a mild disease for those aged less than 50 years. A complete and prolonged lockdown will reduce COVID-19 mortality but simultaneously lead to a graver public health, social, and economic disaster.

Study to Test and Operationalize Preventive Approaches for CKD of Undetermined Etiology in Andhra Pradesh, India.

Introduction: High prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) not associated with known risk factors has been reported from coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh. The Study to Test and Operationalize Preventive Approaches for Chronic Kidney Disease of Undetermined Etiology in Andhra Pradesh (STOP CKDu AP) aims to ascertain the burden (prevalence and incidence) of CKD, the risk factor profile, and the community perceptions about the disease in the Uddanam area of Andhra Pradesh.

Methods: Study participants will be sampled from the Uddanam area using multistage cluster random sampling.

Maternal periodontal disease as a significant risk factor for low birth weight in pregnant women attending a secondary care hospital in South India: a case-control study.

Context: Periodontal disease (PD) is a common infection in the community; however, its relationship with low birth weight (LBW) has not been well-established.

Aims: The aim was to determine the association between maternal PD and LBW.

Settings And Design: A case-control (1:1) study.

Dynamics of the antibodies in cohorts of cured cases of visceral leishmaniasis: its implication on the validity of serological test, value in prognosis and in post therapeutic assessment.

The major disadvantage of a Serological test like Direct Agglutination Test (DAT) for Visceral Leishmaniasis (also called Kala-azar) is its inability to distinguish between recent and past infection. The objective of our study was to look at rate of decline of antibodies in fully cured cases of Kala-azar and length of time it takes for DAT to become negative. Cohort Study involving completely treated Kala-azar cases from Government Hospital during one calendar year of study.

Retrospective cohort study comparing neonatal outcomes of women treated with glyburide or insulin in gestational diabetes: a 5-year experience in a South Indian teaching hospital.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of glyburide in preventing complications of gestational diabetes in neonates as compared to insulin.

Materials And Methods: Information from birth register, maternal and neonatal records were obtained. Five hundred and seventy-seven gestational diabetics with moderate hyperglycemia i.

Congenital rubella syndrome and rubella in Vellore, South India.

Rubella, a mild, vaccine-preventable disease, can manifest as congenital rubella syndrome (CRS), a devastating disease of the fetus. To emphasize the inadequacy of the existing rubella vaccination programme in India, we evaluated epidemiological evidence of rubella virus activity with data available from a tertiary-care centre. The proportion of suspected CRS cases that were laboratory confirmed increased from 4% in 2000 to 11% in 2008.

The clinical significance of MIB-1 labeling index in pituitary adenomas.

Pituitary adenomas are unique in several ways--they are rarely malignant and yet can be invasive of several compartments. Recurrences in tumors with bland histological features that have been radically excised are a reason for frustration faced by endocrinologists and neurosurgeons in treatment of pituitary adenomas. Several attempts have therefore been made to determine the growth potential of pituitary adenomas.

Validity of a surveillance system for childhood injuries in a rural block of tamilnadu.

Background: Childhood injuries are increasingly getting the attention of public health experts following WHO's report on global burden of diseases. Surveillance is an important component of control of any disease and effectiveness of the surveillance system depends upon completeness of the information about occurrence of the health related events to the public health authorities.

Aims: This study aimed to set up a surveillance system for childhood injuries and validate it by a survey and thereafter estimate the incidence of childhood injuries using capture recapture method.

Infant morbidity in an Indian slum birth cohort.

Objective: To establish incidence rates, clinic referrals, hospitalisations, mortality rates and baseline determinants of morbidity among infants in an Indian slum.

Design: A community-based birth cohort with twice-weekly surveillance.

Setting: Vellore, South India.

Molecular and spatial epidemiology of cryptosporidiosis in children in a semiurban community in South India.

Cryptosporidium spp. are a leading cause of diarrhea in Indian children, but there are no data for prevalent species or subgenotypes. Genetic characterization of Cryptosporidium spp.

Comparative study of the epidemiology of rotavirus in children from a community-based birth cohort and a hospital in South India.

Rotavirus gastroenteritis is the major cause of severe dehydrating diarrhea in children worldwide. This study compares rotavirus diarrhea in 351 children in a community-based cohort and 343 children admitted to a hospital during the same period. Clinical information and fecal specimens were obtained during diarrheal episodes.

Intracranial hemangiopericytomas: correlation of topoisomerase IIalpha expression with biologic behavior.

Background: Meningeal hemangiopericytomas are aggressive tumors that have a high rate of recurrence despite gross total resection and radiation therapy. Topoisomerase, a cell proliferation marker, is also a target of certain chemotherapeutic agents, and its nuclear levels are speculated to predict efficacy of targeted therapy. The aim of this study was to correlate the topoisomerase IIalpha proliferation index (TPI) with biologic behavior in intracranial hemangiopericytomas.

Present status of eye care in India.

India, the second most populous country in the world, is home to 23.5% of the world's blind population. In 1976 India became the first country in the world to start a national program for control of blindness.

Frequency doubling perimetry in glaucoma.

Purpose: To evaluate the validity of frequency doubling perimetry (FDP) in the detection of glaucomatous field defects.

Methods: Group I consisted of 85 eyes of 85 patients with established field defects in automated perimetry, classified by severity of defect. Group II consisted of 48 eyes of 48 control subjects.

Role of frequency doubling perimetry in detecting neuro-ophthalmic visual field defects.

Purpose: To report the ability of frequency doubling perimetry to detect "neuro-ophthalmic" field defects, characterize them as hemianopic or quadrantanopic, and differentiate glaucomatous from "other" neuro-ophthalmic field defects.

Methods: Sixty eyes of 30 normal subjects, 50 eyes of 29 patients with glaucomatous defects, and 138 eyes of 103 patients with "typical" neuro-ophthalmic field defects underwent automated perimetry using the Swedish Interactive Threshold Algorithm and frequency doubling perimetry. The sensitivity and specificity for identification of a field defect (frequency doubling perimetry 20-5 and 20-1 screening tests), or to characterize hemianopia/quadrantanopia (full threshold test) were determined.

Antibody response to a single tetanus toxoid booster in young women in rural south India.

Background: Tetanus toxoid immunization is an integral part of the maternal and child health programme in developing countries. It is likely that many women may have had childhood immunization and so already have antitetanus antibodies at the time of their first antenatal visit. A single dose of tetanus toxoid injection can boost the levels of antitetanus antibodies in these women.

A high rate of caesarean sections in an affluent section of Chennai: is it cause for concern?

Background: While rising Caesarean section rates have been the subject of much attention and debate worldwide, there is not much information available on this rate and its potential adverse impact in India.

Methods: Our survey was a standard Expanded Programme on Immunization 30-cluster design, carried out in an urban educated, middle/upper class population in Chennai. Mothers of 210 children aged 12-36 months were interviewed and data collected on immunization and breast-feeding practices.