Background:In recent years, trichomoniasis has emerged as the most common sexually transmitted disease and limited data are available on the effective screening technique for the diagnosis of Trichomonas vaginalis.AimThe aim was to compare and evaluate different diagnostic methods like wet mount microscopy, In Pouch TV culture, and Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to establish which method or combination of methods was most effective for detection of Trichomonas vaginalis in vaginal swab specimens.Settings and Design:This is a cross-sectional study.Materials and Methods:A total of 200 patients complaining of vaginal discharge were included in the study. Three vaginal swabs were screened for trichomoniasis by wet mount microscopy, In Pouch TV culture system and PCR, using TVK3 and TVK7 specific primers.ResultsOf the 200 cases studied, 36 (18%) were positive by wet mount microscopy, 44 (22%) by In Pouch TV culture system and 60(30%) by PCR. Sensitivity and specificity of wet mount were 60% and 100%, respectively, whereas sensitivity and specificity of the In Pouch TV culture system were 73.33% and 100%, respectively when compared to PCR.ConclusionComparison of different methods showed that at least two techniques, such as wet mount microscopy and culture have a better chance of detection of T. vaginalis infection. Diagnosis of trichomoniasis by PCR was found to be highly specific and sensitive, but its availability and cost effectiveness limit its use in routine diagnostic laboratories.

TBL sessions can be used judiciously in combination with the lectures to enhance learning of applied microbiology in India. In this study, TBL improved the performance of male students over self-study, but performance for female students following TBL was no better than when they simply studied by themselves.

Background and Objective:Periodontitis is a major public health problem in India with a prevalence of 60–80%. If untreated it acts as a risk factor for systemic diseases. Data on anaerobic periodontal microflora in the Indian population is very scarce. Hence, this study was undertaken to know the nature of oral microbiota in chronic periodontitis in this region of India and also the semiquantitative study in pre- and post-treatment group and to determine antibiotic susceptibility pattern for aerobic isolates.Materials and Methods:The present study was conducted on 60 cases. Material was collected from the subgingival pockets in patients with chronic periodontitis attending the Periodontology, Outpatient Department. Clinical samples were transported to the laboratory in fluid thioglycollate medium. Initially Gram's stain and Fontana stains were done. Aerobic, anaerobic, and microaerophilic culture were put up. Antibiotic sensitivity test was done for aerobic isolates.Results:Sixty samples yielded 121 isolates of which 78.34% were polymicrobial, 11.66% were monomicrobial and oral commensals were grown in 10% cases. Out of 121 isolates 91.74% were anaerobic, 7.43% were aerobic and 0.83% were microaerophilic. Fusobacterium species was the most common isolate among anaerobes. Using “paired t-test” “P” value was significant indicating significant reduction in colony count after phase-I periodontal therapy.Conclusion:This study has shown that anaerobic bacteria are important cause of chronic periodontitis, along with aerobes and microaerophilic organisms. Fusobacterium spp, Bacteroides fragilis, Porphyromonas spp and Prevotella intermedia are the most common anaerobic pathogens. Bacterial culture methods are still economical and gold standard.

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Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) known to be associated with wide variety of liver pathology. It is less studied in India as compared to western region. Methods: Suspected patients sera screened for HCV by ELISA and confirmed with reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) along with routine investigations and liver profile. All HCV positive patients were undergone liver biopsy. Results: All 24 HCV ELISA reactive and two ELISA indeterminate sera are confirmed by RT- PCR. The liver biopsy of these patients showed normal picture (19.2%), Acute hepatitis (11.5%), Chronic hepatitis (23.7%), Cirrhosis (34.72%), Hepato-cellular carcinoma (HCC) (15.38%). ALT levels were not significant. Conclusion: All the suspected HCV cases need to be confirmed for HCV by RT-PCR.