An outbreak of viral encephalitis occurred in northern India in 2006. Attempts to identify an etiologic agent in cerebrospinal fluid by using reverse transcription–PCR showed positivity to enterovirus (EV) in 66 (21.6%) of 306 patients. Sequencing and phylogenetic analyses of PCR products from 59 (89.3%) of 66 specimens showed similarity with EV-89 and EV-76 sequences.

NRCs provide life-saving care for children with SAM; however, the protocols and therapeutic foods currently used need to be improved to ensure the full recovery of all children admitted.

ObjectiveOur primary objective was to evaluate the effect of peer counselling by mother support groups (MSG's) in improving the infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices in the community.MethodsWe conducted this repeated-measure before and after study in the Lalitpur district of Uttar Pradesh, India between 2006 and 2011. We assessed the IYCF practices before and after creating MSG's within the community. The feeding practices were reassessed at two time points–2 (T1) and 5 years (T2) after the intervention and compared with that of the pre-intervention phase (T0).ResultsThe total population covered by the project from the time of its initiation was 105000. A total of 425 (T0), 480 (T1) and 521 (T2) mother infant pairs were selected from this population. There was significant improvement in the following IYCF practices in the community (represented as %; adjOR (95% CI, p) such as initiation of breast feeding within 1 hour at both T1 (71% vs. 11%); 19.6 (13.6, 28.2, p = <0.0001)and T2 (62% vs. 11%); 13.3 (9.4, 18.9, p = <0.0001); use of prelacteal feeds at both T1 (67% vs. 15%); 12.6 (CI: 9.0, 17.6, p<0.0001) and T2 (67% vs. 5%); 44.4 (28.8, 68.4, p = <0.0001); rates of exclusive breast feeding for 6 months at both T1 (50% vs. 7%); 13.6 (7.6, 25.0, p = <0.0001) and T2 (60% vs. 7%); 20.5 (11.3, 37.2, p = <0.0001); initiation of complementary feeding at T1 (85% vs. 54%); 5.6 (3.6, 8.7, p = <0.0001) and T2 (96% vs. 54%); 22.9 (11.8, 44.1, p = <0.0001) and complementary feeding along with continued breast feeding at both T1 (36% vs. 4.5%); 6 (1.15, 31.4, p = 0.033) and T2 (42% vs. 4.5%); 8.06 (1.96, 49.1, p = 0.005) as compared to pre-intervention period (T0) after adjusting for important social and demographic variables.ConclusionsPeer counseling by MSG's improved the IYCF practices in the district and could be sustained.

Although an autoimmune mechanism has been postulated for acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) complicated by myocarditis, immunomodulatory treatment strategies are still under investigation. To study the role of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) in AES complicated by myocarditis in children age 2-12 years. This nonrandomized study was conducted in a tertiary care teaching hospital from July 2008 to January 2010. A total of 83 consecutive children with AES complicated by myocarditis were enrolled. Diagnosis of myocarditis was based on clinical, electrocardiogram, and echocardiogram findings. Patients were allocated to the two groups based on the days of the week: Those presenting on Monday and Friday were allocated to IVIG treatment (group I), and those presenting on the other days of the week to standard care (group II). Group I (n = 26) patients received IVIG at a dose of 400 mg/kg/day for 5 days in addition to standard care. All baseline and outcome data were recorded prospectively in a prestructured performa. The primary outcomes were mortality and improvement of left-ventricular dysfunction. A total of 83 children were studied: 26 in group I and 57 in group II. The mean (SD) age of the enrolled children was 4.6 years (3.1). The baseline characteristics were comparable between the two groups. A viral etiology could be established in 14 children, with the 2 most common agents isolated being Coxackie virus and enterovirus. Mortality was lower in the IVIG group [n = 1 (3.8 %)] patients compared with the standard care group [n = 13 (22.8 %)] with a relative risk of 0.17 (95 % CI = 0.02, 1.22). The difference in mortality reached borderline significance (p = 0.05). At discharge, mean (SD) ejection fraction improved from 32.8 % (6.31 %) to 49.5 % (9.04 %) in group I patients, which was significantly greater than that of group II (p = 0.001). Use of IVIG seemed to have a beneficial effect in terms of improved clinical outcomes in children with AES complicated by myocarditis. Our findings need further validation before IVIG can be incorporated into the treatment protocol of these children.

We concluded that the single subcutaneous dose of SA 14-14-2 JE vaccine provided moderate effectiveness in Indian children.