scholarly journals Prevalence of Deletional Alpha Thalassemia and Sickle Gene in a Tribal Dominated Malaria Endemic Area of Eastern India

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prasanta Purohit ◽  
Snehadhini Dehury ◽  
Siris Patel ◽  
Dilip Kumar Patel

Inherited hemoglobin disorders like alpha thalassemia and sickle gene are common in the Indian subcontinent. These disorders in the heterozygous state act as malaria resistance genes and influence the susceptibility to Plasmodium falciparum malaria. There is inadequate knowledge about the epidemiology of these malaria resistance genes in the tribal dominated malaria endemic region of the state of Odisha in eastern India. A cross sectional prevalence study was undertaken in 594 subjects in five tribal populations in this region, namely, Sahara (42.4%), Kutia Kandha (30.0%), Kuda (15.8%), Gond (9.8%), and Oraon (2.0%). Sickling test, Hb electrophoresis, HPLC, and molecular studies were undertaken to diagnose the prevalence of sickle allele, β-thalassemia allele, and deletional alpha thalassemia. Sickle and β thalassemia alleles were found in 13.1% and 3.4% of subjects, respectively. Sickle allele was found both in heterozygous (10.1%) and homozygous state (3.03%). The prevalence of alpha thalassemia was 50.84% with an allelic frequency of 0.37. Both α−3.7 and α−4.2 alpha thalassemia were detected with an allele frequency of 0.33 and 0.04, respectively. The high prevalence of alpha thalassemia and sickle gene in this population is probably due to selection pressure of endemic malaria in this part of India.

Pharmacy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 76
Author(s):  
Syed Faisal Zaidi ◽  
Rayan Mgarry ◽  
Abdullah Alsanea ◽  
Sakar Khalid Almutairi ◽  
Yaser Alsinnari ◽  
...  

Introduction: Various drug–food interactions exist that may hinder treatment and can sometimes be lethal. Our aim was to assess the level of public knowledge and awareness in Jeddah city, Western Saudi Arabia, about drug–food interactions, along with the effects of demographics on their knowledge. Methods: A survey questionnaire was administered in this cross-sectional study to participants spread across multiple locations in Jeddah, including in malls and public gatherings. Participants included both males and females. Sample size was calculated through Raosoft® software. Data analysis was executed using IBM Statistic SPSS and the level of statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: A total of 410 people participated in the study and only 92.68% (380) of responses were enrolled in the study; 7.32% (30) were not enrolled due to the exclusion criteria. Surprisingly, only six out of eighteen questions regarding drug–food interactions in the administered questionnaire were correctly answered by 380 participants. Data indicated that the participants had a poor to intermediate level of both knowledge and awareness with respect to drug–food interactions. Furthermore, participants showed moderate to strong awareness of the effects of alcohol and tea generally, and their interaction with medication. Conclusion: Participants in our study showed inadequate knowledge of basic and fundamental information about drug–food interactions, which highlights the dire need to increase awareness.


Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 626
Author(s):  
Saber Yezli ◽  
Yara Yassin ◽  
Abdulaziz Mushi ◽  
Bander Balkhi ◽  
Andy Stergachis ◽  
...  

We aimed to investigate the knowledge and practices of Hajj pilgrims regarding medication storage and handling during the Hajj mass gathering. In this cross-sectional study, adult pilgrims from 30 countries were interviewed using a structured questionnaire during the 2019 Hajj. The study enrolled 1221 participants with a mean age of 50.8 years (SD = 12.5, range = 18–98) and male:female ratio of 1.7:1. Most pilgrims were literate, 50.4% had a university or higher education, and 38% reported at least one underlying health condition. Most pilgrims reported receiving education regarding the proper way to store their medication during Hajj, mainly from physicians (73.7%) and pharmacists (39.4%). Although 68.2% of pilgrims had good knowledge regarding medication storage and the potential effect of inappropriate storage conditions on medications and health, inadequate knowledge and poor practice were identified among some. Level of education, having an underlying health condition and receiving health education on mediation storage were independently associated with good knowledge. Most pilgrims took their medications with them during Hajj, although storage and handling of their medication also varied depending on the stages of their Hajj pilgrimage journey. Improving Hajj pilgrims’ awareness and knowledge about appropriate storage and handling of their medications are beneficial in reducing the risk of associated adverse health outcomes, both during Hajj and beyond the mass gathering.


