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Avian influenza viruses remain major threats worldwide, responsible for multiple outbreaks among poultry and episodes of transmission to humans. During January 2003-February 3, 2022, there were 862 reported cases of [...]

Susceptibility to severe influenza A/H1N1pdm09 virus is multifactorial. The present study was carried out in 246 patients infected with A/H1N1pdm09 virus to find out whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the genes coding for proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines are associated with disease severity. Among the cases, 129 had mild disease, whereas 117 had severe disease. There were 27 fatal cases. TNFA rs1800629, IFNG rs2430561, IL10 rs1800872, IL10 rs1800896, and CCL2 rs1024611 SNPs were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-based methods. A significantly higher frequency of TNFA rs1800629 "G/A" genotype was observed in severe and fatal cases compared with mild and survived cases, respectively. In a dominant mode, IL10 rs1800896 "G" allele was significantly negatively associated with disease severity. IL10 rs1800896 "C/A" genotype was significantly associated with fatality in influenza A/H1N1pdm09 infections. The results suggest that SNPs in the IL10 and TNFA genes might be associated with disease severity in influenza A/H1N1pdm09-infected patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Over time, COVID-19 testing has significantly declined across the world. However, it is critical to monitor the virus through surveillance. In late 2020, WHO released interim guidance advising the use of the existing Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS) for the integrated surveillance of influenza and SARS-CoV-2., Methods: In July 2021, we initiated a pan-India integrated surveillance for influenza and SARS-CoV-2 through the geographically representative network of Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratories (VRDLs) across 26 hospital and laboratory sites and 70 community sites. A total of 34,260 cases of influenza-like illness (ILI) and Severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) were enrolled from 4 July 2021 to 31 October 2022., Findings: Influenza A(H3) and B/Victoria dominated during 2021 monsoon season while A(H1N1)pdm09 dominated during 2022 monsoon season. The SARS-CoV-2 "variants of concern" (VoC) Delta and Omicron predominated in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Increased proportion of SARI was seen in extremes of age: 90% cases in < 1 year; 68% in 1 to 5 years and 61% in ≥ 8  years age group. Approximately 40.7% of enrolled cases only partially fulfilled WHO ILI and SARI case definitions. Influenza- and SARS-CoV-2-infected comorbid patients had higher risks of hospitalization, ICU admission, and oxygen requirement., Interpretation: The results depicted the varying strains and transmission dynamics of influenza and SARS-CoV-2 viruses over time, thus emphasizing the need to continue and expand surveillance across countries for improved decision making. The study also describes important information related to clinical outcomes of ILI and SARI patients and highlights the need to review existing WHO ILI and SARI case definitions., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Potdar, Vijay, Mukhopadhyay, Aggarwal, Bhardwaj, Choudhary, Gupta, Kaur, Narayan, Kumar, Singh, Abdulkader, Murhekar, Mishra, Thangavel, Nagamani, Dhodapkar, Fomda, Varshney, Majumdar, Dutta, Vijayachari, Turuk, Majumdar, Sahoo, Pandey, Bhargava, Negi, Khatri, Kalawat, Biswas, Khandelwal, Borkakoty, Manjushree, Singh, Iravane, Kaveri, Shantala, Brijwal, Choudhary, Dar, Malhotra, Jain and ILI-SARI Surveillance Team.)

The present study describes the epidemiological characteristics of 3,08,259 suspected cases of COVID-19 from the Pune district, India. The samples were referred for COVID-19 testing between January 24, 2020 and April 30, 2021. Demographic and clinical data were extracted from the ICMR-portal as a single dataset and analyzed. Of the 3,08,259 samples tested, 2,63,833 (85.6%) were asymptomatic. Symptomatic cases ratio in the first and the second COVID-19 wave was 1:2. Among symptomatic cases, cough was the most common complaint, followed by fever. Among the COVID-19 positives, one-fifth were asymptomatic, highlighting the necessity for close contact tracing even among apparently healthy contacts. The second wave of COVID-19 had double the per cent of symptomatic individuals as compared to the first wave., Competing Interests: None

Background & Objectives: Since December 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has globally affected 195 countries. In India, suspected cases were screened for SARS-CoV-2 as per the advisory of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The objective of this study was to characterize SARS-CoV-2 sequences from three identified positive cases as on February 29, 2020., Methods: Throat swab/nasal swab specimens for a total of 881 suspected cases were screened by E gene and confirmed by RdRp (1), RdRp (2) and N gene real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reactions and next-generation sequencing. Phylogenetic analysis, molecular characterization and prediction of B- and T-cell epitopes for Indian SARS-CoV-2 sequences were undertaken., Results: Three cases with a travel history from Wuhan, China, were confirmed positive for SARS-CoV-2. Almost complete (29,851 nucleotides) genomes of case 1, case 3 and a fragmented genome for case 2 were obtained. The sequences of Indian SARS-CoV-2 though not identical showed high (~99.98%) identity with Wuhan seafood market pneumonia virus (accession number: NC 045512). Phylogenetic analysis showed that the Indian sequences belonged to different clusters. Predicted linear B-cell epitopes were found to be concentrated in the S1 domain of spike protein, and a conformational epitope was identified in the receptor-binding domain. The predicted T-cell epitopes showed broad human leucocyte antigen allele coverage of A and B supertypes predominant in the Indian population., Interpretation & Conclusions: The two SARS-CoV-2 sequences obtained from India represent two different introductions into the country. The genetic heterogeneity is as noted globally. The identified B- and T-cell epitopes may be considered suitable for future experiments towards the design of vaccines and diagnostics. Continuous monitoring and analysis of the sequences of new cases from India and the other affected countries would be vital to understand the genetic evolution and rates of substitution of the SARS-CoV-2., Competing Interests: None

Background & Objectives: An outbreak of respiratory illness of unknown aetiology was reported from Hubei province of Wuhan, People's Republic of China, in December 2019. The outbreak was attributed to a novel coronavirus (CoV), named as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV-2 and the disease as COVID-19. Within one month, cases were reported from 25 countries. In view of the novel viral strain with reported high morbidity, establishing early countrywide diagnosis to detect imported cases became critical. Here we describe the role of a countrywide network of VRDLs in early diagnosis of COVID-19., Methods: The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, established screening as well as confirmatory assays for SARS-CoV-2. A total of 13 VRDLs were provided with the E gene screening real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) assay. VRDLs were selected on the basis of their presence near an international airport/seaport and their past performance. The case definition for testing included all individuals with travel history to Wuhan and symptomatic individuals with travel history to other parts of China. This was later expanded to include symptomatic individuals returning from Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand and South Korea., Results: Within a week of standardization of the test at NIV, all VRDLs could initiate testing for SARS-CoV-2. Till February 29, 2020, a total of 2,913 samples were tested. This included both 654 individuals quarantined in the two camps and others fitting within the case definition. The quarantined individuals were tested twice - at days 0 and 14. All tested negative on both occasions. Only three individuals belonging to different districts in Kerala were found to be positive., Interpretation & Conclusions: Sudden emergence of SARS-CoV-2 and its potential to cause a pandemic posed an unsurmountable challenge to the public health system of India. However, concerted efforts of various arms of the Government of India resulted in a well-coordinated action at each level. India has successfully demonstrated its ability to establish quick diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 at NIV, Pune, and the testing VRDLs., Competing Interests: None

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The paper entitled "Constitutive expression and characterization of Hepatitis B surface antigen purified by metal affinity precipitation", which was published online on 19 May 2006, was withdrawn at the author's request.