Comparison of CD4 and CD8 counts and ratio in HIV negative pulmonary tuberculosis patients with normal healthy controls

Background: There is an equivocal contention that Tuberculosis may be a cause of non-HIV-associated CD4+ T cell lymphopenia. In HIV negative patients, CD4+ and CD8+ T cell count suppression has been associated with TB infection. Prediction of HIV coinfection in newly diagnosed pulmonary TB patients with negative HIV status by estimation of CD4, CD8 count and CD4:CD8 ratio.Methods: Newly diagnosed pulmonary TB patients comprising of 30 numbers with negative HIV status were subjected for estimation of CD4, CD8 counts and ratio for prediction of HIV coinfection. Equal number of healthy controls was also included in the study for comparison of the values.Results: Significantly lower CD4 and CD8 counts among pulmonary TB infected HIV negative patients as compared with healthy controls was found. The CD4:CD8 ratio was normal when compared with healthy controls.Conclusions: The present study highlights the importance of estimation of CD4+ and CD8+ T cell counts and ratio in newly diagnosed pulmonary TB patients with negative HIV status. Prediction ability in combination with early detection and appropriate management play major role in evading emergence of drug resistance among the HIV-TB coinfected patients

SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence among the general population and healthcare workers in India, December 2020–January 2021

Background: Earlier serosurveys in India revealed seroprevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) of 0.73% in May–June 2020 and 7.1% in August–September 2020. A third serosurvey was conducted between December 2020 and January 2021 to estimate the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among the general population and healthcare workers (HCWs) in India. Methods: The third serosurvey was conducted in the same 70 districts as the first and second serosurveys. For each district, at least 400 individuals aged ≥10 years from the general population and 100 HCWs from subdistrict-level health facilities were enrolled. Serum samples from the general population were tested for the presence of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies against the nucleocapsid (N) and spike (S1-RBD) proteins of SARS-CoV-2, whereas serum samples from HCWs were tested for anti-S1-RBD. Weighted seroprevalence adjusted for assay characteristics was estimated. Results: Of the 28,598 serum samples from the general population, 4585 (16%) had IgG antibodies against the N protein, 6647 (23.2%) had IgG antibodies against the S1-RBD protein, and 7436 (26%) had IgG antibodies against either the N protein or the S1-RBD protein. Weighted and assay-characteristic-adjusted seroprevalence against either of the antibodies was 24.1% [95% confidence interval (CI) 23.0–25.3%]. Among 7385 HCWs, the seroprevalence of anti-S1-RBD IgG antibodies was 25.6% (95% CI 23.5–27.8%). Conclusions: Nearly one in four individuals aged ≥10 years from the general population as well as HCWs in India had been exposed to SARS-CoV-2 by December 2020