A comparison of SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen testing with realtime RT-PCR among symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals.

Background: Identification of SARS-CoV-2 positive patients with rapid and cost-effective test methods is the key for isolating infected individuals, interrupting the transmission chain, and thus, containment of the CoVID-19 disease. In this regard, Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) plays an important role at point of care testing but the low sensitivity attributing towards escape of positive cases is reported as a major disadvantage of RAT which led us to evaluate a RAT kit among symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals suspected of CoVID-19.

Methods: We analyzed 329 parallel nasopharyngeal swabs for RAT (Zydus Cadila, India) at the point of collection in a hospital-based facility and RealTime RT-PCR in the laboratory.

Yielding quality viral RNA by using two different chemistries: a comparative performance study.

Purity and integrity are two important criteria for any RNA extraction process to qualify the RNA for meaningful gene expression analysis. This study compares four commercially available RNA extraction kits using silica membrane and magnetic bead separation methods. The performance was evaluated in terms of both quantity (total RNA amount in μg/μl) and purity (260/280 ratio).

Prevalence and trend of emerging and re-emerging arboviral infections in the state of Odisha.

Newly emerging or re-emerging infections are posing continuous threat to both public health system and clinical care globally. The emergence of infections especially caused by arboviruses can be linked to several mechanisms which include geographical expansion linked to human development and transportation, global warming, enhanced transmission in peridomestic area and close proximity of human habitations to domestic as well as wild animals. The co-circulation of Dengue, Chikungunya and Zika is a matter of public health priority due to the fact that they are transmitted by the same vector as well as increase in the number of reported cases of severe dengue, post-chikungunya chronic joint disease and microcephaly related to Zika virus disease.

High Prevalence of Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Primitive Tribes of Eastern India and Associated Sociobehavioral Risks for Transmission: A Retrospective Analysis.

The primitive tribal groups (PTGs) need special attention because of their low population growth: declining population size with high mortality rates. Scanty reports are available on the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in primitive tribes of the country emphasizing their cultural and social practices associated with transmission of the disease. The study was conducted on 1765 tribal individuals covering 5 PTGs, namely Lodha, Saora, Khadia, Juanga, and Mankidia, from 6 districts of Odisha.

An outbreak of hepatitis E virus infection caused by genotype 1 in an urban setting in eastern India: a probe into risk factors for transmission.

The study was undertaken to find out the cause and etiology of an outbreak presumed to be due to water contamination that caused high morbidity in the western part of the state of Odisha during May, 2014. In this investigation 56 blood samples were collected and tested for HEV IgM through ELISA. Blood sample of 22 patients collected within 1 weeks post onset of symptoms and were subjected to RT-PCR and sequencing followed by phylogenetic analysis.

Molecular epidemiology of hepatitis B virus in primitive tribes of Odisha, eastern India.

Background And Objective: Among the indigenous population of India, Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs) are vulnerable to various health related events and some of the PTGs are showing a decline in population associated with high mortality rates. The present study was undertaken to define the prevalence of Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection, its genetic characterization and possible risk factors for transmission in five PTGs in Odisha, India.

Methods: Cross-sectional observational studies were carried out in the Lodha, Saora, Khadia, Mankidia, and Juanga tribes residing in different parts of Odisha between 2006 and 2010.