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The international relaxation in travels post-COVID-19 vaccinations in the developed world toward the end of 2020 took a human toll in the form of COVID-19 infections and deaths in India, a country that had thus far protected itself from this pandemic. Kerala, the first state in India to have attained full literacy, with an abundance of globally interconnected labor pools, noted its first case of COVID-19 in early 2020, and soon thereafter it ranked as one of the highest in the country in terms of COVID-19 infections per 1, 000 people. This chapter maps and analyzes the spatial and temporal spread of COVID-19 across the 14 districts of Kerala during January 2020 to December 2021. Geographic information system mapping and descriptive statistical analysis of total infections, quarantined, hospitalized, positive cases, under-treatment, samples tested, those turning negative, and daily and cumulative deaths suggest that Kerala had peaked to a dangerously high level of infections and deaths by May 2021, whereby December 2021 netted cumulative deaths of 10, 944. Insights gathered from academic and archival sources along with available travel data at domestic and international scales suggest that phases of travel relaxation during August 2020-March 2021 provided opportunities for social and public gatherings, which eventually contributed to a steep rise in COVID-19. © 2023 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.
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The specialty of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery involves various subspecialties, encompassing clinical conditions ranging from medical to surgical issues in infections, noninfectious benign conditions and various benign and malignant tumors. Drug repurposing has proven to be significant in multiple fields and is still investigational in many promising possible solutions to different clinical challenges in this specialty. We discuss some classes of drugs that have been successfully repurposed for ENT pathologies. We also discuss the novel research goals that are being pursued in our department in the context of drug repurposing for airway infectious diseases including COVID-10 and mucormycosis. There has been a silent and underappreciated rise in drug-resistant invasive fungal infections (IFIs). Emerging Mucorales are difficult to diagnose and tolerant to many of the frontline antifungal therapies. There is an urgent need to combat these emerging pathogens and investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying their potentiated virulence traits to identify potential therapeutic targets susceptible to anti-fungal compounds. The drug development process for IFIs remains largely expensive, and is inherently risky. These challenges declare an urgent need for discovery of new antifungal drugs and encourage drug repurposing as alternative approach to fungal control. The understanding of molecular underpinnings behind fungi and human host continue to grow, however, further research endeavors are underway to fully explore the fungal pathogenesis, (including the role of iron) to gather new insights to achieve improved therapeutics. Above all, creative screening tools and out-of-the-box ideas aimed at increasing the possibility of identifying potential first-in-class antifungals are highly encouraged. The recently emerging fungal co-infections in the COVID-19 disease patients has revived the interest in the pathophysiology and clinical management of the IFIs, and identification of potential druggable nodes in olfactory niche to inhibit the spread of COVID-19 and associated co-infections by leveraging in vitro-disease models of host-pathogen interaction. We employed our recently established COVID-19 disease model to decipher potential anti-metabolic molecules that can be repurposed as novel bilateral drugs having anti-fungal and host-directed features with extended applicability in diabetes, COVID-19, and mucormycosis with and without COVID-19. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023.
