India introduced BBV152/Covaxin and AZD1222/Covishield vaccines in January 2021. We estimated the effectiveness of these vaccines against severe COVID-19 among individuals aged ≥45 years. We did a multi-centric, hospital-based, case-control study between May and July 2021. Cases were severe COVID-19 patients, and controls were COVID-19 negative individuals from 11 hospitals. Vaccine effectiveness (VE) was estimated for complete (2 doses ≥ 14 days) and partial (1 dose ≥ 21 days) vaccination; interval between two vaccine doses and vaccination against the Delta variant. We used the random effects logistic regression model to calculate the adjusted odds ratios (aOR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) after adjusting for relevant known confounders. We enrolled 1143 cases and 2541 control patients. The VE of complete vaccination was 85% (95% CI: 79-89%) with AZD1222/Covishield and 71% (95% CI: 57-81%) with BBV152/Covaxin. The VE was highest for 6-8 weeks between two doses of AZD1222/Covishield (94%, 95% CI: 86-97%) and BBV152/Covaxin (93%, 95% CI: 34-99%). The VE estimates were similar against the Delta strain and sub-lineages. BBV152/Covaxin and AZD1222/Covishield were effective against severe COVID-19 among the Indian population during the period of dominance of the highly transmissible Delta variant in the second wave of the pandemic. An escalation of two-dose coverage with COVID-19 vaccines is critical to reduce severe COVID-19 and further mitigate the pandemic in the country.

Tuberculosis Preventive Treatment (TPT) is a powerful tool for preventing the TB infection from developing into active TB disease, and has recently been expanded to all household contacts of TB cases in India. This study employs a mixed-methods approach to conduct a situational analysis of the initial phase of TPT implementation among household contacts of pulmonary TB patients in three districts of Delhi, India. It was completed using a checklist based assessments, care cascade data, and qualitative analysis. Our observations indicated that organizational structure and planning were established, but implementation of TPT was suboptimal with issues in drug availability and procurement, budget, human resources, and training. Awareness and motivation, and shorter regimen, telephonic assessment, and collaboration with NGOs emerged as enablers. Apprehension about taking TPT, erratic drug supply, long duration of treatment, side effects, overburden, large population, INH resistance, data entry issues, and private provider reluctance emerged as barriers. The study revealed potential solutions for optimizing TPT implementation. It is evident that, while progress has been made in TPT implementation, there is room for improvement and refinement across various domains.

(WHO) dimensions of adherence to ART. Therefore, this study was conducted with the objectives of determining the prevalence of adherence and the association of various factors across five WHO dimensions to adherence. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out at the ART Centre, Aligarh. A total of 440 adult patients, taking treatment from the ART Centre, Aligarh were selected. A self-reported instrument of missing pills was used to measure adherence. Various factors across five WHO dimensions were studied. Results: Prevalence of adherence in our study was 81.3%. Among the five dimensions of adherence, distance from home (odds ratio [OR] 0.980; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.964–0.997) among socioeconomic determinants, frequent adherence counseling (OR 8.737; 95% CI 4.076–18.727) among health system-related, drug regimen (OR 2.202; 95% CI 1.023–4.738) and absence of side effects (OR 3.293; 95% CI 1.473–7.365) among therapy related, absence of substance abuse (OR 2.747; 95% CI 1.209–6.243), and perceived change in health status (OR 4.196; 95% CI 1.613–10.915) among patient-related dimension were found to be significantly associated with adherence to ART, while clinical condition dimension did not play a significant role. Conclusion: The ART adherence rate is still below satisfactory levels for long-term viral load suppression. WHO multidimensional approach – which was found to be quite relevant in our study setting – could be applied to effectively solve the adherence problem in our country....

Background: Substance use disorders are significant public health problem among adolescents and young adults. Aim & Objective: We did this study to observe knowledge, attitude, and practice of substance use among school and college going adolescents and young adults. Material & Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at 10 schools and colleges from Aligarh. A total of 1431 students were approached with study tools comprising of pre-structured proforma on knowledge, attitude, and practice. Results: We observed that most of the students (89%) had some knowledge about substance use. The risk-taking attitude was common even against drugs like cocaine and charas (30.6% and 29.1% respectively). A high prevalence of ever user and current user was observed (33.3% and 12.9% respectively). The mean age of starting the drug in students and their friends was 15.5 ±2.7 and 16.2 ±2.8 years respectively. Among the ever users, tobacco smoking (56.6) and alcohol (47.6%) were most common. Stress (57.9%) was most common reason to use drugs. Males and college students (40.6% and 41.2% respectively) were using it more. Conclusion: This study found half-baked knowledge, propensity towards a risk-taking attitude, and a substantial prevalence of substance use practices. Proper action and further researches are required to explore variables associated for reducing the prevalence.

Background: Glaucoma is one of the most common causes of blindness. Being irreversible, its early detection and management are utmost important. With increasing life expectancy, the prevalence of glaucoma is expected to rise. We did this study to find the prevalence of glaucoma among middle-aged and elderly population and to find out its associated factors. Methods: A community based cross-sectional study among rural and peri-urban area of Aligarh was done for a duration of one year. A trained ophthalmologist interviewed and examined 680 patients with a detailed eye examination. Intraocular pressure (IOP) was measured by Keeler pulsair non-contact tonometer, confirm by applanation tonometry. Anderson criteria were used to diagnose glaucomatous visual field defect. Results: In our study population, a total of 31 subjects were diagnosed as glaucoma in either one or both eyes. The overall prevalence of glaucoma was found to be 4.6%. About equal distribution of type of glaucoma, i.e. Primary Open Angle Glaucoma (POAG), Primary Angle Closure Glaucoma (PACG) and Normotensive Glaucoma (NTG) was observed in our study participants. The prevalence of glaucoma was found to be significantly associated with increasing age, positive family history as well as a history of angle closure. Conclusion: The prevalence of glaucoma is higher in the population of Aligarh. Its association with increasing age, positive family history and history of angle-closure may give us clues for early detection. Screening for glaucoma during middle age especially among person with a positive family history or angle-closure would help us early diagnosing and management of this irreversible disease.