Melioidosis, caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei, is a potentially fatal infection, particularly affecting individuals with chronic conditions such as diabetes or kidney or liver diseases. This review examines melioidosis in India over the past two decades, focusing on its prevalence, risk factors and clinical manifestations. A PubMed search (2000–2024) identified a rise in melioidosis publications, with most from Southern India, followed by Eastern India, and an increase post-2019. Eight studies from 2010–2022 identified fever (86%), cough (26%) and joint pain (23%) as the most common symptoms, while diabetes (75%), alcohol abuse (19%) and cancer (6%) were primary predisposing factors. Severe clinical manifestations were also observed, including bacteremia (50%), pneumonia (37%) and splenic abscess (18%). Although environmental exposure risks were not significantly high, individuals with diabetes or chronic kidney disease, particularly those working in high-risk environments, were more likely to contract melioidosis. Cryptic environmental factors that might bridge known epidemiological risk factors are also addressed. The review emphasizes the increasing awareness and research in clinical epidemiology and also highlights a gap in studies on antimicrobial treatments, vaccines and environmental surveillance. Targeted interventions in diabetes and poverty hotspots could help control the disease more effectively.

Problem: India and sub-Saharan Africa contributes about 85% of the global malaria burden, and India is committed to eliminating malaria by 2030. Approach: Two novel initiatives—the Malaria Elimination Demonstration Project (MEDP) in Madhya Pradesh and Durgama Anchalare Malaria Nirakaran (DAMaN) in Odisha—were initiated independently to demonstrate that indigenous malaria can be eliminated in a short period of time. Local setting: These initiatives focused on rural, tribal areas where there is a high malaria burden and complex epidemiology. Relevant changes: The case management and vector control strategies used in these programmes were based on the national guidelines, with context-specific changes and introduction of accountability at management, operational, technical and financial levels. The MEDP achieved a 91% reduction in malaria cases and recorded zero transmission for 6 consecutive and a total of 9 mo. The DAMaN project brought about an 88% reduction in malaria cases. Lessons learned: Malaria elimination will require robust surveillance and case management, monitoring of vector control interventions, community-centric information education communication and behaviour change communication initiatives and management controls, as well as regular internal and external reviews.

Background: Teenage pregnancy is a concerning public health problem in India. Misperception and misunderstanding about pregnancy and its preventive methods lead to pregnancy when adolescents are involved in unsafe sexual intercourse. This scoping review aims to discuss the evidence on the perception, practices, and understanding related to teenage pregnancy among adolescent girls in the Indian context. Method: The Arksey and O'Malley scoping review framework and Joanna Briggs Institute Reviewers’ Manual were used for the scoping review. The Population, Concept, and Context strategy (PCC) ensured the review questions, eligibility criteria, and search strategy. The Systematic Review and Meta-analysis: Extension for Scoping Review (PRISMA-ScR) was used. A literature search was done using electronic databases by specific keywords such as “teenage”, “adolescences”, “pregnancy”, “perception”, “knowledge”, “awareness”, etc. Relevant grey literature was identified through further searching. The review included studies that fulfil inclusion criteria having female adolescent groups aged from 10 to 19 years in the Indian context between the years 2000 and 2021. Results: We found 40 eligible studies; more than half of these were from southern (35%) and northern (27.5%) regions, and studies from the rest of India were very sporadically distributed. Most studies (72.5%) were published in the last 10 years. The relevant extracted data from individual studies were synthesized and presented in the two major sections, perception, practices, and the second one, understanding and experiences among teenage girls. The understanding of pregnancy and teenage pregnancy-related preventive methods was detailed analysis in about 72% of papers whereas other aspects, such as perception (22.5%), practices (25%), and experiences (7.5%) were discussed in the remaining papers related to pregnancy among adolescent girls. Conclusion: Evidence in the selected studies shows that understanding and practices are the major areas that were primarily explored, where perception, practices and experiences are the topics that are relatively less investigated. Literature synthesis derives misconception, lack of understanding, and practices without knowing the consequences are the key factors responsible for early pregnancies. Future interventions like increasing awareness, providing comprehensive reproductive knowledge, convenient health care aids, and proper counselling are adequate measures for minimalising the problem. The present analysis showed that studies are limited in their scope concerning various aspects of teenage pregnancy in India, so this scoping review gives essential perspectives on future research and implementation plans and policies in this field.

