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Malaria is a global threat and a never-ending battle without appropriate identification and differentiation of the parasite species. This work compared the diagnostic methods including the thick film microscopy technique, quantitative buffy coat, and polymerase chain reaction. The inaccuracy of species determination by microscopy and the consequent treatment regime underlines the necessity to upgrade routine diagnostic methods with molecular techniques. In the study, 436 samples were collected; venous blood was processed for the quantitative buffy coat technique followed by classical Giemsa staining of thin and thick smears and nested Polymerase Chain Reaction (nPCR) for the genus-specific region of Plasmodium targeting 18S rDNA followed by species-specific identification. Of 436 samples screened for malaria, results in PCR showed 78.7% (100/127) to be P. vivax, 4.8% (6/127) as P. falciparum and 16.5% (21/127) to be mixed infection (P. vivax + P. falciparum). The prevalence of malaria was 0.29, and there was good concordance between the methods for detecting Plasmodium (Kappa:0.77). In our investigation, nested PCR and TFM exhibited a sensitivity of 97.7% and a specificity of 100% for malaria detection compared to QBC. Clinical parameters- thrombocytopenia and anemia, were compared in this study. A positive association was observed between thrombocytopenia and malaria (p

Communication between species from different kingdoms may be as important as intra-kingdom communication. It has recently been confirmed that co-existing bacteria and phytoplankton in aquatic ecosystems do cross-talk. This study examined the signs of possible cross signalling between V. harveyi, one of the predominant bacterial species of the marine ecosystem and a dominant diatom species, S.marinoi, to understand communication over species borders. It is known that V.harveyi employ quorum sensing for cell-to-cell communication, bioluminescence (luxR), and the regulation of the virulence gene (vhp, chiA). Former studies have also shown, this kind of interactions being disrupted by compounds secreted by a few algal species existing in the aquatic ecosystem. We investigated the QS communication by quantifying the expression levels of virulence regulator luxR and virulence factors metalloprotease (vhp) and chitinase (chiA) in four different V. harveyi strains grown in the presence of S. marinoi strain. Results obtained in this study indicate that quorum sensing was activated in strains of V. harveyi analysed but did not regulate the expressions of vhp and chiA virulence factors. This observation suggests that the existence of S. marinoi did not interfere with the QS behaviour of V. harveyi and its interaction with marine diatom; it may be due to the commensalism relationship.

Legionellosis is a neglected disease due to the absence of well-defined clinical symptoms and difficulties in isolating the causal organism. Legionella spp. is known to colonize the lumen of respiratory therapy equipment(RTE) and evade conventional detection by entering the viable but non-culturable state. Monitoring these surfaces for Legionella pneumophila in addition to routine monitoring of water could aid in decreasing incidences of hospital-acquired infections by this pathogen. In this study swabs of different respiratory therapy equipment were tested for the presence of Legionella by conventional culture-based methods versus molecular detection of culture-independent template by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Genetic diversity of the genes amplified were studied using bioinformatic tools. The dotA genes were genetically diverse indicating no clonality. This communication highlights that the persistence of virulence genes like dotA on abiotic surfaces can result in the mobilization of these genes to other species and give rise to virulent forms especially in a healthcare setting.