Co-circulation of two Mumps virus genotypes in Assam, India.

Mumps is a vaccine-preventable disease, and research on the vaccine's efficacy has recently indicated declining efficacy that has failed to protect against primary infections or reinfections, leading to a global resurgence in nations that use mumps vaccine in their national immunization programmes (NIPs). Lack of reports on its infection, documentation and published studies prevents it from being recognized as a public health issue in India. The waning of immunity is ascribed to the changes between the circulating and vaccine strains. The goal of the current study was to describe the circulating MuV strains in the Dibrugarh district of Assam, India, from 2016 to 2019. Blood samples were examined for IgM antibodies, and throat swab samples were put through Taqman assay for molecular detection. The small hydrophobic (SH) gene was targeted for genotyping through sequencing, and its genetic variations and phylogenetic analysis were carried out. Mumps RNA was found in 42 cases, and Mumps IgM in 14, of which 60% (25/42) of the cases were male and 40% (17/42) were female mostly affecting children between the ages of 6 and 12. Sequence and phylogeny analyses of SH gene revealed Genotypes C (83%) and G (17%) were simultaneously circulating during the study period. The study offers crucial genetic baseline information for the creation of Mumps prevention and control measures. Therefore, based on the research, it is clear that developing an effective vaccination strategy should take into account all currently prevalent genotypes in order to provide better protection against the disease's comeback.

Predictors of Low Birth Weight: A Study in a Health and Demographic Cohort from Assam, India.

Low birth weight is associated with morbidities and mortality in the later life. Prevalence of anemia and under nutrition in Assam were reported to be high which may correlate with low birth weight of infants. The present study assessed prevalence and risk factors for low birth weight in a health and demographic cohort established in Dibrugarh district, Assam. A total of 1437 deliveries (580 from rural and 857 from tea garden) were recorded during March 2019 to February 2020. Prevalence of low birth weight was 30.34%. Tea-garden community [OR: 1.4 (1.06-1.79)], low levels of maternal education [OR: 1.57(1.12-2.13)], low monthly income [OR: 2.1 (1.1-3.9)], pre-term birth [OR: 4.1 (2.2-7.9)] and mother with low BMI [OR: 1.6 (1.3-2.07)] were found to be significantly associated with low birth weight. Intervention strategies to improve socioeconomic condition, promote antenatal checkup and alleviate under nutrition in pregnant mothers are warranted to reduce low birth weight.

Correlates of Breastfeeding in Villages and Tea-Gardens in Assam, India.

OBJECTIVE: To observe and compare breastfeeding practices in villages and tea-gardens. METHODS: Analytical cross-sectional study among mothers of infants in a health and demographic surveillance site in Dibrugarh, Assam. RESULTS: 1435 mothers (855 from tea-gardens, 580 from villages); and 1437 infants (857 from tea-gardens, 580 from villages), were included in study. Mean maternal age was 25.1 (4.4) years in tea-gardens and 25.8 (4.9) years in villages. Timely initiation of breastfeeding was higher in villages (82.6%) than tea-gardens (76.4%). Feeding colostrum was higher in villages (71.2%) than tea-gardens (60.8%). DISCUSSION: Factors affecting breastfeeding were different in villages and tea-gardens. Timely initiation of breastfeeding was associated with nuclear family in villages and joint family in tea-gardens. Hence, interventions promoting breastfeeding practices should be tailored instead of one-size-fits-all approach.

Cohort profile of the largest health & demographic surveillance system (Dibrugarh-HDSS) from North-East India.

Dibrugarh Health and Demographic Surveillance System (Dibrugarh-HDSS), was started in the year 2019 with the objective to create the health and demographic database of a population from a defined geographical area and a surveillance system for providing technical assistance for the implementation of programmes and formulating intervention strategies for reducing disease morbidities and mortalities in the population. Dibrugarh-HDSS adopted a panel design and covered 60 contiguous villages and 20 tea gardens. Line listing of all the households was conducted and a unique identification number detailing State, district, village/tea garden and serial number was provided along with geotagging. Detailed sociodemographic variables, anthropometric measurements (subjects ≥five years) and blood pressure data (subjects ≥18 yr), disease morbidity and mortality were collected. All data were collected in pre-designed and pre-tested questionnaires using a mobile application package developed for this purpose. Dibrugarh-HDSS included a total of 106,769 individuals (rural: 46,762, tea garden: 60,007) with 52,934 males (49.6%) and 53,835 females (50.4%). The number of females per thousand males were significantly higher (1042 in tea garden vs. 985 in rural populations) in the tea-garden community as compared to the village population. More than one-third (35.1%) of tea populations were illiterate compared to the rural population (17.1%). Villagers had significantly higher body mass index than the tea-garden community. The overall prevalence of hypertension (adjusted for age) was 29.4 vs. 28.2 per cent, respectively, for the village and tea-garden population. For both these communities, males (village=30.8%, tea garden=31.1%) showed a higher prevalence of hypertension (adjusted for age) than females (village=28.2%, tea garden=25.8%). The findings of the present study give an insight into the profile of the native rural and tea-garden populations that will help to identify risk factors of different health problems, review the effectiveness of different ongoing programmes, implement intervention strategies for reducing morbidity and mortality and assist the State health authorities in prioritizing their resource allocation and implementation strategies.

