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Zika virus (ZIKV) is an arthropod-borne flavivirus that presents with acute febrile illness associated with rash, arthralgia and conjunctivitis. After years of sporadic reports in Africa, the three major outbreaks of this disease occurred in Yap Islands (2007), French Polynesia (2013–14) and South Americas (2015–16). Although, serological surveys suggested the presence of ZIKV in India in 1950s, cross-reactivity could not be ruled out. The first four proven cases of ZIKV from India were reported in 2017. This was followed by major outbreaks in the states of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh in 2018. Fortunately, the outbreaks in India were not associated with neurological complications. These outbreaks in India highlighted the spread of this disease beyond geographical barriers owing to the growing globalization, increased travel and ubiquitous presence of its vector, the Aedes mosquito. In this review, we discuss the epidemiology, clinical features and management of ZIKV in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

His chest radiograph showed a right-sided pleural effusion which revealed lymphocyte rich, exudative effusion with high adenosine deaminase levels on analysis; however, microbiological evidence of tuberculosis was lacking. Learning points for clinicians VEXAS syndrome (vacuoles, E1 enzyme, X-linked, autoinflammatory, somatic) manifests as an adult-onset autoinflammatory syndrome often associated with MDS. [Extracted from the article]

Many countries in the world are affected by severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Approximately 80% of the cases are mild symptomatic, 15% are severe and approximately 5% are critically ill. The mortality among severe and critically ill patients ranges from 17% to 78%. Elderly and patients with comorbidities have higher chances of progression to severe disease and subsequent mortality. There are no proven antiviral agents available for the management of COVID-19. Besides the viral cytopathic effects, dysregulation in immunity also contributes substantially to the pathogenesis. Treatment with immunomodulatory agents such as interleukin-6 blockers, glucocorticoids and mesenchymal stem cell therapy has been observed to be potentially beneficial. In this review, the immune response in SARS-CoV-2, the mechanism of immune dysregulation as well as potential therapeutic targets for immunomodulatory therapies are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background & objectives: Progressive multifocal leucoencephalopathy (PNLL) is seen mostly in advanced human immunodeficiency virus (HLV) infection. Little is known about the epidemiology and disease course of these patients from India. This study was aimed to determine the frequency of PML in patients with HIV/AIDS, and the clinical features and survival of these patients. Methods: The charts of HIV/AIDS patients with PML seen over a period of five years (2006-2011) at the Antiretroviral treatment (ART) centre at a tertiary care centre in New Delhi, India, were retrospectively reviewed. Results: Of 1465 patients with HIV/ALDS, 18 (1.2%) were diagnosed with PML; four were laboratory confirmed and 14 had consistent clinical and radiological features. PML was the initial presentation of HIV infection in 10(56%) patients, and 16(89%) patients had CD4 count less than 200/μl. Insidious onset focal limb weakness (78%) and visual disturbance (28%) were common symptoms. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain revealed characteristic white matter lesions in all the patients. The estimated median survival was 7.6 months (95% CI, 0-20 months). Inlerpretation & conclusions: Our results show that the patients present late to access treatment with advanced immunosuppression at presentation. PNLL is associated with high morbidity and mortality despite institution of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). There is a need to address the lacuna in diagnostic and management services for these patients in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cranio-vertebral junction (CVJ) tuberculosis, although rare, contributes significantly to morbidity. We detail the case of a young woman manifesting symptoms such as headaches, neck pain and pronounced weight loss. Diagnostic confirmation was achieved through an integrated approach of clinical evaluation and imaging modalities. The patient was treated with anti-tubercular pharmacotherapy and mechanical stabilisation using a cervical collar. This regimen resulted in significant clinical improvement, illustrating the potential effectiveness of conservative management strategies in selected cases. CVJ tuberculosis represents a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge, often necessitating clinic-radiological assessment and a spectrum of management strategies ranging from conservative medical therapy to surgical intervention., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