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Interaction with the world around us requires extracting meaningful signals to guide behaviour. The mammalian senses of olfaction, vision, somatosensation, hearing, balance and taste facilitate extraction of sense-specific information. Most sensory organs in the vertebrate head originate from cranial placodes (CPs). CPs are formed embryonically through a series of differentiation steps arising at the boundary between neural and non-neural ectoderm, and they can be divided into anterior, posterior and intermediate groups depending on their place of origin in the developing embryonic head. Anterior CPs include adenohypophyseal, olfactory and lens placodes;intermediate CPs include the trigeminal placode, which gives rise to the sensory neurons of the ophthalmic and maxilla-mandibular divisions of the trigeminal ganglion;posterior CPs are comprised of the otic, lateral line placode and the epibranchial placodes that give rise to the inner ear, lateral line organs (in fish and amphibian) and sensory neurons of the geniculate, petrosal and nodose ganglia, respectively. The complexity of neural plate border specification in vitro poses a major limitation to gain deeper mechanistic insights into the developmental cues driving efficient placodal differentiation;hence generation and establishment of in vitro cellular models with improved cranial placode differentiation are challenging. Our group is interested in the establishment of cranial/sensory placodes in vitro using novel cellular stress stem cell reprogramming models with translational implications in sensorineural hearing loss regeneration and modelling COVID-19-associated anosmia. We are primarily interested in building the otic placodes that can form viable otic vesicles in vitro, which can be further directed to generate cochlear/vestibular systems of inner ear and the sensory neurons of its associated vestibulocochlear ganglion. Given the copious involvement of serine proteases in COVID-19 pathogenesis, we are also encouraged to leverage our proteolytic stress cellular models towards establishment and characterization of novel olfactory epithelial neurospheres housing supporting cells, progenitor cells and sensory neurons for investigating cellular and molecular targets of COVID-19-associated anosmia. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022.
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Delving into the nexus of the pandemic, gender, and livelihoods, this study uses semistructured interviews and other secondary data from journals, news reports, and books to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic-induced lockdown on 38 domestic workers in Titwala, an extended suburb of Mumbai (India), which has recently emerged as a preferred residential area of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. With the fast growth of residential real estate within the last decade, this area has witnessed a tremendous influx of households where many female domestic workers have found employment-a typical lifestyle maintained by most middle-class families in Indian society. However, following the pandemic and the lockdowns across India, many of these domestic workers not only lost their livelihoods, but also their return after the end of the lockdown was largely marked by underemployment, reduced wages, loss of bargaining power, accumulated debts, COVID-19-induced social discrimination, and loss of access to education by their school-age children due to unaffordable Internet data. This has exacerbated the already prevalent insecurities among the domestic workers, further threatening their livelihoods. This chapter proposes legal recognition of domestic work and informal workers such that their basic human and income rights can be protected. © 2023 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.
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This paper examines the impact of the pandemic on India's public health system of the country, especially from the perspective of urban slumdwellers. Drawing on a qualitative study carried out by the Urban Health Resource Centre in selected slums in Indore and Agra, the paper reflects the impact of the pandemic on the provision of essential health services such as maternal and child healthcare, family planning, immunization for children and the detection and treatment of non-COVID ailments such as tuberculosis. The authors argue that the veritable collapse of healthcare to the most vulnerable sections of the population exposed the structural weaknesses of India's healthcare system. To build a more robust public health system in India to tackle future crises of this kind, the authors call for strengthening the health infrastructure in small to medium-sized cities and reinforcing other crucial determinants of well-being such as food security, livelihood opportunities and support and enhanced education opportunities. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023.
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Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 has been spread almost all over the world in the last two years, including in India. Vaccines are a critical tool in the battle against COVID-19, and India has flagged the largest vaccination drive on 16 January 2021. Although public acceptance was varying, which can lead to non-acceptance. Aim & Objective: To estimate an acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine and its associated factors. Settings and Design: An analytical cross-sectional study among health care workers in India Methods & Material: It was conducted using a validated, self-administrated online survey questionnaire, and data were analyzed using SPSS 23 version. The outcome variable was healthcare workers' acceptance of a COVID-19 vaccine. Results: A total of 450 HCWs participated, including 205(45.6%) women and 245(54.4%) men. A total of 270 (60%) subjects will accept vaccines, while 33.3% were unwilling to accept and wait for vaccines. Male gender (OR=3.14), being married and experienced (OR=11.49), vaccine effectiveness (OR=6.4), vaccine safety (OR=3.4), and past history (OR=2.28) were significantly associated. On applying logistic regression for associated factors, gender (B= -1.145, S.E.= 0.200, Wald 32.748), being married (B= -1.482, S.E.= 0.216, Wald 46.937), for experienced (B= -0.865, S.E.= 0.200, effectiveness (B= -1.856, S.E.= 0.245, Wald 57.431), Safety (B= -1.224, S.E.= 0.202, Wald 36.633) and past history (B= -0.357, S.E.= 0.248, Wald 2.071) found significant. Recommendation: Proper information is crucial and healthcare workers' attitudes about vaccines are an important factor for acceptance and recommendation of the vaccine to the public for population-wide coverage.
