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Mpox (previously named Monkeypox) is one of the neglected viral infectious diseases that remained silent for a long period before finally emerging as a threat to the healthcare system in endemic regions of the world in recent years. It has been mostly centered in African countries but has now been reported in other non-endemic regions as well. While keeping a strict eye on COVID pandemic handling, there is a need to remain concerned and alert about viral threats such as Mpox infections in the future. This situation has altered the healthcare system of endemic regions, including Pakistan, to stay vigilant against the expected Mpox outbreaks in the coming months. Though no specific cases have been reported in Pakistan, the healthcare system needs to take mitigation measures to tackle an expected threat before it arrives. This is important in order to avoid another major shock to the health care system of Pakistan. Moreover, since no specific treatment is available for Mpox, we can only rely upon mitigation measures, involving preventive and treatment strategies devised around some already in-use antiviral agents against Mpox viruses. Moreover, there is an imperative need to proactively prepare the healthcare system against Mpox outbreaks, spread awareness, and involve the public in a participatory approach to stay well prepared against any such infection. Moreover, there is a need to utilize financial sources, aids, and funds wisely, to create awareness in the public about such expected healthcare outbreaks in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate probiotics' effects in reducing hyperbilirubinemia in late preterm and term neonates. Study Design: Quasi-experimental study Place and Duration of Study: Department of Neonatology, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Islamabad Pakistan, from Oct 2018 to Mar 2019. Methodology: The quasi-experimental study was conducted on 60 neonates with hyperbilirubinemia. They were randomly divided into two Groups. Group-A (n=30) received phototherapy. Group-B (n=30) received probiotics containing Lactobacillus reuteri at a dose of 5 drops daily for three days, in addition to phototherapy. Total serum bilirubin was calculated at 0, 24 and 72 hours for both Groups. Results: In Group-A, the mean total bilirubin in mg/dl at 0, 24 and 72 hours were 18.14±2.35, 15.28±2.93 and 12.31±2.29, respectively. Similarly, in Group-B, it was 19.86±5.85, 16.23±4.01 and 10.75±2.23 at 0, 24 and 72 hours, respectively. There was an insignificant statistical difference in mean total bilirubin between Groups A and B at 0 and 24 hours (p<0.001). However, when comparison was made at 72 hours, a significant statistical difference was observed in Group-B (Intervention Group) (p=0.005) Conclusion: Probiotics significantly lowered total serum bilirubin in neonates with hyperbilirubinemia. Further studies are required to evaluate its role in physiological and pathological jaundice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Pakistan and other developing countries, the available data on the association of T2DM and HCV is limited. We therefore made an attempt to report the association of HCV and diabetes in Pakistani population through this meta-analysis. HCV and diabetes related studies were identified using various key words, from a number of databases including CINAHL, PubMed, Web of Science and Embase. Using RevMan5, the main outcome was regarded as type 2 diabetes associations with hepatitis c virus infection in Pakistan. Independent analyses were made for "HCV in diabetic patients" and "diabetes cases in hepatitis C virus patients". Using random effect model, odds ratios were calculated with 95% CIs (dichotomous data). I2 statistics were used to calculate heterogeneity. From a total of 53 studies, we finally selected 6 studies for the meta-analysis. Using random effects model, hepatitis c virus patients in 3 studies (n = 1,902) demonstrated that HCV is a risk factor in developing diabetes, contrary to patients with no HCV infection (OR 0.01, 95% CI: 0.00-0.06, I2 = 0%; RR 0.01, 95% CI: 0.00-0.07, I2 = 0%). The remaining 3 studies (n = 13,710) had reported HCV infections in type 2 diabetic patients and patients with no diabetes. Similarly, our meta-analysis revealed higher prevalence of HCV infections in patients with type 2 diabetes (OR 0.7, 95% CI: 0.17-0.42, I2 = 32%; RR 0.30, 95% CI: 0.20-0.46, I2 = 32%) as compared to patients with no type 2 diabetes mellitus. Our meta-analysis demonstrates a significant link between HCV and T2DM. Further studies are recommended with adequate sample sizes [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]