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There is currently increasing interest internationally in deploying robotic applications for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) testing, as these can help to reduce the risk of transmission of the virus to health care staff and patients. We provide an overview of key recent developments in this area. We argue that, although there is some potential for deploying robots to help with SARS-CoV-2 testing, the potential of patient-facing applications is likely to be limited. This is due to the high costs associated with patient-facing functionality, and risks of potentially adverse impacts on health care staff work practices and patient interactions. In contrast, back-end laboratory-based robots dealing with sample extraction and amplification, that effectively integrate with established processes, software, and interfaces to process samples, are much more likely to result in safety and efficiency gains. Consideration should therefore be given to deploying these at scale.

Most reports of multiple infection with different hepatitis E virus (HEV) variants can be ascribed to immunodeficiency of the host or to high frequencies of infection. For example, 2 different [...]

Background & objectives: Apoptosis causes a decline in the counts of uninfected bystander CD4+ T cells in HIV infection. The rate of disease progression of HIV infection is considered to be faster in the developing countries. The present study was carried out to investigate certain markers for apoptosis in immunopathogensis of disease in HIV infected south Indian population. Methods: Soluble Fas (sFas) antigen and Fas ligand levels in plasma samples from 39 antiretroviral treatment naïve patients was estimated and compared with T cell subsets and HIV-1 viral load. Results: The mean sFas antigen levels among controls and the CDC A, B and C clinical stages were 2.77, 3.08, 3.26 and 3.28 ng /ml respectively, higher though not significantly among HIV-1 infected individuals compared to controls. The mean sFas ligand levels in CDC A, B and C stages were 0.138, 0.125 and 0.117 ng/ml respectively were higher (P<0.001) than controls (0.073 ng/ml) and positively correlated with total lymphocyte % (r=0.43, P =0.007). sFas antigen levels were negatively correlated with total WBC count (r=-0.34, P=0.04), CD4% (r=-0.4, P=0.01) and CD4:CD8 ratio (r=-0.37, P=0.02). There was an increase in plasma levels of sFas antigen and Fas ligand over time in asymptomatics. Interpretation & conclusions: The high levels of sFas antigen and Fas ligand seen in HIV infected individuals suggest increased activation and apoptosis of T cells, due to constant stimulation of the immune system by inter-current infections of HIV infected individuals in south India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background & objectives: Individuals infected with HIV-1 have higher levels of chemokine producing cells compared to uninfected individuals. It is important to know the changes in chemokine levels associated with rate of progression of disease. There is a paucity of information on the plasma chemokines in HIV-1 infected individuals from India. We therefore carried out this study to estimate the levels of three chemokines namely macrophage inflammatory protein alpha (MIP1α), MIP1β and RANTES, in relation to disease status in HIV-1 infected individuals and compared with uninfected individuals. Methods: RANTES and MIP1α were estimated using ELISA in 114 HIV-1 infected and 30 controls, whereas MIP1β was estimated in 101 HIV infected individuals only and 30 controls. The values were compared to the T cell subsets, HIV-1 viral loads and plasma cytokines (interferon gamma and interleukin-10). Results: Compared to controls the mean MIP1α and RANTES level among the HIV-1 infected individuals was higher while MIP1β level was lower in HIV infected individuals except CDC C groups. There was a significant positive correlation for MIP1á with HIV-1 viral load and IFNγ, for MIP1α with viral load and IL10. There was a significant negative correlation between MIP1 a with CD4 count and CD4: CD8 ratio and MIP1 b with CD4 count and CD8 count. There was a negative correlation between RANTES values and CD8 per cent. Interpretation & conclusions: In conclusion, our study showed a significantly higher level of b chemokines in south Indian HIV-1 infected individuals compared to controls. These b chemokines may have the inhibitory effect on HIV-1 only during the initial period and with the progression of disease this inhibitory effect wanes as shown by the positive correlation of b chemokines with HIV-1 viral load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chikungunya and dengue outbreaks currently affect thousands of individuals all over the world since the past decade. Both are arthropod-transmitted disease but dengue is the most prevalent mosquito-borne infection worldwide. These diseases are debilitating and if inadequately treated increases the chance of mortality. Recurrent epidemics of chikungunya and dengue, which are Aedes mosquito-borne viral diseases, represent a significant health problem in over a hundred tropical countries. With the re-emergence of the chikungunya virus (CHIKV) and dengue virus (DENY) cases have also been reported in parts of Europe and other parts of the Asian subcontinent. This review focuses on the oral manifestations of these diseases with relevant data from the Indian perspective. The objective of this review is to educate dental practitioners on the oral manifestations of both CHIKV and DENY which may help in the early diagnosis and prompt management of these viral diseases.

