Molecular basesof â: thalassaemia in the thalassaemic population of Bhopal.

Beta- Thalassaemia is a group of heterogenexus recessive disorders common in many parts of the world and one of a major haemoglobinopathy of wide occurrence in the Indian sub-continent. In is distributed to different degrees in different sub-populations. The treatment of this disorder is quite expensive and counseling seems to be the only way for controlling it. Genetic analysis for Beta – Thalassemia disorder is carried out by Amplification Refractory Mutation System (ARMS) technique. Blood samples of 50 cases of Thalassaimin Were obtained from patient attending Pediatrics OPD of Gandhi Medical College & Delta Pathology laboratory. Bhopal and were tested. Out of seven common â – thalassamia mutation, IVSI [ Intra Venous Sequences] nt 5] nuclentidex] (GT). Deletion 619 bp (basic pair) and Cap +1(AC) were found in population of Bhopal in 39.52%, 16.27%, 18.59% 6.97% respectively. Early detection of thalassaemia is, therefore, important not only from treatment point of view, but also for the prevention by genetic counseling.

Bacteriological & epidemiological characteristics of diphtheria cases in & around Delhi -a retrospective study.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Diphtheria infections caused by the different toxigenic biotypes of Corynebacterium diphtheriae are endemic in Delhi. Information on biochemical identification, toxigenicity and antimicrobial susceptibility to this bacterium is scanty. This retrospective study was carried out to identify isolated Corynebacteria biochemically, determine their toxigenicity, drug sensitivity and some epidemiological characteristics of diphtheria cases from Delhi and adjoining States for the period 1998-2004. METHODS: A total of 1118 throat and 585 nasal swabs were used to detect human pathogenic corynebacteria. WHO recommended methods were used for the detection, screening, toxigenicity and antibiogram pattern of the isolates. RESULTS: Among 493 (44.1%) cases detected positive for corynebacteria 71.8 per cent were pharyngeal, 20.9 per cent nasopharyngeal and rest 7.3 per cent nasal diphtheria cases. Biochemical identification revealed two species i.e., C. diphtheriae and C. pseudodiphtheriticum. In C. diphtheriae three biotypes were detected viz., intermedius (95.5%), gravis (3.4%) and mitis (1.1%). Toxin was expressed by 96 per cent isolates of C. diphtheriae. Cases were recorded from Delhi and four adjoining States. Sex ratio among male to female was 1.6:1. Prime victims were less than 9 yr old children (93.3%). Unvaccinated children (70.2%) were the main sufferers. Fatality rate was highest in Delhi cases (16.8%) followed by UP (14.6%) and Haryana (5.9%). INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: Standard methods revealed the replacement of C. diphtheriae var mitis with var intermedius and occurrence of diphtheria infections due to other human pathogenic corynebacteria. It is imperative to have good bacteriological facilities to have better surveillance with regular monitoring in the endemic areas to keep the disease under control.

Changing profile of Vibrio cholerae O1, O139 in Delhi & its periphery (2003-2005).

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Cholera caused by either Vibrio cholerae O1 or O139 is endemic in Delhi and its peripheral areas. The present study was carried out to understand the changing epidemiology of V. cholerae in terms of prevalence of serotypes, antibiogram pattern and phage types. METHODS: A total of 9858 stool samples from the admitted diarrhoea patients were used for the isolation of V. cholerae O1 and O139. Subsets of isolates were tested against thirteen antimicrobials and phage typed. RESULTS: Among 4251 (43.1%) confirmed cases, 41.6 per cent were V. cholerae O1 and rest (1.5 %) V. cholerae O139. Detection of V. cholerae O1 serotype Inaba was 87.7 per cent during 2005 and rest were serotype Ogawa. Majority of cases (93.1%) were from Delhi. Male:Female ratio remained 1.5:1.0. Children below 5 yr age group constituted 32.7 per cent cases. Shift in the age groups and seasonal incidence were recorded. All 226 strains of V. cholerae O1 and O139 were resistant to nalidixic acid; 96 per cent V. cholerae O1 isolates were multidrug resistant (FX NA SXT). Phage type 27 (98.7%) was the most prevalent and the new phage types were 4, 16 and 25 in this area. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: Enhanced surveillance helped in bringing down cases from 47.7 per cent in 2003 to 36.8 per cent in 2005. Additionally, the changing epidemiology of V. cholerae O1 and O139 infections and drug resistance need regular monitoring.

Clinical profile of tuberculosis in patients with HIV Infection/AIDS.

Tuberculosis is said to be one of the commonest opportunistic infection in patients with HIV/ AIDS. A study was carried out to study the clinical, bacteriological and radiological features of HIV/TB patients. Over a period of two years, a total of 301 tuberculosis patients were suspected to have HIV/AIDS co-infection, and upon testing, 42 patients were found to be HIV seropositive. Most of the study patients were manual labourers followed by truck drivers. Sexual (heterosexual) route was found to be the major risk factor for HIV/AIDS. The most common symptom in these patients was cough and expectoration, followed by fever and weight loss. Acid-fast bacilli (AFB) smear positivity was found in 21.4% patients. On chest skiagram, infiltrative lesions were commonly seen in 61.9% patients. Extra-pulmonary tubercular manifestations were seen in 45.6% of HIV/TB cases.

Identification of bovine sperm specific polypeptides reactive with antisperm antibodies.

