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National Institute of Communicable Diseases |
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ANNUAL REPORT 1997 |
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ZOONOSIS DIVISION The
Zoonosis Division directs its activities towards communicable diseases which a
man can acquire from animals. The activities of NICD branch, Bangalore are also
supervised by the Division. In consonane with the broad functions of NICD, this
Division provides specialised laboratory services, supports outbreak
investigation, imparts training and undertakes research in various aspects of
zoonotic infections. The
Division has Reference Laboratories for plague, kala-azar, arboviral infections
and leptospirosis. It has also been recognised by the World Health Organisation
as WHO Collaborative Centre for Rabies Epidemiology for South East Asia
Regions. Major activities of individual laboratories Rabies Laboratory §
Diagnostic
services for suspected rabid animals and hydrophobia cases using advanced
laboratory techniques. §
Post-marketing
serosurveillance of tissue culture antirabies vaccines. §
Seroconversion
studies after pre-and post-exposure treatment both in human and animal. §
Consultation
services for antirabies treatment. §
Training
of personnel in laboratory techniques on rabies. Arbovirus
Laboratory §
Serological
diagnosis of arboviral infections like JE, Dengue, W.N. and Chickengunya §
Investigation
on serum samples received from various outbreaks of JE and Dengue in the
country. §
Standardization
of advanced laboratory techniques for use in serological diagnosis of arboviral
infections. Kala-azar
Laboratory §
Diagnostic
services for kala-azar. §
Isolation,
cryopreservation and maintenance of Leishmania strains. §
Preparation
of antigen for all serological procedures. §
Supply
of antigen on demand to other laboratories in India as well as to other
countries like Nepal. §
Supply
of L.donovani strains to other labs on demand. §
Consultation
services for the treatment of kala-azar patients. §
Analyses
of samples received from various outbreaks. Toxoplasma
Laboratory §
Diagnostic
services. §
Maintenance
of Rh strains of Toxoplasma gondii in
Swiss albino mice. §
Preparation
of antigen for all serological procedures. §
Consultation
services for the treatment of toxoplasmosis and follow-up of the patients. Plague
Laboratory §
Co-ordination
of anti plague activities of the Plague Control Units of the states. §
Serological
examination of sera collected from man, wild and domestic rodents and other
animals for the presence of plague antibodies. §
Invesgitation
of any suspected outbreaks of plague. §
Identify
all the suspected Y.pestis like
organisms isolated from the field specimens. §
Training
courses on plague surveillance/control methods for State Health Personnel. Leptospira
Laboratory §
Diagnostic
services §
Investigationof
the samples received from various outbreaks. Food-borne
Infection Laboratory §
Diagnostic
services for Brucella, Salmonella, Rickettsia, Hydatid Infections. §
Investigation
of any outbreak of Food borne infections. Plague Surveillance Unit, Bangalore §
Studies
on seasonal prevalence of wild rodents. §
Serological
examination of wild rodents for evidence of plague infection. §
Investigation
of rat-falls to exclude plague etiology. §
Identification
of rodent fleas. §
Susceptibility
studies of fleas to insecticides. §
Training
of para-medical/medical personnel in plague surveillance/control methods. §
Co-ordination
of the plague surveillance control activities of the State Plague Control Unit.