Renin-Angiotensin System Gene Polymorphisms and Hypertension.

Hypertension has emerged as a major public health problem in developing countries including India. Hypertension, a major cardiovascular risk factor is recognized as a multi-factorial trait resulting from the interaction of various environmental and genetic factors. The genetic contribution is speculated to make 30% to 40% of the variation in blood pressure. Identification of variant genes that contribute to the development of hypertension is further complicated because the cardiac output and peripheral resistance, are controlled by other intermediary phenotypes. Sodium has been postulated as the major intermediary in blood pressure regulation. Therefore, polymorphisms of candidate genes encoding proteins influencing renal tubular sodium transport, either directly or indirectly through effects on intra-renal hemodynamics, have been associated with differences in blood pressure level. Considering the importance of genetics on hypertension and the diversity of the related genes, evaluation of these genes and the study of new genes are necessary. It is hoped that by deducting related genes for essential hypertension in individual, will help in prevention of potential patients. We will be able to diagnose those at risk and develop new treatments for these patients.

Endothelial nitric oxide synthase gene polymorphisms and the risk of hypertension in an Indian population.

Genetic variants of eNOS gene play a significant role in the pathogenesis of hypertension. Many environmental factors have, also, been implicated in the aetiology of hypertension. We carried out an age-matched case-control study among adults. Hypertension was defined according to JNC-VII criteria and eNOS gene polymorphisms were determined by PCR and PCR followed by PCR-RFLP. eNOS intron 4 aa genotype (adjusted OR 6.81; 95% CI 2.29-20.25) and eNOS 894TT genotype (adjusted OR 7.84; 95% CI 2.57-23.96) were associated with the risk of hypertension. Tobacco users (either smoking/chewing or both) with eNOS intron 4 aa genotype (OR 14.00: 95% CI 1.20-163.37), eNOS 894GG genotype (OR 5.56: 95% CI 3.72-8.31), and eNOS T-786C CC genotype (OR 9.00: 95% CI 1.14-71.04) were at an increased risk of hypertension. Similarly a significant gene-environment interaction was observed between individuals consuming alcohol with eNOS intron 4 aa genotype (OR 12.00: 95% CI 1.20-143.73) and eNOS 894GG genotype (OR 1.95: 95% CI 1.35-2.81). The present study identified few susceptible genotypes of the eNOS gene with the risk of hypertension. Moreover, the interactive effects between the environmental factors and the risk of hypertension were dependent on the eNOS genotypes.

Role of household exposure, dietary habits and glutathione S-Transferases M1, T1 polymorphisms in susceptibility to lung cancer among women in Mizoram India.

BACKGROUND: A case-control study was conducted to evaluate the effect of household exposure, dietary habits, smoking and Glutathione S-Transferases M1, T1 polymorphisms on lung cancer among women in Mizoram, India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We selected 230 newly diagnosed primary lung cases and 460 controls from women in Mizoram. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to estimate adjusted odds ratio (OR). RESULTS: Exposure of cooking oil fumes (p<0.003), wood as heating source for cooking (p=0.004), kitchen inside living room (p=0.001), improper ventilated house (p=0.003), roasting of soda in kitchen (p=0.001), current smokers of tobacco (p=0.043), intake of smoked fish (p=0.006), smoked meat (p=0.001), Soda (p<0.001) and GSTM1 null genotype (p=0.003) were significantly associated with increased risk of lung cancer among women in Mizoram. Significantly protective effect was observed for intake of bamboo shoots (p=<0.001) and egg (p<0.001). A clear increase in dose response gradient was observed for total cooking dish years. Risk for lung cancer tends to increase with collegial effect of indoor environmental sources (p=0.022). Significant correlation was also observed for interaction of GST polymorphisms with some of dietary habits. CONCLUSIONS: We confirmed the important role of exposure of cooking oil emission and wood smoke, intake of smoked meat, smoked fish and soda (an alkali preparation used as food additives in Mizoram) and tobacco consumption for increase risk of lung cancer among Women in Mizoram.

Interaction of tobacco smoking and chewing with Angiotensin converting enzyme (insertion/deletion) gene polymorphisms and risk of lung cancer in a high risk area from northeast India.

