Co-infection of Dengue and hepatitis A virus among pediatric population: A study from a tertiary care center in central India during 2022-2023.

Background Objectives: Co-infection of dengue virus and acute hepatitis A virus in paediatric population is a major health concern in endemic countries. This cross sectional retrospective study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of hepatitis A virus among the clinically dengue suspected paediatric cases presented at our tertiary care centre during the two-year period (2022-2023).

Methods: A total of 747 dengue suspected paediatric clinical specimens were included in this study.

Performance Evaluation of Different RT-PCR Kits for the Direct Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in Preheated Specimens.

 Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has created high demand for molecular kits and consumables for mass screening of suspected individuals. Direct real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay without nucleic acid extraction has several advantages in saving testing time and cost and helps in the rapid reporting of SARS-CoV-2. The present study evaluated the analytical performance of four SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR for direct RT-PCR testing using preheated specimens.