The world is currently face to face with a pandemic which is spreading rapidly across the globe caused by SARS-CoV-2, a strain of Coronaviruses (CoVs) belonging to subgenus Sarbecovirus of genus Betacoronavirus. World Health Organisation (WHO) on 11 Feb 20 named this disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 as Covid-19. This pandemic is spreading rapidly and more than 20,00,000 cases have occurred globally. The human Coronaviruses discovered in 1960s were considered potentially harmless endemic viruses with seasonal distribution before late 2002. The CoVs are found in a large number of domestic and wild animals and birds. The first pandemic caused by Coronavirus caused by SARS-CoV was recognized in the late 2002 in Guangdong Province and resulted in widespread morbidity and mortality. This was followed by MERS-CoV which began in 2012 in the Arabian peninsula with multiple outbreaks related to it in various parts of the globe. Various studies have suggested how these viruses made their entry from their natural reservoir bats via intermediate host like civets and camels in case of SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV respectively. The intermediate host of the SARS-CoV-2 still needs to be established. The SARS-CoV-2 has 96.2% similarity to the bat Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome related-Coronavirus (SARSr-CoV RaTG13). SARS-CoV-2 has been found to be more distant in relation to SARS-CoV (79%) and MERS-CoV (50%). At the whole genome sequence level pangolin CoV and SARSr-CoV RaTG13 show 91.02% and 96.2% similarity with SARS-CoV-2 but the S1 subunit of spike protein of pangolin CoV is more closely related to SARS-CoV-2 than SARSr-CoV RaTG13. The genetic analysis of the currently circulating strains of the pandemic have shown 99.98-100% similarity in their genomes implying a recent shift to humans. The animal source of SARS-CoV-2 needs to be identified to implement control measures in the present pandemic. Also, how the virus moves interspecies will help predict and prevent future pandemics.

Lophomonas blattarum (L. blattarum) is a protozoan parasite living in intestinal tracts of termites and cockroaches. Chen and Meng from China repoted first case of pulmonary L. blattarum infection in 1993. 137 cases have only been reported in literature between 1993 to 2013. Majority of these infections occur in immunocompromised patients and have been reported from China. We report a case of this rare entity in an immunocompetent young Indian male.

a b s t r a c tBackground: During recent outbreak of dengue fever in Delhi, there has been a significant increase in dengue-associated admission in hospitals. To better understand the pathology of dengue haemorrhagic fever, we conducted autopsies of dengue infections deaths within our hospital.Method: This was an autopsy study of dengue-associated deaths at a large tertiary care hospital.Results: From Sep 2009 to Dec 2010, a total of 1032 patients with serological evidence of dengue infection were admitted to our hospital. There were twelve deaths and autopsies were conducted in six. Adult respiratory distress syndrome, bleeding diathesis, hypotension, hepatic failure and acute renal failure were the common causes of death despite early hospitalization, intravenous fluid, and blood-product support.

India has become the third worst-hit nation by the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Here, we investigated the molecular, phylogenomic, and evolutionary dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 in western India, the most affected region of the country. A total of 90 genomes were sequenced. Four nucleotide variants, namely C241T, C3037T, C14408T (Pro4715Leu), and A23403G (Asp614Gly), located at 5'UTR, Orf1a, Orf1b, and Spike protein regions of the genome, respectively, were predominant and ubiquitous (90%). Phylogenetic analysis of the genomes revealed four distinct clusters, formed owing to different variants. The major cluster (cluster 4) is distinguished by mutations C313T, C5700A, G28881A are unique patterns and observed in 45% of samples. We thus report a newly emerging pattern of linked mutations. The predominance of these linked mutations suggests that they are likely a part of the viral fitness landscape. A novel and distinct pattern of mutations in the viral strains of each of the districts was observed. The Satara district viral strains showed mutations primarily at the 3′ end of the genome, while Nashik district viral strains displayed mutations at the 5′ end of the genome. Characterization of Pune strains showed that a novel variant has overtaken the other strains. Examination of the frequency of three mutations i.e., C313T, C5700A, G28881A in symptomatic versus asymptomatic patients indicated an increased occurrence in symptomatic cases, which is more prominent in females. The age-wise specific pattern of mutation is observed. Mutations C18877T, G20326A, G24794T, G25563T, G26152T, and C26735T are found in more than 30% study samples in the age group of 10-25. Intriguingly, these mutations are not detected in the higher age range 61-80. These findings portray the prevalence of unique linked mutations in SARS-CoV-2 in western India and their prevalence in symptomatic patients.

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