Background: Human Papillomavirus (HPV) causes various types of cancer in both men and women. Woman with HPV infection has a risk of developing invasive cervical cancer. Globally, HPV 16 and 18 were predominant. This study aims to find the distribution of various HPV types in South Andaman. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among women in South Andaman, where cervical scrapes were collected after collecting written informed consent. Detection of HPV genotypes was carried out by using a PCR assay. Further, sequencing analysis was performed using MEGA11 to identify various genotypes in this territory. Result: Of these 1000 samples, 32 were positive for HR-HPV 16, and four were positive for HR-HPV 18. Fifteen HPV genotypes were detected using molecular evolutionary analysis. Six cases were identified with multiple genotypes. The most prevalent genotype is HPV 16 which belongs to Lineage-A and sub-lineage A2. HPV 18 identified in South Andaman belonged to the lineage A1 to A5. Discussion: Various HPV types were identified among women in South Andaman. Global burden of cervical cancer associated with various HPV sub-lineages. HPV-16 A1 sub-lineage was globally widespread, whereas sub-lineages A1, A2 and D1 prevailed in South Andaman. Conclusions: HR-HPV identified in this study enlightens the importance of HPV vaccination among women in remote places. These findings will help to strengthen public health awareness programs and prevention strategies for women in remote areas.

Background & objectives: Sickle cell disease (SCD) constitutes frequently inherited haemoglobin disorders and poses a significant health burden in India. Hydroxyurea (HU), the most commonly used drug, has shown promising results in the clinical management of SCD. The present systematic review was undertaken to assess the efficacy and toxicity of HU in Indian sickle cell patients. Methods: A systematic review of studies on HU therapy was conducted to identify the application of HU and its outcome(s) across India. PubMed, Scopus and Cochrane Library was used as data sources for various studies on the efficacy and toxicity of HU therapy for treatment for SCD in India published between January 2001 and October 2021. Two authors independently extracted the data on study design, patient characteristics and therapeutic outcomes of HU in order to determine the study quality of the present review. Results: Overall, 14 studies were included for a systematic analysis. Of these 11 were prospective, two cross-sectional and one double-blind randomized controlled trial. Low-dose HU (10 mg/kg/day) was found to reduce the rates of vaso-occlusive crisis and hospitalization as well as decreased the requirement of blood transfusion in SCD patients. The foetal haemoglobin (HbF) level was recorded in 13 (80%) studies all of whom reported an elevation in the HbF levels, with a mean increase in per cent HbF from 15.8 to 21.4 per cent across studies. The common adverse events were reversible, mild-to-moderate cytopenia and anaemia. Interpretation & conclusions: The findings of the present review suggest that there is still insufficient information presently to determine the long-term or major adverse effects on organ damage, fertility as well as pregnancy on the use of HU therapy for SCD. Long-term multi-centric studies are thus required to address these problems.

The aetiology of non-malaria vector-borne diseases in malaria-endemic, forested, rural, and tribal-dominated areas of Dhalai, Tripura, in north-east India, was studied for the first time in the samples collected from malaria Rapid Diagnostic Kit negative febrile patients by door-to-door visits in the villages and primary health centres. Two hundred and sixty serum samples were tested for the Dengue NS1 antigen and the IgM antibodies of Dengue, Chikungunya, Scrub Typhus (ST), and Japanese Encephalitis (JE) during April 2019–March 2020. Fifteen Dengue, six JE, twelve Chikungunya, nine ST and three Leptospirosis, and mixed infections of three JE + Chikungunya, four Dengue + Chikungunya, three Dengue + JE + Chikungunya, one Dengue + Chikungunya + ST, and one Dengue + ST were found positive by IgM ELISA tests, and four for the Dengue NS1 antigen, all without any travel history. True prevalence values estimated for infections detected by Dengue IgM were 0.134 (95% CI: 0.08–0.2), Chikungunya were 0.084 (95% CI: 0.05–0.13), Scrub were 0.043 (95% CI: 0.01–0.09), and Japanese Encephalitis were 0.045 (95% CI: 0.02–0.09). Dengue and Chikungunya were associated significantly more with a younger age. There was a lack of a defined set of symptoms for any of the Dengue, Chikungunya, JE or ST infections, as indicated by the k-modes cluster analysis. Interestingly, most of these symptoms have an overlapping set with malaria; thereby, it becomes imperative that malaria and these non-malaria vector-borne disease diagnoses are made in a coordinated manner. Findings from this study call for advances in routine diagnostic procedures and the development of a protocol that can accommodate, currently, in practicing the rapid diagnosis of malaria and other vector-borne diseases, which is doable even in the resource-poor settings of rural hospitals and during community fever surveillance.