The present study was taken to characterize molecular weights of sperm specific polypeptides antigenic to rabbits and calf with the aim to assess their immunoreactivity with IgG antibodies in sera from immuno-infertile cows. Seropositivity for antisperm IgG antibodies in 75 repeat breeder and 15 pregnant control cattle was tested by cellular ELISA using washed spermatozoa antigen from 4 bulls. Molecular weights of bovine sperm polypeptides antigenic to rabbit and calf were determined by 10% SDS-PAGE and Western blotting. Molecular weights of sperm peptides reactive with sera from immuno-infertile cows were also determined. Seropositivity of antisperm IgG antibodies for bull I, II, III and IV was 23.6, 14.6, 26.6 and 20%, respectively. A total of 16 polypeptides were discernible on gel. Out of these, 7 polypeptides were immunoreactive with sera from hyperimmunized rabbits as compared to 3 poly-peptides which reacted with sera from hyper-immunized calf. Only two polypeptides were reactive with sera from immuno-infertile cows. Variable number of sperm polypeptides and their immunoreactivity have been reported in different species. Antigenicity of different polypeptides in sperm needs further investigations.

Iodine deficiency in district Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh.

The state of Himachal Pradesh is a known iodine deficiency endemic region since the last 40 years. The state government is supplying iodised salt to the district since 1970. No recent survey has been conducted on the prevalence of iodine deficiency from the district Kinnaur which is located at an average altitude of 10,000 feet above sea level. A total of 1094 children in the age group of 6-10 years were included in the study and clinically examined. The total goitre prevalence of 6.1% was found in the subjects studied. Urine samples were collected from 226 children and were analysed using standard laboratory procedures. It was found that the percentage of children with < 2 mcg/dl, 2-4.9 mcg/dl, 5-9.9 mcg/dl and 10 and above mcg/dl of urinary iodine excretion (UIE) level was 1.3, 5.8, 10.6 and 82.3 respectively. A total of 242 salt samples were collected and analysed using the standard iodometric titration method. Results showed that almost 90% of the families were consuming salt with an iodine content of 15 ppm and more which is the stipulated level of iodisation of salt. The findings of the study indicate that iodine nutrition is in the transition phase from iodine deficient to iodine sufficient. Findings revealed a need for further strengthening the monitoring of the quality of salt being distributed in Kinnaur to achieve elimination of iodine deficiency.

Isolation of Salmonella senftenberg bacteriophages.

A total of 61 bacteriophages were isolated from 100 strains of Salmonella senftenberg. Six bacteriophages were selected for typing purposes which were specific for S. senftenberg. Five phages, SasL1 to SasL5 were morphologically similar; phage SasL6 was morphologically different from the others. These phages fall into two morphological groups none of which correspond to the known tailed enterobacterial phage species. Hence, two new phage species represented by SasL1 and SasL6 are proposed.

Adjuvant effect of DEAE-dextran and tetanus toxoid on whole cell heat inactivated phenol preserved typhoid vaccine.

Active mouse protection test (AMPT) and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used to determine the immunogenicity of whole cell typhoid vaccine when administered in conjunction with either tetanus toxoid (TT) or DEAE-Dextran (DD). Immunization of mice with whole cell typhoid vaccine showed enhanced potency either when administered in conjunction with TT or DD and values were statistically significant (p < 0.05) in comparison to conventional or standard typhoid vaccines. For ELISA, the mice were immunized with 2 different schedules, one in which a single dose of 0.25 ml subcutaneously (s/c) was administered and in another two doses of 0.25 ml each s/c, 14 days apart. In case of single dose schedule of immunization D vaccine (Whole cell typhoid + 5 mg/ml DD) showed significant increase of immune response (3.201 log10) as compared to plain vaccine (2.550 log10). Two dose schedule further increased the titres to 3.856 log10. DD adjuvanted vaccine showed higher potency by AMPT as compared to the TT adjuvanted vaccine or plain vaccine. The present study clearly demonstrates that a single dose of 0.25 ml which is equivalent to half of the conventionally used single human dose of typhoid vaccine adjuvanted with DD can significantly improve the immunogenicity of the vaccine.

Development of a conjoint phage typing & biotyping schema for Salmonella enterica serovar Senftenberg (S. senftenberg) & the correlation of biotypes with phage types.

A total of 287 strains of S. senftenberg received from various parts of India during 1969 to 1992 were phage typed using six lysogenic phages. The typability was 90.3 per cent and 14 different phage types could be defined excluding a small group of untypable strains. A biotyping scheme was developed utilising six characters and 13 biotypes could be defined. Stern's glycerol medium proved to be the best discriminatory medium. Diversity indeces of phage typing and biotyping schemes were 0.868 and 0.503 respectively. Better discrimination was obtained when phage types were subdivided into different biotypes with a diversity index of 0.931. The schemes were found stable, reproducible and epidemiologically useful.

Transferable colicinogeny in Salmonella bareilly.

Twenty eight (5.6%) of the 500 isolates of S. bareilly studied were found to be colicin producers. Of these 27 (96.4%) were Col V producers. None of these produced aerobactin and 18 (64.3%) were multidrug resistant. Among 23 (85.2%) strains both drug resistance as well as colicinogeny could be transferred by conjugation. This is the first time that the transferable colicinogeny has been demonstrated in S. bareilly.

Bone changes in leprosy. A study of 50 cases.

The radiological bone changes have been studied in 50 patients comprising of lepromatous, tuberculoid, mixed (borderline lepromatous, borderline tuberculoid, dimorphous) and polyneuritic (neural) types of leprosy of which the former formed the largest group. The overall incidence of non-specific bone changes is higher as compared to specific bone changes. These were found to have highest incidence in the lepromatous type of leprosy, in the occupational group of manual workers and from 3rd to 6th decade of life. With the longer duration of the disease, the incidence of non-specific bone changes is also more.