ABSTRACT
Malaria in migrant workers is always a major problem to control due to their temporary stay in shelters, and other operational constraints. Hence, a study was undertaken in brick kilns in Bharuch district, Gujarat state, India to study the problem of malaria in the work force. Mass blood surveys were carried out in 15 brick kilns. Blood slides were collected from both febrile and afebrile cases. Positive cases were treated as per the national drug policy and were followed up. Mosquito collections were carried out by pyrethrum spray collection in early morning hours. Human blood index and sporozoite rates were determined as per standard procedures. All age groups were found affected with malaria at brick kilns. Prevalence of malaria was significantly higher in 50% in migrant population. In stable population in villages, overall decline in malaria cases was observed in 2008-2010. The sporozoite rate of 4.2% in Anopheles culicifacies indicates active malaria transmission at brick kilns. The investigation demonstrated that suitable microclimatic conditions for malaria transmission exist in these areas during hottest period. The district health department should consider these factors in planning malaria surveillance and control. As current magnitude and diversity of population movements in rural as well as in urban areas are unprecedented, this issue is worthy of attention.
ABSTRACT
A pilot study was undertaken to evaluate a sensitive single step reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to detect hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA in plasma samples as an adjunct to antibody detection. In this study, digoxiginin labelling of the amplicon was carried out during the PCR and the product was detected by an ELISA format (DIG-ELISA) as well as ethidium bromide stained gel detection. DIG-ELISA detection of PCR product compared favourably with gel detection. We tested 42 individuals with either parenteral risk factors or chronic liver disease and found the RT-PCR enhanced the detection rate by 19 per cent. Considering either plasma RNA or antibody positivity, HCV infection was detected in 64.3 per cent of patients.