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Background: The Brixia Chest X-ray (CXR) score, C-reactive protein (CRP), and the absolute neutrophil count (ANC) have been useful to predict outcomes in Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 patients). We studied the utility of the Brixia CXR score, CRP, and ANC in predicting the outcomes in terms of the need for invasive mechanical ventilation, length of stay, and mortality in moderate-severe COVID-19 patients. Material(s) and Method(s): This was a single-centre, retrospective, study on 122 COVID-19 patients. Brixia CXR score, CRP, and ANC on admission to the hospital and the fifth day of hospital stay were noted along with the need for invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV), prolonged length of stay (LOS) >= 14 days, and mortality. Result(s): 122 patients were included for analysis. The median and interquartile range (IQR) for baseline CRP was 81.50 (39-151) mg/L and 11.0 (4-30) mg/L (p < 0.001) on the fifth day. The median and IQR for baseline Brixia score was 10.0 (7-13), and on the fifth day was 7 (4-11) (p <0.001). The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) showed that the baseline CRP >= 52.5mg/L predicted both the need for IMV, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.628, and prolonged LOS with an AUC of 0.608. The ROC curve depicted that the baseline ANC >8500/muL predicted IMV requirement with an AUC of 0.657. The fifth day CRP >= 32 mg/L, ANC >= 11,000/ muL and Brixia CXR score >= 7 predicted a higher mortality in hospitalized patients. Conclusion(s): Baseline CRP (> 52.5mg/L) predicts the need for IMV and a prolonged LOS, but not mortality. Baseline ANC (> 8500/muL) predicted the need for IMV. CRP, Brixia CXR score, and ANC on the fifth day were not useful to predict LOS or mortality, though there was a significant reduction in CRP and Brixia CXR score on the fifth day compared to baseline after treatment. The fifth day CRP >= 32 mg/L, ANC >= 11,000/ muL and Brixia CXR score >= 7 predicted a higher mortality.Copyright © 2023, College of Anaesthesiologists of Sri Lanka. All rights reserved.
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Cloud computing (CC) is a revolution that can provide information technology (IT) as a service. CC offers infrastructure, platform, and software services, as demand peaks and surges. This paper aims to investigate how prospective adopters behave when external factors such as "Coronavirus Pandemic- COVID-19” impact their technology adoption decision-making. The study also explores how a prospective adopter behaves i.e., if his/her intention to adopt any new innovation increases in presence of stronger disruptive factors (COVID-19). This research empirically examines if the intent to adopt secured (online) services impacts actual CC adoption (CCA) in pre-COVID-19 and during COVID-19 eras. It also provides an idea of how prospective adopters behave when they face disruptions caused by the pandemic situation, and how the holistic relation is reflected in terms of its influence on academic performance. This study has used Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with sequential mediation effect of intent to adopt secured online services and CCA on Academic Performance (AP) using a sample of 867 students from 25 different Indian universities in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities. Using AMOS, a structural equation modelling was conducted to test the research model. The results highlight that there is a significant difference between the influence of perceived usefulness (PU) as well as perceived ease of use (PEOU) on CCA due to COVID-19. The results also provide empirical evidence of gender moderating the relationship of PU as well as PEOU with CCA. This is the first study that provides comparative results from pre-COVID and post-COVID era, this work provides a reference point to practitioners and academicians, especially when evaluating factors before making a final decision regarding any emerging technology's adoption. © 2023 Elsevier Inc.
