Prevalence and pattern of refractive errors among school-going children in district Baramulla, Kashmir: A cross sectional study.

PURPOSE: Uncorrected refractive error is one of the most important causes of visual impairment worldwide. Addressing childhood vision impairment (VI) is one of the main goals of the World Health Organization (WHO) to combat blindness strategies. OBJECTIVE: To ascertain the prevalence and pattern of refractive errors among children aged 10 to 16 years in Baramulla district, Kashmir. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 680 school children during an eye camp under the school health program of the national program for control of blindness. The screening was conducted in four schools in Baramulla district, Kashmir. The schools were selected using the non-probability convenient sampling technique. RESULTS: A total of 680 school children from classes sixth to tenth aged 10-16 years participated in the study. Out of 680 students, 545 (80%) had normal vision, 97 (14%) had impaired visual acuity ranging between 6/9 and 6/24, and 38 (6%) had severe VI ranging from 6/36 to 6/60. Among the various types of refractive errors, myopia was the most prevalent affecting 54 children. Age distribution of refractive errors showed myopia to be more prevalent in the age group 13-14 years (16, 14 cases), hypermetropia was more prevalent in the age group 14-15 years (10, 8 cases), and astigmatism 5 cases in the age group 14-15 years. CONCLUSION: The study provides useful and baseline data about the refractive error amongst the school children of the Baramulla district. A larger study needs to be conducted in all schools of the state to get a clear picture of RE and other eye-related problems to detect vision problems earlier.

Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 specific IgG antibodies in District Srinagar, northern India - A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Prevalence of IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 infection provides essential information for deciding disease prevention and mitigation measures. We estimate the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 specific IgG antibodies in District Srinagar. METHODS: 2906 persons >18 years of age selected from hospital visitors across District Srinagar participated in the study. We tested samples for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 specific IgG antibodies using a chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay-based serologic test. RESULTS: Age- and gender-standardized seroprevalence was 3.6% (95% CI 2.9% to 4.3%). Age 30-69 years, a recent history of symptoms of an influenza-like-illness, and a history of being placed under quarantine were significantly related to higher odds of the presence of SARS-CoV-2 specific IgG antibodies. The estimated number of SARS-CoV-2 infections during the two weeks preceding the study, adjusted for test performance, was 32602 with an estimated (median) infection-to-known-case ratio of 46 (95% CI 36 to 57). CONCLUSIONS: The seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 specific IgG antibodies is low in the District. A large proportion of the population is still susceptible to the infection. A sizeable number of infections remain undetected, and a substantial proportion of people with symptoms compatible with COVID-19 are not tested.