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Globally, Group A rotavirus (RVA) is the leading cause of acute gastroenteritis in children under 5 years old, with Pakistan having the highest rates of RVA‐related morbidity and mortality. The current study aims to determine the genetic diversity of rotavirus and evaluate the impact of Rotarix‐vaccine introduction on disease epidemiology in Pakistan. A total of 4749 children, hospitalized with acute gastroenteritis between 2018 and 2020, were tested at four hospitals in Lahore and Karachi. Of the total, 19.3% (918/4749) cases were tested positive for RVA antigen, with the positivity rate varying annually (2018 = 22.7%, 2019 = 14.4%, 2020 = 20.9%). Among RVA‐positive children, 66.3% were under 1 year of age. Genotyping of 662 enzyme‐linked immuno sorbent assay‐positive samples revealed the predominant genotype as G9P[4] (21.4%), followed by G1P[8] (18.9%), G3P[8] (11.4%), G12P[6] (8.7%), G2P[4] (5.7%), G2P[6] (4.8%), and 10.8% had mixed genotypes. Among vaccinated children, genotypes G9P[4] and G12P[6] were more frequently detected, whereas a decline in G2P[4] was observed. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed the continued circulation of indigenous genotypes detected earlier in the country except G9 and P[6] strains. Our findings highlight the predominance of G9P[4] genotype after the vaccine introduction thus emphasizing continual surveillance to monitor the disease burden, viral diversity, and their impact on control of rotavirus gastroenteritis in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and the Omicron variant presents a formidable challenge for control and prevention worldwide, especially for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Hence, taking Kazakhstan and Pakistan as examples, this study aims to explore COVID-19 transmission with the Omicron variant at different contact, quarantine and test rates. Methods: A disease dynamic model was applied, the population was segmented, and three time stages for Omicron transmission were established: the initial outbreak, a period of stabilization, and a second outbreak. The impact of population contact, quarantine and testing on the disease are analyzed in five scenarios to analysis their impacts on the disease. Four statistical metrics are employed to quantify the model's performance, including the correlation coefficient (CC), normalized absolute error, normalized root mean square error and distance between indices of simulation and observation (DISO). Results: Our model has high performance in simulating COVID-19 transmission in Kazakhstan and Pakistan with high CC values greater than 0.9 and DISO values less than 0.5. Compared with the present measures (baseline), decreasing (increasing) the contact rates or increasing (decreasing) the quarantined rates can reduce (increase) the peak values of daily new cases and forward (delay) the peak value times (decreasing 842 and forward 2 days for Kazakhstan). The impact of the test rates on the disease are weak. When the start time of stage II is 6 days, the daily new cases are more than 8 and 5 times the rate for Kazakhstan and Pakistan, respectively (29,573 vs. 3259; 7398 vs. 1108). The impact of the start times of stage III on the disease are contradictory to those of stage II. Conclusions: For the two LMICs, Kazakhstan and Pakistan, stronger control and prevention measures can be more effective in combating COVID-19. Therefore, to reduce Omicron transmission, strict management of population movement should be employed. Moreover, the timely application of these strategies also plays a key role in disease control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A field survey was conducted in rice-wheat cropping system of Gujranwala zone, Pakistan during Kharif season 2020 to estimate the economic viability and profitability analysis of mechanically transplanted rice (MTR) in comparison to conventional manual transplanting (CT). Convenience and snow-ball non probability sampling method was used due to less adoption rate of MTR with a sample size of 240. Among targeted MTR growers 72% had 6-row riding type mechanical transplanters (MT), 18% had 4-row walk after type MT and 10% had 8-row riding type MT. Super Basmati and PK 386 were found more adopted varieties with 47% and 38% share of rice area. An 11-13% improved yield and 16-20% more net returns estimated with MTR by acquiring required plant population in the field despite of paying 6.17% more operational cost for sowing and transplanting nursery. For service users of MT on rental basis the 292-303 values (variety wise) of marginal rate of returns (MRR%) was calculated. The project appraisal method of financial analysis illustrated the viability of MTR from the owner user or service provider's point of view as calculated by the indicators like benefit cost ratio, net present value, internal rate of return, payback period (yr) and breakeven point (ha yr-1). Hence, the adaptation of MTR would give farmers the opportunity to increase the