Emergence of sporotrichosis in Manipur.

A retrospective analysis of all cases of sporotrichosis was conducted to examine the pattern and frequency of sporotrichosis cases in Manipur over a period of six year from July 1999 to June 2005. Seventy-three (73) cases of sporotrichosis were detected of which 30 were confirmed by culture and 43 were diagnosed by aspiration cytology only. Most of the patients belonged to the age group of 21 to 40 years (n = 23; 31.5%). There were 39 females (53.4%) and 34 males (46.5%). Commonest site of infection was upper limbs (n = 39; 53.4%) followed by lower limbs (n = 17; 23.2%). Commonest type of infection was lymphocutaneous form (n = 46; 63.1%) followed by fixed cutaneous form (n = 27; 36.9%). Among these 73 cases, 2 male patients (2.7%) were found to be HIV positive. In our experience, collection of material by aspiration of pus or infected tissue was found to be a better method compared to scraping or exudate. This study revealed Manipur as a new endemic area for sporotrichosis.

Metabolic variation in rice cultivars of contrasting salt tolerance and its improvement by zinc in sodic soil.

The severity of Zn deficiency increased with increase in soil exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) with salt sensitive variety M1-48 scoring 6 at ESP 62 as against only score 3 by salt tolerant variety Pokkali under similar soil conditions. Strikingly, zinc contents were much higher in salt tolerant variety than in salt sensitive one. Zinc application increased zinc concentration in the roots by a factor of 2.85 to 3.87 in Pokkali whereas it rose from 2.37 to 4.35 times in M1-48 depending upon ESP but in the leaves it registered increase of 1.5 to 1.8 times only. In general, the concentrations of reducing sugar were less (about 2.2%) than that of non-reducing (about 3.8%) in both the varieties under normal soil conditions. However, the concentration of reducing sugar doubled (4.2-4.4%) at the highest ESP 62, whereas the concentration of non-reducing sugar though increased (4.1 to 5.1%) but not as vigorously as reducing one. Zinc application reduced the concentration of reducing sugar but not that of non-reducing at similar ESP values. In Pokkali, the concentrations of total sugar increased from 6% at ESP 20 to 9.34% at ESP 62, whereas it registered enhancements of 5.98 to 8.6% in M1-48 under similar conditions. The nitrate reductase (NR) activity decreased with increase in soil sodicity however, the varietal differences in NR activity were wider under Zn-stress than under conditions of applied zinc with Pokkali registering higher NR activities. Carbonic anhydrase activities were higher in salt tolerant variety. Inhibition in carbonic anhydrase activity amounted to 23 and 45% in salt-sensitive variely M1-48 whereas only 19 and 33% in salt-tolerant variety Pokkali at ESP 41 and 62, respectively. The effects of zinc application at higher soil sodicity were more obvious in salt-sensitive variety than in salt-tolerant one. The findings suggest that the tolerance to Zn stress runs parallel to salt tolerance abilities of rice varieties.

HIV/AIDS wasting syndrome in Manipur - a case report.

A-30-years old married man with HIV/AIDS wasting syndrome is being reported. The patient had history of injecting heroin with rampant sharing with his drug partners, weight loss, night sweats, productive cough, severe muscle wasting, chronic diarrhoea >30 days and fever > 30 days. This syndrome indicates the long-standing complication of HIV infection. Blood, sputum, CSF, faeces and urine routine and culture examination findings to rule out opportunistic infections were repeatedly negative. No malignant cells were found. HIV testing was positive. The CD 4 positive T-lymphocyte count was measured before and after six months of treatment. In the present case report, evaluation of the symptoms yielded no specific pathogen and had no evidence of opportunistic infections. He is being placed under observation with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) along with nutritional support. He is improving clinically and immunologically by raising in the patient's CD4 count. Early antiretroviral therapy along with meticulous nutritional support is ideal to improve the quality of life of AIDS patients.

Ecthyma gangrenosum: a rare cutaneous manifestation caused by pseudomonas aeruginosa without bacteraemia in a leukaemic patient--a case report.

Ecthyma gangrenosum is a rare and invasive cutaneous infection caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the majority of cases, typically affecting immunocompromised patients, particularly those with neutropenia. We report a rare case of ecthyma gangrenosum in the absence of bacteraemia presenting as a solitary necrotic ulcer in a female patient with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. A culture from the ecthyma lesion revealed the presence of Pesudomonas aeruginosa, but the results of repeated blood cultures were negative. The patient responded well to amikacin to which the isolate was susceptible in vitro. Considering high rate of mortality, early diagnosis and prompt effective treatment is mandatory.

Inhibitory effect of high soil pH on growth and mineral metabolism of rice and its reversal by zinc.

Increasing soil pH retarded growth, tillers and bio-mass production of rice cultivar Sarjoo-52. Application of 10 to 15 kgZn ha(-1) increased the bio-mass by 33 to 41% at pH 8.5 and 27 to 32% at pH 10.3. Panicle length, rachis branches, total spikelets, filled grains, grain size were all adversely affected to the tune of 19, 23, 40, 74 and 21%, respectively by higher soil alkalinity at pH 10.3. Alkalinity resulted in 19, 31 and 65% spikelet sterility which reduced to 3, 21 and 55% at pH 8.5, 9.5 and 10.3, respectively by Zn applied @ 15 kg ha(-1). Grain yield reduced to 50% at pH 10.3 but Zn in general, raised the yield levels by 1.6 to 2.3, times. The chlorophyll decreased by 36 to 50% whereas carbonic anhydrase activities decreased only by 13% due to increase in soil sodicity and alkalinity. Further, increase in pH caused significant decrease in Zn, Ca, Mg, P and K concentrations but phenomenal rise in Na content Zinc application, apart from increasing tissue Zn content, elevated Ca :Na and K :Na ratio resulting in improved growth and yield of rice under soil sodicity and alkalinity.

Pleuropulmonary paragonimiasis mimicking pulmonary tuberculosis--a report of three cases.

Paragonimiasis is an important cause of pulmonary disease worldwide. Infection in humans mainly occurs by ingestion of raw or undercooked freshwater crabs or crayfish. The disease is well known in endemic regions of Asian countries, where culturally based methods of food preparation foster human transmission. Three patients with clinical and radiological features compatible with pulmonary tuberculosis had been treated for tuberculosis without remedy despite an inability to demonstrate acid fast bacilli in sputum smears. All patients had history of ingestion of raw crabs and crayfish. The confirmed diagnosis of pleuropulmonary paragonimiasis was made based on the demonstration of Paragonimus eggs in the sputum, and high absolute eosinophilia in their peripheral blood and pleural fluid. All the patients had been treated with praziquantel successfully.