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Plasmodium falciparum sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca 2+ ATPase (PfSERCA) is sarcoplasmic reticulum membrane bound transporter to regulate cytosol Ca 2+ ions. Ca 2+ act as secondary messenger and play important role in differentiation of parasite during its life cycle. Present study is epidemiological surveillance of PfSERCA (Pf3D7_0106300) gene fragment harboring 263, 402, 431 codon to look for its single nucleotide polymorphism which is well documented to be associated with Artemisinin tolerance. Filter paper with finger pricked blood samples for Plasmodium falciparum infected uncomplicated malaria patients were obtained for region as diverse as down the longitude from east to west of India i.e. Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, Jharkhand, Odhisa. There observed no mutation for codon 263 at all study sites. Mizoram showed highest PfSERCA diversity with well known SNPs of L402 V, E431 K, A438 V and novel mutations as well i.e. A338 V, S357Y, S379Y. Tripura reported highest proportion of Plasmodium isolates (18.5%) with E431 K single nucleotide polymorphism. Moving towards the west i.e. Meghalaya, Jharkhand, Odhisa showed no occurrence of most prevalent PfSERCA 431, 402 polymorphism worldwide but some novel mutations and its haplotypes. In present study, significantly increased proportion of novel PfSERCA polymorphism among children suggests the susceptibility of these Plasmodium falciparum strains to acquired immunity. Mizoram, sharing open international border with south east asia, demonstrated highest PfSERCA diversity. Spatial PfSERCA diversity from far north east India to moving towards west implies its association with antimalarial susceptibility., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In a recent outbreak of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection in Jaipur city (Rajasthan, India), a total of 159 cases were reported in September 2018. In order to identify vector responsible for Zika transmission, mosquitoes were collected from houses with reported Zika cases and nearby houses. A total of 108 pools containing 522 mosquitoes were tested for presence of ZIKV using RT-PCR and Real Time RT-PCR. We detected presence of ZIKV in three pools of Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti (L.), out of a total of 79 pools with 383 Ae. aegypti through RT-PCR as well as real-time RT-PCR. The presence of ZIKV in Ae. aegypti was further confirmed by DNA sequencing of the partial envelope region of ZIKV. Homology search of DNA sequence revealed highest identity (100%) with a ZIKV isolate from human from the study area which support the role of Ae. aegypti acting as a ZIKV vector. All other mosquitoes (Aedes vittatus and Culex quinquefasciatus) were negative for ZIKV. None of the F1 generation mosquito pools (276 mosquitoes in 43 pools) were found positive. This is the first report of presence of ZIKV in Ae. aegypti from the Indian subcontinent., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Delhi, the capital of India, is an important metropolitan hub for major financial and sociocultural exchanges, offering challenging threats to current public health infrastructure. In recent past, an upsurge of dengue cases in Delhi posed a significant menace to the existing dengue control policies. To reform the control strategies and take timely intervention to prevent future epidemics, an epidemiological study on the proportion of both asymptomatic and symptomatic dengue infections in selected population was conducted. The aim of the study was to investigate and assess the epidemiology of dengue infection and to estimate the proportion of asymptomatic and symptomatic dengue infections in Delhi. In this study, around 50 confirmed dengue cases, a total of 2125 individuals as household and neighbourhood contacts, with or without dengue febrile illness, were finger pricked and serologically detected as dengue positive or negative using SD Duo Bioline Rapid Diagnostic Test (SD Inc, Korea) with NS1, IgM & IgG combo test, which detected dengue virus antigen and antibodies to dengue virus in human blood. Out of 2125 individuals, 768 (36.1%) individuals showed positive dengue test with past (25.5%), primary (1.88%) or secondary (8.8%) dengue infections. Higher percentage of IgG was found in age groups 15-24 years and 25-50 years (36% each). Infants (<1 year) presented higher incidence of new infections (22% of NS1+IgM positives) as compared to adults. Further analysis revealed that out of the 226 newly infected cases (including NS1 and IgM positives), 142 (63%) were asymptomatic and 84 (37%) were symptomatic, as per WHO guidelines. Our findings also suggest that out of the total population screened, 10.6% dengue infection was either primary or secondary. On the basis of these results, it may be hypothesized that there are large number of asymptomatic dengue infections in the community as compared to reported symptomatic cases in Delhi. For the effective control of dengue transmission in such community like Delhi where dengue epidemics have frequently been encountered, it is essential to ascertain the proportion of asymptomatic dengue infections which may act as a reservoir for dengue transmission, as well as threat for developing dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF)., (Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Genetic polymorphisms in diagnostic antigens are important factors responsible for variable performance of rapid diagnostic tests. Additionally, the failure of antigen expression due to gene deletion may also contribute to variable performance. We report Indian Plasmodium falciparum field isolates lacking both Pfhrp2 and Pfhrp3 genes