productivity of rice crop and their farm income by coping the issues like labor scarcity, less plant population, delay in transplanting with more aged nursery, improper fixation of nursery plants in the soil etc. The study results projected mechanically transplanting area (ha) for riding type MT as well as for walk after type MT respectively as 64.78 and 28 annually. Accordingly, there would be 36.15 (000 ha) mechanically transplanted area (5.41%) of province Punjab, Pakistan annually after completion of the Govt. prevailing project on rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate the impact of knowledge management practices (KMP) on employee performance, i.e. task performance, contextual performance, and counter-productive work behaviour. The study has further analysed the moderating role of emotional intelligence between the relationship of knowledge management practices (KMP) and the dimensions of employee performance (EP). This study is explanatory as an empirical approach to test the hypothesized model has been used. The data have been collected from the employees of colleges of Punjab, Pakistan. The sample size of the study is 277. Linear regression has been used for statistical analyses, and process macro has been applied for moderation analysis. The study results depict that knowledge management practices positively affect employee task and contextual performance, whereas it has a negative impact on counter-productive work behaviour. Moreover, Emotional Intelligence moderates the relationship between knowledge management practices, employee task performance, employee contextual performance and counterproductive work behaviour. The study results confirm that knowledge management practices enhance employee performance, and the employee's emotional intelligence affects this relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We detected Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus infections in 4 provinces of Pakistan during 2017-2018. Overall, seroprevalence was 2.7% in humans and 36.2% in domestic livestock. Antibody prevalence in humans was highest in rural areas, where increased contact with animals is likely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pakistan is the fifth most populous nation in the world and faces several challenges, including devastating floods, sub-optimal sanitary conditions, clustered accommodations, and unregulated cross-border movements. These drastic population shifts make it vulnerable to the efficient spread of the Hepatitis E virus (HEV). The current study analyzed the genotypic characteristics and variants of the Hepatitis E virus circulating in the population of Pakistan. A total of 75 ELISA-IgM positive samples were collected from three metropolitan cities: Lahore, Peshawar, and Karachi, and subjected to viral RNA extraction. The amplification of the HEV RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) region was done using Nested PCR and degenerate primers. Out of the total, 40% of the samples were positive for HEV RNA. Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis identified the new HEV isolates as Subtype 1 g, a subtype within an existing HEV genotype 1. This shift warrants investigation into its impact on clinical manifestation and disease severity. Importantly, this study marks the first HEV subtype analysis in Pakistan, contributing valuable insights into subtype diversity and prevalence in the region. • The current HEV isolates clustered with HEV genotype 1 strain and shared 92–99% sequence identity to HEV subtype 1 g variations • The isolated variations are from different parts of Pakistan and share 94–100% nucleotide similarity suggesting a common source • The study hints at subtype 1 g prevalence in Pakistan and its potential as a significant cause of hepatitis E virus infection • A more comprehensive HEV genotypic analysis is recommended to precisely understand the region's prevalent genotype and primary causes [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In rice-wheat cropping system the emerging Super Seeder (SS) is a tractor operated single pass solution to incorporate the standing and loose paddy residues into soil without burning, prepares land and concurrently sows wheat seed.This study was conducted during 2022 to assess the pros and cons of SS for wheat sowing as well as to compare the economics of wheat production to conventional tillage/broadcasting method (CT). As the SS has not been adopted on large scale to find out its adopters easily; therefore, twenty innovative farmers were included in sampling f rame with non-probability sampling procedure for field survey as well as six field experiments were conducted in Gujranwala zone, Pakistan to evaluate four sowing techniques, i.e., CT, happy seeder, ridge sowing and SS with Randomized Complete Block Design. As compared to CT the SS has been estimated as resource conservation technique regarding sowing time (62.50%), irrigation time (7.69%), seed cost (14%), fertilizer cost (10.81%), and fuel cost (58.33%) with