Laboratory tests are necessary for diagnosis of scrub typhus (ST) especially in the absence of the distinctive eschar. Performance of an ELISA and ICT (immunochromatography) to detect IgM antibodies to scrub typhus was assessed using a panel of 346 sera chosen from healthy individuals, those with scrub typhus and scrub-typhus like illness. A sensitivity of 98.7% for ST IgM ICT and 97.4% for ST IgM ELISA was observed while specificity was 96.3% for ICT and 95.9% for ELISA. As excellent concordance (98.8%) was noted between the two assays, IgM ICT can be used for rapid diagnosis of scrub typhus. Abbreviations ST IgM ELISA Scrub typhus IgM ELISA; ST IgM ICT Scrub Typhus IgM Immunochromatography, Rapid diagnostic test RDT.Purpose The sequence variation of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) capsid region may influence and alter the susceptibility to human tripartite motif 5α protein (huTRIM5α). Materials and methods Molecular docking was carried out with huTRIM5α SPRY domain by the use of ClusPro and Hex docking program for HIV-1 and HIV-2 capsid sequences. Results The sequence analysis on HIV-1 and HIV-2 capsid gag gene identified 35 (19.7%) single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in HIV-1 and 8 (4.5%) SNPs in HIV-2. The variations observed in the HIV-2 capsid region were significantly lower than HIV-1 (P less then 0.001). The molecular docking analysis showed that HIV-1 wild type used V1 loop, while HIV-2 used V3 loop of huTRIM5α for interaction. HIV-1 with A116T SNP and HIV-2 with V81A SNP use V3 and V1 loop of huTRIM5α for interaction respectively. The reduced huTRIM5α inhibition may lead to a faster progression of disease among HIV-1-infected individuals. However, in case of HIV-2, increased inhibition by huTRIM5α slows down the disease progression. Conclusion Polymorphisms in the capsid protein with both HIV-1- and HIV-2-monoinfected individuals showed the difference in the docking energy from the wild type. This is the first study which documents the difference in the usage of loop between the two HIV types for interaction with huTRIM5α. Variations in the capsid protein result in alteration in the binding to the restriction factor huTRIM5α.Introduction Human rhinovirus (HRV) and Enterovirus (ENV) are the major causes of childhood acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs). This study sought to understand the distribution pattern of HRV subgroups, their seasonality and association with respiratory complications in patients at a tertiary care hospital. Results Of the total 332 ARTI samples, 82 (24.7%) were positive for ENV/HRV. Twenty positive samples were processed further for phylogenetic analysis. Ten of the 20 samples were identified to be HRVs (70% HRV A and 30% HRV C) and nine were enteroviruses. HRV A clustered near three distinct HRV types (A12, A78 and A82). Four of the HRV strains (represented as SEQ 137 rhino, SEQ 282 rhino, SEQ 120 rhino and SEQ 82 rhino) had high sequence similarity. HRV C showed seasonality and was associated with disease severity. Conclusion The genotyping and phylogenetic analysis of the HRVs in the current study shows its circulatory pattern, association with risk factors and evolutionary dynamics.Purpose Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an emerging pathogen causing acute viral hepatitis worldwide. Clinical manifestations often occur in young adults with an increased mortality rate among pregnant women. HEV genotypes 1 and 4 are mainly reported among humans and swines, respectively. Aims The aim was to study the currently circulating genotypes of HEV in India. Materials and methods A retrospective cross-sectional study was carried out at Manipal Institute of Virology to know the circulating genotypes of hepatitis E, spanning over 5 years from August 2014 to September 2018. The serum samples screened serologically positive and confirmed positive for active infection by real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (Real Star® HEV RT-PCR Kit 2.0, Altona Diagnostics, GmbH, Hamburg, Germany) were further subjected to nested conventional PCR targeting the RdRp gene of non-structural ORF1 region. The purified PCR product was sequenced in BigDye Terminator v3.1 Cycle Sequencing Kit (Life Technologies, Thermo Fisher Scientific, USA). The chromatograms obtained by sequencing were analysed using Sequencher 5.4.6, and HEV FASTA sequences were compared with reference sequences for HEV in GenBank Nucleotide Blast. Results During the study period, there were 317 cases of laboratory-confirmed cases of acute viral hepatitis comprising 202, 70, 43 and 2 cases of hepatitis A, E, B and C, respectively. Serum samples of 70 acute hepatitis cases were positive for anti-hepatitis E IgM. According to the clinical case classification, there were 66 cases of acute viral hepatitis and four cases of fulminant hepatic liver failure. The mean age of the patients was 30.3 years (standard deviation = 12.5). The samples from various parts of India were genotyped as 1a. Conclusion The HEV genotypes 1a was observed to be the currently circulating strain in the regions studied.Background and objectives Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the causative agent of cervical cancer, a major cause of cancer mortality in Indian women. The current study was undertaken to add information to the existing data on HPV type distribution in Indians, in an attempt to document HPV types for future vaccination programme, if any. Materials and methods HPV infection was screened in 223 cervical cancer cases and 2408 healthy women without cancer and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (control). HPV was typed using polymerase chain reaction, Southern hybridisation using specific probes and HPV GenoArray (Hybribio) test. Results HPV DNA was found in 92.8% of cases and 7.3% of controls. Of the 383 HPV-infected women, 30.0% had single infection; 50.9% had multiple infections (two or more types) and 19.1% were infected with HPV types other than HPV-16, -18, -6 and -11. Besides HPV-16, HPV-51 and HPV-33 were also seen as single infection in cases. In cases, HPV-18 or its homologous HPV-45 was always present as co-infection with HPV-16 or with other high-risk type. Binary logistic regression (backward) analysis highlighted significant association of age, parity and socioeconomic status with HPV infection. The present study highlighted the presence of multiple HPV infection (186 of 207, 89.9%) along with HPV-16 in women with cervical cancer. In control, 27.3% were co-infected with other sexually transmitted infections, while Chlamydia trachomatis infection was seen in 13% of cases. Conclusions The study highlighted the type of HPV infection seen among the hospital-based population. For better screening, HPV tests available in the market should include all the types seen in the population.Introduction The pathogenicity of influenza virus infection is modulated by the cytokine expressions in patients. The present study was aimed to measure some important pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in influenza-infected population of Assam, Northeast India. Materials and methods Influenza viruses consisting of subtypes influenza A(H1N1)pdm09, H3N2 and influenza-B were detected in patients with symptoms of influenza-like-illness by Real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method. Relative messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) quantification of four pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin [IL]-6, IL-8, interferon-gamma [IFN-γ] and tumour necrosis factor-alpha [TNF-α]) and one anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-10) were measured in influenza-positive cases and non-influenza controls, by real-time RT-PCR. The plasma concentration of the cytokines was determined using cytometric-bead-array with flow cytometry. Results Influenza viruses were detected in 14.28% (50/350) of 350 patients screened. The expression of IL-6 was significantly raised in cases compared to controls (P = 0.018). IL-8 and IL-10 were also raised in cases, compared to controls (P = 0.284 and P = 0.018). An increased plasma TNF-α was observed in cases (1.36-fold and P = 0.289). https://www.selleckchem.com/products/calcium-folinate.html The mRNA expression of IFN-γ was also increased in cases compared to controls (0.87-fold). However, the plasma level of IFN-γ was higher in the non-influenza controls compared to cases. Conclusions The study revealed a differential cytokine profile during influenza virus infection in the population, which may influence disease severity. An extended study on host immune response may provide better insights for the use of cytokine antagonists in therapeutic treatments among severe cases of influenza virus infection.Aims Cervical cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer among women, worldwide. HIV-positive women tend to have persistent infection and infection with multiple human papillomavirus (HPV) types. There is a need for affordable HPV DNA tests as viable alternatives to the existing costly commercial assays. The aim of the study was to establish PGMY-CHUV reverse hybridization assay as a cost-effective tool for HPV genotyping. Study design This was a prospective study conducted in a tertiary care centre from March 2011 to July 2012. Subjects and methods Fifty cervical brush samples from HIV-infected women and 43 WHO reference samples were tested by both the CHUV assay and linear array (LA). Results The CHUV assay in comparison to the LA showed a sensitivity of 91%, specificity of 52% and a moderate agreement for all samples that were compared. However, most high-risk HPV types were identified amongst the clinical samples, and the entire range of genotypes in the WHO reference panel was detected. Statistical analysis The accuracy indices such as sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were calculated. The level of agreement (kappa value) between the two assays was also calculated. Conclusion The CHUV assay had an acceptable sensitivity, but it lacked specificity for HPV detection. Despite the lower rates of detection of multiple infections from clinical samples, better results were obtained with the WHO reference samples and the ability of the assay to identify the entire range of genotypes suggests that it can be an efficient tool for genotyping.Introduction Over the past four decades, there has been an increase in the number of fatal opportunistic invasive trichosporonosis cases especially in immunocompromised hosts. Objective The objective of the study is to evaluate the epidemiological, clinical details and antifungal susceptibility pattern of the patients with Trichosporon infections. Materials and methods Twenty-four clinical isolates of Trichosporon species isolated from blood, samples, pleural fluid and nail were included in this study, over a period of 12 years (2005-2016) in a tertiary hospital in North India. The isolates were characterised phenotypically and few representative isolates were sequenced also. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined as per Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute, 2012. Results Trichosporon spp. from blood culture (57.78%), nail (37.5%) and pleural fluid (4.17%). On phenotypic tests, 79.16% of the isolates were Trichosporon asahii, followed by Trichosporon dermatis (8.33%), Trichosporon jarable outcomes.Background A single-stage implant revision for failed fixation of proximal femoral fractures is performed only when there is no evidence of infection. Else, a two-staged revision is preferred - where the definitive revision surgery is done a few months after the implant exit. This study aims to audit the safety and incidence of culture positivity in single-stage revisions. Materials and methods Forty one of 284 patients that presented over the last 12 years for implant exchange of the hip, had a single stage revision surgery for failed fixation of a fracture of the hip, as there was no obvious evidence of infection at the time of implant exit. Results Micro-organisms were grown in 51% of the 41 hips. 76% were gram positive, of which 63% were Coagulase negative staphylococci (CoNS). 50% of CoNS and 75% of S. aureus were resistant to oxacillin, but susceptible to Vancomycin. Of the gram negative organisms, 2 (Enterobacter sp) were resistant to carbapenam, while others were susceptible. Preoperative ESR and CRP, individually, had low specificity - 50% for ESR >30mm at 1 hour and 62% for CRP>10.