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Background: In recent decades, the prevalence of fungal sinus infection has increased. It's plausible that this is related to increased awareness, antibiotic usage, and the use of immunosuppressive drugs. Furthermore, much has been written on the involvement of fungus as a causative organism. Objective(s): To identify fungal pathogens and correlate laboratory findings with clinical findings. Material(s) and Method(s): Patients with AIFR following recent COVID-19 infection were included. After performing potassium hydroxide (KOH) wet mounts, post-operative material was collected and cultured on two tubes of Sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA) and stored at 250 C and 370 C for isolation and identification. Result(s): Out of 329 diabetic individuals with AIFS following COVID-19 infection, 51% exhibited mucopurulent discharge and 75.6 % had unilateral involvement. Only 57.4% of KOH mount samples were positive for fungal components, however 76.3% of SDA samples exhibited positive growth, with 62 % Mucorales, 8% Aspergillus, and 6 % Candida species. Conclusion(s): Mucor mycosis can develop in COVID-19 patients, particularly those with diabetes, a high and imprudent use of corticosteroids, and invasive ventilation. KOH test resulted in a preliminary diagnosis, whereas Culture remains the gold standard for identification. Copyright © 2022, Institute of Medico-legal Publication. All rights reserved.
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Background: In India, laboratory diagnosis of SARS - CoV-2 infection has been mostly based on real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Studies have shown that IgG antibodies may be detected usually 10-18 days after the onset of covid-19 infection, persist after 4 weeks till few months but may decline later. In the neutralization of SARS-CoV-2, B-cell response and the production of IgG antibodies play an important role. The aim of the present study is to describe the antibody kinetics in relation to treatment in health care workers with RT-qPCR-confirmed COVID-19, and analyse antibody response by using IgG antibody Merilisa kit. Materials and Methods: The present study enrolled 120 health care workers who were working in COVID wards (aged between 20-60 years) with laboratory confirmed COVID-19, from whom sera were analyzed on 10th day and 3 months after COVID-19 diagnosis. Result: Out of the study population which included 120 health care workers, only 46.6% remained positive for IgG antibodies after 3 months post infection of COVID-19. This study showed that presence of IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 was higher among HCWs who were only on Antibiotics (60%) followed by those only on Antivirals (53.3%) as treatment modality. Conclusion: Compared to the IgG detected during treatment or hospitalization, the difference in IgG positivity after 3months was significant. It also shows that administration of steroids results in early weaning of antibodies suggesting re-infection could be more in such cases. Our findings may be of significance in interpreting anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody test results and in understanding humoral immune response patterns for SARS-CoV-2 infection with respect to treatment strategies in current and potential future COVID-19 outbreak scenarios.
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Background:COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). Serologic assays for SARS- CoV-2, play an important role in understanding the immune status of post covid health care workers who are at highest risk of infection. In this infection, IgM and IgG antibodies can arise nearly simultaneously in serum within 2 to 3 weeks after illness onset. Around day 14 after symptom onset, IgG will rise above detection levels and will generally continue to rise for 28 - 35 days after symptom onset, peaking around or after clinical recovery. IgG typically has a long half-life and will remain above detectable thresholds for months after the resolution of infection. Most widely used treatment strategies include steroids, antivirals and antibiotics. Aim of the study is to assess the effect of treatment strategies on IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 among covid infected Health care workers Methods:All the post covid HCWs (60-75 days after detection) were categorized into 4 groups on the basis of treatment strategies. 1st group (30) – combination of antiviral and steroid therapy, 2nd group (30) – only steroids, 3rd group (15) – only antivirals, 4th group (15)– only antibiotics (asymptomatic). All the groups were treated with multivitamins and VitC along with above mentioned therapy. Qualitative IgG ELISA using Merilisa kits was adopted to assess the prevalence of IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 to know the pattern of IgG antibody titres. Results:90 samples were collected for this study, which were subjected to qualitative ELISA. Out of these highest IgG titres were found in patients only on antibiotics followed by only on antivirals, followed by steroid and antiviral combi- nation and least was found in patients only on steroids. Conclusions:This study showed that administration of steroids results in early weaning of antibodies. Re -infection could be more in these cases
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Late in 2020, two genetically-distinct clusters of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) with mutations of biological concern were reported, one in the United Kingdom and one in South Africa. Using a combination of data from routine surveillance, genomic sequencing and international travel we track the international dispersal of lineages B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 (variant 501Y-V2). We account for potential biases in genomic surveillance efforts by including passenger volumes from location of where the lineage was first reported, London and South Africa respectively. Using the software tool grinch (global report investigating novel coronavirus haplotypes), we track the international spread of lineages of concern with automated daily reports, Further, we have built a custom tracking website (cov-lineages.org/global_report.html) which hosts this daily report and will continue to include novel SARS-CoV-2 lineages of concern as they are detected.