the constrained requirement of higher hp tractor (preferably 85 hp) for sowing operation. An increased wheat yield (13.11%) was estimated with SS (3450 kg ha-1) as compared to CT (3050 kg ha-1) in rice-wheat cropping system. The more net returns (36.15%) were calculated by SS with higher benefit cost ratio value (2.81) as compared to CT with lower value (2.16). Similarly, based on the field experiments data the SS resulted in significantly higher values of emergence count (211 m-2), productive tillers (322 m-2), grains count (38.93 spike-1), 1000 grains weight (38.91 g) and grains yield (3497 kg ha-1) delineating more yield (13.10%) over the CT. Thus, SS has conserved soil moisture, increased soil organic matter, better soil tilth and enhanced fertilizer uptake efficiency which ultimately increased the yield over the other comparative wheat sowing techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intercropping of cereal and legume forages following proper planting geometry is an important strategy to achieve higher yield of quality forage. A field experiment was performed to evaluate agro-qualitative response of forage pearl millet sown as a base crop and sesbania as intercrop under different geometrical patterns (line sowing of sole pearl millet, line sowing of sole sesbania, cross planting of pearl millet and sesbania, blended seed sowing of pearl millet and sesbania, sesbania intercropping in 30 cm apart rows of pearl millet, sesbania intercropping in 45 cm apart two-row strips of pearl millet, and sesbania intercropping in 75 cm apart four-row strips of pearl millet) at Agronomic Research Area, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad. Sesbania intercropping reduced pearl millet growth. Nonetheless, least decrease in height (23%), leaf area (42%) and number of leaves (16%) of pearl millet was occurred by intercropping sesbania in 45 cm apart two-row strips of pearl millet, as compared to sole cropping of pearl millet. Total green forage yield (60%) was increased by sesbania intercropping over sole-cropping of pearl millet and the intercropping of sesbania in 45 cm apart two-row strips of pearl millet was most beneficial. Intercropping improved quality of fodder mixture, compared to sole-cropping. Crude protein (84%) was improved most by cross planting over sole pearl millet, while, crude fiber (36%) and ash contents (20%) were improved by blended seed sowing, as compared to sole cropping of sesbania. Potential benefits of forage pearl millet can be acquired by intercropping with sesbania and following the planting geometry of sesbania intercropped in 45 cm apart two-row strips of pearl millet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crop growth and productivity may differ under different sowing methods and planting densities. A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the influence of different sowing methods and planting densities on growth, yield, quality and economic returns of cotton. Sowing methods included pit planting (1 m × 1 m pits), bed planting (75 cm apart beds), ridge planting (75 cm apart ridges) and line sowing with varied inter row spacing (25, 50 and 75 cm). Sowing methods significantly affected growth and yield of cotton. Pit planting imposed maximum increase in plant height (152 cm), number of monopodial branches (4.7) and sympodial branches (22.6) per plant, number of unopened (9.4) and opened bolls (41.1) per plant, and average boll weight (3.0 g) of cotton. However, highest seed cotton yield (2944.5 kg ha-1) was obtained by flat sowing on 25 cm apart rows owing to highest planting density per unit area. Maximum ginning out turn (GOT) (41.6%) was noticed in pit planting of cotton, while, fiber quality was not affected significantly by sowing methods. Economic analysis showed that economic returns and benefit cost ratio (BCR) (1.52) was elevated by flat sowing on 25 cm apart rows. In conclusion, maximum seed cotton yield and economic returns can be acquired by flat sowing with 25 cm apart rows, while, fiber quality is independent of sowing methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Active circulation of West Nile virus (WNV) was identified in blood donors in Pakistan. • All of the WNV-positive blood donors were asymptomatic carriers of the virus. • The viruses detected in Pakistan belonged to WNV lineage 1. • No mosquito pool was found positive in this study. This study was performed to determine the presence of West Nile virus (WNV) in mosquito specimens and human blood donors in Pakistan. A total of 4150 mosquito specimens were collected using CO 2 -baited traps from five selected districts of Punjab Province, Pakistan. The mosquitoes were taxonomically identified using standard morphological keys, resulting in 166 pools. In addition, 1070 serum samples were collected from human blood donors. RNA was extracted from mosquito and human samples and screened for WNV using a reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR). None of the mosquito pools tested positive for WNV, whereas