Detection of Japanese Encephalitis Virus in Vector Mosquitoes in a Non-endemic Area, India

Japanese Encephalitis (JE) is a serious growing public health problem in India, gradually engulfing new areas. In north India, eastern districts of Uttar Pradesh had been highly endemic for JE since 1978. JE outbreak was reported to have jumped over 800 km distance from its earlier most endemic area (eastern parts of north India) to a location (Karnal) in the Haryana state of western parts of north India, during the year 1990, which never reported JE earlier.1 Later, the disease gradually spread to its adjoining districts in the state. First time, from western Uttar Pradesh, 7 cases and 4 deaths due to suspected JE were reported in 2003 from Saharanpur district. In the subsequent year, 13 deaths due to suspected viral encephalitis were reported from 26th September to 23rd October, 2004 from one village namely Khekra, from Baghpat district of Uttar Pradesh which is about 128 km west of Saharanpur. A serosurvey carried out on 24th and 25th October, 2004 among the family members of dead persons revealed hemagglutination inhibition (HI) antibodies against JE and West Nile (WN) virus. Further, an outbreak of suspected JE was reported from Saharanpur district in 2005, with 212 cases and 157 deaths. This caused matter of great concern to extend further studies in Baghpat where prevalence of flavivirus infection was already recorded in the locality. For monitoring of arbovirus activities in an area, detection of virus in human sera is cumbersome, difficult and also not desirable. Therefore, as an alternative approach, detection of virus antigen in mosquitoes by antigen capture enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) has provided a reliable tool to comprehend the types of virus circulating in nature.2 Detecting arbovirus in mosquitos forms an important part of vector surveillance and may at times also serve as an early warning signal for outbreaks, if however linked with phonological and epidemiological studies. Vector infection and abundance were found to be good indicators of JE occurrence in surveillance studies conducted in South India.3 An attempt was thus made to detect the presence of JE virus (JEV) antigen in vector mosquitoes by ELISA method from the encephalitis-affected area of Baghpat district and to provide evidence of circulating of Japanese Encephalitis virus (JEV) in natural animal-mosquito cycle

Gender and Identity in Anita Desai's Postmodernist Narratives

Anita Desai, a prominent Indian author, is known for her thought-provoking literary works that explore themes of identity, gender, and cultural conflicts. This research article examines Desai's postmodernist narratives through the lens of gender and identity. By analyzing selected works, including "Clear Light of Day," "Fasting, Feasting," and "In Custody," this study explores how Desai's characters navigate societal expectations, cultural traditions, and personal desires, offering a critique of traditional gender roles and highlighting the complexities of individual identity construction. The analysis reveals Desai's nuanced portrayal of gender dynamics and the challenges individuals face in negotiating their identities in a rapidly changing world

Gender and Identity in Anita Desai's Postmodernist Narratives

Anita Desai, a prominent Indian author, is known for her thought-provoking literary works that explore themes of identity, gender, and cultural conflicts. This research article examines Desai's postmodernist narratives through the lens of gender and identity. By analyzing selected works, including "Clear Light of Day," "Fasting, Feasting," and "In Custody," this study explores how Desai's characters navigate societal expectations, cultural traditions, and personal desires, offering a critique of traditional gender roles and highlighting the complexities of individual identity construction. The analysis reveals Desai's nuanced portrayal of gender dynamics and the challenges individuals face in negotiating their identities in a rapidly changing world

Letter to the editor The first Chikungunya case from Sonipat district near the national capital city of Delhi, India

Copyright © 2010 Kumari et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Chikungunya, a mosquito-borne disease, is caused by chikungunya virus (CHIKV), an alphavirus belonging to the Togaviridae family. After a gap of about 32 years, the infection re-emerged in India in 2005 [1,2]. In 2005-2006, the years of emergence, several areas in southern India were affected by a chikungunya outbreak [3]. However, in 2006, chikungunya cases were reported for the first time from northern India, where 52 cases were detected from the Delhi regio

COVID-somnia: Sleep disturbance among Indian nurses during COVID-19 pandemic

Background: Sleep is vital for every aspect of human life. Inadequate sleep has a massive negative impact on health and work. There is very limited information about the impact of COVID-19 on the sleep disturbance of health-care workers. In our current study, we aim to find answers to certain questions about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sleep patterns on nurses working in COVID care area. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 305 health-care workers who were purposively enrolled for this study. The study was conducted at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India, from April to June 2021. An e-survey method was used to collect data. A questionnaire including sociodemographic characteristics, queries about sleep disturbances, and the patient health questionnaire-9 scale to assess anxiety among participants are among the research tools. Results: Mean age of health-care workers was 26.3 years (SD = 6.3). Most of them were women (81%) with a bachelor's degree in nursing (62%), nursing interns (46%), and married (71%). The majority of nurses (85%) were not infected with COVID and were given suitable personal protective equipment (46%) in the hospital. The majority of participants (45%) got 6–8 h of sleep per night did not receive any sleep therapy (90%). The most of participants (42%) reported that they did not enjoy performing activities and were under moderate stress (15.4). Conclusion: Health-care workers are struggling to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic with limited and almost hackneyed resources. Healthy sleep is everyone's right. The current situation of the pandemic has a great impact on the psychological health of frontline health-care workers by affecting their professional performance