2007 ◽  
Vol 169 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 266-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.S. Mastana ◽  
B. Murry ◽  
M.P. Sachdeva ◽  
K. Das ◽  
D. Young ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Zélia Pereira ◽  
Luís Cardoso ◽  
Ana Cláudia Coelho

Abstract Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and practices related to disaster preparedness among pet owners in North Portugal. The present research provides an evaluation of differences among pet owners regarding preparedness in the event of disasters. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among a convenience sample of 155 pet owners between September and November 2018. Subjects were interviewed using a structured questionnaire with items addressing sociodemographic characteristics and questions related to owners’ emergency preparedness and practices. Results: In this study, 53.5% of the respondents thought about the possibility of a disaster. Only 21.3% of respondents reported having knowledge on the existence of a disaster kit for pets in case of an emergency. The majority (94.8%) of respondents said they were not aware of the preparedness county-level organization plans. Knowledge and preparedness were found to be significantly higher among dog owners compared with owners of other pet species. Conclusions: The results suggest that Portuguese pet owners have inadequate knowledge on how to prepare for inclusion of their pets in a disaster.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Apoorva Munigela ◽  
Sasikala M ◽  
Gujjarlapudi Deepika ◽  
Anand V Kulkarni ◽  
Krishna Vemula ◽  
...  

Abstract Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues to be a major health concern leading to substantial mortality and morbidity across the world. Vaccination is effective in reducing the severity and associated mortality. Data pertaining to the duration of immunity, antibody waning and the optimal timing of booster dose administration is limited. In this cross-sectional study, we assessed the antibody levels in healthcare workers who were fully vaccinated after obtaining Institutional ethics committee approval and informed consent. Whole blood was collected and enumeration of S1/S2 neutralizing antibody levels was carried out using LIAISON SARS-COV-2 S1/S2 IgG assay. A total of 1636 individuals who were vaccinated with Covaxin or Covishield were included. Of these, 52% were males with a median age of 29 years. Diabetes and Hypertension was noted in 2.32% (38/1636) and 2.87% (47/1636) of the individuals. Spike neutralizing antibodies were below the detectable range (<15 AU/ml) in 6.0% (98/1636) of the individuals. Decline in neutralizing antibody was seen in 30% of the individuals above 40 years of age with comorbidities (diabetes and hypertension) after 6 months. These individuals may be prioritized for a booster dose at 6 months.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Namrata Kumari ◽  
Mukesh Kumar ◽  
Amit Katiyar ◽  
Abhay Kumar ◽  
Pallavi Priya ◽  
...  

Abstract Carbapenemase-producing clinical isolates are becoming more common over the world, posing a severe public health danger, particularly in developing nations like India. Carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacterial (CR-GNB) infection has become a fast-expending global threat with limited antibiotic choice and significant mortality. The aim of this study was to highlight the carbapenem-resistance among clinical isolates of hospital admitted patients in Bihar, India. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 101 clinical isolates of E. coli, K. pneumoniae, A. baumannii, and P. aeruginosa. All GNB isolates were tested for their antimicrobial susceptibility using double disc synergy test / modified hodge test (DDST/MHT) and subsequently confirmed carbapenemase-producing isolates were evaluated for carbapenem-resistance genes using whole-genome sequencing (genotypically) method. The overall percentage of carbapenem-resistance among GNB was (17/101) 16.83%. The AMR analysis demonstrates a significantly high prevalence of blaCTX−M followed by blaSHV, blaTEM, blaOXA and blaNDM β-lactams carbapenem-resistance genes among clinical isolates of GNB. Co-occurrence of carbapenemase-encoding genes with blaNDM was found in 70.6% of carbapenemase-producing isolates. Our study highlights the mechanism of carbapenem-resistance to curb the overwhelming threat posed by emergence of drug-resistance in India.


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