West Nile virus: the Indian scenario

West Nile virus (WNV) is an important arthropod borne flavivirus; usually causes a mild infection called West Nile fever (WNF) in human and horses. Mosquitoes are the principal vectors of WNV. Various Culex species are found to act as vectors in different geographical regions. The virus is maintained in a bird-mosquito cycle in nature. In India, Culex mosquitoes are tentatively incriminated as vectors of WNV. Experimental studies have shown that Culex tritaeniorhynchus, Cx. vishnui, Cx. bitaeniorhynchus and Cx. univittatus, Culex pipiens fatigans and Aedes albopictus could act as potential vectors of WNV. Transovarial transmission of WNV has been experimentally demonstrated in Culex mosquitoes. Apart from mosquitoes, the role of other arthropods is also considered in the maintenance of WNV during inter-enzootic periods. The possible role of ardeid birds in the maintenance of WNV has been described in India. Though very few clinically overt cases of human encephalitis due to WNV are observed, Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is found to dominate in southern India. WNF in horses has not been documented in India. JEV immunized monkeys were protected from WNV challenge and the WNV immunization was found to reduce the disease severity due to JEV. Based on the limited genome sequence analysis, the Indian isolates are grouped together under the genetic lineage-I. WNV infection is diagnosed by IgM antibody capture enzyme linked immunosorbant assay, haemagglutination inhibition test, neutralization test and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). For the effective control of Culex mosquitoes, integrated vector control strategies are recommended. Specific methods are not available for the treatment of WNV infection. However, in patients with encephalitis supportive therapy is recommended. Though a few candidate vaccines are under laboratory trial, no vaccine has been available commercially for the control of WNV infection in human and animals. In view of the global interest on WNV, this paper describes the present status of WNV in India

A Survey on Over The Counter Drug usage in the Community

Background: The incidence of usage of over the counter (OTC) drugs is drastically increasing day by day. Over the counter drugs are medicines sold directly to consumer without a prescription from health care personnel. In many countries, OTC drugs are selected by a regulatory agency to ensure that they are safe and effective when used without physicians care. Objective: The study was designed to carry out a survey on over the counter (OTC) drug usage in the community. Methodology: A prospective and community based study was carried out over 6 months of period. A validated questionnaire was used for the collection of data, given to a total of 774 persons and face to face interviews among the 774, aged 14-84yrs. Results: A total of 750 participants were enrolled in the study. A significant proportion of the participants identified as practicing self-medication in our study were found to be 77.33%.  Majority of participants used OTC drugs for fever (31.551%), headache (30%) and Sore throat /cough/common cold (17.931%). The most commonly used drug as self-medication was Paracetamol (66.103%), Cetirizine (6.55%), and Meftal spas (4.65%). Anti-pyretics/pain relievers (37.41%) were the most commonly used class of drug. The most common reason for self-medication was easy accessibility (21.55%). The most relevant source of information was friends/relatives (27.41%). 52.93% of participants altered dose/frequency of the medication according to their health condition. Out of 580 participants, 108 (18.62%) experienced side effects from OTC drugs in which 21 reported side effects. Conclusion: We concluded that majority of participants practiced self-medication. The most commonly used drug was Paracetamol and the most common indication for self-medication was fever.  Awareness and dangers of misuse of OTC medications among all participants was less. Therefore it is suggested that proper education should be imparted regarding illness where self-administration of OTC drugs to be employed