Entomological Surveillance and Warning for Dengue Outbreaks in Alwar City, Rajasthan, India

Abstract The objective of the study was to find out most productive breeding sites for immature as well as for pupae of Aedes aegypti in Alwar city of Rajasthan, India, and to assess the community about awareness of dengue. The study was carried out through door-todoor entomological survey in and around houses during the month of March 2016. All field collected immature reared in laboratory and identified as Aedes aegypti. All adult mosquitoes were processed for detection of dengue virus by ELISA method by using specific monoclonal antibody. A total of 116 houses were searched for detection of immatures of Aedes mosquitoes. House index, container index and Breteau index were 58.62, 12.44 and 64.66 respectively. However, pupal index was very high (141.38). Two key containers such as cement tanks and plastic water storage containers harbored 85.33% of Aedes. Among them, cement tanks contributed about one third of the positive containers of A. aegypti breeding. It is concluded that due to irregular pipe water supply in the city of Alwar, the residents store water in cement tanks, different PWSC, earthen pots and other containers in and around their houses that provide favorable habitats of Aedes breeding. Density of Aedes mosquitoes increases due to spread of breeding in other temporary abundant containers during monsoon and post monsoon period. Thus, infected mosquito colonies with dengue virus might be increased through vertical transmission. If appropriate control measures were not undertaken, in future there may be possibility of a dengue outbreak in the city. It was also observed that community is also not aware much about dengue and prevention of Aedes breeding in the containers. Public health attention is required for prevention of any outbreak in the city

The burden of dengue and force of infection among children in Kerala, India; seroprevalence estimates from Government of Kerala-WHO Dengue studyResearch in context

Summary: Background: Dengue shows high geographic heterogeneity within and across endemic countries. In the context of increasing burden and predicted outbreaks due to climate change, understanding the heterogeneity will enable us to develop region specific targeted interventions, including vaccination. World Health Organisation (WHO) suggests standard methodologies to study the burden and heterogeneity at national and subnational levels. Regional studies with robust and standard methodology to capture heterogeneity are scarce. We estimated the seroprevalence of dengue in children aged 9–12 years and the force of infection in Kerala, India, from where Zika cases also have been reported recently. Methods: We conducted a school-based cross-sectional survey in 38 clusters; selected by stratified random sampling, representing rural, urban, high burden and low-burden administrative units. Validation of Indirect IgG ELISA was done by Plaque Reduction Neutralization Test (PRNT90) using the local isolates of all four serotypes. Force of infection (FOI) was estimated using the WHO-FOI calculator. We conducted a follow-up survey among a subsample of seronegative children, to estimate the rate of sero-conversion. Results: Among 5236 children tested, 1521 were positive for anti-dengue IgG antibody. The overall seroprevalence in the state was 29% (95% CI 24.1–33.9). The validity corrected seroprevalence was 30.9% in the overall sample, 46.9% in Thiruvananthapuram, 26.9% in Kozhikkode and 24.9% in Kollam. Age-specific seroprevalence increased with age; 25.7% at 9 years, 29.5% at 10 years, 30.9% at 11 years and 33.9% at 12 years. Seroprevalence varied widely across clusters (16.1%–71.4%). The estimated force of infection was 3.3/100 person-years and the seroconversion rate was 4.8/100 person-years. 90% of children who tested positive were not aware of dengue infection. All the four serotypes were identified in PRNT and 40% of positive samples had antibodies against multiple serotypes. Interpretation: The study validates the WHO methodology for dengue serosurveys and confirms its feasibility in a community setting. The overall seroprevalence in the 9–12 year age group is low to moderate in Kerala; there are regional variations; high burden and low burden clusters co-exist in the same districts. The actual burden of dengue exceeds the reported numbers. Heterogeneity in prevalence, the high proportion of inapparent dengue and the hyperendemic situation suggest the need for region-specific and targeted interventions, including vaccination. Funding: World Health Organization

A pharmacological appraisal of medicinal plants with antidiabetic potential

Diabetes mellitus is a complicated metabolic disorder that has gravely troubled the human health and quality of life. Conventional agents are being used to control diabetes along with lifestyle management. However, they are not entirely effective and no one has ever been reported to have fully recovered from diabetes. Numerous medicinal plants have been used for the management of diabetes mellitus in various traditional systems of medicine worldwide as they are a great source of biological constituents and many of them are known to be effective against diabetes. Medicinal plants with antihyperglycemic activities are being more desired, owing to lesser side-effects and low cost. This review focuses on the various plants that have been reported to be effective in diabetes. A record of various medicinal plants with their established antidiabetic and other health benefits has been reported. These include Allium sativa, Eugenia jambolana, Panax ginseng, Gymnema sylvestre, Momrodica charantia, Ocimum sanctum, Phyllanthus amarus, Pterocarpus marsupium, Trigonella foenum graecum and Tinospora cordifolia. All of them have shown a certain degree of antidiabetic activity by different mechanisms of action