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BackgroundThe first year of the Covid-19 pandemic saw drastic changes to bariatric surgical practice, including postponement of procedures, altered patient care and impacting on the role of bariatric surgeons. The consequences of this both personally and professionally amongst bariatric surgeons has not as yet been explored. AimsThe aim of this research was to understand bariatric surgeons' perspectives of working during the first year of the pandemic to explore the self-reported personal and professional impact. MethodsUsing a retrospective, two phased, study design with global participants recruited from closed, bariatric surgical units. The first phase used a qualitative thematic analytic framework to identify salient areas of importance to surgeons. Themes informed the construction of an on-line, confidential survey to test the potential generalizability of the interview findings with a larger representative population from the global bariatric surgical community. FindingsFindings of the study revealed that the first year of the pandemic had a detrimental effect on bariatric surgeons both personally and professionally globally. ConclusionThis study has identified the need to build resilience of bariatric surgeons so that the practice of self-care and the encouragement of help-seeking behaviors can potentially be normalized, which will in turn increase levels of mental health and wellbeing.
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COVID-19 may be a very contagion caused by a recently discovered called corona virus. Novel corona virus was found in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. World Health Organization has declared the COVID-19 as pandemic disease and outbreak as a health emergency globally. Novel Corona Virus is additionally referred to as severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus- 2. The foremost infected people with corona virus show commonly respiratory illness like- fever, cold, sneezing, cough, pneumonia, upper respiratory illness, GIT disease like nausea, vomiting as symptoms. Recently published evidences stated that light Fever and cough within the 80 % patients, shortness of breath in 30-35% patients and 10-15% patients show Muscle ache and other ache. Novel Corona virus enters through the membrane ACE-2 receptor within the human cell. Corona virus is spherical or pleomorphic, single stranded, enveloped ribose macromolecule and included club shaped glycoprotein. SARS, Respiratory (breathing) infections are often transmission via droplets of various diameter like >5-10 micrometer. Molecular test administered with respiratory samples, like throat swab, sputum and broncholveolar lavage and in some severe cases it reported in stool and blood also. After the WHO and other diagnostic guideline said that the PCR and RT-PCR test reported for corona diagnosis.Copyright © 2022 Dr. Yashwant Research Labs Pvt. Ltd.. All rights reserved.
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COVID-19 due to SARS-CoV-2 is a global pandemic that presents a serious challenge from many angles for healthcare professionals. The virus causes a potentially fatal disease that is easily transmitted among patients and caregivers, hence specific dead body care is required for such patients. Our study was conducted to identify knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding COVID-19 dead body care among hospital nursing personnel. A cross sectional survey-based study was performed involving 282 nurses who worked in COVID-19 units during data collection from July 2020 to September 2020. The online structured questionnaire was based on world health organization guidelines, institutional infection control protocols, and course material regarding emerging respiratory diseases including COVID-19. We found that work experience in the COVID-19 unit had a significant impact on knowledge and practice regarding COVID-19 dead body care. Similarly, we observed that training improved the knowledge and practice of nursing personnel regarding dead body care. Good knowledge, attitude, and practice were observed in experienced and trained nurses (p-value <0.005). No significant changes were observed with age, gender, and education qualification. Overall knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding COVID-19 dead body care were moderate to good. Adequate training among nurses should prevent the transmission of disease due to occupational exposure.Copyright © 2023, Science Publications. All rights reserved.
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Nowadays, health monitoring is crucial, especially monitoring the temperature and heartbeat of the patient in Covid / non-Covid situations. Continued monitoring of the patient is not a possible and tedious job. IoT plays a critical role in Hospitals where patients are in Intensive Care Units (ICU), and patients are treated at home (isolation points). The devices receive data continuously and monitor by the doctors remotely. This paper presents temperature and heartbeat monitoring using Internet Of Things (IoT) devices with an algorithm to capture data from devices and sends it to computer devices at a reasonable cost. Proof Of Concept has been created with the help of an Arduino board, Pulse Sensor, Temperature Sensor, Breadboard, ESP8266 Wi-Fi module, and Liquid Crystal Display (LCD). The IoT devices capture data from different devices (patient health data) in real time. The Health Care Monitoring (HCM) Application builds using microservices architecture, runs on top of the Thingspeak data, and sends notifications to the doctors if there is an emergency. The doctors can act according to rather than monitor continuously. This model eliminates manual intervention for taking the reading from time to time. © 2022 IEEE.
