Antimicrobial stewardship implementation in primary and secondary tier hospitals in India: interim findings from a need assessment study using mixed method design.

Anti-microbial stewardship program (AMSP) is practiced only in tertiary hospitals in India, though, the lower tier hospitals remain the first point of contact in patient care. This study was conducted in lower tier hospitals to calculate antibiotic and multiple antibiotic prescription rate (APR, MPR) for common infections and finding existing strength of health system for optimizing antibiotic prescription. We conducted a cross sectional convergent parallel mix-method study in eight lower tier hospitals of three districts of West Bengal, India.

Existence of Thermotolerant and Salt-Loving Diarrheagenic Vibrio alginolyticus in Non-Saline Potable Water System: A Novel Finding from India.

We present a novel report of abundance of halophilic Vibrio alginolyticus with thermotolerant and enterotoxigenic characteristics from community water system of an inland-focus of India causing diarrheal outbreak as an index pathogen. Though, Vibrio alginolyticus causing diarrhea after exposure to marine water and consumption of seafood was reported globally, its existence in non-saline drinking-water sources with pathogenic viability was unknown. A 'matched-pair-case-control' study identified the primary source of V.

Trivalent outer membrane vesicles-based combination vaccine candidate induces protective immunity against Campylobacter and invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella in adult mice.

Campylobacter and invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella (iNTS) are among the most common causative agents of gastroenteritis worldwide. As of now, no single combination licensed vaccine is available for public health use against both iNTS and Campylobacter species. Outer-membrane vesicles (OMVs) are nanoscale proteoliposomes released from the surface of gram-negative bacteria during log phase and harbor a variety of immunogenic proteins.

A New Multiplex PCR Assay Reveals the Occurrence of E. bangladeshi alongside E. histolytica and E. moshkovskii in Eastern India.

Purpose: Epidemiological studies on amoebic infections are complicated due to morphologically identical and clinically important Entamoeba species. Therefore, newer, simpler, and more economical diagnostic techniques are required for differentiating clinically important Entamoeba species.

Methods: We developed a single-round multiplex PCR assay to identify E.

Phylo-geo haplotype network-based characterization of SARS-CoV-2 strains circulating in India (2020-2022).

Background & objectives Genetic analysis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) strains circulating in India during 2020-2022 was carried out to understand the evolution of potentially expanding and divergent clades. Methods SARS-CoV-2 sequences (n=612) randomly selected from among the sequences of samples collected through a nationwide network of Virus Research Diagnostic Laboratories during 2020 (n=1532) and Indian sequences available in Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data during March 2020-March 2022 (n=53077), were analyzed using the phylo-geo haplotype network approach with reference to the Wuhan prototype sequence. Results On haplotype analysis, 420 haplotypes were revealed from 643 segregating sites among the sequences.

Projected impact of fast-tracking of anti-retroviral treatment coverage on vertical transmission of HIV in India.

One of the five high-level goals under Phase V of the National AIDS and STD Control Programme (NACP) of the Government of India is the elimination of vertical transmission of HIV. In this paper, we estimate the potential impact of maintaining and enhancing the anti-retroviral treatment under the NACP in terms of averting new infections and vertical transmission rates vis-à-vis no intervention scenario. We used India's HIV Estimates 2022 models to create treatment coverage scenarios of no interventions, status quo, business as usual, on-track and fast-track scenarios from 2023 to 2030.

The Plasma Glucose Threshold Values Associated with Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes Among Asian Indian Pregnant Women: MAASTHI Birth Cohort Analysis.

Background: To assess the association of adverse pregnancy and infant outcomes with different cut-off levels of glucose intolerance during pregnancy in the MAASTHI cohort.

Design: Pregnant women (n = 1470) underwent Oral glucose tolerance test between 24 and 36 weeks using a 75-g oral glucose load, with plasma glucose estimations measured at fasting and two hours later. Follow-up was done within 72 hours of delivery for recording type of delivery, infant weight, mid-upper arm circumference, and skinfold thickness.

Developing a digital data platform for surveillance of food and water-borne pathogens in North East India: insight for public health advocacy.

Robust digital infrastructure is vital and the need of the hour, especially in the healthcare sector, for real-time data generation, analysis, and quick decision-making. Food- and water-borne illnesses represent a prominent cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. India, a developing nation with diverse cultures and food practices, poses a high risk of food-borne diseases and outbreaks, yet is often underreported and ineffectively researched.

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.

GNE Myopathy: Genotype - Phenotype Correlation and Disease Progression in an Indian Cohort.

Introduction: GNE myopathy is a rare slowly progressive adult-onset distal myopathy with autosomal recessive inheritance. It has distinctive features of quadriceps sparing with preferential anterior tibial involvement. Most patients eventually become wheelchair bound by 10-20 years after onset.

Field Effectiveness of a Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine: The 2018 Navi Mumbai Pediatric TCV Campaign.

