Awareness and approach to headache: A survey of family physicians in Pakistan

Headache is one of the most common complaints in the general population and the most common symptom for a neurology out-patient visit. According to the WHO, the prevalence of adults complaining of recent headache (at least one episode within the last year) is 47%. Despite the large burden of disease, headaches are often overlooked, underdiagnosed and under-resourced. There are several reasons that include lack of awareness among the general public and healthcare professionals and lack of training at both undergraduate and post-graduate level. There is limited data available from many third world countries including Pakistan. Family Physicians (FPs) equivalent to primary care physician in the UK (GP) see the vast majority of headache disorders in Pakistan, their competency in recognizing headache disorders bears huge impact on the care received by the patients

Prevalence of hepatitis delta virus infection among hepatitis b virus surface antigen positive patients circulating in the largest province of pakistan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hepatitis delta virus (HDV) and Hepatitis B virus (HBV) co-infection is well known to induce a spectrum of acute and chronic liver diseases which further advance to cirrhosis, fulminant hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).</p> <p>Aim</p> <p>The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of hepatitis D virus super-infection among hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positive individuals in the highly populated province of Pakistan which is not well known.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Sera samples were subjected to HBsAg and anti-HDV screening and finally anti-HDV and HBsAg positive coinfected samples were used for HDV active RNA confirmation using nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Out of total 200 HBsAg positive samples by rapid device, 96 (48%) were also found reactive for HBsAg using enzyme linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA). Out of these HBsAg ELISA positive samples, 80 (88.8%) were anti-HDV ELISA positive which were then subjected to PCR. The amplification results further confirmed 24 (30%) samples to be HDV RNA positive. HDV super-infection was more common in male patients than female patients (81% VS 19%).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The current study shows a high prevalence rate of HDV-HBV co-infection in Pakistan that tends to increase over time.</p

Development, Use, and Impact of a Global Laboratory Database During the 2014 Ebola Outbreak in West Africa

The usefulness and value of a multifunctional global laboratory database is far reaching, with uses including but not limited to informing local outbreak interventions, developing global outbreak response strategies, virtual biobanking, and disease forecasting