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The recent pandemic, covid-19 has largely affected people's lives, health, and productivity. The first case of Covid-19 was recorded on December 31, 2019, in Wuhan, China. Since then, the number of cases has increased exponentially, and subsequently, numerous precautions have been taken to prevent and cure the virus. By May 26, 2021, totally, 168 million cases were reported worldwide, with 3.49 million deaths, and the pandemic is currently underway, with people continuing to get affected and fighting for their lives from this deadly virus. The World Health Organization (WHO) has also released various precautions and vaccines to combat the pandemic, but these are insufficient to reduce the number of infected cases or save people's lives. The proposed research study discusses about the utilization of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and data science techniques for gaining a better understanding of covid-19 virus. This technological advancement can easily make proper judgments about covid-19, as well as the predictions on confirmed & recovered cases and deaths were made by using this technology. The datasets also include previous and current information about covid-19. The proposed research study also discusses about a tool called "Prophet.” Prophet is a Facebook open-source tool, which uses the Sklearn model API. The proposed study initially creates a prophet instance and then use its fit and predict methods. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
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The necessity of modern intensive care units (ICU) based on IoT is becoming obvious as a result of the population boom and, most notably, coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The continual monitoring of patients' vital indicators (Blood Pressure, ECG, Heart Rate, Blood Saturation, Body Temperature) is one of the most important aspects of an ICU. Existing improvements in informatics, signal processing, or engineering, which potentially reduce the pressure on ICUs, have yet to be implemented. It's possible due to a lack of user participation in research and development. This manuscript focuses on the improvement of a completely integrated system where the doctors can directly connect to patients through the Smart Portable ICU, and physicians can access the patients. Thus, the crucial boundaries of a patient to the concerned specialist at a far-off position have been resolved simply and helpfully. Thus, the specialist can attend to the patient remotely and infuse lifesaving drugs from the distant area if necessary. © 2022 IEEE.
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Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is the most prevalent infectious human disease spreading in several parts of the world caused by SARS Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). COVID-19 transmission is mainly spreading via the respiratory tract, personal contact, digestive tract and hospital-acquired infections. Health care workers particularly working in clinics practicing traditional medicine need to be in close contact with patients, so they have a higher risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. In this paper, therefore, the personal-protective measures need to be followed by healthcare workers in traditional medicine clinics during COVID-19 pandemic are emphasized, to enlighten them about self-protection and to improve the safety of such a special group of traditional healers.Copyright © 2021 Bentham Science Publishers.