three samples from asymptomatic humans tested positive. To determine the WNV strains, partial sequences were compared against a global representation of 23 WNV sequences. The study strains were determined to come from WNV lineage 1. This study is novel in reporting the circulation of lineage 1 WNV in Pakistan. Given its ability to transmit from human to human via blood transfusion, this highlights the urgent need for nationwide surveillance to assess the distribution and impact of WNV in Pakistan. Determining the source of human infection will require more extensive mosquito sampling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new hepatitis E virus (HEV-7) was recently found in dromedaries and 1 human from the United Arab Emirates. We screened 2,438 dromedary samples from Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, and 4 African countries. HEV-7 is long established, diversified and geographically widespread. Dromedaries may constitute a neglected source of zoonotic HEV infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brucellosis is an important zoonosis worldwide. Equines are susceptible to the infection when in close contact with infected animals. The objective of our study was to update the existing knowledge and detect and differentiate the causative agent of brucellosis in breeding equines in Punjab, Pakistan. A cross-sectional study was designed to evaluate the occurrence and etiology of the infection in the equine population in three districts. A total of 448 equine sera were collected from three prefectures viz. Sahiwal, Khanewal, and Okara of the Punjab Province of Pakistan. Ninety-six (21.4%) samples were found positive by RBPT, 3.56% (16/448) by iELISA, and 4.24% (19/448) by CFT. Real-time PCR demonstrated the presence of Brucella abortus-DNA in sero-positive samples. Age and location were found as risk factors. The study concludes equine brucellosis seroprevalence in the country where Brucella abortus as the main etiology. Fistulous withers and poll evil cases should be treated with care as they could be hazardous and a source of zoonotic transmission. Routine screening at an early age, vaccination in ruminants, and consumption of pasteurized dairy milk in humans is recommended for prevention of the infection. Specific tests need to be standardized and validated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dromedary camels from Africa and Arabia are an established source for zoonotic Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection among humans. In Pakistan, we found specific neutralizing antibodies in samples from 39.5% of 565 dromedaries, documenting significant expansion of the enzootic range of MERS-CoV to Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infectious diseases caused by arboviruses are a public health concern in Pakistan. However, studies on data prevalence and threats posed by arboviruses are limited. This study investigated the seroprevalence of arboviruses in a healthy population in Pakistan, including severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV), Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV), Tamdy virus (TAMV), and Karshi virus (KSIV) based on a newly established luciferase immunoprecipitation system (LIPS) assays, and Zika virus (ZIKV) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Neutralizing activities against these arboviruses were further examined from the antibody positive samples. The results showed that the seroprevalence of SFTSV, CCHFV, TAMV, KSIV, and ZIKV was 17.37%, 7.58%, 4.41%, 1.10%, and 6.48%, respectively, and neutralizing to SFTSV (1.79%), CCHFV (2.62%), and ZIKV (0.69%) were identified, as well as to the SFTSV-related Guertu virus (GTV, 0.83%). Risk factors associated with the incidence of exposure and levels of antibody response were analyzed. Moreover, co-exposure to different arboviruses was demonstrated, as thirty-seven individuals were having antibodies against multiple viruses and thirteen showed neutralizing activity. Males, individuals aged ≤40 years, and outdoor workers had a high risk of exposure to arboviruses. All these results reveal the substantial risks of infection with arboviruses in Pakistan, and indicate the threat from co-exposure to multiple arboviruses. The findings raise the need for further epidemiologic investigation in expanded regions and populations and the necessity to improve health surveillance in Pakistan., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest Professor Fei Deng and Professor Bo Zhang are editorial board members for Virologica Sinica and were not involved in the editorial review or the decision to publish this article. All authors declare that there are no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

We describe the seroprevalence of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) and the association of antibody occurrence with location, sex, and age among the human population in Pakistan. Our results indicate substantial activity of SFTSV and SFTSV-related viruses in this country.

