RESUMEN
In April 2016, an indigenous monovalent rotavirus vaccine (Rotavac) was introduced to the National Immunization Program in India. Hospital-based surveillance for acute gastroenteritis was conducted in five sentinel sites from 2012 to 2020 to monitor the vaccine impact on various genotypes and the reduction in rotavirus positivity at each site. Stool samples collected from children under 5 years of age hospitalized with diarrhea were tested for group A rotavirus using a commercial enzyme immunoassay, and rotavirus strains were characterized by RT-PCR. The proportion of diarrhea hospitalizations attributable to rotavirus at the five sites declined from a range of 56-29.4% in pre-vaccine years to 34-12% in post-vaccine years. G1P[8] was the predominant strain in the pre-vaccination period, and G3P[8] was the most common in the post-vaccination period. Circulating patterns varied throughout the study period, and increased proportions of mixed genotypes were detected in the post-vaccination phase. Continuous long-term surveillance is essential to understand the diversity and immuno-epidemiological effects of rotavirus vaccination.
RESUMEN
This cross sectional study was done to find the prevalence of sustained hypertension and prehypertension among school children aged 11-17 years. A total of 1085 apparently healthy students from rural and urban schools in hills of northern India were examined using standard methods. Students with blood pressures above the 90th centile were reexamined after four weeks. The mean BMI of the students was 17.5 ± 2.7 kg/m2, 5 (0.4%) were obese, and 39 (3.5%) overweight. After two evaluations, hypertension was identified in 62 (5.9%) children and prehypertension in 130 (12.3%). Urban and rural children had comparable rates of elevated BP (hypertension and prehypertension). Rates of elevated BP were significantly higher (46.5% vs 17%, P<0.001) among those with high BMI (overweight and obese) compared to those with normal BMI. In conclusion, nearly 20% of the school children had elevated blood pressures.