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Background: Lorigerlimab (MGD019) is an investigational, bispecific Fc-bearing (IgG4) DART molecule designed to enhance CTLA-4 blockade on dual expressing, tumor infiltrating lymphocytes, while maintaining maximal PD-1 blockade on PD-1 expressing cells. Lorigerlimab has approximate dose proportional PK across 1-10 mg/kg IV dosing Q3W, with sustained PD-1 receptor occupancy evident at doses >=1 mg/kg Q3W. MGD019-01 is a global first-in-human dose finding and activity estimating study of lorigerlimab in advanced solid tumors (AST). Method(s): The exp phase of MGD019-01 evaluates single agent safety, PK, and antitumor effects of lorigerlimab at the recommended dose for exp of 6 mg/ kg IV Q3W in 4 tumor specific cohorts. Confirmed responses were noted in each cohort. Preliminary results of the mCRPC cohort are reported here. Response evaluable pts received >=1 dose and had >=1 postbaseline imaging evaluation. Measurable lesions were evaluated per RECIST v1.1 and skeletal metastases assessed by bone scan. Prostate specific antigen (PSA) response was defined as a >=50% (PSA50) or>=90% (PSA90) PSA decline from baseline with confirmation>=3 weeks later. Expression of proliferation marker, Ki67, and inducible costimulator (ICOS) by peripheral T cells was assessed by flow cytometry. Result(s): At data cutoff (9/10/22), 127 pts with AST received >=1 dose of lorigerlimab 6 mg/ kg. Median exposure was 10 weeks (range, 0.1, 94.4) with median of 4 infusions. 6 pts remain on therapy;36 discontinued for PD (n=13), AEs (n=17), or patient/physician decision (n=6). Treatment related adverse events (TRAE) occurred in 109/127 (85.8%) pts. TRAEs occurring in>=15% of pts were fatigue, pruritus, hypothyroidism, pyrexia. Rates of grade >=3 TRAEs and immune-related AEs were 32.3% and 7.9%, respectively. AEs leading to drug discontinuation occurred in 22.8% of pts. There were no fatal AEs related to lorigerlimab. In the mCRPC exp cohort (n=42), pts had a median of 2 prior lines of therapy for CRPC, >80% received prior ART or taxanes;88% had visceral (liver, 26%;lung, 26%) or nodal disease and 95% had bone metastases. 42 pts were PSA response evaluable;35 were RECIST evaluable. ORR was 25.7% (9/35;9 confirmed PRs). Median duration of response was 16.1 weeks (range 6-25+ weeks). 5 responders remain on study, 4 discontinued for unrelated fatal AEs: COVID-19 (2) cardiac arrest (1) C. difficile infection (1). Confirmed PSA50 and PSA90 response rates were 28.6%(12/42) and 21.4% (9/42), respectively. Increased frequencies of Ki67+ and ICOS+ T cells were observed on day 8 posttreatment compared to pretherapy per the flow cytometry analyses from 35 pts. Conclusion(s): Lorigerlimab demonstrates a manageable safety profile with evidence of encouraging and durable antitumor activity in a chemotherapy refractory mCRPC population. Randomized evaluation of lorigerlimab in mCRPC is warranted.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has been a catalyst in the slow-moving transition to telemedicine services: dermatology has been particularly affected by this move to 'teledermatology' and the use of virtual clinics. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has also exposed and exacerbated pre-existing health inequalities. Dermatological services are prone to inequalities in service access, disease burden and equity. There are 13 million general practice consultations for skin conditions every year (https://www.not tingham.ac.uk/research/groups/cebd/documents/hcnaskinc onditionsuk2009.pdf), yet only 611 dermatology consultants provide specialist care (https://www.statista.com/statistics/ 594431/dermatologists-in-the-united-kingdom-uk-by-staffgrade/). Teledermatology with the adoption of virtual clinics has the potential to increase accessibility to dermatology patients in geographically isolated areas. However, access and use of virtual clinics for dermatology patients poses several challenges. In 2018, five million people in the UK were noninternet users (https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationa ndcommunity/householdcharacteristics/homeinternetandsoc ialmediausage/articles/exploringtheuksdigitaldivide/2019-03-04). A geographical divide exists in the UK concerning knowledge and application of basic digital skills, with the North, the Midlands and Wales falling short in a national average of 79%. The Department for Work and Pensions has impairment listings on a range of skin conditions that are most likely to be disabling (https://www.gov.uk/governme nt/publications/medical-guidance-for-dla-and-aa-decision-ma kers-adult-cases-staff-guide). Yet, 22% of all disabled people lack internet access. Ethnic disparities on the use of pre-existing online healthcare infrastructure like NHS Direct already exist (Cook EJ, Randhawa G, Large S et al. Who uses NHS Direct? Investigating the impact of ethnicity on the uptake of telephone based healthcare. Int J Equity Health 2014;13: 99). Cultural factors and those living in overcrowded housing lack the privacy needed for dermatological consultations. With austerity measures, people are unable to afford internet access or goodquality computers to make video calls to talk about their skin problems, making teledermatology an unsuitable alternative. The digital divide also exists across an age gradient, with older people more likely to report not using the internet. Dermatology patients tend to be elderly, with the median age of patients referred being 51 years. With virtual clinics projected to be significant in the future delivery of dermatology services, it would be prudent to mitigate the risks of digital exclusion for our most vulnerable patients and tackle the persisting inequalities.