Background: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a neglected tropical disease primarily affecting Brazil, East Africa, and India, with India accounting for 18% of the global burden. While VL typically presents with systemic symptoms like fever, weight loss, and splenomegaly, it can occasionally manifest atypically, posing significant diagnostic challenges. Neurological presentations of VL are extremely rare, making them difficult to suspect and diagnose. Cases where VL predominantly presents with neurological symptoms are particularly novel, underscoring the need for heightened awareness of such atypical manifestations in endemic regions., Clinical Case: A 38-year-old man with history of recurrent atypical VL presented with diffuse lower back pain, progressive tingling, numbness, weakness in the lower extremities, and double vision for one month. Clinical and radiological evaluations suggested cauda equina syndrome and cranial nerve palsy, accompanied by generalized lymphadenopathy, subcutaneous nodules, and skin papules. The differential diagnosis initially included disseminated tuberculosis, histoplasmosis, and lymphoma. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis revealed an inflammatory syndrome. Histopathology of lymph node and bone marrow revealed Leishmania amastigotes and subcutaneous nodule and skin biopsy revealed inflammatory cells with granulomas. Furthermore, the qPCR test on DNA from a subcutaneous nodule, lymph node, and CSF was positive for Leishmania kinetoplast DNA. The species was further confirmed as Leishmania donovani through ITS-based PCR amplification and sequencing. Finally, a diagnosis of relapse of VL with lymph node, cutaneous, and neurological involvement, including abducens nerve palsy and cauda equina syndrome, was established. He was treated with combination of liposomal amphotericin B and miltefosine, along with intrathecal hyaluronidase, resulting in significant improvement., Conclusion: Unlike previously reported cases with both systemic and neurological symptoms, our patient predominantly presented with neurological manifestations, making this a unique and novel presentation of VL. This case highlights diagnostic challenges and management of atypical VL, emphasizing neurological involvement and successful therapeutic strategies., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Objective: MALDI-TOF-MS facilitates the identification of microorganisms from positive cultures in a timely and accurate manner. It eliminates the necessity for the application of biochemicals and operates on the principle of proteomics. It decreases the time required to report culture results. Prompt detection and notification of the pathogen, prior to the disclosure of antimicrobial susceptibilities, could potentially shorten the duration until the initial antibiotic adjustment is necessary, thereby influencing patients' clinical prognoses., Methodology: Fifty patients in the conventional arm and one hundred patients in the interventional arm were compared in a pre and post quasi-experimental study conducted at a tertiary care centre in North India. Patients with positive cultures from medical wards and intensive care units were included. Comparing the time to first antibiotic modification after culture positivity, MALDI-TOF-MS-based identification, and clinical outcomes in both arms was the primary objective. Antibiotic modifications, escalation, and de-escalation were all recorded., Results: The intervention arm exhibited a substantially shorter median time to first antibiotic modification (2010 mins vs 2905 mins, p=0.002) than the conventional arm. In the interventional group, a total of 44 out of 100 antibiotic modifications were implemented. Of these, 19 (43.3%) were determined solely by the MALDI report, without the anticipation of susceptibility assessments. De-escalation of antibiotics constituted the pre-dominant form of modification (47.4%). The difference between the 27% and 32% mortality rates in the intervention arm and the conventional arm was not statistically significant (p=0.52)., Conclusion: MALDI-TOF-MS facilitates the modification of antibiotics early on. The primary benefit lies in the reduction of superfluous antibiotic usage. Early organism identification and reporting prior to the availability of susceptibility results did not result in any mortality benefit. This strategy, when combined with a strong antimicrobial stewardship programme, can aid in the reduction of antibiotic use., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Background: Lung cancer and tuberculosis share similar risk factors, clinical spectrum, radiological features and it is difficult to differentiate but it is important to diagnose both conditions for targeted therapy and better outcome., Aims: Our primary objective was to estimate the proportion of TB in primary biopsy proven non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) cases., Material & Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted in the Departments of Medicine/ Pulmonary Medicine/Medical Oncology and Microbiology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi for a period of 2 years (January, 2020-December, 2021). Patients with biopsy proven, primary non-small cell lung cancer were recruited and sputum samples were subjected to microbiological investigations to confirm tuberculosis. Comparison was done in two groups of lung cancer patients with confirmed TB (Group A) and without confirmed tuberculosis (Group B)., Results: Total 75 patients with biopsy proven, primary NSCLC were recruited and 16% (12/75) were diagnosed with confirmed TB. Adenocarcinoma (36.48%) and Squamous