ABSTRACT
Background: Genital ulcer disease (GUD) is regarded as the most difficult conundrum for clinicians, as valid and rapid methods to diagnose them are limited, especially in India. The sexual behavior of an individual plays a role in the causation of GUD, and it depends on psychological, behavioral, and social well-being, which was significantly affected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hence, the present study was undertaken to determine the etiology of genital ulcers by using simple, rapid microbiological methods and to study various factors associated with them. Materials and Methods: Various rapid tests like staining (Giemsa, Gram, and Diff Quick) and serology for antibody detection were used to diagnose agents causing genital ulcers among 71 suspected patients during the study period of 1 year. After due informed consent, sociodemographic and behavioral factors were recorded in proforma and analyzed. Results: Rapid tests could aid in diagnosing 47.9% of cases of GUD. Turnaround time was less than 60 minutes for all tests carried out. Genital herpes was the most common GUD followed by syphilis. Male gender (74.6%), age group of more than 34 years old (62%), literate (71.8%), and earning (70.4%) constituted most of the population presenting with GUD. Behavioral factors like promiscuity with a known person (83.1%) had a significant association (P 0.04) with GUD. Conclusion: Rapid diagnostic tests could assist in the early treatment of GUD cases. Factors like literacy, financial independence, and promiscuity with known individuals were associated with GUD in our study during the COVID-19 pandemic.
ABSTRACT
Background: In January 2021, India's drug regulator issued restricted emergency approval for COVISHIELD and COVAXIN, which were manufactured in India. In mid-January 2021, in India, there were 10.5 million confirmed cases and 0.15 million deaths. The objectives were to evaluate vaccine effectiveness (VE) of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines made in India against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus disease 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Materials and Methods: A test-negative case-control study was conducted from May 2021 to December 2021 for a duration of 8 months among people attending a reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) center at a medical college hospital for RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2. The baseline characteristics and RT-PCR report were collected from the RT-PCR center. The exposure to COVID-19 vaccines was enquired via phone call or was checked with data available with the health authorities. Results: After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria and case and control definitions, a total of 380 participants (95 cases and 285 controls) were included. The adjusted VE of two doses of COVISHIED vaccine against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection was 52.2% (41.7 to 62.1), and that of a single dose was 40.88% (31.26 to 51.29). The adjusted VE of two doses of COVAXIN vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 infection was 39% (29.40 to 49.27). The overall VE was 48.20% (37.90 to 58.22) for two doses of any vaccines. Conclusions: Vaccines made in India were nearly 50% effective. Further new studies should be conducted as new variants of SARS-CoV-2 are emerging. We do not know the VE against the variants, and whether booster doses are required or not is not yet established.