ABSTRACT
The recent pandemic, covid-19 has largely affected people's lives, health, and productivity. The first case of Covid-19 was recorded on December 31, 2019, in Wuhan, China. Since then, the number of cases has increased exponentially, and subsequently, numerous precautions have been taken to prevent and cure the virus. By May 26, 2021, totally, 168 million cases were reported worldwide, with 3.49 million deaths, and the pandemic is currently underway, with people continuing to get affected and fighting for their lives from this deadly virus. The World Health Organization (WHO) has also released various precautions and vaccines to combat the pandemic, but these are insufficient to reduce the number of infected cases or save people's lives. The proposed research study discusses about the utilization of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and data science techniques for gaining a better understanding of covid-19 virus. This technological advancement can easily make proper judgments about covid-19, as well as the predictions on confirmed & recovered cases and deaths were made by using this technology. The datasets also include previous and current information about covid-19. The proposed research study also discusses about a tool called "Prophet.” Prophet is a Facebook open-source tool, which uses the Sklearn model API. The proposed study initially creates a prophet instance and then use its fit and predict methods. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
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Introduction: Attributable to the difficulties in specimen collection, discomfort and symptoms caused on by Nasopharyngeal (NPS) and Oropharyngeal Swab (OPS) collection, and significant risk to Healthcare Workers (HCW), evaluation of an alternative specimen for the diagnosis of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is required. Saliva specimen could be an alternative specimen with many advantages over NPS and OPS, however little is known about how well it performs this purpose. Aim(s): The present study was conducted to assess the efficacy of saliva as a viable and simple alternative specimen to NPS and OPS for COVID-19 Real-Time reverse transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (rRT-PCR). Material(s) and Method(s): The present cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Microbiology, SGT Medical College Hospital and Research Institute, Haryana, India, from July 2020 to December 2020. A total of 60 symptomatic and 20 asymptomatic COVID-19 patients were recruited for the study and specimen viz., saliva, NPS and OPS were collected at four different sampling points i.e., on day 1, 5, 7 and 14 after confirmation of COVID-19 rRT-PCR test positivity. Data obtained from the study was analysed and expressed as median, frequency, interquartile range and Chi-square test was done for comparison of categorical variables. Result(s): Majority of the patients in symptomatic hospitalised COVID-19 patients were males (n=49, 81.7%) and remaining were females (n=11, 18.3%) and in asymptomatic group 8 (40%) were males and 12 (60%) were females. Saliva was the most sensitive specimen (74.2%), followed by NPS, Naso Oropharyngeal Swab (NOPS) with 70.8% each and OPS (65.8%) for detection of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in symptomatic patients at four different sampling points. Comparable findings were also observed in specimens obtained from asymptomatic individuals as well. In addition, the viral load was also highest in saliva sample, as measured by Cycle Threshold (CT)-value. Across all specimen types, high viral load (lower CT-values) was observed during the early period of infection. Majority of the study participants reported discomfort during NPS and OPS collection (90% and 85%, respectively), lacrimation, sneezing and gag reflex being the most commonly reported induced symptoms. Conclusion(s): In the present study, saliva could be a viable and alternate specimen for COVID-19 diagnosis due to its ease in sample collection, specimen stability and reduced risk of transmission of infection due to droplets.Copyright © 2023 Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research. All rights reserved.