Generation, annotation, and analysis of ESTs from midgut tissue of adult female Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Malaria is a tropical disease caused by protozoan parasite, <it>Plasmodium</it>, which is transmitted to humans by various species of female anopheline mosquitoes. <it>Anopheles stephensi </it>is one such major malaria vector in urban parts of the Indian subcontinent. Unlike <it>Anopheles gambiae</it>, an African malaria vector, transcriptome of <it>A. stephensi </it>midgut tissue is less explored. We have therefore carried out generation, annotation, and analysis of expressed sequence tags from sugar-fed and <it>Plasmodium yoelii </it>infected blood-fed (post 24 h) adult female <it>A. stephensi </it>midgut tissue.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We obtained 7061 and 8306 ESTs from the sugar-fed and <it>P. yoelii </it>infected mosquito midgut tissue libraries, respectively. ESTs from the combined dataset formed 1319 contigs and 2627 singlets, totaling to 3946 unique transcripts. Putative functions were assigned to 1615 (40.9%) transcripts using BLASTX against UniProtKB database. Amongst unannotated transcripts, we identified 1513 putative novel transcripts and 818 potential untranslated regions (UTRs). Statistical comparison of annotated and unannotated ESTs from the two libraries identified 119 differentially regulated genes. Out of 3946 unique transcripts, only 1387 transcripts were mapped on the <it>A. gambiae </it>genome. These also included 189 novel transcripts, which were mapped to the unannotated regions of the genome. The EST data is available as ESTDB at <url>http://mycompdb.bioinfo-portal.cdac.in/cgi-bin/est/index.cgi</url>.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>3946 unique transcripts were successfully identified from the adult female <it>A. stephensi </it>midgut tissue. These data can be used for microarray development for better understanding of vector-parasite relationship and to study differences or similarities with other malaria vectors. Mapping of putative novel transcripts from <it>A. stephensi </it>on the <it>A. gambiae </it>genome proved fruitful in identification and annotation of several genes. Failure of some novel transcripts to map on the <it>A. gambiae </it>genome indicates existence of substantial genomic dissimilarities between these two potent malaria vectors.</p

Novel transparent nanocomposite films based on chitosan and bacterial cellulose

New nanocomposite films based on different chitosan matrices (two chitosans with different DPs and one water soluble derivative) and bacterial cellulose were prepared by a fully green procedure by casting a water based suspension of chitosan and bacterial cellulose nanofibrils. The films were characterized by several techniques, namely SEM, AFM, X-ray diffraction, TGA, tensile assays and visible spectroscopy. They were highly transparent, flexible and displayed better mechanical properties than the corresponding unfilled chitosan films. These new renewable nanocomposite materials also presented reasonable thermal stability and low O(2) permeability.FCT - SFRH/BD/41388/ 2007FCT - SFRH/BPD/38515/200

Recent Ancestry of Kyasanur Forest Disease Virus

Clinicians in Asia should consider this disease when diagnosing acute febrile illnesses

Africa’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic : A review of the nature of the virus, impacts and implications for preparedness

Background: COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc in different countries across the world, claiming thousands of lives, increasing morbidity and disrupting lifestyles. The global scientific community is in urgent need of relevant evidence, to understand the challenges and knowledge gaps, as well as the opportunities to contain the spread of the virus. Considering the unique socio-economic, demographic, political, ecological and climatic contexts in Africa, the responses which may prove to be successful in other regions may not be appropriate on the continent. This paper aims to provide insight for scientists, policy makers and international agencies to contain the virus and to mitigate its impact at all levels. Methods: The Affiliates of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS), came together to synthesize the current evidence, identify the challenges and opportunities to enhance the understanding of the disease. We assess the potential impact of this pandemic and the unique challenges of the disease on African nations. We examine the state of Africa’s preparedness and make recommendations for steps needed to win the war against this pandemic and combat potential resurgence. Results: We identified gaps and opportunities among cross-cutting issueswhich must be addressed or harnessed in this pandemic. Factors such as the nature of the virus and the opportunities for drug targeting, point of care diagnostics, health surveillance systems, food security, mental health, xenophobia and gender-based violence, shelter for the homeless, water and sanitation, telecommunications challenges, domestic regional coordination and financing. Conclusion: Based on our synthesis of the current evidence, while there are plans for preparedness in several African countries, there are significant limitations. A multi-sectoral efforts from the science, education, medical, technology, communication, business, and industry sectors, as well as local communities, must work collaboratively to assist countries in order to win this fight