An outbreak of human anthrax in Mysore (India).

Anthrax is a zoonotic disease caused by Bacillus anthracis. Intestinal anthrax though a rare entity mostly ends with fatal outcome. Very few cases of intestinal anthrax are reported. Present outbreak of intestinal anthrax is unique in itself that four cases succumbed to the illness within a span of 48-72 hours in a small hamlet of Mysore district of Karnataka, after consuming diseased deer meat. Confirmation of the diagnosis was carried out at NICD, Delhi by bacteriological culture isolation, biochemical tests, animal pathogenicity and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). This outbreak clearly indicates surveillance of anthrax in animals in endemic areas is an essential part in the control of the disease with intersectoral coordination between the departments of health, animal husbandary, agriculture and forest.

HIV seroprevalence among tuberculosis patients in India, 2006-2007.

BACKGROUND: Little information exists regarding the burden of HIV among tuberculosis patients in India, and no population-based surveys have been previously reported. A community-based HIV prevalence survey was conducted among tuberculosis patients treated by the national tuberculosis control programme to evaluate the HIV prevalence among tuberculosis patients in India. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Fifteen districts (total population: 40.2 million) across 8 states were stratified by HIV prevalence in antenatal clinic HIV surveillance sites and randomly selected. From December 2006 to May 2007, remnant serum was collected from patients' clinical specimens taken after 2 months of anti-tuberculosis treatment and subjected to anonymous, unlinked HIV testing. Specimens were obtained and successfully tested for 5,995 (73%) of 8,217 tuberculosis patients eligible for the survey. HIV prevalence ranged widely among the 15 surveyed districts, from 1% in Koch Bihar, West Bengal, to 13.8% in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. HIV infection was 1.3 times more likely among male TB patients than among female patients. Relative to smear-positive tuberculosis, HIV infection was 1.4 times more likely among smear-negative patients and 1.3 times more likely among extrapulmonary patients. In 4 higher-HIV prevalence districts, which had been previously surveyed in 2005-2006, no significant change in HIV prevalence was detected. CONCLUSIONS: The burden of HIV among tuberculosis patients varies widely in India. Programme efforts to implement comprehensive TB-HIV services should be targeted to areas with the highest HIV burden. Surveillance through routine reporting or special surveys is necessary to detect areas requiring intensification of TB-HIV collaborative activities.