leading to false negative results of rapid diagnostic tests. The study highlights need to determine the prevalence of P. falciparum isolates lacking these genes in larger field populations in India., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The study of malaria parasites on the Indian subcontinent should help us understand unexpected disease outbreaks and unpredictable disease presentations from Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax infections. The Malaria Evolution in South Asia (MESA) research program is one of ten International Centers of Excellence for Malaria Research (ICEMR) sponsored by the US National Institutes of Health. In this second of two reviews, we describe why population structures of Plasmodia in India will be characterized and how we will determine their consequences on disease presentation, outcome and patterns. Specific projects will determine if genetic diversity, possibly driven by parasites with higher genetic plasticity, plays a role in changing epidemiology, pathogenesis, vector competence of parasite populations and whether innate human genetic traits protect Indians from malaria today. Deep local clinical knowledge of malaria in India will be supplemented by basic scientists who bring new research tools. Such tools will include whole genome sequencing and analysis methods; in vitro assays to measure genome plasticity, RBC cytoadhesion, invasion, and deformability; mosquito infectivity assays to evaluate changing parasite-vector compatibilities; and host genetics to understand protective traits in Indian populations. The MESA-ICEMR study sites span diagonally across India and include a mixture of very urban and rural hospitals, each with very different disease patterns and patient populations. Research partnerships include government-associated research institutes, private medical schools, city and state government hospitals, and hospitals with industry ties. Between 2012 and 2017, in addition to developing clinical research and basic science infrastructure at new clinical sites, our training workshops will engage new scientists and clinicians throughout South Asia in the malaria research field., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Malaria is a major public health problem in India and one which contributes significantly to the overall malaria burden in Southeast Asia. The National Vector Borne Disease Control Program of India reported ∼1.6 million cases and ∼1100 malaria deaths in 2009. Some experts argue that this is a serious underestimation and that the actual number of malaria cases per year is likely between 9 and 50 times greater, with an approximate 13-fold underestimation of malaria-related mortality. The difficulty in making these estimations is further exacerbated by (i) highly variable malaria eco-epidemiological profiles, (ii) the transmission and overlap of multiple Plasmodium species and Anopheles vectors, (iii) increasing antimalarial drug resistance and insecticide resistance, and (iv) the impact of climate change on each of these variables. Simply stated, the burden of malaria in India is complex. Here we describe plans for a Center for the Study of Complex Malaria in India (CSCMi), one of ten International Centers of Excellence in Malaria Research (ICEMRs) located in malarious regions of the world recently funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health. The CSCMi is a close partnership between Indian and United States scientists, and aims to address major gaps in our understanding of the complexity of malaria in India, including changing patterns of epidemiology, vector biology and control, drug resistance, and parasite genomics. We hope that such a multidisciplinary approach that integrates clinical and field studies with laboratory, molecular, and genomic methods will provide a powerful combination for malaria control and prevention in India., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The "Malaria Evolution in South Asia" (MESA) program project is an International Center of Excellence for Malaria Research (ICEMR) sponsored by the US National Institutes of Health. This US-India collaborative program will study the origin of genetic diversity of malaria parasites and their selection on the Indian subcontinent. This knowledge should contribute to a better understanding of unexpected disease outbreaks and unpredictable disease presentations from Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax infections. In this first of two reviews, we highlight malaria prevalence in India. In particular, we draw attention to variations in distribution of different human-parasites and different vectors, variation in drug resistance traits, and multiple forms of clinical presentations. Uneven malaria severity in India is often attributed to large discrepancies in health care accessibility as well as human migrations within the country and across neighboring borders. Poor access to health care goes hand in hand with poor reporting from some of the same areas, combining to possibly distort disease prevalence and death from malaria in some parts of India. Corrections are underway in the form of increased resources for disease control, greater engagement of village-level health workers for early diagnosis and treatment, and possibly new public-private partnerships activities accompanying traditional national malaria control programs in the most severely affected areas. A second accompanying review raises the possibility that, beyond uneven health care, evolutionary pressures may alter malaria parasites in ways that contribute to severe disease in India, particularly in the NE corridor of India bordering Myanmar Narayanasamy et al., 2012., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)