Perceptions regarding child care and perinatal depression during COVID-19 pandemic – A cross-sectional community-based survey from Uttar Pradesh

Background: High levels of stress among pregnant women have been reported during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic because of various infection-related and lockdown measures. Concerns about safe delivery, breastfeeding, and child care may increase the risk of depression in vulnerable women during the perinatal period. Aim: To study the perceptions regarding child care and prevalence of perinatal depression during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional community-based survey was conducted among 750 lactating mothers post delivery between September 2020 and February 2021 in 51 districts of Uttar Pradesh. A convenient purposive sampling technique was used. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect the socio-demographic details and perceptions regarding child care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Assessment of depression symptoms was performed with the help of patient health questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9). Results: A total of 440 participants were suffering from some form of depression symptoms; the majority had mild depression. Depression was found to be higher among homemakers and young mothers (age <25 years). Depression was found in more than 40% of the respondents who felt fear of COVID infection during breast feeding and hospital stay. Similarly, more than 50% of the respondents who feared unavailability of timely health services and social ignorance had depression. More than 60% of the mothers who did not have any knowledge about safe breast-feeding and child care practices had some form of depression, and the results were statistically significant. Conclusions: Perinatal depression is highly prevalent during the ongoing pandemic. Hence, regular screening, psychoeducation, awareness regarding safe breast feeding, and child care practices are recommended

Community based interventional study to assess the impact of health education on alcohol use among adult males in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh

Background: Alcoholic beverages have been a part of social life for millennia, yet societies have always found it difficult to understand or restrain their use. Apart from the health concerns, chronic alcoholism is one of the greatest causes for poverty in the country. Objective: To assess the impact of health education on alcohol use among adult males in Bareilly District, Uttar Pradesh. Material & Methods: A community based interventional study conducted in the Bareilly district among males aged >15 years during November 2015 to April 2017 taking a sample of 699 by 30 cluster sampling with PPS. Data was collected by home visit using WHO-AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test) questionnaire. After data collection, health education was given to study population in form of speech, posters, short films and focus group discussion. One year after providing health education, AUDIT questionnaire was re-filled by current alcohol drinkers to know the impact of health education. Results: Prevalence of drinking alcohol is 30.47% i.e. 213 current drinkers. AUDIT Scores before and after Health education were positively correlated (r=.768, p=0.0001). There was a significant average difference between AUDIT Scores before and after Health education (t178=2.973, p=0.003). Conclusion: Health education has a positive impact on alcohol use therefore research focus should be on primary prevention by health education/behaviour change communication in primary and secondary care settings

Spectrum Of Opportunistic Infections In Aids Cases In A Tertiary Care Hospital In Nepal

A retrospective study was carried out, 404 clinically suspected cases attending AIDS clinic at Manipal Teaching Hospital, Pokhara, Nepal to assess an occurance of opportunistic infections in AIDS cases. Study reveals that Tuberculosis (60%), Cryptospridiosis (13.33%) and candidasis (11.11%) are the predominant opportunistic infection in HIV/AIDS patients in the Pokharo village. Next common pathogen was found an ubiquitous yeast. Candida obtained from skin, oral cavity, oesophagus, sputum and stool. The least common documented documented infection was pneumocystis carini pneumonia (2.22%)

Serological prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibody among children and young age group (between 2 and 17 years) in India: An interim result from a large multicentric population-based seroepidemiological study

Background: Estimating seroepidemiolgical prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibody is an essential public health strategy. There is insufficient evidence of prevalence among those belonging to young age population in India. Objective: To compare the SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity rate between children and adults in selected sites from India. Materials and Methods: This was a multicentric population-based seroepidemiological study conducted in selected urban and rural areas of five sites selected from four states (Delhi, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Tripura) of India. Participants aged ≥1 year were included from different clusters of each area. Total serum antibody against SARS-CoV-2 virus was assessed qualitatively by using a standard enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit.Results: Data collection period was from 15 March 2021 to 10 June 2021. Total available data was of 4509 participants, of whom 700 were <18 years of age and 3809 were ≥18 years of age. The site-wise number of available data among those aged 2–17 years was 92, 189, 165, 146 and 108 for the sites of Delhi urban, Delhi rural, Bhubaneswar rural, Gorakhpur rural and Agartala rural area, respectively. The seroprevalence was 55.7% in the <18 years age group and 63.5% in the ≥18 years age group. The prevalence among female children was 58% and among male children was 53%. Conclusion: SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity rate among children was high and comparable to that of the adult population. Hence, it is unlikely that any future third wave by prevailing SARS-CoV-2 variant would disproportionately infect children 2 years or older

Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody kinetics up to 6 months of follow-up: Result from a nation-wide population-based, age stratified sero-epidemiological prospective cohort study in India.

Repeated serological testing tells about the change in the overall infection in a community. This study aimed to evaluate changes in antibody prevalence and kinetics in a closed cohort over six months in different sub-populations in India. The study included 10,000 participants from rural and urban areas in five states and measured SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in serum in three follow-up rounds. The overall seroprevalence increased from 73.9% in round one to 90.7% in round two and 92.9% in round three. Among seropositive rural participants in round one, 98.2% remained positive in round two, and this percentage remained stable in urban and tribal areas in round three. The results showed high antibody prevalence that increased over time and was not different based on area, age group, or sex. Vaccinated individuals had higher antibody prevalence, and nearly all participants had antibody positivity for up to six months

Distribution of SARS-CoV-2 seropositive of participants by round, vaccination status and site.

Distribution of SARS-CoV-2 seropositive of participants by round, vaccination status and site.</p

S1 to S6 Tables on the supporting information of study result.

S1 to S6 Tables on the supporting information of study result.</p

Distribution of SARS-CoV-2 seropositive of participants by site, round and age group (<18 years and ≥18 years).

Distribution of SARS-CoV-2 seropositive of participants by site, round and age group (<18 years and ≥18 years).</p

Distribution of SARS-CoV-2 seropositive participants by site and round.

Distribution of SARS-CoV-2 seropositive participants by site and round.</p