Measles and rubella seroprevalence in adults using residual blood samples from health facilities and household serosurveys in Palghar District, Maharashtra, India, 2018 - 2019.

Residual blood specimens collected at health facilities may be a source of samples for serosurveys of adults, a population often neglected in community-based serosurveys. Anonymized residual blood specimens were collected from individuals 15 - 49 years of age attending two sub-district hospitals in Palghar District, Maharashtra, from November 2018 to March 2019. Specimens also were collected from women 15 - 49 years of age enrolled in a cross-sectional, community-based serosurvey representative at the district level that was conducted 2 - 7 months after the residual specimen collection.

Association between COVID-19 Vaccination (ChAdOx1-S) and Thromboembolic, Thrombocytopenic, Hemorrhagic Events: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Analytical Epidemiological Studies.

We conducted a systematic review of analytical epidemiological studies to assess the association between ChAdOx1-S vaccination and thromboembolic, thrombocytopenic, and hemorrhagic events. We searched Medline, Embase, Google Scholar, WHO-COVID-19 database, and medRxiv for studies evaluating the association between ChAdOx1-S and vascular events. Primary outcomes of interest were cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, peripheral venous thrombosis (PVT), and thrombocytopenia.

Analysis of Cholera Risk in India: Insights from 2017-18 Serosurvey Data Integrated with Epidemiologic data and Societal Determinants from 2015-2019.

Background: Indian subcontinent being an important region in the fight to eliminate cholera needs better cholera surveillance. Current methods miss most infections, skewing disease burden estimates. Triangulating serosurvey data, clinical cases, and risk factors could reveal India's true cholera risk.

Post-campaign coverage evaluation of a measles and rubella supplementary immunization activity in five districts in India, 2019-2020.

Background: In alignment with the Measles and Rubella (MR) Strategic Elimination plan, India conducted a mass measles and rubella vaccination campaign across the country between 2017 and 2020 to provide a dose of MR containing vaccine to all children aged 9 months to 15 years. We estimated campaign vaccination coverage in five districts in India and assessed campaign awareness and factors associated with vaccination during the campaign to better understand reasons for not receiving the dose.

Methods And Findings: Community-based cross-sectional serosurveys were conducted in five districts of India among children aged 9 months to 15 years after the vaccination campaign.

Household catastrophic health expenditure for COVID-19 during March-August 2021, in South India: a cross-sectional study.

Background: The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic increased the utilisation of healthcare services. Such utilization could lead to higher out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) and catastrophic health expenditures (CHE). We estimated OOPE and the proportion of households that experienced CHE by conducting a cross-sectional survey of 1200 randomly selected confirmed COVID-19 cases.

Restoration of dendritic cell homeostasis and Type I/Type III interferon levels in convalescent COVID-19 individuals.

Background: Plasmacytoid and myeloid dendritic cells play a vital role in the protection against viral infections. In COVID-19, there is an impairment of dendritic cell (DC) function and interferon secretion which has been correlated with disease severity.

Results: In this study, we described the frequency of DC subsets and the plasma levels of Type I (IFNα, IFNβ) and Type III Interferons (IFNλ1), IFNλ2) and IFNλ3) in seven groups of COVID-19 individuals, classified based on days since RT-PCR confirmation of SARS-CoV2 infection.

Evaluating the effect of measles and rubella mass vaccination campaigns on seroprevalence in India: a before-and-after cross-sectional household serosurvey in four districts, 2018-2020.

Background: India did phased measles-rubella supplementary immunisation activities (MR-SIAs; ie, mass-immunisation campaigns) targeting children aged 9 months to less than 15 years. We estimated measles-rubella seroprevalence before and after the MR-SIAs to quantify the effect on population immunity and identify remaining immunity gaps.

Methods: Between March 9, 2018 and March 19, 2020 we did community-based, cross-sectional serosurveys in four districts in India before and after MR-SIAs.

Experiences of sharing results of community based serosurvey with participants in a district of Maharashtra, India.

