Background Blood group has been stated to be one of the risk factors associated with viral diseases like dengue, hepatitis virus, Norwalk virus and even the coronavirus associated with 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak. In addition, anti-A antibodies in experimental models have been shown to inhibit the interaction between coronavirus and angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) receptor of the host target cell, the major receptor involved in viral pathogenesis. Thus, several workers propose an association between ABO blood type and coronavirus disease- 2019 (COVID-19) disease in many previous studies. The present study was undertaken in the Eastern part of India in line with these authors to study the association of ABO blood group of patients with COVID susceptibility and severity. Methods This is a retrospective study over a period of 6 months from June 2020 to November 2020 where patients who underwent quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) test for SARS-COV2 and having a recorded patient blood group type were considered. The qRT-PCR positive admitted cases were considered as cases, and qRT-PCR negative cases were considered as controls. Data were entered in Microsoft Excel format and analyzed by statistical method to obtain association. Results Consecutively obtained 5000 qRT-PCR positive patients (cases) and 11,700 (controls) were included in the present study. The mean age of cases was higher (54.24 vs. 34. 67) than the controls. Among the cases, the highest number (2379; 47.6%) of samples belonged to A blood group followed by B (1278; 25.6%) while among the control group O blood group had the highest prevalence (4215; 36%). Blood group A had a higher odd of testing positive (Odds ratio-2.552; CI 2.381–2.734; p < 0.0001) than all other blood groups. A blood group is also associated with higher risk of ICU admission (Odds ratio- 1.699; 95% CI 1.515–1.905) and 65.3% of this group is also associated with high viral load which gives an indication of higher disease severity. Conclusion Blood group A is associated with an increased susceptibility to COVID 19 infection than other blood groups. Cases of this blood group are also associated with more critical care needs and a higher viral load on testing.

Introduction- The increasing antibiotic resistance like advent of carbapenem resistant Enterobactarales (CRE), Carbapenem Resistant Acinetobacter baumanii (CRAB) and Carbapenem Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CRPA) has led to use of toxic and older drugs like colistin for these organisms. But worldwide there is an increase in resistance even to colistin mediated both by chromosomes and plasmids. This necessitates accurate detection of resistance. This is impeded by unavailability of a user friendly phenotypic method for use in routine clinical microbiology practice. The present study attempts to evaluate two different methods- Colistin broth disc elution and MIC detection by Vitek 2 in comparison to CLSI approved broth microdilution (BMD) for colistin for Enterobactarales, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumanii clinical isolates. Methods- Colistin susceptibility of 6013 carbapenem resistant isolates was determined by BMD, Colistin Broth Disc Elution (CBDE) and Vitek2 methods and was interpreted as per CLSI guidelines. The MIC results of CBDE, Vitek 2 were compared with that of BMD and essential agreement (EA), categorical agreement (CA), sensitivity, specificity, very major error (VME), major error (ME) and cohen’s kappa (CK) was calculated. Presence of any plasmid-mediated colistin resistance (mcr-1, 2, 3, 4 and 5) was evaluated all colistin resistant isolates by conventional polymerase chain reaction. Results- Colistin resistance was found in 778 (12.9%) strains among the carbapenem resistant isolates. Klebsiella pneumoniae had the highest (18.9%) colistin resistance by BMD method. MIC of Vitek 2 had sensitivity ranging from 78.2% to 84.8% and specificity of &gt; 92%. There were 171 VMEs and 323 MEs by Vitek2 method, much more than CLSI acceptable range. The highest percentage of errors was committed for Acinetobacter baumanii (27.8% of VME and 7.9% ME). On the other hand the CBDE method performed well with EA, CA, VME and ME within acceptable range for all the organisms. The sensitivity of CBDE method compared to gold standard BMD varied from 97.5%-98.8% for different strains with a specificity of more than 97.6%. None of the isolated colistin resistant organism harbored mcr plasmids. Conclusion- As BMD has many technical complexities, CBDE is the best viable alternative available for countries like India. A sensitive MIC reported by Vitek2 needs to be carefully considered due high propensity for VMEs particularly for Klebsiella spp. Data summary- Supplementary material provides data regarding the comparison of MICs of three different mmethods for all samples. Sheet 1 to Sheet 5 contains data for E.coli, K.pneumoniae, A.baumannii, P.aeruginosa, E. cloacae respectively.

Urinary tract infection (UTI) in the community is a common infection in humans. The causative microorganisms for UTIs may vary in different places and also vary in their antibiotic sensitivity and resistant patterns. This study aimed to find out the incidence of gram-negative bacteria along with their antibiotic sensitivity pattern in community-acquired UTIs and to calculate the existence of Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) positivity among them. A Sum of 515 urine samples was tested and the causative organisms were identified. Antibiotic susceptibility tests were executed where it had shown growth for bacteria by both manual and automated methods. ESBL tests were performed to identify ESBL-producing isolates. From a total of 515 samples, 65 (12.65%) were culture positive for UTIs. The rate of infection was higher in females than in males. The most prevailing bacteria were Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Out of total culture-positive isolates, only 43.08% were ESBL positives. The study found that the organisms displayed resistance to Ciprofloxacin and Cefixime and sensitivity to Gentamicin, Ertapenem, and Nitrofurantoin. Females have a higher prevalence of UTIs than males. Mostly, females suffer from UTIs in their reproductive years whereas males suffer in their old age. The prevalence of gram-negative bacteria is higher in community-acquired UTIs. These pathogens though present in the community, becoming resistant to commonly used antibiotics like Ciprofloxacin and Cefixime because of overuse and misuse of antibiotics at the community level.

Urinary tract infection (UTI) poses a serious health issue for all age groups from neonates to geriatric age groups. Majority of the women experience urinary tract infections once in their lifetime. Escherichia coli (E.coli) is the most common uropathogen causing UTI which is followed by Klebsiella and Enterococci. Amoxicillin is the most resistant antibiotic against both E.coli and Klebsiella pneumonia whereas Gentamycin and Nitrofurantoin have been sensitive to both E.coli and Klebsiella pneumonia. Gram-negative bacteria such as E. coli, Klebsiella species, Proteus species, Acinetobacter species, Enterobacter species, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Citrobacter species are the most common causes of UTI. Enterococcus species, Staphylococcus saprophyticus, and Coagulase-negative bacteria are among Gram-positive bacteria. Staphylococcus aureus is a coagulase-positive gram-positive bacteria that cause urinary tract infections (UTIs). Hence, we come to the serious conclusion that Uropathogens are becoming increasingly resistant to a different group of antibiotics. The misuse and indiscriminate use of antimicrobials have led to the emergence of antibiotic resistance in bacteria all over the world, posing a threat to the public. Estimating the local etiology and sensitivity pattern could help in successful treatment. Inquiring into UTI epidemiology, such as risk factors, bacterial strains, and antimicrobial susceptibility, could help healthcare planners determine the best course of action.

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