An extended range of host susceptibility including camel has been evidenced for some of the important veterinary and public health pathogens, such as brucellosis, peste des petits ruminants (PPR) and bluetongue (BT). However, in disease endemic settings across many parts of the globe, most of the disease control interventions accounts for small and large ruminants, whereas unusual hosts and/or natural reservoirs, such as camels, remain neglected for disease control measures including routine vaccination. Such a policy drawback not only plays an important role in disease epizootiology particularly in settings where disease is endemic, but also serves an obstacle in disease control and subsequent eradication in future. With this background, using pre-validated ELISA and molecular assays [multiplex PCR, reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR and real-time (rt)-PCR], we conducted a large-scale pathogen- and antibody-based surveillance for brucellosis, peste des petits ruminants and bluetongue in camel population (n = 992) originating from a wide geographical region in southern part of the Punjab province, Pakistan. Varying in each of the selected districts, the seroprevalence was found to be maximum for bluetongue [n = 697 (70.26%, 95% CI: 67.29-73.07)], followed by PPR [n = 193 (19.46%, 95% CI: 17.07-22.09)] and brucellosis [n = 66 (6.65%, 95% CI: 5.22-8.43)]. Odds of seroprevalence were more significantly associated with pregnancy status (non-pregnant, OR = 2.23, 95% CI: 1.86-5.63, p<0.01), farming system (mixed-animal, OR = 2.59, 95% CI: 1.56-4.29, p<0.01), breed (Desi, OR = 1.97, 95% CI: 1.28-4.03, p<0.01) and farmer education (illiterate, OR = 3.17, 95% CI: 1.45-6.93, p<0.01) for BTV, body condition (normal, OR = 3.54, 95% CI: 1.92-6.54, p<0.01) and breed (Desi, OR = 2.19, 95% CI: 1.09-4.40, p<0.01) for brucellosis, and feeding system for PPR (grazing, OR = 2.75, 95% CI: 1.79-4.22, p<0.01). Among the total herds included (n = 74), genome corresponding to BT virus (BTV) and brucellosis was detected in 14 (18.92%, 95 CI: 11.09-30.04) and 19 herds (25.68%, 95% CI: 16.54-37.38), respectively. None of the herds was detected with genome of PPR virus (PPRV). Among the positive herds, serotype 1, 8 and 11 were detected for BTV while all the herds were exclusively positive to B. abortus. Taken together, the study highlights the role of potential disease reservoirs in the persistence and transmission of selected diseases in their susceptible hosts and, therefore, urges necessary interventions (e.g., inclusion of camels for vaccine etc.) for the control of diseases from their endemic setting worldwide., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None, (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a zoonotic pathogen capable of causing severe respiratory disease in humans. Although dromedary camels are considered as a major reservoir host, the MERS-CoV infection dynamics in camels are not fully understood. Through surveillance in Pakistan, nasal (n = 776) and serum (n = 1050) samples were collected from camels between November 2015 and February 2018. Samples were collected from animal markets, free-roaming herds and abattoirs. An in-house ELISA was developed to detect IgG against MERS-CoV. A total of 794 camels were found seropositive for MERS-CoV. Prevalence increased with the age and the highest seroprevalence was recorded in camels aged > 10 years (81.37%) followed by those aged 3.1-10 years (78.65%) and ≤ 3 years (58.19%). Higher prevalence was observed in female (78.13%) as compared to male (70.70%). Of the camel nasal swabs, 22 were found to be positive by RT-qPCR though with high Ct values. Moreover, 2,409 human serum samples were also collected from four provinces of Pakistan during 2016-2017. Among the sampled population, 840 humans were camel herders. Although we found a high rate of MERS-CoV antibody positive dromedaries (75.62%) in Pakistan, no neutralizing antibodies were detected in humans with and without contact to camels.