A growing number of organisations, including medical associations, recommend that research subjects should be given the option of being informed about the general outcome and results of the study. We recently completed a study involving nine serosurveys from 2018 to 2020 in five districts of India among three age groups (children 9 months to < 5 years; 5 to < 15 years of age, and women 15 to < 50 years of age before and after the measles and rubella (MR) vaccination campaigns). In Palghar district of Maharashtra all individuals in 30 selected clusters were enumerated, and 13 individuals per age group were randomly sampled.

Previous SARS-CoV-2 Infection Status Among the Current RT-PCR-Positive Individuals Affected During the Second Wave of COVID-19 Infections in Chennai, India.

India witnessed a very strong second wave of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during March and June 2021. Newly emerging variants of concern can escape immunity and cause reinfection. We tested newly diagnosed COVID-19 cases during the second wave in Chennai, India for the presence of Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to estimate the extent of re-infection.

Enablers and barriers towards ensuring routine immunization services during the COVID-19 pandemic: findings from a qualitative study across five different states in India.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to disruption in delivering routine healthcare services including routine immunization (RI) worldwide. Understanding the enablers and barriers for RI services during a pandemic is critically important to develop context-appropriate strategies to ensure uninterrupted routine services.

Methods: A community-based, cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in five different states of India, nested within an ongoing multicentric study on RI.

Seroprevalence of IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in India, March 2020 to August 2021: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: India experienced 2 waves of COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 and reported the second highest caseload globally. Seroepidemiologic studies were done to track the course of the pandemic. We systematically reviewed and synthesized the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in the Indian population.

Dynamic alterations in monocyte numbers, subset frequencies and activation markers in acute and convalescent COVID-19 individuals.

Monocytes are thought to play an important role in host defence and pathogenesis of COVID-19. However, a comprehensive examination of monocyte numbers and function has not been performed longitudinally in acute and convalescent COVID-19. We examined the absolute counts of monocytes, the frequency of monocyte subsets, the plasma levels of monocyte activation markers using flowcytometry and ELISA in seven groups of COVID-19 individuals, classified based on days since RT-PCR confirmation of SARS-CoV2 infection.

Implementing Serosurveys in India: Experiences, Lessons Learned, and Recommendations.

Serological surveillance for vaccine-preventable diseases, such as measles and rubella, can provide direct measures of population immunity across age groups, identify gaps in immunity, and document changes in immunity over time. Rigorously conducted, representative household serosurveys provide high-quality estimates with minimal bias. However, they can be logistically challenging, expensive, and have higher refusal rates than vaccine coverage surveys.

Recovery of Memory B-cell Subsets and Persistence of Antibodies in Convalescent COVID-19 Patients.

It is essential to examine the longevity of the defensive immune response engendered by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. We examined the SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody responses and ex vivo memory B-cell subsets in seven groups of individuals with COVID-19 classified based on days since reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction confirmation of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Our data showed that the levels of IgG and neutralizing antibodies started increasing from days 15 to 30 to days 61 to 90, and plateaued thereafter.

Age- & sex-specific infection fatality ratios for COVID-19 estimated from two serially conducted community-based serosurveys, Chennai, India, 2020.

Background & Objectives: Infection fatality ratio (IFR) is considered a more robust and reliable indicator than case fatality ratio for severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Age- and sex-stratified IFRs are crucial to guide public health response. Infections estimated through representative community-based serosurveys would gauge more accurate IFRs than through modelling studies.

Optimization and Stability Testing of Four Commercially Available Dried Blood Spot Devices for Estimating Measles and Rubella IgG Antibodies.

Blood collection using dried blood spots (DBS) provides an easier alternative to venipuncture for sample collection, transport, and storage but requires additional processing that can cause variability in results. Whole-blood samples spotted on four DBS devices and respective paired serum samples were tested for antimeasles and antirubella IgG antibody concentrations by enzyme immunoassay. Elution protocols for DBS devices were optimized for comparability relative to serum samples using 12 adult volunteers.