Analysis of socio-demographic status and clinical manifestations among SARS-CoV-2 patients in ethnic tribal population of Mizoram, Northeast India: A retrospective study from single-tertiary COVID-19 care centre

Background: The study assesses the impact of socio-demographic factors, including food habits and lifestyle factors, with their clinical outcome due to SARS-CoV-2 in a small tribal state in Northeast India. Methods: Clinical and demographic data from 896 patients with elevated levels of cytokine were collected, retrospectively. The data was analyzed using IBM SPSSv.26 statistics to assess the correlation between the variables and the impact on patient's clinical outcomes. Results: The data consisted of 48.8% male and 51.2% female patients and the mean age was 30.73 years. The symptoms recorded during the hospital stay were anosmia followed by fever, cough, dysgeusia, hypertension, diabetes, diarrhoea, obesity, and shortness of breath. Comorbidities such as malnourishment, kidney diseases, cancers, and immune-compromised were found among them. Moreover, 67% were at risk of respiratory infection and the mean duration of hospital stay was 12–13 days. There was moderate consumption across all food types except for vegetables and smoked food and most patients didn't consume alcohol or smoke. A significant positive association was found both for respiratory infection (p = 0.001) and bad liver function (p = 0.045) with the duration of hospital stay. Individuals who do not consume gutkha (a blended areca nut with tobacco) tend to have lower ct-values (p = 0.011). Alcohol consumption was also significant with shortness of breath (p = 0.009), while smoking was significantly associated with anosmia (p = 0.044) and chest pain (p = 0.002). Conclusions: The demographic and health conditions were mostly not associated with the clinical outcome which could indicate that these practices might instead increase the recovery rate and in turn lower the death rates within the population

The Emergence of Carbapenem-Resistant Gram-Negative Bacteria in Mizoram, Northeast India

(Background) Numerous reports on carbapenem resistance in different parts of India have been published, yet there are insufficient studies on the prevalence of antibiotic resistance in the northeast region of the country. This study evaluated the emergence of carbapenem resistance in the clinical isolates collected in Mizoram. (Results) A total of 141 Gram-negative clinical isolates were collected from the two hospitals, including the Civil Hospital in Lunglei and the Synod Hospital in Aizawl. The isolates include Escherichia coli (n = 62, 43.9%), Klebsiella spp. (n = 43, 30.4%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n = 9, 6.3%), Serratia marcescens (n = 3, 2.1%), Proteus mirabilis (n = 2, 1.4%), Shigella spp. (n = 4, 2.8%), Enterobacter spp. (n = 6, 4.2%) and Acinetobacter spp. (n = 12, 8.5%). The isolates were found to be resistant to meropenem (11%), colistin (48%), tigecycline (25%) and cefotaxime (50%). A total of four E. coli and one Shigella sonnei encoded the blaOXA-48-like gene. The blaCTX-M-1 gene was detected in 13 isolates, of which eight were E. coli, two Shigella flexneri, and one isolates each of K. pneumoniae, K. oxytoca and Shigella sonnei, respectively. (Conclusion) Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae are common among other parts of India, despite limited access to antibiotics, the emergence of resistance in the northeastern region is worrying

The Emergence of Carbapenem-Resistant Gram-Negative Bacteria in Mizoram, Northeast India

(Background) Numerous reports on carbapenem resistance in different parts of India have been published, yet there are insufficient studies on the prevalence of antibiotic resistance in the northeast region of the country. This study evaluated the emergence of carbapenem resistance in the clinical isolates collected in Mizoram. (Results) A total of 141 Gram-negative clinical isolates were collected from the two hospitals, including the Civil Hospital in Lunglei and the Synod Hospital in Aizawl. The isolates include Escherichia coli (n = 62, 43.9%), Klebsiella spp. (n = 43, 30.4%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n = 9, 6.3%), Serratia marcescens (n = 3, 2.1%), Proteus mirabilis (n = 2, 1.4%), Shigella spp. (n = 4, 2.8%), Enterobacter spp. (n = 6, 4.2%) and Acinetobacter spp. (n = 12, 8.5%). The isolates were found to be resistant to meropenem (11%), colistin (48%), tigecycline (25%) and cefotaxime (50%). A total of four E. coli and one Shigella sonnei encoded the blaOXA-48-like gene. The blaCTX-M-1 gene was detected in 13 isolates, of which eight were E. coli, two Shigella flexneri, and one isolates each of K. pneumoniae, K. oxytoca and Shigella sonnei, respectively. (Conclusion) Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae are common among other parts of India, despite limited access to antibiotics, the emergence of resistance in the northeastern region is worrying

Breast Cancer Is Significantly Associated with Cancers in The First- and Second-Degree Relatives in Ethnic Mizo-Mongoloid Population, Northeast India

Background: High incidence of breast cancer among the endogamous Mizo-Mongoloid tribe stresses the need to explore the disease pertaining to the family history as well as other risk factors. This study investigates the association of risk factors and inherited diseases with breast cancer. Methodology: The study includes 426 unrelated breast cancer cases and 810 healthy controls of female Mizo ethnicity. Association between reproductive history, lifestyle/ dietary habits, tobacco and alcohol exposures, family history in relation to cancer and inheritable diseases was assessed by univariate logistic regression using Chi-square tests and multivariate analyses using Cox regression. Results: Age at diagnosis was highest between 41 to 50 years. Consumption of fermented pork fat, smoked food and Smoke-less tobacco, lower intake of vegetables/ water, having a first/ or second degree relative with cancers and inheritable diseases were found to be the major risk factors. Certain known factors were also acting as confounding factors. Conclusions: The present study reveals that Mizo women with first- and second-degree relatives of breast cancer, various other cancers and inheritable diseases have increased risk of breast cancer. This study also highlights the importance of analysing genetic factors which can aid in early detection of inherited risk factors