Leishmaniasis is a vector borne protozoan disease and it remains a major public health problem world-wide. Lack of an effective vaccine and vector control program makes the chemotherapy as the primary tool for leishmaniasis. Antimonials were used as the first line of treatment for many years. Emergence of resistance against this drug has become a major concern. Literatures and studies published on anti-leishmanial drug resistance, newer drug discovery for leishmanial resistance etc., in PubMed, Medline and Google search and reviewed thoroughly. Various newer drugs have been identified but, are in limited use because of high cost, toxicity, resistance etc., Recently, many newer mechanisms of drug resistance have been identified which may boost in future designing and development of drugs.

Introduction. Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most common infections in clinical practice worldwide in both healthcare and community settings causing significant morbidity and mortality. It is one of the major conditions at the community level treated empirically and regarded as a potential cause of emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Limited information is available regarding community-acquired UTI (CA-UTI) from India. Methodology. This is a first of its kind, multicentric-cross-sectional study at the community level targeting patients attending the out-patient department (OPD) of the community health centre (CHC) from four geographical regions (North, South, West and East) of India. The study had been designed to determine the epidemiology, antibiogram profile and identification of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) producer and carbapenem resistant (CR) uropathogens. Samples were collected prospectively from UTI suspected patients coming at CHC and processed at the tertiary healthcare centres using a common standard operating procedure. Clinical history of all the patients exhibiting significant bacteriuria was collected and data was analysed. Result. Overall, 250 out of a total of 2459 (10.1 %) urine samples were positive for bacteria with significant bacteriuria (adult: paediatrics, 6.7 : 1). Females were predominantly affected (male: female, 1 : 2.9). History of recent episode of UTI was observed as the commonest risk factor followed by diabetes mellitus. Altogether, 86 % of total cases were caused by Escherichia coli (68 %) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (17.6 %) together. Among the commonly used oral antibiotics for the Gram-negative bacilli (GNB), the highest resistance was observed against beta-lactams, first- and second-generation cephalosporins, fluoroquinolones and co-trimoxazole. Overall, the prevalence of ESBL producer and CR isolates were 44.8, and 4.3 %, respectively. However, the ESBL production, CR and nitrofurantoin resistance among the uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) isolates was 52.8, 5.1 and 14 %, respectively. No resistance was found against fosfomycin among the UPEC isolates. Conclusion. The current study highlights the increasing incidence of AMR among uropathogens at the community-settings of India. A significant percentage of ESBL producers among the isolated UPEC and K. pneumoniae were observed. The currently available evidence supports the clinical recommendation of fosfomycin and nitrofurantoin for empiric therapy in CA-UTI in India.

To date, studies comparing the genomic characteristics of hospital- and community-acquired hvKp were very few in India. In this study, we analyzed the clinical and genomic characteristics of hvKp isolates from hospital and community settings.

The rise in multidrug-resistant (MDR) ESKAPE bacteria have become a major therapeutic challenge globally. Recently, novel cold atmospheric pressure plasma (CAP) as an antimicrobial is becoming popular. In this study, an indigenously developed AC cold atmospheric pressure plasma jet (CAPJ) fed with argon gas was used to evaluate its antimicrobial efficacy on these bacteria isolated from clinical specimens such as urine, blood, and sputum in a tertiary care hospital in India. The difference in CAP’s antimicrobial activity on Gram-negative bacilli (MDR E. coli) and Grampositive cocci (MDR S. aureus) was observed with various input parameters, such as microbial concentration, CAP exposure time, and exposure distance. It was observed that oxidative stress induced by reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (O2-, NO+, OH., H2O2, ONOO-, NO., NO2., HO2., O3-,etc.) and electrostatic stress by ions (Ar+, O+, O2-, OH-, NO+,OH+, NO3-, NO2-, O3-, etc.) might play a crucial role in microbial inactivation. In addition to this, a decrease in adenosine triphosphate concentration post-CAP exposure in a liquid media suggested an efficient microbial inactivation effect. The outcome of this research would be extremely beneficial to multidisciplinary researchers in this field.

Introduction: Studies have shown a shift in the prevalence from Gram-positive to Gram-negative bacteraemia in patients with haematological malignancies who develop febrile neutropenia. There are also reports on the spread of drug resistant bacteria among these patients. Information about locally prevalent bacteria and their resistance is important to guide empirical therapy. The aim of this study was to characterise the bacterial spectrum and antibiotic resistance pattern of bacteraemia in neutropenic patients with haematological malignancies Methodology: In this retrospective study, patients admitted to Haematology and Oncology units over a period of 6 months with laboratory-confirmed positive blood cultures were enrolled. Information regarding demographic profile, clinical features, and microbiological profile were recorded. Standard procedures were applied to identify the isolates and their resistance patterns. The data collected was analysed statistically. Results:56 isolates from 53 patients were isolated of which majority were gram negative bacilli (GNB; n = 52 or 93%). Klebsiella pneumoniae (43%, n = 24) was the most frequently isolated bacteria followed by Enterobacter sp (20%, n = 11) and Escherichia coli (12%, n = 7). All isolates were susceptible to colistin. Susceptibility to cefaperazone-sulbactam, piperacillin-tazobactam and carbapenems were 32%, 28.6% and 26.8% respectively. The outcome was fatal for 25 patients. Conclusions: The study documented an alarming rise in the prevalence of GNB and their resistance. Though the results of the study may represent only the tip of the iceberg, the results demonstrate the need for treatment options for drug resistant isolates and for surveillance cultures.