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Pathogenic potentials of the gastric pathogen, Helicobacter pylori, have been proposed, evaluated, and confirmed by many laboratories for nearly 4 decades since its serendipitous discovery in 1983 by Barry James Marshall and John Robin Warren. Helicobacter pylori is the first bacterium to be categorized as a definite carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization (WHO). Half of the world's population carries H. pylori, which may be responsible for severe gastric diseases like peptic ulcer and gastric cancer. These two gastric diseases take more than a million lives every year. However, the role of H. pylori as sole pathogen in gastric diseases is heavily debated and remained controversial. It is still not convincingly understood, why most (80-90%) H. pylori infected individuals remain asymptomatic, while some (10-20%) develop such severe gastric diseases. Moreover, several reports indicated that colonization of H. pylori has positive and negative associations with several other gastrointestinal (GI) and non-GI diseases. In this review, we have discussed the state of the art knowledge on "H. pylori factors" and several "other factors," which have been claimed to have links with severe gastric and duodenal diseases. We conclude that H. pylori infection alone does not satisfy the "necessary and sufficient" condition for developing aggressive clinical outcomes. Rather, the cumulative effect of a number of factors like the virulence proteins of H. pylori, local geography and climate, genetic background and immunity of the host, gastric and intestinal microbiota, and dietary habit and history of medicine usage together determine whether the H. pylori infected person will remain asymptomatic or will develop one of the severe gastric diseases.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Dengue viruses, single-stranded positive polarity ribonucleic acid (RNA) viruses of the family Flaviviridae, are the most common cause of arboviral disease in the world and has turned this disease into a serious public health problem. AIMS: To study retrospectively the incidence of laboratory confirmed dengue cases among the clinically suspected patients, the clinical profile of dengue-positive cases, and to co-relate with the environmental conditions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Five hundred and eighty blood sample was collected in the microbiology laboratory of district hospital Singtam, from clinically suspected cases of dengue infection, from 22nd August 2013 till 30th November 2013 for rapid dengue kit test initially followed by confirmation test by Immunoglobulin M (IgM) capture ELISA test. CONCLUSIONS: Fever with myalgia should be evaluated for Dengue fever (DF) in Sikkim, northeastern part of India. We also report the first outbreak of dengue fever in the east district (Singtam) of Sikkim.
RESUMO
Inroduction: The etiology of gastric cancer is multifactorial. Marked differences in the incidence of gastric cancer among different ethnic groups living in the same geographical area have been observed. Aim and methods: This study looked at ethnic and dietary factors in patients with gastric cancer diagnosed at a tertiary referral centre in Sikkim over a period of one year. Patients of 60 years and above were included in the study and divided into four ethnic groups : Bhutias, Lepchas, Rais and other groups. Results: 211 cases underwent upper GI endoscopy and 32 were diagnosed to have gastric cancer. Gastric cancer incidence was highest in Bhutia ethnic group. A trend towards higher intake of smoked meats, fermented vegetables, salt tea, and H.pylori positivity in the Bhutia ethnic group was associated with higher incidence of gastric cancer as compared to other ethnic groups. Conclusion: The study with a referral centre bias showed that Bhutia ethnic group had a higher incidence of gastric cancer as compared to other ethnic groups.