Browsing by Autor "Zareena Fathah"

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Blood scarcity at the blood banks during COVID-19 pandemic and strategies to promote blood donations: current knowledge and futuristic vision
(2021) Ranjit Sah; Alfonso J. Rodríguez‐Morales; Zareena Fathah; Sunil Shrestha; Rachana Mehta; Asmita Priyadarshini Khatiwada; Ruchı Tıwarı; Khan Sharun; Ranjan K. Mohapatra; Manish Dhawan
The course of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has significantly affected the healthcare systems in multiple ways, the programs of control and the management of patients with other infectious diseases as well as with chronic and acute non-communicable diseases, including those conditions requiring blood transfusions. Blood donations have been decreasing over time in multiple countries with their expected consequences. Although the spread of SARS-CoV-2 has not been detected via blood transfusion, the increasing fear and anxiety among communities have led to a substantial decrease in blood donations. Several research groups have raised concerns about the consequences associated with the scarcity of blood. However, it is critical to understand the underlying causes of the sharp decline in blood donations, as well as the consequences. Hence, we discuss the impact of blood scarcity at the blood banks during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as strategies to promote blood donations, given the experience in some countries with this situation.
Diagnostic performance of GeneXpert MTB/RIF assay compared to conventional Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture for diagnosis of pulmonary and extrapulmonary tuberculosis, Nepal
(2021) Raina Chaudhary; Sabita Bhatta; Alina Singh; Manoj Pradhan; Brijendra Shrivastava; Y I Singh; Ranjit Sah; Zareena Fathah; Rachana Mehta; Ali A. Rabaan
Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It is a global health problem and major cause of death in resource-limited countries like Nepal. Timely diagnosis with sensitive testing methods could assist in early management of the disease. This study was conducted to compare the diagnostic performance of GeneXpert MTB/RIF and conventional acid-fast staining with M. tuberculosis culture. The study was carried out in the Department of Microbiology, Shree Birendra Army Hospital, Nepal. Samples (n=500) were tested with a GeneXpert MTB/RIF assay and acid-fast bacilli (AFB) smear microscopy. All samples were sent for M. tuberculosis conventional culture by the German-Nepal Tuberculosis Project, Kathmandu, Nepal (GENETUP). Out of a total 500 pulmonary and extrapulmonary samples tested, 97 samples were positive for M. tuberculosis by GeneXpert MTB/RIF assay. Out of the positive samples, only 95 samples were found positive by the culture method. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of AFB microscopy was 45.3%, 99.5%, 99.5% and 88.5%, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV of GeneXpert MTB/RIF was found to be 100%, 99.5%, 97.5% and 100%, respectively compared to the gold standard culture method. The GeneXpert MTB/RIF test was comparable with culture diagnosis of both pulmonary and extrapulmonary tuberculosis cases.
SARS-CoV-2 and Orientia tsutsugamushi co-infection in a young teen, Nepal: Significant burden in limited-resource countries in Asia?
(2021) Anup Bastola; Ranjit Sah; Sagar Kumar Rajbhandari; Runa Jha; Zareena Fathah; Bimal Sharma Chalise; Bikesh Shrestha; Rajesh Shah; Pujan Balla; Richa Nepal
Scrub typhus is caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi, transmitted through bites of infected chiggers (larval mites). During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, reports of co-infections with endemic pathogens are increasing around the world. Disease with similar clinical presentation may mask other disease diagnosis and increase the morbidity and mortality of the patients. We report co-infection between severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and O. tsutsugamushi in a patient in Nepal presenting with fever, headache, retro-orbital pain, generalized body ache, and knee joints pain with a history of dry cough and dyspnea at night. Since scrub typhus is prevalent and considerate as one of the public health consents in Asian countries and the possible overlapping clinical manifestation with other infections including COVID-19, a further investigation required to determine the burden of SARS-CoV-2 and O. tsutsugamushi co-infection in scrub typhus-endemic countries in Asia.
THE FIRST REPORT OF A POSSIBLE SARS-CoV-2 REINFECTION IN NEPAL
(2021) Ranjit Sah; Namrata Roy; Alfonso J. Rodríguez‐Morales; Aman Mishra; Santa Kumar Das; Laxman Shrestha; Yogendra Prasad Singh; Niranjan Prasad Shah; Hari Prasad Kattel; Zareena Fathah
Since August 2020, a growing number of confirmed SARS-CoV-2 cases, after approximately three months, in most of them, again presented a new infection episode, which has been defined as reinfection. So far, no cases have been reported in Nepal, and still there is limited the number of them, especially of those fully confirmed. Here, we report a case and discuss its multiple implications in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.