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Introduction: Enteric fever is an important tropical disease which takes an average of five days for defervescence even with effective antibiotic therapy. Zinc has been successfully used as an adjuvant in diarrhoeal disease. If addition of oral zinc can lead to reduction in time to defervescence, it will be a useful adjuvant in the therapy of enteric fever. Aim: To determine the effect of oral zinc supplementation, along with standard antibiotic therapy, for early defervescence among children with enteric fever. Materials and Methods: This double-blinded, randomised controlled trial was conducted at the Department of Paediatrics, ESICMC and PGIMSR, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India from November 2014 to August 2016. A total of 58 children aged <12 years with enteric fever were included and were randomised to receive 40 mg elemental zinc per day (n=29) or placebo (n=29) for one week. All children received intravenous ceftriaxone (75 mg/kg every 12 hours) until five days after defervescence. The main outcome measures studied were time taken for defervescence of fever and resolution of toxaemia. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to compare differences in the time to resolution of toxaemia and defervescence of fever between the two groups and the log-rank test was used to test for significance. Results: The mean age of the children of the two groups was 6.48±3.15 years and 7.55±2.59 years, respectively. The mean time for fever defervescence was shorter among the zinc supplemented children than among the children in the control group (2 vs 3 days, p-value=0.043). Resolution of toxaemia was noted earlier in the zinc group than in the control group (75% vs 43%, p-value=0.054). Conclusion: Zinc when used as an adjunct along with standard antibiotic therapy in children with enteric fever, resulted in earlier defervescence of fever. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mucormycosis is a potentially fatal disease caused by a fungus of the order Mucorales, most commonly involving the nasal sinuses, orbits, brain, lungs, and skin. The disease affects mostly immunosuppressed individuals and patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes. The prevalence of mucormycosis is 80 times higher (0.14 per 1000) in India compared to developed countries. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a sudden surge in the number of mucormycosis cases, especially on the Indian subcontinent. This can be attributed to what we consider to be the perfect iatrogenic recipe: a combination between the immunosuppression caused by COVID-19, the large prevalence of uncontrolled diabetes and the simultaneous use of corticosteroids. Other factors include the excessive use of antibiotics, antifungal drugs and zinc supplements, invasive ventilation, poor hygiene and sanitization as well as the use of industrial oxygen in hospitals. As a result, an overwhelmingly large number of COVID-19 patients have developed mucormycosis during the pandemic. A review of the literature suggests that all efforts should be made to keep tight control of glycemia in COVID-19 patients along with judicious use of corticosteroids. The treatment of mucormycosis involves a combination of medical and surgical therapy, with the early initiation of antifungal drugs and aggressive surgical debridement of the affected tissues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on new program Zinc Alliance for Child Health (ZACH) led by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Canada and the zinc producing company Teck Resources Ltd. for children dying from diarrhea in India. It focuses on the main objectives of the initiative including educating families and health professionals about the importance of zinc and oral rehydration salts, increasing the use of zinc supplementation and strengthen health care system.