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Cases of dengue and chikungunya fever are escalating all over India. Both viruses share a common vector, the "Aedes" mosquito. Due to similar clinical symptoms, both the dengue (DENV) and chikungunya (CHIKV) virus can circulate as co-infection. There is very limited data available on dengue-chikungunya co-infection in Uttarakhand, India. The purpose of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of dengue and chikungunya virus infections, as well as their co-infection, in patients presenting with clinical symptoms. Serum samples of clinically suspected patients from the tertiary care hospital of Uttarakhand were collected, and Latent Class Cluster Analysis was performed for clinical profiling. ELISA was performed for DENV and CHIKV. 279 cases were enrolled, out of which 222 (79.5%) came positive for dengue NS1 Ag, 143 (51.2%) for dengue IgM, 98 (35.1%) for IgG followed by 16 (5.7%) of CHIKV IgM, and 4 (1.4%) were NS1 Ag with CHIKV IgM. Among the clinical features, fever (n = 270, 96.8%) was the most common symptom in all suspected dengue and chikungunya cases. Other symptoms like chills (n = 254, 91.0%), arthralgia (n = 241, 86.4%), and headache (n = 240, 86.0%) were present in a significant number. Results showed fewer odds of getting both DENV and CHIKV infection simultaneously, but the risk is still not negligible. This study explores the clinical presentation of the suspected dengue-chikungunya case. The increasing incidence of dengue and chikungunya and their co-infection necessitate the authorities' active surveillance of endemic regions and effective patient care management.
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BACKGROUND: The multiple serotypes of the dengue virus (DENV) are always a major public concern for dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS). OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to analyse the demographic characteristics and circulating serotypes of dengue among the paediatric age group. METHODOLOGY: One hundred forty-one clinically suspected children were enrolled in the study from 2018 to 2020 in a tertiary care hospital in Uttarakhand, India. Central tendency, frequency, and One-Way ANOVA were measured for continuous and categorical data. The Shapiro-Wilks test was used to calculate the normality assumption. Dengue NS1 Ag, IgM, and IgG antibodies ELISA were performed, and NS1-positive samples were further tested for molecular studies. RESULT: From one hundred forty-one suspected cases, 100 (70.92%) came positive for dengue NS1 antigen, 18 (12.76%), and three (2.12%) came positive for IgM and IgG antibodies respectively. Rest 20 (14.18%) samples came negative for dengue. Fever with chills (97.5%), headache (89%), and arthralgia (82%) were the most common clinical features. Molecular studies showed the dengue serotype-2 (DEN-2) was found in most cases, followed by the dengue-3 serotype (DEN-3). CONCLUSION: This is the preliminary study as the authors' best knowledge which demonstrate the burden of dengue in children with prevalent serotypes for consecutive three years in Uttarakhand. This study identifies that the serotype-2 (DEN-2) of the dengue virus was the primary cause of infection in children at the tertiary care hospital in northern India. These results will help further to understand the nature of the disease so that improved patient care management will imply. Further molecular studies on large sample sizes during the endemic would be helpful to gain knowledge of the actual load of the disease and the genetic characteristics of the virus.
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Mucormycosis is an opportunistic, aggressive, and angioinvasive fungal infection associated with a high mortality rate as it disseminates and infects the whole body if not treated early. Most conventional diagnostic methods require time and may also generate false-negative reports due to the several lacunae associated. On the other hand, molecular methods are rapid, reliable, and can be applied to different biological samples, such as fresh tissue, formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded blocks, serum, and urine. Mucorales are angio-invasive, and many studies have found the circulating fungal DNA (a non-invasive form of DNA) in the blood and urine of the patient. In addition, with the increase in the usage of steroid drugs in this COVID scenario, the rate of mucormycosis infection has taken a sudden rise. In light of this situation, there is an imperative need to diagnose these infections at the earliest.
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INTRODUCTION: Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) smear may serve as a convenient sample for DNA extraction for molecular pathology in addition to more commonly used formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) sections. DNA quantification done by fluorometer is more accurate than UV vis spectrophotometer regardless of the source. This study was conducted to compare DNA yield and quality from cytology smears, FFPE sections and peripheral blood using both fluorometer and spectrophotometer. Further, introspection was made to check for the adequacy of DNA extracted from cytology smears with respect to DNA extracted from core biopsies. METHOD: DNA was extracted from 10 fresh peripheral blood samples, core biopsies and FNAC smears. The DNA was quantified using a fluorimeter and UV vis spectrophotometer in all cases. RESULTS: Statistically significant difference was seen between the data obtained from UV vis spectrophotometry and flourometry. The quantity of DNA extracted from FNAC smears was higher than that of core biopsy as per fluorometry data (mean DNA of core biopsy = 1.9ng/µl, of FNAC = 3.3ng/µl). CONCLUSION: DNA estimation by fluorometry is more accurate and precise than spectrophotometry in FFPE, FNAC and whole blood samples. DNA yield from FNAC slides is comparable to that from core biopsies.