cell carcinoma (33.44%) were the two predominant histopathological subtypes of NSCLC. About 57 (76%) of them were found to be in stage IV of Lung cancer at initial presentation itself (75% in group A & 74.6 % in group B; p value <0.80). A majority of patients (11/12 cases; 91%) of group A were males with a mean age of 59 ± 7.5 years. The upper lobes of the lung were involved in 65% (49/75) of the cases and showing a mass lesion on imaging (75% in group A & 65 % in group B; p value <0.52). Kaplan Meier survival revealed a median survival time of 11 months in subjects with only NSCLC and a median survival time of 4 months in the group with concomitant TB and NSCLC (p value <0.44)., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest ☒ The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. ☐ The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:, (Copyright © 2024 Indian Association of Medical Microbiologists. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Iron is an important micronutrient involved in cell biology through vital reactions. We examined the correlations between iron metabolism parameters and the course of invasive fungal sinusitis. Patients with invasive fungal sinusitis were enrolled. Serum iron and ferritin levels, total iron-binding capacity, and transferrin saturation were measured at the initiation of treatment. Patients were followed for 6 months, and the clinical course was categorised as improvement or worsening/death. A total of 35 patients were enrolled. The average ferritin levels in mucormycosis patients was 944.9 ng/ml, versus 110.7 ng/ml for aspergillosis patients. Iron levels were significantly lower in mucormycosis than in aspergillosis (29.14 µg/dl vs. 68.55 µg/dl). Total iron-binding capacity was significantly different between the two groups (16.76 µg/dl vs. 330.36 µg/dl). After 6 months, improvement, worsening, and death were noted for 18, 8, and 9 patients, respectively. Higher iron levels and lower ferritin levels were linked with improvement. Total iron-binding capacity was significantly higher in improved patients (2314 vs. 151). Iron metabolism parameters play significant roles in the preemptive judgment of the course of fungal sinusitis. Based on these findings, studies on drugs affecting iron metabolism should be conducted., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors declare no conflict of interest., (© Association of Otolaryngologists of India 2024. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.)

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is still the second causative agent of death worldwide after COVID-19. It is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection., Objective: The aim of the current study was to compare the performance of GeneNAT real-time polymerase chain reaction analyzer and pre-loaded chip-based MTB screening and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) detection kit (Smart Sure TM MTB & MDR-TB, Genetix Biotech Asia Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, India) against the established WHO-approved GeneXpert Ultra (MTB/rifampicin (RIF)), line probe assay (LPA), and mycobacteria growth indicator tube (MGIT) culture at point of care (POC) level., Methods: A total of 450 pulmonary TB (PTB) suspect patients were enrolled from October 2023 to March 2024 at the Intermediate Reference Laboratory, Department of Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India. GeneXpert and GeneNAT tests were done directly from sputum specimens. However, processed sputum specimens were used for both LPA (GenoType MTBDRplus) and liquid culture and drug susceptibility testing (MGIT culture and drug susceptibility testing (DST))., Results: On comparing with GeneXpert, for the detection of MTB and rifampicin (RIF), Smart Sure TM showed a sensitivity of 98.18% and 97.5% with a specificity of 100% and 98.92%, respectively. While comparing mutations in the  rpoB gene with LPA, the Smart Sure TM MDR-TB kit exhibited sensitivity and specificity of 96.77% and 99.12%, respectively. For katG and inhA genes, sensitivity and specificity were 97.6% & 85.71% and 98.66% & 98.01%, respectively, for both genes. Smart Sure TM MDR-TB showed comparable results with MGIT-DST with sensitivity and specificity of 96.88% & 96.15% and 98.99% & 99.02%, respectively, for both RIF and isoniazid (INH) drugs., Conclusion: The GeneNAT system test may provide the status of RIF and INH resistance in PTB cases in a short time with the use of minimal specimens. It required very little infrastructure with less skilled laboratory staff in comparison with other WHO-approved diagnostics used in resource-limited countries with TB and drug-resistant TB burdens., Competing Interests: Human subjects: Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Institute Ethical Committee, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi issued approval IEC-609/06.10.2023, RP-41/2023. The ethical approval for the study was taken from the Institute Ethical Committee, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi (IEC-609/06.10.2023, RP-41/2023). All the study subjects were enrolled in the study after getting written informed consent. Study subjects who did not give consent were excluded from the study. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work., (Copyright © 2024, Jorwal et al.)

