SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza Co-Infection: Fair Competition or Sinister Combination?

The COVID-19 pandemic remains a serious public health problem globally. During winter influenza seasons, more aggressive SARS-CoV-2 infections and fatalities have been documented, indicating that influenza co-infections may significantly impact the disease outcome of COVID-19. Both influenza and SARS-CoV-2 viruses share many similarities in their transmission and their cellular tropism for replication in the human respiratory tract.

Comparison of Disk Diffusion and Agar Dilution Method for the Detection of Mupirocin Resistance in Staphylococcal Isolates from Skin and Soft Tissue Infections.

 Mupirocin is a widely used topical antibiotic for the treatment of skin and soft tissue infections. This has resulted in resistance leading to treatment failure. Hence, the present study aimed to determine the prevalence of mupirocin resistance among staphylococcal isolates obtained from the skin and soft tissue infections.

Comparing absolute lymphocyte count to total lymphocyte count, as a CD4 T cell surrogate, to initiate antiretroviral therapy.

Background: The high cost of CD4 count estimation in resource-limited settings is a major obstacle in initiating patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Thus, there is a need to evaluate other less expensive surrogate markers like total lymphocyte count (TLC) and absolute lymphocyte count (ALC).

Objectives: To evaluate the correlation of TLC and ALC to CD4 count.

Adverse effects after HAART Initiation in resource-limited settings: a prospective study from Mysore, India.

Introduction: There are few studies from India documenting the adverse effects of generic HAART (Highly Active Anti-retroviral Therapy).

Methodology: A prospective study was conducted at Mysore, India, to study the adverse effects after HAART initiation in a cohort of 100 antiretroviral therapy (ART)-naive patients, who were evaluated prospectively every three months by clinical and laboratory monitoring for adverse effects after HAART initiation for one year.

Results: The most common first-line regimens were zidovudine (AZT) plus lamivudine (3TC) plus nevirapine (NVP) (42%); followed by Stavudine (d4T) plus 3TC plus NVP  (33%); AZT plus 3TC plus efavirenz (EFV) (13%); and d4T plus 3TC plus EFV (12%).

Total lymphocyte count as a tool for timing opportunistic infection prophylaxis in resource-limited settings: a study from India.

Introduction: In resource-limited settings, due to the high cost of CD4 cell count testing, physicians must decide about opportunistic infection (OI) prophylaxis without a laboratory evaluation of HIV stage and level of immune suppression. This study aimed to evaluate the correlation of total lymphocyte count (TLC), an inexpensive laboratory parameter, to CD4 count, and to determine a range of TLC cut-offs for the initiation of OI prophylaxis that is appropriate for resource-limited settings.

Methodology: Spearman correlation between CD4 count and TLC was assessed in patients attending the Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) centre at Mysore, India.