Inter-state cross border superspreading event of SARS-CoV2 in Central India, May 2020

Background: During the mid-weeks of May 2020, a superspreading event occurred in a town of Central India, where breaking bread together led to an outburst of COVID-19 cases. This led to a sudden increase of the daily average number of cases later on in the month.Methods: An epidemiological investigation was done to investigate the cause. Process of the epidemic investigation done has been described under three parts namely - Case finding, Contact tracing, Public health response.Results: Our epidemiological investigation and contact tracing of the index case confirmed a superspreading event of COVID-19 which occurred due to multiple social gatherings during mid weeks of May 2020. It was estimated that 118 cases belonged to G0 and 94 cases belonged to G1 generation of the index case.Conclusions: Most likely source of infection to the index case was from the guests who came for a social gathering on May 11, 2020 (lockdown 3) from a village across the border in Rajasthan, a high COVID-19 prevalent zone (Orange) to a low COVID-19 prevalent zone (Green)

Convalescent plasma in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised controlled, open-label, platform trial

SummaryBackground Azithromycin has been proposed as a treatment for COVID-19 on the basis of its immunomodulatoryactions. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of azithromycin in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19.Methods In this randomised, controlled, open-label, adaptive platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19Therapy [RECOVERY]), several possible treatments were compared with usual care in patients admitted to hospitalwith COVID-19 in the UK. The trial is underway at 176 hospitals in the UK. Eligible and consenting patients wererandomly allocated to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus azithromycin 500 mg once perday by mouth or intravenously for 10 days or until discharge (or allocation to one of the other RECOVERY treatmentgroups). Patients were assigned via web-based simple (unstratified) randomisation with allocation concealment andwere twice as likely to be randomly assigned to usual care than to any of the active treatment groups. Participants andlocal study staff were not masked to the allocated treatment, but all others involved in the trial were masked to theoutcome data during the trial. The primary outcome was 28-day all-cause mortality, assessed in the intention-to-treatpopulation. The trial is registered with ISRCTN, 50189673, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04381936.Findings Between April 7 and Nov 27, 2020, of 16 442 patients enrolled in the RECOVERY trial, 9433 (57%) wereeligible and 7763 were included in the assessment of azithromycin. The mean age of these study participants was65·3 years (SD 15·7) and approximately a third were women (2944 [38%] of 7763). 2582 patients were randomlyallocated to receive azithromycin and 5181 patients were randomly allocated to usual care alone. Overall,561 (22%) patients allocated to azithromycin and 1162 (22%) patients allocated to usual care died within 28 days(rate ratio 0·97, 95% CI 0·87–1·07; p=0·50). No significant difference was seen in duration of hospital stay (median10 days [IQR 5 to >28] vs 11 days [5 to >28]) or the proportion of patients discharged from hospital alive within 28 days(rate ratio 1·04, 95% CI 0·98–1·10; p=0·19). Among those not on invasive mechanical ventilation at baseline, nosignificant difference was seen in the proportion meeting the composite endpoint of invasive mechanical ventilationor death (risk ratio 0·95, 95% CI 0·87–1·03; p=0·24).Interpretation In patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19, azithromycin did not improve survival or otherprespecified clinical outcomes. Azithromycin use in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 should be restrictedto patients in whom there is a clear antimicrobial indication