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is caused due to the infection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and it can infect the various parts of the human body. The disease is highly prevalent and is the second most common cause of death worldwide after COVID-19. Apart from sputum specimen, it is exceedingly difficult to diagnose due to its paucibacillary nature. The current study was intended to evaluate the accuracy of Smart Sure™ MTB and multidrug-resistant-TB (MDR-TB) kits (Genetix Biotech Asia Pvt. Ltd., India) with Xpert ultra and Mycobacterium growth indicator tube (MGIT) culture on nonsputum specimens from TB suspects., Methods: A total of 205 nonsputum specimens were received between October 2023 and May 2024 at Intermediate Reference Laboratory, Department of Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India. Xpert ultra and Smart Sure™ MTB and MDR-TB tests were done directly on samples. However, processed specimens were used for MGIT culture and drug-susceptibility testing (DST). Invalid and MGIT contaminated specimens were excluded from the final calculation., Results: Overall, sensitivity and specificity of Smart Sure™ MTB screening kit was 71.59% and 98.28%, respectively, with Xpert ultra and 68.35% and 90.83%, respectively, with MGIT culture. While comparing with both Xpert ultra and MGIT-DST to detect rifampicin (RIF) resistant, Smart Sure™ MDR-TB kits showed sensitivity of 75.0% and 100% of specificity. However, for isoniazid (INH) resistance, Smart Sure™ MDR-TB kits showed 100% of sensitivity and specificity with MGIT-DST., Conclusion: For the detection of MTB and its drug-resistance patterns (RIF and INH) in the specimens other than sputum, Smart Sure™ MTB and MDR-TB kits could play a vital role in TB endemic countries. While comparing the set-ups and skilled staffs, it required almost same as compared with previously approved WHO diagnostics used in resource-limited countries., (Copyright © 2024 Copyright: © 2024 International Journal of Mycobacteriology.)

Unusual fungi, encountered infrequently in practice, present a significant diagnostic challenge, leading to potential delays in diagnosis and treatment. This study aims to describe a number of cases, where infections were caused by rare yeast pathogens. Organisms isolated included rare Candida species, Geotrichum, Lodderomyces and Trichosporon species. The mean duration of the outcome of the patients from microbiological diagnosis was 20 days. A total of 3 patients succumbed to their illness. This study aims to shed light on the varied clinical presentation and outcome of infections caused by rare yeast pathogens., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Indian Association of Medical Microbiologists. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Invasive mould infections (IMIs) are a leading cause of death in patients with compromised immune systems. Proven invasive mould infection requires detection of a fungus by histopathological analysis of a biopsied specimen, sterile culture, or fungal DNA amplification by PCR in tissue. However, the clinical performance of a PCR assay on blood samples taken from patients suspected of invasive mould disease has not been fully evaluated, particularly for the differential diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis (IA) and invasive Mucormycosis (IM)., Objectives: To assess the diagnostic utility of our previously validated in-house real-time PCR in blood samples for diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis and mucormycosis in patients with suspected invasive mould infection., Methods: All patients with suspected invasive mould infection were prospectively enrolled from May 2021 to July 2021. Conventional fungal diagnosis was performed using tissue and respiratory samples. In-house PCR was performed on blood samples and its diagnostic performance evaluated., Results: A total of 158 cases of suspected invasive mould infection were enrolled in the study. The sensitivity and specificity of in-house PCR performed on blood samples was found to be 92.5% and 81.4% respectively for diagnosis of probable IA, and 65% and 84.62% respectively for diagnosis of proven and probable IM. It was also able to detect 3 out of 5 cases of possible IM where no other microbiological evidence of IM was obtained., Conclusions: This assay could be helpful in minimally invasive diagnosis of IMIs for patients in whom invasive sampling is not feasible, especially as a preliminary or screening test. It can help in early diagnosis, anticipating conventional laboratory confirmation by days or weeks. Possible correlation between fungal load and mortality can help in initiating aggressive treatment for patients with high initial fungal load., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest There are no conflicts of interest declared by any of the authors., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Background: Resource-limited settings like India need a simple, quick, and temperature-independent point-of-care diagnostic test that can diagnose tuberculous meningitis (TBM) at the earliest., Methods: A prospective study was carried out at a tertiary care center in North India wherein 50 subjects suspected of TBM were recruited and followed up for six months between January 2019 and December 2020. The aim was to evaluate the performance of loop-mediated isothermal amplification (TB-LAMP) in diagnosing TBM as compared to a composite reference standard (CRS), mycobacteria growth indicator tube 960 (MGIT 960) culture, and GeneXpert ® ., Results: Out of 50 patients, 32 were TBM cases (64%), and 18 were non-TBM cases (36%). The sensitivity of TB-LAMP and GeneXpert ® for TBM diagnosis against CRS was 53% (17/32) for both, and the specificity was 78% (14/18) and 89% (16/18), respectively. On comparing TB-LAMP against GeneXpert ® for TBM diagnosis, the two methods had almost perfect agreement (Cohen's kappa=0.83) with statistical significance (p<0.001)., Conclusion: The performance of TB-LAMP assay is comparable to GeneXpert ® in diagnosing TBM, and it may be used as a substitute for CSF GeneXpert ® in resource-limited settings., Competing Interests: The authors have declared financial relationships, which are detailed in the next section., (Copyright © 2024, Chauhan et al.)

