Browsing by Author "Kumar, V Ashok"

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    Impact on prevalence of intestinal helminth infection in school children administered with seven annual rounds of diethyl carbamazine (DEC) with albendazole.
    (2015-03) Sunish, I P; Rajendran, R; Munirathinam, A; Kalimuthu, M; Kumar, V Ashok; Nagaraj, J; Tyagi, B K
    Background & objectives: One third of the world’s population is infected with one or more of the most common soil-transmitted helminths (STH). Albendazole (ALB) is being administered with diethyl carbamazine (DEC) in filariasis endemic areas to eliminate lymphatic filariasis (LF) and helminth infections. In this study, the cumulative impact of seven annual rounds of mass drug administrations (MDA) of DEC and ALB on STH infection in school children in selected villages in southern India was determined. Methods: During 2001-2010, seven MDAs were implemented by the Tamil Nadu state health department, India. LF and STH infections were monitored in school children from 18 villages of the two treatment arms (viz, DEC alone and DEC+ALB). Kato-Katz cellophane quantitative thick smear technique was employed to estimate STH infections at three weeks, six months and one year post MDA. Results: Prior to treatment, an overall STH prevalence was 60 per cent. After each MDA, infection markedly reduced at three weeks post-treatment in both the arms. The prevalence increased at six months period, which was maintained up to one year. After seven rounds of MDA, the infection reduced from 60.44 to 12.48 per cent in DEC+ALB arm; while the reduction was negligible in DEC alone arm (58.77 to 52.70%). Interpretation & conclusions: Seven rounds of MDA with DEC+ALB reduced the infection load significantly, and further sustained low level of infection for 10 years. However, complete parasite elimination could not be achieved. To curtail STH infection in the community, MDA should be regularized and environmental sanitation measures need to be improved by effective community-based campaigns.
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    Seroprevalence of hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus co-infection in human immunodeficiency virus infected patients at a tertiary care hospital in South India.
    (2015-08) Kalyani, C Siva; Lakshmi, N; Lakshmi, Koripella Rama; Kumar, V Ashok; Cheemala, Sulakshana Sony
    Background: About one third of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected patients are co infected with either hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) as the three viruses have similar routes of transmission that is through transfusion of blood and blood products, sharing of needles to inject drugs and unprotected sexual activity. The survival of HIV infected patients has been markedly improved with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). However several studies showed that the liver diseases caused by HBV or HCV have emerged as one of the leading causes of non AIDS related deaths in HIV patients. The objective of this work was to study the prevalence of HBV & HCV co-infection in HIV infected patients at a Tertiary care centre in South India. Methods: The study group includes 100 HIV seropositive individuals confirmed by three rapid tests as per NACO (National AIDS Control Organization) guidelines in ICTC (Integrated Counseling and Testing Centre), Department of Microbiology, Andhra Medical College, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. Age and sex matched 100 HIV seronegative individuals were also included in the study as controls. Both the groups were screened for detection of HBV and HCV markers by one rapid test and a solid phase enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (sandwich ELISA). Results: Out of 100 HIV positive patients in the study group 12(12%) were co infected with HBV and 2(2%) were co infected with HCV. Out of 12 HIV and HBV co infected patients 7(58.3%) were females and 5(41.7%) were males. The HIV &HCV co infected patients were both females. Co infection of HBV & HCV with HIV was found to be 0(0%). Co infection was most commonly seen in the age group 31-40 years followed by 21 – 39 years. In the control group out of 100 HIV negative individuals, 1(1%) was infected with HBV infection. Conclusions: The routine screening of HBV and HCV should be mandatory for HIV infected patients, as there is more chance of co infection with these Hepatitis viruses due to enhanced immunodeficiency by HIV and similar routes of transmission. Clear National policies should be established which should include clear economic and health care strategies to improve quality of living conditions, education and easy access to health care facilities.