Coexistence of Dengue and Chikungunya: Challenges in Diagnos

Dengue and Chikungunya: Challenges in Diagnos

The Indian subcontinent is synonymous with tropical diseases, and the prevalence of Vector-Borne diseases, although seasonal, is most catastrophic. Mosquitoes have been on this planet for thousands of years, and to date, they are responsible for wreaking havoc among large spats of the Indian Population. The major viral diseases Dengue and Chikungunya are the ones that fall in this category. The discreet pattern of monsoons has disturbed the normal cycle of the mosquito. Also, as a result, it has altered epidemiology too. The diseases do arrive with the ascent of the rains. It does last until the end of December in the winter season. The symptoms for both illnesses are pretty similar, and they often mimic each other with an exception in the late stages and hence they pose a massive challenge for clinicians to detect the same in the early stages. As per the consensus of the medicos, simultaneous screening for both Dengue and Chikungunya should be conducted initially for the NS1 antigens and gradually to the Antibodies.
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May 22, 2021

Blood Grouping and Transfusion: Significance and Challenges

Blood Grouping and Transfusion

It would be hard to imagine any test or Diagnosis of any ailment done in today’s world without knowing the Blood group of the patient. Blood typing has become an integral part of the current diagnostic protocol and forms the backbone of any pre-surgical tests. Today, the human blood group system comprises 38 distinct blood groups listed in the International Society of Blood Transfusion. They are classified based on cell surface antigens and their combinations. They are controlled by specific genes which do not recombine with each other. It rarely changes in lifetime, and if it occurs, it could be due to suppression of blood group antigen, mutation, or autoimmune disease. The blood group is unique to each individual.
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May 18, 2021

Leptospirosis in India: epidemiology and diagnosis

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease more prevalent in countries associated with poor sanitation and hygiene. It is a highly communicable disease of the tropical world passing on from the animals (primarily rodents and bovines), which are the reservoirs of the pathogen, to humans. The disease is caused by bacteria, specifically a Spirochaete, which was later named Leptospira. The etiological organism for the disease is Leptospira interrogans, a tiny (0.1µm x 6 -20µm) and highly motile organism with hooks. Due to its bending coil-like structure, the name Leptospirosis was conceived (in Greek leptos, meaning “fine,” and speira, meaning “a coil”). Since Adolf Weil first reported it, hence also called Weil’s Disease. Currently, 23 serogroups and more than 200 serovars of Leptospira are known to cause the disease globally.
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May 10, 2021

The World of Antibodies: shape up Diagnosis for COVID?

The last decade exposed humankind to various viral infections like SARS, MERS, Ebola, and now COVID-19. While some of them developed antibodies against the infections, there are still many people who have not been exposed to these infections and are potentially at high risk of getting infected. Not only that, the biggest concern lies if the immune response has already developed the memory cells to counter future interaction with these viruses. By virtue, the production of antibodies to infection is a standalone mechanism to fight the viral attack in a primitive response. Still, long-term protection can only be provided by a proper vaccine which can develop humoral immunity in the host body.
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April 15, 2021

Diagnosis Of COVID-19: Mutations And Post-Vaccination Review

Diagnosis Of COVID-19

Humanity has never been brought to a standstill as the COVID-19 pandemic has done. What started as a pandemic from a small market in Wuhan in China spread in no time to the entire world, barely leaving any pocket non-infected. Since the pandemic started, the race was to understand the pathogenicity of the proteins and submolecular entities of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which has now been sequenced, and now the quest is to develop a targeted therapy and immunization mechanism to check the infection. The cases subsided with the strict lockdown imposed in 2020, and the country was recuperating back to normal when the second wave hit in late January 2021, and by mid-February 2021 it was evident that the second wave has started wreaking havoc as it has done in other countries like US, Brazil, and Italy.
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March 11, 2021

Immune response to infections and aftermath: Role of CRP

Role of CRP

Inflammation can occur with any infection or wound in the body, and healing is important to understand the recovery stage. Hence, C-reactive protein (CRP) comes in handy as the efficient blood marker test. The CRP is released from the liver, and its concentration in the blood measures its level. Since the CRP level rises with inflammation, it is characterized as an acute phase reactant since it is most active among the acute phase proteins.
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February 18, 2021

Malnutrition and Celiac: Comorbidity and Diagnostic

Malnutrition and Celiac

Celiac disease as we know today was discovered by the Greeks, and they named it after the inflammation of the bowels. The condition is prevalent among all age groups and is caused by autoantigen’s trigger by the consumption of Gluten protein present in wheat, rye, barley, and other grains.
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February 18, 2021

Scrub Typhus: Chiggers and Silent Transmission in Tropics

Also known as, Japanese river associated with jungle mite or chigger, termed ‘tsutsugamushi’ in Japanese. (tsutsuga= disease, harm, noxious and mushi= bug) Scrub Typhus is a zoonosis, with humans being accidental, dead end hosts. It’s a mite borne Gram negative bacteria Orientia tsutsugamushi of the family Rickettsiaceae. Scrub typhus spreads to people through bites or faeces of infected insects/ chiggers (larval mites).
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February 6, 2021

Diabetes: unclogging the potency with Diagnostics

Diabetes is a medical condition that is now recognized as a major chronic pandemic disease globally. It is caused due to insufficient production and secretion of insulin from the pancreas in the case of Type-I Diabetes and defective response of insulin Type-2 diabetes.
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December 28, 2020

Celiac in India: Masquerading with Malnutrition

Celiac in India

Good Nutrition (more specifically a Balanced Diet) is integral for a healthy community and the well-being of all in a family, especially children. Malnutrition has no boundaries and has grasped all the continents for centuries.Plagued by social, economic and political events the issue of Malnutrition spiked in the 20th century. It became more chronic in the developing world. As the children are mostly dependent on mothers they are more vulnerable to malnutrition if the food distribution is not even.
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December 16, 2020

Celiac and Diabetes: Myriad challenges in the frontier

Celiac and Diabetes

From ancient Greeks the known occurrence of Celiac Disease has been reported. The word Celiac refers to “Abdomen” and hence Celiac Disease as we know it today is the autoimmune disorder of the intestines caused by the consumption of Gluten.This is the same protein that is mostly found in grains like wheat, barley, rye and is responsible for making the dough elastic and providing a chewy texture to the bread.
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November 9, 2020

Celiac Disease: A Dangerous Under Diagnosed Condition

Celiac Disease

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder that is triggered by the consumption of gluten. Gluten is a protein present in wheat, barley, rye, and other grains, making the dough elastic and giving bread its chewy texture. A patient with Celiac disease consumes gluten body overreacts to the protein and damages their villi present in the small intestine.
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