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) associated mucormycosis (CAM) was reported predominantly from India during the second wave of COVID-19  and has a high mortality rate. The present study aims to understand the fungal community composition of the nasopharyngeal region of CAM-infected individuals and compare it with severe COVID-19 patients and healthy controls. The fungal community composition was decoded by analyzing the sequence homology of the internal transcribed spacer-2-(ITS-2) region of metagenomic DNA extracted from the upper respiratory samples. The alpha-diversity indices were found to be significantly altered in CAM patients (p < 0.05). Interestingly, a higher abundance of Candida africana, Candida haemuloni, Starmerella floris, and Starmerella lactiscondensi was observed exclusively in CAM patients. The interindividual changes in mycobiome composition were well supported by beta-diversity analysis (p < 0.05). The current study provides insights into the dysbiosis of the nasal mycobiome during CAM infection. In conclusion, our study shows that severe COVID-19 and CAM are associated with alteration in mycobiome as compared to healthy controls. However, the sequential alteration in the fungal flora which ultimately leads to the development of CAM needs to be addressed by future studies., (© 2024 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Background: Emerging infectious diseases, often zoonotic, demand a collaborative "One-Health" surveillance approach due to human activities. The need for standardized diagnostic and surveillance algorithms is emphasized to address the difficulty in clinical differentiation and curb antimicrobial resistance., Objective: The present recommendations are comprehensive diagnostic and surveillance algorithm for ARIs, developed by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), which aims to enhance early detection and treatment with improved surveillance. This algorithm shall be serving as a blueprint for respiratory infections landscape in the country and early detection of surge of respiratory infections in the country., Content: The ICMR has risen up to the threat of emerging and re-emerging infections. Here, we seek to recommend a structured approach for diagnosing respiratory illnesses. The recommendations emphasize the significance of prioritizing respiratory pathogens based on factors such as the frequency of occurrence (seasonal or geographical), disease severity, ease of diagnosis and public health importance. The proposed surveillance-based diagnostic algorithm for ARI relies on a combination of gold-standard conventional methods, innovative serological and molecular techniques, as well as radiological approaches, which collectively contribute to the detection of various causative agents. The diagnostic part of the integrated algorithm can be dealt at the local microbiology laboratory of the healthcare facility with the few positive and negative specimens shipped to linked viral disease research laboratories (VRDLs) and other ICMR designated laboratories for genome characterisation, cluster identification and identification of novel agents., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Indian Association of Medical Microbiologists. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Importance: CD8 T cells play a crucial role in protecting against intracellular pathogens such as viruses by eliminating infected cells and releasing anti-viral cytokines such as interferon gamma (IFNγ). Consequently, there is significant interest in comprehensively characterizing CD8 T cell responses in acute dengue febrile patients. Previous studies, including our own, have demonstrated that a discrete population of CD8 T cells with HLADR + CD38 + phenotype undergoes massive expansion during the acute febrile phase of natural dengue virus infection. Although about a third of these massively expanding HLADR + CD38 + CD8 T cells were also CD69 high when examined ex vivo , only a small fraction of them produced IFNγ upon in vitro peptide stimulation. Therefore, to better understand such functional diversity of CD8 T cells responding to dengue virus infection, it is important to know the cytokines/chemokines expressed by these peptide-stimulated HLADR + CD38 + CD8 T cells and the transcriptional profiles that distinguish the CD69 + IFNγ + , CD69 + IFNγ - , and CD69 - IFNγ - subsets., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Abstract: Chronic active EBV infection is a rare disorder prone for misdiagnosis. They present with a wide range of symptoms from indolent to aggressive clinical course. Clinico-pathological correlation with confirmation by ancillary techniques is inevitable to diagnose this disease. We present a case of a 29-year-old male with fever, weight loss, and lymphadenopathy for 6 months. Lymph node biopsy showed occasional granuloma with preserved architecture. Suspected to have tuberculosis, he received antitubercular treatment (ATT) with no response for 3 months. Subsequently, additional workup showed many EBV-positive cells in sinusoids with high serum EBV titer, confirming the difficult diagnosis of CAEBV. The present case highlights the difficulty in the diagnosis of this entity and also emphasizes the necessity to recognize this disorder in countries endemic for tuberculosis, as it is no longer bound by ethnicity and geographical boundaries., (Copyright © 2023 Indian Journal of Pathology and Microbiology | Published by Wolters Kluwer – Medknow.)