Diagnostic Services
Research Projects 1. Seroepidemiology of kala-azar The
number of cases of Kala-azar reporting to various Hospitals is continuously
increasing. Indirect Fluorescent Antibody Test is the sensitive and specific
test for serological diagnosis of kala-azar and for assessment of response to
treatment. Out of 219 samples tested, 87 were found to be positive. The
resistance to Sodium Antimony has increased and unresponsiveness to Pentamidine
is increasing. 2. Production and Standardization of
Leishmania antigen for serological tests Twenty
strains of Leishmania Isolated from patients and two refrence strains are being
maintained in the Laboratory. The antigens are being prepared from these
reference strains. 3. Isolation and Characterisation of
Strains of Leishmania Parasite
is being isolated from Bone-marrow/spleen aspirates of patients in Tobie’s
medium. Out of 276 samples, 86 were found to be positive for L.D. bodies and
parasite was isolated in 25 out of 32 inoculated for cultures PCR techniques
for characterisation of strains of Leishmania is being standardised in
collaboration with Biotechnology Division. 4. Seroepidemiology of Brucellosis in
rural and urban population To
screen PUO cases for brucellosis and to find out the prevalence rate in rural
and urban population. During the year 1997, 174 sera samples of suspected
brucellosis cases were tested by brucella standard tube agglutination, 9
patients showed positive titre for brucellosis. 5. Serological studies in
Toxoplasmosis During
the year 1996, 2206 sera samples of women with B.O.H. and infants were tested
by Indirect Fluorescent Antibody (IFA) test. 192 patients showed positive titre
for Toxoplasma. Serial follow-up of 22 patients after repeated courses of
treatment showed a good response to the therapy and a fall in antibody titre. 6. To study the prevalence of
toxoplasmosis in cases with Choroidoretinitis 19
blood samples from patients with choroidoretinitis and impaired vision were
tested for presence of toxoplasma antibodies. Three (15.7%) were found to be
positive with antibody titre of 1:64, 1:64 and 1:256. All were males in age
group 20-35 years. 7. Serological studies in hydatidosis/
seroepidemiology and prevalence in man and animals During
the year 1997, 27 sera samples of suspected cases of hydatid disease were
tested by Indirect Haemmagglutination Test (IHT) two patient showed positive
titre for hydatid disease. 8. Seroepidemiology of rickettsiosis
in human and animal population Sera
samples from PUO cases were screened and tested by Weil-Felix test for
rickettsiosis. In the year 1997, 8 sera samples from PUO cases from different
Hospitals of Delhi were tested for rickettsiosis by weil-felix test. Four sera
were positive for rickettsial disease. 9. Seroepidemiology of human
leptospirosis In
human out of 265 samples from patients with Jaundice, 87 were found to be
positive for leptospira antibodies during the year 1997. 10. Seroepidemiology of leptospirosis
in wild and domestic rodents in leptospira endemic area of Southern India 150
sera samples collected for plague were also screened for the presence of
leptospira antibodies. A positivity of 3.0 percent was found which points
towards prevalence of leptospira infection. 11. Survey of intestinal parasite
infestation in the dog population in Delhi 135 dog
stool samples were screened for identification of intestinal parasites/eggs. 10
samples were found to be positive for ascariasis. Out of these 3 were from dogs
and 7 were from semipetstray dog. 12. Surveillance of arbovirus
infections in mand and animals During
the year 1997, 1488 blood samples and 33 CSF samples from PUO cases from
outbreaks in States of Haryana, U.P., Rajasthan, Gujarat, Karnataka and various
hospitals of Delhi and Nepal were tested for various arboviral diseases. Out of
which, 456 blood samples and no CSF samples were positive for antibodies to
Group B arboviruses. 13. Seroepidemiology of Japanese
Encephalitis To
study the activity of J.E. virus in both endemic and non-endemic areas of
different states. Out of 129 human serum samples and CSF samples 41 were
positive for antibodies against J.E. virus. Nine of pig sera tested were found
to be Negative. 14. Survey of rabies infection in dog
population The
main objective of the study is to determine the prevalence of rabies infection
in the dog population in Delhi. A total of 32 dog brain specimen were tested by
Seller’s Staining Fluorescent Antibody Test and Mouse Inoculation tests. Out of
these 17 samples were found positive and rest were negative. 15. To study the epidemiology of
Rabies in man and animals To
study the Epidemiology of Rabies in Man and Animals as a baseline data for
effective implementation of rabies control in the country. Detailed data was
collected from human cases bitten by animals and 15 from suspected hydrophobia
cases. 40 brain samples received from suspected rabid animals were processed
for diagnosis by standard laboratory techniques. Out of 40 brain specimens from
diffeent animals in Delhi and other areas, 18 were round to be positive for
rabies. 16. Detection of rabies neutralising
antibodies by rapid techniques A total
of 258 sera collected after pre and post-exposure immunization of humans were
processed for antirabies by CIEP methods. 15 samples collected from suspected
cases of hydrophobia were also tested. Antibody titre assessment was also
carried out on 5 animals sera samples. Modified counter-immunoelectrophresis
has been found to be most economical, sensitive and specific test for
antirabies antibody determination. 17. Post-marketing sero-surveillance
of anti-rabies vaccine |
