Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a zoonotic pathogen capable of causing severe respiratory disease in humans. Although dromedary camels are considered as a major reservoir host, the MERS-CoV infection dynamics in camels are not fully understood. Through surveillance in Pakistan, nasal (n = 776) and serum (n = 1050) samples were collected from camels between November 2015 and February 2018. Samples were collected from animal markets, free-roaming herds and abattoirs. An in-house ELISA was developed to detect IgG against MERS-CoV. A total of 794 camels were found seropositive for MERS-CoV. Prevalence increased with the age and the highest seroprevalence was recorded in camels aged [ 10 years (81.37%) followed by those aged 3.1-10 years (78.65%) and B 3 years (58.19%). Higher prevalence was observed in female (78.13%) as compared to male (70.70%). Of the camel nasal swabs, 22 were found to be positive by RT-qPCR though with high Ct values. Moreover, 2,409 human serum samples were also collected from four provinces of Pakistan during 2016-2017. Among the sampled population, 840 humans were camel herders. Although we found a high rate of MERS-CoV antibody positive dromedaries (75.62%) in Pakistan, no neutralizing antibodies were detected in humans with and without contact to camels.

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Background: Liver diseases are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Punica granatum may have free radical scavenging activity and it can be used for the prevention and treatment of liver damage. Objective: To observe the hepatoprotective effects of Punica granatum on CCl 4 induced liver damage in rats. Methods: The experimental study was carried out in the Dept of Physiology, Dhaka Medical Ccollege, Dhaka from July 2013 to June 2014. For this purpose, 36 wistar albino rats were studied. After acclimatization for 7 days, they were divided into two groups-control and experimental group. Control group were subdivided into BC (Baseline control), CC (CCl 4 treated control) and SC (Silymarin treated control). Experimental group were subdivided into CP-APT (CCl 4 pretreated and aqueous extract of pomegranate treated), CP-EPT (CCl 4 pretreated and ethanolic extract of pomegranate treated) and APP-CT (Aqueous extract of pomegranate pretreated and CCl 4 treated). Each sub group consisted of 6 rats. All rats received basal diet for 8 days. In addition to basal diet on 8 th day, BC received single dose olive oil and CC received CCl 4 . Rats of SC received silymarin for 8consecutive days . In experimental groups, CP-APT received aqueous extract of Pomegranate and CP-EPT received ethanolic extract of Pomegranate for 8consecutive days. Moreover, APP-CT received aqueous extract of Pomegranate for 8 consecutive days and CCl 4 only on 8 th day. All rats were sacrificed on 9 th day and then blood samples were collected. Serum ALT and AST levels were estimated by using standard laboratory kits. Statistical analysis was done one way ANOVA and Bonferroni test. Results: The mean serum AST and ALT levels were significantly (p<0.001) higher in CC in comparison to those of BC. Serum AST and ALT levels of all experimental groups were significantly (P<0.001) lower than CC. Silymarin used as a standard reference also exhibited significant hepatoprotective activity against CCl 4 induced hepatotoxicity Conclusion: From the result of present study it can be concluded that, Pomegranate may have hepatoprotective effect by lowering ALT and AST levels.

Objectives: To determine risk factors of cervical cancer and role of healthcare providers regarding awareness and counseling of PAP-smear. Methods: It was case-control study conducted from Jan-2021 till may-2021 at two tertiary care hospitals of Karachi South. The intended sample size was 255 subjects as 105 cases and 150 controls. The inclusion criteria were diagnosed cases of CA Cervix and under the age of 50 years. Controls were recruited from the general population. All the data were entered into SPSS version 23. The odds ratio was calculated to compare the risks of occurring CA cervix among cases and controls. The relationship of risk factors was assessed by binary logistic regression. P-value < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: Generally, highly significant p-value (<0.000) was observed; depicted a positive association for a level of education, age at first intercourse, and number of parity in cases of CA cervix and controls (OR=4.3). The correct predicted rate was 68.8% for having CA cervix among controls due to family history, the knowledge of PAP smear screening, ever counseled for a PAP smear, ever tested for a PAP smear, never been tested for PAP smear due to cost. Conclusion: Educational level, age at first intercourse, number of parity was the risk factors of CA cervix. Family history of CA Cervix, knowledge of cervical cancer screening, ever counseled for PAP smear, ever tested for PAP smear, never been tested for PAP smear due to cost were significantly predicted for CA cervix among controls. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.4.4969 How to cite this:Sadia H, Shahwani IM, BANA KFM. Risk factors of cervical cancer and role of primary healthcare providers regarding PAP smears counseling: Case control study. Pak J Med Sci. 2022;38(4):---------. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.4.4969 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Background: Serum LDH level is an useful biomarker for cellular injury which may reflect the severity of preeclampsia and it’s level might be a guideline for the management of patient.Objective: To assess serum LDH level in preeclamptic women.Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted in the Department of Physiology, Dhaka Medical College (DMC), Dhaka from January to December 2014. Total 105 pregnant women during third trimester (28-40 weeks) aged 18 to 35 years were selected from the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology of DMC Hospital, Dhaka for this study. Among them, 35 were mild preeclamptic and 35 were severe preeclamptic women. Age matched 35 normotensive pregnant women were control. Serum LDH level was estimated by continuous spectrophotometric method.Results: In this study, serum LDH level was significantly higher (P<0.001) in preeclamptics compared to those of control. Again, this value was significantly higher in severe preeclamptics than those of mild preeclamptics. Moreover, 82.9% mild preeclamptic and 91.4% severe preeclamptic women had abnormally elevated serum LDH level (>200 U/L).Conclusion: From this study, it can be concluded that elevated serum LDH level is associated with severity of preeclampsia.Bangladesh Soc Physiol. 2015, December; 10(2): 71-75