Background: The rapid and accurate diagnosis of tubercular lymphadenitis remains a challenging task today. The World Health Organization (WHO) endorsed the LoopAMP MTBC kit (TB-LAMP) as a replacement for sputum smear microscopy in the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). However, no prospective diagnostic accuracy study of TB-LAMP for tubercular lymphadenitis in adults has been performed yet. The current study evaluated the diagnostic performance of TB-LAMP in tubercular lymphadenitis (LNTB)., Methods: In a prospective observational study conducted at a tertiary care hospital in India, 90 subjects (age >18 years) suspected of LNTB were recruited consecutively and followed up for 6 months between January 2019 and December 2020. Samples were processed for microscopy, culture, GeneXpert, histopathology and TB-LAMP. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of TB-LAMP against the composite reference standard (CRS) and culture were determined., Results: TB-LAMP showed a sensitivity of 83.78 % (95 % CI, 73.76-90.47) and a specificity of 81.25 % (95 % CI, 56.99-93.41), respectively, against the CRS. The PPV and NPV were 95.38 % (95 % CI, 87.29-98.42) and 52.00 % (95 % CI, 33.50-69.97), respectively. TB-LAMP showed a sensitivity of 88.89 % (95 % CI, 71.94-96.15) and a specificity of 36.17 % (95 % CI, 23.97-50.46), respectively, against culture. The PPV and NPV were 44.44 % (95 % CI, 32-57.62) and 85 % (95 % CI, 63.96-94.76), respectively., Conclusion: TB-LAMP can be used instead of conventional microscopy for the diagnosis of TB in lymph node specimens at primary healthcare centres. It provides rapid and cost-effective diagnosis of LNTB in resource-limited settings due to good sensitivity and NPV., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest., (© 2023 The Authors.)

The association between the stiffening of barosensitive regions of central arteries and the derangements in baroreflex functions remains unexplored in COVID-19 survivors. Fifty-seven survivors of mild COVID-19 (defined as presence of upper respiratory tract symptoms and/or fever without shortness of breath or hypoxia; SpO2 > 93%), with an age range of 22-66 years (27 females) participated at 3-6 months of recovering from the acute phase of RT-PCR positive COVID-19. Healthy volunteers whose baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) and arterial stiffness data were acquired prior to the onset of the pandemic constituted the control group. BRS was found to be significantly lower in the COVID survivor group for the systolic blood pressure-based sequences (BRS SBP ) [9.78 (7.16-17.74) ms/mmHg vs 16.5 (11.25-23.78) ms/mmHg; p = 0.0253]. The COVID survivor group showed significantly higher carotid β stiffness index [7.16 (5.75-8.18) vs 5.64 (4.34-6.96); (p = 0.0004)], and pulse wave velocity β (PWV β ) [5.67 (4.96-6.32) m/s vs 5.12 (4.37-5.41) m/s; p = 0.0002]. BRS quantified by both the sequence and spectral methods showed an inverse correlation with PWV β in the male survivors. Impairment of BRS in the male survivors of mild COVID-19 at 3-6 months of clinical recovery shows association with carotid artery stiffness., (© 2023 The Authors. Physiological Reports published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Physiological Society and the American Physiological Society.)

Zika virus (ZIKV) is an arthropod-borne flavivirus that presents with acute febrile illness associated with rash, arthralgia and conjunctivitis. After years of sporadic reports in Africa, the three major outbreaks of this disease occurred in Yap Islands (2007), French Polynesia (2013-14) and South Americas (2015-16). Although, serological surveys suggested the presence of ZIKV in India in 1950s, cross-reactivity could not be ruled out. The first four proven cases of ZIKV from India were reported in 2017. This was followed by major outbreaks in the states of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh in 2018. Fortunately, the outbreaks in India were not associated with neurological complications. These outbreaks in India highlighted the spread of this disease beyond geographical barriers owing to the growing globalization, increased travel and ubiquitous presence of its vector, the Aedes mosquito. In this review, we discuss the epidemiology, clinical features and management of ZIKV in India., (© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Association of Physicians. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)