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Context: Published data on genetic characterization of Toxoplasma gondii (T.gondii) from clinical cases of toxoplasmosis from India is lacking. Aims: The present study was aimed at identifying genetic types of T. gondii in fatal cases of cerebral toxoplasmosis (CT) associated with HIV, from India. Settings and Design: Archived tissues of CT were obtained postmortem from 25 acquired immunodeficiency syndrome patients between 2000 and 2014. Subjects and Methods: Direct amplification of eight different loci, namely, SAG1, 5'-3'SAG2, Alt. SAG2, SAG3, BTUB, GRA6, C22-8, and L358 followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism was used to genotype the parasite. Results: The canonical Types I, II, or III were not found in our study. More than 96% of the cases harbored atypical genotypes–likely recombinants of the canonical types; one case closely corresponded to Type II genotype. Conclusions: Thus, a majority of T. gondii causing CT in South India belonged to a noncanonical lineage. These nonarchetypal genotypes differed from the conventional Types I, II, and III and caused devastating severity in patients with CT in the background of HIV. These results are a step further to deciphering the population genetics of this important zoonotic parasitic infection in Indian patients, information that has thus far been lacking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Febrile neutropenia (FN) is a common but serious complication of chemotherapy in patients with solid tumors (ST) and hematological malignancies (HM). The epidemiology of FN keeps changing.Objective: The objective was to study the epidemiology of FN in adult patients with ST and HM at Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, Bangalore - A tertiary cancer care center.Materials and Methods: Data of all episodes of FN that occurred during the period July 2011 to December 2011 were collected prospectively and analyzed.Results: A total of 75 episodes of FN was observed during study period involving 55 patients. Febrile neutropenic episodes were more frequent in HM than in ST (57% vs. 43%). The rate of bloodstream infection was 14.7%. Gram-negative organisms were the predominant isolates (56.25%). Overall mortality rate was 13.3%. Presence of medical co-morbidity and positive culture predicted high mortality. Mortality rate did not differ significantly between HM and ST (14% vs. 12.5%; P = 1.0). Gram-positive bacteremia was associated with greater mortality than Gram-negative bacteremia (P = 0.02).Conclusion: Empiric antibiotic treatment for FN should be tailored to the locally prevalent pathogens and their susceptibility patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor about a study aimed at assessing the quality of service in the delivery of tuberculosis (TB) care in the Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP) is presented.