BACKGROUND: Association of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) gene polymorphisms with lung cancer susceptibility remains uncertain and varies with ethnicity. Northeast India represents a geographically, culturally, and ethnically isolated population. The area reports an especially high rate of tobacco usage in a variety of ways of consumption, compared with the rest of the Indian population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a population based case control study in two major high risk region for lung cancer from Northeast India. A total of 151 consecutive lung cancer cases diagnosed histopathologically and equal numbers of controls were recruited with record of relevant sociodemographic information. Blood samples were collected and processed to identify ACE gene polymorphism. RESULTS: Significantly higher (40.4 % vs 29.1%, OR=1.97, CI=1.04-3.72; p=0.037) prevalence of the ACE II genotype was observed among lung cancer cases. Smoking was significantly associated with increased risk of lung cancer (OR=1.70, CI=1.02-2.81; p=0.041). An enhanced risk was also observed for interaction of ACE II genotype with tobacco smoking (OR=4.09, CI=1.51-11.05; p=0.005) and chewing (OR=3.68, CI=1.22-11.13; p=0.021). CONCLUSIONS: The present study indicates significant association s of the ACE II genotype with lung cancer in high risk Northeast India.

Population attributable risk estimates for risk factors associated with hypertension in an Indian population.

BACKGROUND: Little evidence exists regarding the magnitude of contribution of risk factors associated with hypertension in India. Determination of potentially modifiable risk factors is necessary to focus prevention strategies. DESIGN: Age-matched case-control study. METHODS: A total of 350 hypertensive cases and 350 controls of both sexes in the age group 20-65 years. Hypertension was defined according to JNC VII criteria. Adjusted odds ratio (OR) and population attributable risk percentage (PAR %) for hypertension were calculated. RESULTS: In multivariate analysis, tobacco users (either tobacco chewing/smoking or both) (adjusted OR 5.1, 95% CI 3.6-7.3), tobacco chewing (adjusted OR 3.2, 95% CI 2.2-4.6), smoking (adjusted OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.9-4.4), and alcohol consumption (adjusted OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.1-2.2) was the strongest determinants of hypertension. A dose-response relation was found between the number of cigarettes smoked per day (χ2 for trend = 26.07; p < 0.0001) and the amount of alcohol consumption per day (χ2 for trend = 24.26; p < 0.0001) and the risk of hypertension. PARs were 70.3% (95% CI 63.0-77.5) for tobacco use, 45.3% (95% CI 37.1-53.4) for tobacco chewing, 31.5% (95% CI 21.3-40.9) for smoking, and 33.6% (95% CI 22.9-44.4) for alcohol consumption. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that incident hypertension cases are largely attributable to the habit of tobacco use and alcohol consumption. Therefore, changing these selected lifestyle factors needs to be prioritized as a major strategy for reducing incidence of hypertension in our population.

The prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of beta-hemolytic streptococci colonizing the throats of schoolchildren in Assam, India.

INTRODUCTION: Studies on the carriage rate of beta-hemolytic streptococci among children form an important component of public health practice to prevent disease complications such as rheumatic fever/rheumatic heart disease, nephritis, and other local or systemic infections. METHODOLOGY: Throat swabs collected from asymptomatic schoolchildren were inoculated into appropriate media for isolation of beta-hemolytic streptococci. They were identified by standard biochemical methods and sero-grouped. Antibiotic sensitivity was evaluated using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Beta-hemolytic streptococci were isolated from 106 (7.7%) out of the 1,384 throat swabs and Group F was the predominant sero-group isolated. The highest resistance observed among all the beta-hemolytic streptococci was to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole.

Prevalence of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) gene exon 7 Glu298Asp variant in North Eastern India.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Endothelial nitric oxide is a potent vasodilator and impairment of its generation brought about by gene polymorphism is considered a major predictor for several diseases. A single nucleotide polymorphism G894T within exon 7 of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS-7) gene, resulting in a replacement of glutamic acid by aspartic acid, has been studied as a putative candidate gene for cardiovascular diseases. The pattern of eNOS-7 Glu298Asp variant in the Indian population is poorly known. The present study was planned to determine the prevalence of the variant of this gene among tea garden community in Assam, North-East India with high prevalence of hypertension. METHODS: Study participants of both sex aged ≥18 yr were recruited randomly from temporary field clinics established in tea gardens of Dibrugarh, Assam. Genomic DNA was extracted from 409 subjects by the conventional phenol-chloroform method. The prevalence of the eNOS exon 7 Glu298Asp variant was determined by polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. RESULTS: The study population was in Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium. The frequency of the eNOS GG, GT and TT genotypes was found to be 75, 22 and 3 per cent respectively and did not show any significant difference in gender wise analysis. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed that the prevalence of the homozygous GG genotype was high (75%) and the rare mutant genotype (homozygous, TT) was 3 per cent in a population at risk with cardiovascular disease. Such population-based data on various polymorphisms can ultimately be exploited in pharmacogenomics.