Background & Objective: The shift of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) from nonsyncytium inducing strains (NSI/R5) to syncytium inducing strains (SI/X4) seen in subtype B infections during progression to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is less frequently reported in subtype C. NSI and SI strains differ in the co-receptor they utilize to infect a T-cell. We postulated that a larger pool of CD4 T cells expressing CCR5 would be present among individuals in the Indian population. To validate this hypothesis, we estimated the percentage of CD4 cells expressing CCR5 or CXCR4 molecules among healthy south Indian adults and HIV infected individuals., Methods: HIV-1 infected and uninfected adult volunteers, belonging to the four southern states of India with Tamil/Malayalam/Kannada or Telugu as their spoken language were prospectively recruited. A two colour flowcytometry examination of the blood sample was done using the following monoclonals; anti-CD45 (FITC)/CD14 (PE), anti IgG1 (FITC)/IgG2a (PE), anti-CD3 (FITC)/CD4 (PE), anti-CD3 (FITC)/CD8 (PE), anti-CD4 (FITC) and anti CCR5 (PE) or anti CXCR4 (PE)., Results: In the healthy population (n = 30) studied, 24.6 per cent of CD4 T cells expressed CCR5 and the percentage of CD4 T cells expressing CXCR4 was 80.4. Among the HIV infected individuals (n = 51) the percentage of CD4 T cells expressing CCR5 and CXCR4 was 26.8 and 78.7 per cent respectively., Interpretation & Conclusion: The percentage of CD4 cells expressing CCR5 and CXCR4 in both the HIV uninfected and infected adults was significantly higher in the south Indian population than in the West. The larger pool of CCR5 positive CD4 cells probably allows for the R5 HIV strain to have a replication advantage over X4 HIV strains. This may explain the lack of shift in the viral phenotype during disease progression and also the perceived rapid progression of the disease in India compared to the West.

Background & Objectives: Human parvovirus B 19 (PVB 19) causes aplastic crisis in children with congenital haemolytic anaemia, erythema infectiosum, abortion and stillbirth. Since data on PVB 19 prevalence is lacking in India, a pilot study was undertaken to estimate the prevalence of IgG antibody in children and adults., Methods: The samples were obtained from children attending our hospital and from volunteer blood donors, majority of whom were from south India. They included 45 children aged 1-5 yr, 39 aged 6-10 yr, 42 aged 11-15 yr and 100 healthy blood donors > 15 yr of age. Sera were tested for the presence of antibody to PVB 19 using a commercial enzyme immuno assay (EIA)., Results: Of 226 samples tested, 113 (50%) were positive for PVB 19 IgG. The prevalence of antibody increased from 8.9 per cent at 1-5 yr to 70 per cent in those > 15 yr: the median age of infection was between 6 and 15 yr. Sex and domiciliary status did not have significant effect on the prevalence of antibody. The IgG antibody index increased significantly with age, suggesting repeated exposure to the virus., Interpretation & Conclusion: This seroprevalence study indicates that large numbers of individuals show exposure to PVB 19 virus. The exposure as indicated by IgG positivity is seen to increase with age. The IgG negative individuals may be considered to be at risk of developing infections due to PVB 19.