c Recently, bioMérieux, France, introduced the Rapidec Carba NP test kit for rapid detection of carbapenemase-producing Gramnegative bacteria. This kit was evaluated in this study, and we report sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of 92.6%, 96.2%, 95.83%, and 92.6%, respectively. The test was easy to perform and interpret and relatively inexpensive ($5/Rs 300 per test) and provides a practical solution for early detection of carbapenemase-producing, multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria.

During war, sharp high-speed missiles have been driven inside the brain; however, in civilian practice it is rare to see such episodes. An approximately 10-cm long nail was driven inside the brain in an attempt to commit suicide by a schizophrenic patient. The case is being reported for its rarity in civilian practice and as a case of clinical interest. After investigating the patient by plain X-rays and a CT scan, he was operated by a neurosurgical team and the nail was successfully removed. In post-operative phase, patient was given medical and psychiatric care along with psychological counseling. The patient made good uneventful recovery in the post-operative phase.

India first detected SARS-CoV-2, causal agent of COVID-19 in late January-2020, imported from Wuhan, China. March-2020 onwards; importation of cases from rest of the countries followed by seeding of local transmission triggered further outbreaks in India. We used ARTIC protocol based tiling amplicon sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 (n=104) from different states of India using a combination of MinION and MinIT from Oxford Nanopore Technology to understand introduction and local transmission. The analyses revealed multiple introductions of SARS-CoV-2 from Europe and Asia following local transmission. The most prevalent genomes with patterns of variance (confined in a cluster) remain unclassified, here, proposed as A4-clade based on its divergence within A-cluster. The viral haplotypes may link their persistence to geoclimatic conditions and host response. Despite the effectiveness of non-therapeutic interventions in India, multipronged strategies including molecular surveillance based on real-time viral genomic data is of paramount importance for a timely management of the pandemic. India, 2020). However, while the global focus was on China and other eastern countries like South Korea and Japan; European countries, middle-east and the USA reported a surge in cases of COVID-19, pressing the WHO to declare it as a pandemic. March 2020 onwards, India also witnessed a surge of imported cases from countries other than China which has been further assisted with local transmission. In March, imposition of nationwide lockdown checked the epidemic curve. Despite these measurements, India is at the verge of a large outbreak as the transmission is rapidly increasing with more than 100,000 cases of COVID-19 having been reported in the third week of May, 2020.We carried out WGS of SARS-CoV-2 (n=104) from Pan-India through the network of Integrated Disease Surveillance Program (IDSP) of National Centre of Disease Control (NCDC), Delhi. We report here a comprehensive and integrative genomic view of SARS-CoV-2 in the Indian subcontinent. In this study, we combine genetic and epidemiological data to understand the genetic diversity, evolution, and epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 across India. The spectrum of variations would be an important tool towards contact tracing, effective diagnostics and backbone for drug and vaccine development. METHODS Subject recruitmentThe study was conducted jointly by the NCDC and CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (CSIR-IGIB). Institutional ethical clearance was obtained at both the places prior to initiation of research. A total of 127 laboratory confirmed cases of COVID-19 from a targeted testing representing different locations (as described in Table- 1 and supplementary figure-1) were included in the study for genomic analyses. Targeted testing involved suspected cases;having symptoms (fever, cough and breathlessness) with recent travel history to high-risk countries or positive contacts of COVID-19 cases. Sample collection and Viral RNA isolationThe nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs (in ...

Background:Rabies is a fatal disease of the central nervous system caused by the bites of warm-blooded animals. One of the important methods of controlling rabies is by interventions to limit the number of dog bites, the most common source of transmission of rabies to humans in the community. Community-based data on dog bites are rare from India.Aim:The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of dog bites and knowledge and practices relating to its management and prevention in an urban and a rural slum of North West Delhi, India.Subjects and Methods:A cross-sectional house to house survey of 500 households covering a population of 2887 individuals was conducted. The families were selected by systematic random sampling. A pretested and a prevalidated questionnaire was used. Chi-square test was applied for comparing proportions related to the categorical variables and t-test was used for comparing means.Results:The dog bite incidence rate for the study population for the last year was 25.2/1000 population with higher rates in urban (30.1/1000) than rural (19.6/1000) slum. Two-fifths of the dog bite patients did not wash the wound with soap and water. The practice of washing the wound with soap and water was significantly higher in urban than rural slum. One-fifth of the patients did not receive anti-rabies vaccine. There was lower coverage in rural than urban slum. A majority (79.0%) of the patients did not receive anti-rabies serum.Conclusion:A high prevalence of dog bites coupled with poor knowledge and dog bite management practices is a worrisome trend which policy makers should take into account to make India rabies free.

Computer imaging for patients undergoing rhinoplasty does portray a realistic picture of the anticipated cosmetic result. However, because an average of 32 percent of respondents felt that the computer-morphed image did not predict the postoperative result, conservative imaging is encouraged to prevent false expectations.