Human monkeypox (MPOX) which recently hit the headlines is a rare, emerging zoonotic disease, only next to smallpox yet never attended adequately to halt the epidemic outbreak threat. MPOX is caused by Orthopox virus, which is a double-stranded, linear DNA virus, transmitted from infected animals, commonly rodents to humans. Monkeypox is endemic to the tropical jungles in Central-West Africa; occasional cases reported in other nations could be due to people traveling from endemic regions of MPOX. Transmission may occur via direct contact with human body secretions, cutaneous or mucosal lesions in the mouth or throat or respiratory droplets, and contaminated objects. Typical MPOX symptoms are fever, lymphadenopathy, skin rashes, intense headache, muscle, back pain, etc. Lesions can range from a few to numerous and may be filled with clear or yellowish fluid that later dries up or crusts, eventually falling off. MPOX is often considered as infrequent and self-limiting; nonetheless, the latest sporadic reports call for urgent vigilance, precautionary preparedness, and immediate response. Paucity of the data available about MPOX virus diversity and incomplete information on validated management protocols instigate a sense of impending danger and loom large as a global health emergency. MPOX is a completely preventable infection, and this article will cater to the need for creating general awareness and developing cutting-edge surveillance measures to curtail the spread of the disease. Genomic investigations of new cases of MPOX must be undertaken to check for mutations which can lead to higher human susceptibility. Local health stakeholders and clinicians should emphasize early identification and give out appropriate treatment as per the existing protocol

Background: Hypertension among the elderly is a major, highly prevalent yet treatable cardiovascular disease. Aims & objectives: Study aims to highlight the risk factors for hypertension in the elderly in an urban setup for the benefit of improving quality of life and also reduce the incidence of the cardiovascular related complications. Methodology: This is a Cross-sectional observational study. Included 125 study subjects based on selection criteria. The selected patients were subjected to a preformed and pretested schedule of questions pertaining to the risk factors. Results: Among the known hypertensive patients above 60 years of age, 125 subjects were included in the study. Smoking (62%), alcohol consumption (21%), family history of hypertension (26%), family history of diabetes (70%) were statistically significant risk factors observed for the development of hypertension. Conclusion: Sedentary lifestyle (physically less active) and anthropometric measures like overweight and obesity, abnormal waist circumference, and abnormal waist hip ratio were all identified as remarkable risk for hypertension. Myocardial infarction (20%), stroke (14%), and heart failure (12%) were the chart buster complications of hypertension in the vulnerable geriatric population.

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OBJECTIVES: While Medicare Part D research identifiable files have been available to academic researchers for some time, a new limited data set (LDS) containing Part D drug utilization and cost information is now available to both academic and non-academic researchers. This study was undertaken to demonstrate the versatility of LDS in analyzing drug utilization and cost. METHODS: Aged Medicare beneficiaries alive for all of 2008 with 12 months of Part A, B, and D coverage were selected. The average number of prescription drug fills (30-day adjusted) and average costs per member per month (PMPM) were calculated overall, by demographics, and for selected chronic conditions. Specific drug use was also examined for a chronic condition of interest. RESULTS: Overall, the average PMPM number of fills was 4.3 and the cost was $212, beneficiaries took 8.9 distinct medications, and mean cost per fill was $49.75. Older beneficiaries filled more prescriptions per month (4.9 for Ն85 years vs. 3.9 for 65-74 years), but had lower mean costs per fill ($46.95 for Ն85 years vs. $51.61 for 65-74 years). Females had higher PMPM fills (4.5 vs. 3.9) and costs ($220 vs. $198) compared to males. Dual-eligible Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries had approximately 1.5 times higher PMPM fills and costs compared to beneficiaries without any Part D subsidies. PMPM fills and costs also vary with race. Compared to the overall Medicare cohort, beneficiaries with the selected chronic conditions had higher PMPM fills and costs: diabetes (6.0, $303), Alzheimer's (6.0, $358), depression (6.4, $357), and osteoporosis (4.8, $261). Patterns of use and cost by demographics differed by condition compared to the overall cohort, except by dual eligible status. CONCLUSIONS: As demonstrated, the new Part D LDS data allows researchers to conduct utilization and cost studies using all and subsets of Medicare beneficiaries with selected chronic conditions.