The American Journal of Tropical Medicine Hygiene
Kiran K. Dayanand, Punnath Kishore, Valleesha Chandrashekar, Rajeshwara N. Achur, Susanta K. Ghosh, Srinivas B. Kakkilaya, Suchetha N. Kumari, Satyanarayan Tiwari, Archith Boloor, Rajeshwari Devi, D. Channe Gowda. Malaria Severity in Mangaluru City in the Southwestern Coastal Region of India. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Feb 2019;100(2):275-279. Abstract
Abstract
Dakshina Kannada district in the Southwestern region of Karnataka state, India, including Mangaluru city is endemic to malaria. About 80% of malaria infections in Mangaluru and its surrounding areas are caused by Plasmodium vivax and the remainder is due to Plasmodium falciparum. Malaria-associated clinical complications significantly occur in this region. Here, we report the pathological conditions of 41 cases of fatal severe malaria, admitted to the district government hospital in Mangaluru city during January 2013 through December 2016. The results of clinical, hematological, and biochemical analyses showed that most of these severe malaria cases were associated with thrombocytopenia, anemia, metabolic acidosis, acute respiratory distress, and single or multi-organ dysfunction involving liver, kidney, and brain. Of the 41 fatal malaria cases, 24, 10, and seven patients had P. vivax, P. falciparum, and P. vivax and P. falciparum mixed infections, respectively. These data suggest that besides P. falciparum that is known to extensively cause severe and fatal malaria illnesses, P. vivax causes fatal illnesses substantially in this region, an observation that is consistent with recent findings in other regions.
Malaria Journal
Kiran K. Dayanand, Kishore Punnath, Valleesha Chandrashekar, Rajeshwara N. Achur, Srinivas B. Kakkilaya, Susanta K. Ghosh, Suchetha Kumari, D. Channe Gowda. Malaria prevalence in Mangaluru city area in the southwestern coastal region of India. Malaria Journal. 2017;16:492 Published: 19 December 2017. Full Text | PDF | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-017-2141-0
Breathe
A rare cause for a common symptom. M. Vishnu Sharma, B. Srinivas Kakkilaya, Irfan A. Shekh, Alka C. Bhat, D.S. Harsha. Breathe. 2016 12: e64-e74; DOI: 10.1183/20734735.006716. Full Text at http://breathe.ersjournals.com/content/12/3/e64
The American Journal of Tropical Medicine Hygiene
Malaria Transmission Under an Unusual Circumstance Causing Death in Two Siblings. Kiran K. Dayanand, Kishore Punnath, Valleesha N. Chandrashekar, Srinivas B. Kakkilaya, Susanta K. Ghosh, Sathyanarayan N. Tiwari, Rajeshwara N. Achur, Sudarshan S. Kadambi and D. Channe Gowda. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2016;16-0082 Published online May 2, 2016, doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.16-0082. Available at http://www.ajtmh.org/content/early/2016/04/28/ajtmh.16-0082.abstract
Abstract
Two school-going siblings from a family residing in a presumed malaria non-endemic locality ∼90 km from Mangalore city in southwestern India contracted Plasmodium falciparum infection. In both cases, misunderstanding of initial clinical symptoms as due to viral hepatitis resulted in progression to severe malaria before malaria treatment was initiated. Despite treatment at a tertiary hospital, the children died of cerebral malaria and multi-organ dysfunction. Active case detection in the affected locality suggested that the infection was transmitted from infected individuals who worked in nearby malaria-endemic areas and periodically visited their families. A lesson from this study is that lethal falciparum malaria can be transmitted in regions of India, believed to be non-endemic for the disease, resulting in fatal outcomes if diagnosis is missed or delayed. Implementation of effective surveillance and control measures as well as preparedness for malaria detection and diagnosis are necessary in areas that are potentially disposed to malaria transmission even though they are presumed to be non-endemic.
Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH) Assays for Diagnosing Malaria
Jyotsna Shah, Olivia Mark, Helena Weltman, Nicolas Barcelo, Wai Lo, Danuta Wronska, Srinivas Kakkilaya, Aravinda Rao, Shalia T. Bhat, Ruchi Sinha, Sabah Omar, Peter O’bare, Manuel Moro, Robert H. Gilman, Nick Harris. Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH) Assays for Diagnosing Malaria in Endemic Areas. PLOS One. September 2, 2015. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0136726. Full Text at http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0136726 [Times of India Report | Bangalore Mirror Report | Deccan Herald Report | Daiji World Report]
Abstract
Malaria is a responsible for approximately 600 thousand deaths worldwide every year. Appropriate and timely treatment of malaria can prevent deaths but is dependent on accurate and rapid diagnosis of the infection. Currently, microscopic examination of the Giemsa stained blood smears is the method of choice for diagnosing malaria. Although it has limited sensitivity and specificity in field conditions, it still remains the gold standard for the diagnosis of malaria. Here, we report the development of a fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) based method for detecting malaria infection in blood smears and describe the use of an LED light source that makes the method suitable for use in resource-limited malaria endemic countries. The Plasmodium Genus (P-Genus) FISH assay has a Plasmodium genus specific probe that detects all five species of Plasmodium known to cause the disease in humans. The P. falciparum (PF) FISH assay and P. vivax (PV) FISH assay detect and differentiate between P. falciparum and P. vivax respectively from other Plasmodium species. The FISH assays are more sensitive than Giemsa. The sensitivities of P-Genus, PF and PV FISH assays were found to be 98.2%, 94.5% and 98.3%, respectively compared to 89.9%, 83.3% and 87.9% for the detection of Plasmodium, P. falciparum and P. vivax by Giemsa staining respectively.
