Seroprevalence Of Hepatitis B Virus In Patients Admitted To Era’S Lucknow Medical College And Hospital

Hepatitis-B Virus infections are a serious global and public health problem. To assess the magnitude and dynamics of disease transmission and for its prevention and control, the study of its seroprevalence is important. A medical college catering to the needs of a large population represents an important centre for serological surveys. Available data, on the seroprevalence of these bloodborne pathogens is also very limited. A study was undertaken to estimate the seroprevalence of Hepatitis-B Surface Antigen (HBsAg) in both the sexes and different age groups in a hospital-based population. Serum samples collected over a period of 24 months from patients admitted to various IPDs of Era’s Lucknow Medical College and Hospital, Lucknow were subjected within the hospital-based microbiology lab for the detection of HBsAg using ELISA test. The seroprevalence of HBsAg was found to be 1.92%. The study throws light on the magnitude of viral transmission in the community in Lucknow city and provides a reference for future studies.

Prevalence of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in a Tertiary-Care Hospital in Eastern Nepal.

Nosocomial infection is a major problem in the world today. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains, usually resistant to several antibiotics, shows a particular ability to spread in hospitals and is now present in most of the countries. The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of MRSA infections and their antimicrobial susceptibility pattern in our hospital located in eastern Nepal. Identification of Staphylococcus aureus was confirmed by standard methods and the antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed by Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. Interpretation criteria were those of the national committee for clinical laboratory standards. During a period of one year, out of a total of 750 Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from various clinical samples, 196 (26.14%) were found to be Methicillin-resistant. Seventy percent isolates of MRSA were from inpatient departments and amongst them only 10% of the isolates were from intensive care units (ICU). More than 65% of MRSA were found to be resistant to Penicillin, Cephalosporins, Ciprofloxacin, Gentamicin Erythromycin and Tetracycline, while 47.96% of them were resistant to Amikacin. Many MRSA strains were multidrug-resistant. However, no strains were resistant to Vancomycin. To reduce the prevalence of MRSA, the regular surveillance of hospital acquired infection, isolation nursing of patients who carry MRSA, monitoring of antimicrobial susceptibility pattern and formulation of a definite antibiotic policy may be helpful.

Prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria in school going children in Pokhara valley.

OBJECTIVES: There were mainly two objectives of the study. One was to detect bacteriuria in school going children in Pokhara valley and the other was to identify the causative organisms in various age groups in children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was carried out in the Microbiology laboratory of The School of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, Simalchaur, Pokhara University, Nepal. A total of 502 urine samples of 5 to 13 years children from different schools of Pokhara valley were screened to see asymptomatic bacteriuria during January 2005 to June 2005. A sterile wide mouth container was given to each student to collect mid-stream urine samples. All the urine samples were transported to the Microbiology laboratory within half an hour to one hour. The samples were processed for microscopical examination to observe for turbidity and the presence of protein and sugar by dipstick method, microscopical examination to see pus cells, RBCs, epithelial cells, casts and crystals, culture of urine samples on Blood agar and MacConkey agar to identify the potential pathogens. The antibiotic sensitivity test was performed for those bacteria which were grown on culture. The colony count was evaluated and organisms were identified by biochemical tests. RESULT: Out of 502 samples, 7(1.39%) samples grew the bacterial pathogens that are responsible to cause urinary tract infection. Among them Escherichia coli 4(57.14%) was the predominant bacterial pathogen. CONCLUSION: Study of asymptomatic bacteriuria is important as found in the present study in which Escherichia coli was the most frequently incriminated as the causative agents.

Acute renal failure following consumption of raw fish gall-bladder from Manipur.

Three cases of acute renal failure following consumption of raw grass gall bladder are reported here from NE State, Manipur.

A case of paragonimiasis in a civet cat with a new Paragonimus sub species in Manipur, India.

A case of paragonimiasis in a civet cat with a new Paragonimus sub species in Manipur, India.

paragonimiasis in Manipur.

A survey was undertaken in the east district of Imphal valley of Manipur, India, using an intradermal test with saline extract of adult Paragonimus westermani as test antigen to find out the prevalence of paragonimiasis and some of the epidemiological factors attributable to it. A total of 3,467 individuals of both sexes aged five years and above were tested. A total of 2934 persons admitted eating crabs and among them 234 were found reactive to Paragonimus antigen. The prevalence rate observed was 6.7 per cent. The proportion of positive reactors (8.0%) among the crab eaters compared to 0.1 per cent among those who did not eat crabs was highly significant (P < 0.01). The difference in the prevalence rates in different age groups and different sexes was also found to be highly significant. The habit of eating raw and or undercooked crabs had significant correlation with skin reactivity. The intradermal test was found to be a good screening test for mass surveys due to its simplicity, low cost, high sensitivity and no known untoward reaction. Four persons among the skin positive reactors presented with cough, pain in the chest, recurrent haemoptysis as major clinical manifestations. Laboratory investigations revealed Paragonimus eggs in the sputum smears, raised erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and high absolute eosinophil count in their blood. Praziquantel, the drug of choice was given at a dose of 25 mg per kg body weight 3 times a day for three consecutive days to each patient for a cure.