Typbar-TCV®, a typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV), was prequalified by the World Health Organization in 2017. We evaluated its effectiveness in a mass vaccination program targeting children 9 months to 14 years in Navi Mumbai, India, from September 2018 to July 2020. We compared laboratory-confirmed typhoid cases from six clinical sites with age-matched community controls.

Investigation of an Acute Gastrointestinal Illness Outbreak Linked to Drinking Water in a Higher Educational Institute in East Sikkim, India.

Introduction An acute gastrointestinal illness outbreak was reported in a higher educational institution among students and faculties in East Sikkim, India, from January to February 2023. The investigation was conducted to identify the source of the infection and causative pathogens and prevent the spread of the outbreak. Methods We defined a case as three or more loose stools in 24 hours, abdominal pain, or vomiting with the onset of symptoms between January 16 and February 16, 2023.

Outbreak of waterborne acute diarrheal disease in a South District village of Tripura: A public health emergency in the Northeast region of India.

Food and waterborne outbreaks are a neglected public health problem in India. However, it is important to identify the source of infection and the causative pathogen to curb the outbreak quickly and minimize mortality and morbidity. A retrospective descriptive study was conducted with a line list of 130 diarrheal cases.

Establishment of an intragastric surgical model using C57BL/6 mice to study the vaccine efficacy of OMV-based immunogens against Helicobacter pylori.

Chronic gastritis is one of the major symptoms of gastro-duodenal disorders typically induced by Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). To date, no suitable model is available to study pathophysiology and therapeutic measures accurately.

Self-medication prevalence and associated factors among adult population in Northern India: A community-based cross-sectional study.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine self-medication prevalence and its associated factors.

Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in the urban and rural catchment areas of Uttar Pradesh, India, among 440 adults using a pretested, semistructured questionnaire. The Chi-square test and logistic regression were used to determine the association of self-medication prevalence with various independent variables.

Biosimilar in Breast Cancer: A Narrative Review.

Breast cancer (BC) has been identified as a major public health cancer as it topped the list of most prevalent cancers among women in the last three years. Rigorous research has been conducted to improve the prognosis of cancer therapies since the time of inception. Recent advancements in cancer therapy have introduced monoclonal biosimilars as a promising treatment alternative.

Quercetin counteracts monosodium glutamate to mitigate immunosuppression in the thymus and spleen via redox-guided cellular signaling.

Background: Chronic inflammation brought on by oxidative stress can result in several immunopathologies. Natural compounds with antioxidant characteristics, like quercetin, have shown effectiveness in reducing oxidative damage and regulating the immune response.

Purpose: The commonly used food additive monosodium glutamate (M) causes immunosuppression by disrupting redox equilibrium and inducing oxidative stress.

An integrated FoodNet in North East India: fostering one health approach to fortify public health.

Background: Food safety is a critical factor in promoting public health and nutrition, especially in developing countries like India, which experience several foodborne disease outbreaks, often with multidrug-resistant pathogens. Therefore, implementing regular surveillance of enteric pathogens in the human-animal-environment interface is necessary to reduce the disease burden in the country.

Objective: To establish a network of laboratories for the identification of major food and waterborne pathogens prevailing in the northeast region of India through integrated surveillance of animal, food, human, and environment and investigate the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of the pathogens of public health significance.

Novel sequence type of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter pittii ST1451 with enhanced virulence isolated from septicaemic neonates in India.

Background: The clinical relevance of Acinetobacter pittii is increasing, but reports of this organism causing neonatal sepsis are rare.

Objectives: To understand the mechanisms of resistance and virulence of A. pittii isolated from neonatal blood belonging to a novel sequence type.

Intranasal immunization of mice with chimera of Salmonella Typhi protein elicits protective intestinal immunity.

Development of safe, highly effective and affordable enteric fever vaccines is a global health priority. Live, oral typhoid vaccines induce strong mucosal immunity and long-term protection, but safety remains a concern. In contrast, efficacy wears off rapidly for injectable, polysaccharide-based vaccines, which elicit poor mucosal response.

A candidate glycoconjugate vaccine induces protective antibodies in the serum and intestinal secretions, antibody recall response and memory T cells and protects against both typhoidal and non-typhoidal serovars.

Human infections pose significant public health challenges globally, primarily due to low diagnostic yield of systemic infections, emerging and expanding antibiotic resistance of both the typhoidal and non-typhoidal strains and the development of asymptomatic carrier state that functions as a reservoir of infection in the community. The limited long-term efficacy of the currently licensed typhoid vaccines, especially in smaller children and non-availability of vaccines against other serovars necessitate active research towards developing a multivalent vaccine with wider coverage of protection against pathogenic serovars. We had earlier reported immunogenicity and protective efficacy of a subunit vaccine containing a recombinant outer membrane protein (T2544) of Typhi in a mouse model.