A Legal Insight into Aarogya Setu: Privacy and Security Concerns

Aarogya Setu, an application which highlights the collaborative initiative and voluntary participation of the office of the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister, NITI Aayog, industry coalitions, start-ups and other organizations forms a part of the broader plan of the government in the area of health. Amidst the outbreak of the Corona virus, the application along with its official website titled ‘aarogyasetumitr.in’ was brought into operation to provide certain door-to-door health services by three categories of service providers viz. Tele-medicine counsels, e-Pharmacy partners and e-Diagnostic partners. While Tele-medicine counsels extend consultation services, e-Diagnostic partners provide services such as testing and sample collection. It has and is being witnessed that the government along with the concerned ministries have consistently endeavored to promote the said platform and push citizens to install and register on the same. Perhaps, though the plan of action appears to be quite impressive on the face of it, the said programme has been the subject of heated debates, in-depth discussions and heavy criticisms. Privacy experts and civil rights advocates have directly and expressly objected to it, laying down that the Aarogya Setu app is prejudicial as regards the privacy and security of a citizen who is registered on the said application. Experts have commented that the Arogya Setu application which involves tracking programmes is not backed by any well- built legislative framework. To put it the other way, the app enjoys complete potential to impair an individual’s privacy; thereby threatening his security. Nevertheless, there are certain significant areas revolving the platform that demand consideration. For instance, addressing the concerns surrounding the unauthorized use of data. In the era of technological advancement, it remains an undoubted fact, that the percentage and gravity of online crimes have also escalated. The present research calls for attention towards those important areas revolving digital health services, which if neglected, can lead to potential damage to not just a few individuals but the entire economy. It highlights the significance and acknowledgment of the right to privacy, the challenges surrounding the Aarogya Setu application, important aspects related to its functioning, assessing the application from an international perspective and proposes recommendations to counter these challenges. It also attempts to evaluate the proposed governmental plans, its benefits, hazards and challenges

Elicitation of native bio protective microbial agents associated systemic defense responses and plant growth promotion against bacterial stalk rot pathogen in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor)

Abstract Dickeya dadantii is the causal agent of bacterial stalk rot and one of the most destructive and widespread diseases of the sorghum in the world. Here, we explored microbe-based approaches for managing this destructive pathogen, intending to provide alternatives for integrated disease management. The objective of the research was to decipher the effect of antagonistic microbes on systemic defense enzymes, histochemical changes, plant growth attributes, reduction in disease severity, and interaction of these antagonistic microbes with host. Trichoderma, Pseudomonas, and Bacillus isolates were collected from rhizospheric soil and characterized using morphological and molecular tools. ITS and 16S rRNA sequences were analyzed to determine the molecular characterization of all antagonist microbes, and they were identified as T. asperellum, T. viride, T. harzianum, B. subtilis, and P. flourescens. These isolates were evaluated for antibacterial properties against D. dadantii under in vitro conditions and showed the higher inhibition in a dual culture method. Further, the effects of seed bio-priming and soil application of these isolates were tested under glasshouse and field conditions. T. viride outperformed the other isolates, significantly enhancing the plant growth parameters and induced resistance to Dickeya dadantii (BSR). T. viride showed a significantly higher accumulation of defensive enzymes, viz. PAL (1.02), PO (1.70), PPO (1.25), CAT (1.11), and TPC (0.91) at 48 h after pathogen challenge, as compared to the control. Histochemical tests confirmed lignification and callose deposition in the cell walls of the treated plants. Antagonist microbes were further evaluated under field conditions against D. dadantii infection. Compared to the control, there is a significant enhancement of plant growth parameters and yield with a simultaneous decrease in disease severity in T. viride treated plants. Results showed that the potential benefits of T. viride could not only effectively induce resistance in plants, enhance plant growth, increase yield, and suppress pathogen infection but also reduce the use of hazardous pesticides. As a result of correlation, PCA and heat map analyses indicated that T. viride is interconnected to determine the crop ability to sustain its growth under pathogen stress

Effect of<i style=""> Commiphora mukul</i> extract on cardiac dysfunction and ventricular function in isoproterenol-induced myocardial infarction

646-652In present study, hydroalcoholic extract of C. mukul significantly improved the cardiac function and prevented myocardial ischemic impairment manifested in the form of increased heart rate, decreased arterial pressure, increased left ventricular end diastolic pressure, and altered myocardial contractility indices. C. mukul treatment additionally also produced a significant increase in lactate dehydrogenase levels and prevented decline of protein content in heart. C. mukul preserved the structural integrity of myocardium. Reduced leakage of myocyte enzyme lactate dehydrogenase and maintenance of structural integrity of myocardium along with favorable modulation of cardiac function and improved cardiac performance indicate the salvage of myocardium with C. mukul treatment. Guggulsterones which are considered to be responsible for most of the therapeutic properties of C. mukul may underlie the observed cardioprotective effect of C. mukul against cardiac dysfunction in isoproterenol-induced ischemic rats