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Background: Enteric fever is an endemic health problem and frequently associated with outbreaks. Objectives: Investigate sudden surge in gastroenteritis cases to confirm the outbreak, describe it in terms of time place and person, identify source of infection, modes of transmission and suggest remedial measures. Material & Methodology: Field visit was undertaken by the rapid response team (RRT) at Borsad town of Anand district in Gujarat for investigating suspected typhoid outbreak. This involved gathering information from local authorities, hospital admissions and home visits; collection of blood samples and water samples. Result: Of 30 suspected cases, 19 (63.3%) tested Widal positive. Common presenting symptoms were fever, vomiting followed by diarrhea and abdominal pain. Chlorine levels at source and end users were inadequate. 5 leakage points in water supply were identified in areas around the clustered cases. Conclusion and Recommendations: Leakage in piped water supply coupled with inadequate chlorination lead to contaminated drinking water and subsequent Typhoid epidemic. Corrective steps in form of rapid surveys to identify cases, household chlorination and appropriate engineering measures were recommended and implemented.

Background The multi-morbid burden and use of systemic immunosuppressants in people with psoriasis may confer greater risk of adverse COVID-19 outcomes but data are limited. Objective Characterize the course of COVID-19 in psoriasis and identify factors associated with hospitalization. Methods Clinicians reported psoriasis patients with confirmed/suspected COVID-19 via an international registry, PsoProtect. Multiple logistic regression assessed the association between clinical/demographic characteristics and hospitalization. A separate patient-facing registry characterized risk-mitigating behaviours. Results Of 374 clinician-reported patients from 25 countries, 71% were receiving a biologic, 18% a non-biologic and 10% no systemic treatment for psoriasis. 348 (93%) fully recovered from COVID-19, 77 (21%) were hospitalized and nine (2%) died. Increased hospitalization risk was associated with older age (multivariable-adjusted OR 1.59 per 10 years, 95% CI 1.19-2.13), male sex (OR 2.51, 95% CI 1.23-5.12), non-white ethnicity (OR 3.15, 95% CI 1.24-8.03) and comorbid chronic lung disease (OR 3.87, 95% CI 1.52-9.83). Hospitalization was more frequent in patients using non-biologic systemic therapy than biologics (OR 2.84, 95% CI 1.31-6.18). No significant differences were found between biologic classes. Independent patient-reported data (n=1,626 across 48 countries) suggested lower levels of social isolation in individuals receiving non-biologic systemic therapy compared to biologics (OR 0.68, 95% CI 0.50-0.94). Conclusion In this international moderate-severe psoriasis case series, biologics use was associated with lower risk of COVID-19-related hospitalization than non-biologic systemic therapies, however further investigation is warranted due to potential selection bias and unmeasured confounding. Established risk factors (being older, male, non-white ethnicity, comorbidities) were associated with higher hospitalization rates. Clinical Implications We identify risk factors for COVID-19-related hospitalization in psoriasis patients, including older age, male sex, non-white ethnicity and comorbidities. Use of biologics was associated with lower hospitalization risk than non-biologic systemic therapies., Capsule summary: In this global registry-based study, risk factors for COVID-19-related hospitalization in psoriasis patients were older age, male sex, non-white ethnicity and comorbidities. Use of biologics was associated with lower hospitalization risk than non-biologic systemic treatment.

Tropical diseases are infectious diseases that are prevalent in or unique to tropical and subtropical regions. India is a tropical country & these diseases permanently curtail human potential, anchoring at least one billion poor people in poverty. They cause enormous economic burden for endemic countries. All such diseases cause great human misery. So this research work is done to evaluate useful role of radiology in early diagnosis of such tropical diseases & to assess value of various radiological modalities like X-rays, Ultrasonography, CT Scan, MR imaging etc. in diagnosis of such tropical diseases with a cost effective approach. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this study, we have collected cases & data of 50 cases of tropical diseases during the period of June 2006 to October 2008, during the period of our postgraduate residency. Most of the patients were referred from medical & surgical departments of civil hospital - Ahmadabad. The patients were selected on the basis of either clinical provisional diagnosis of tropical disease or laboratory-pathology investigations were indicative in favor of the tropical disease. All the patients were examined by one or more radio-diagnostic imaging modality as required; required X-rays & USG of almost all patients were done. Additional radiological investigations like contrast X-ray procedure, CT scan, MRI etc. whichever needed was done to approach the definite diagnosis. Follow up of all patients were also done during and after treatment. IV. CLASSIFICATIONS OF TROPICAL DISEASES There are many ways to classify the Tropical diseases like: Disease wise classification, System wise (Body system affected) classification and the WHO classification. Among all these, "Disease wise classification" is more commonly used, so here mentioned. (3)