The World Health Organization (WHO) has cautioned on specific respiratory symptoms for suspecting an individual of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Meanwhile, many suspects are reporting dysfunctions of smell and taste. This study aimed to investigate the percentage of positive COVID-19 who had associated loss of sensation as detected by psychophysical testing. Eight hundred and thirty two suspects were enrolled. At the time of sampling for testing COVID-19 status, olfactory dysfunction (OD) and gustatory dysfunction (GD) tested using odorants like coffee and camphor and solutions of sweet and salty solvants, respectively. The strength of the association between test results of these sensory losses and COVID-19 positivity was assessed by calculating sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values. The responses in positive and negative individuals presented as age-adjusted odds ratio with 95% CI. Seventy six (9.1%) [95% CI: 7.4%-11.3%] of 832 suspects were tested positive for COVID-19. Paediatric cases of age between 2 and 10 years could not reply appropriately, hence OD in 134 and GD in 118 could not be tested. Anosmia or hyposmia was present in 62 (81.6%) and ageusia in 64 (84.2%) of the total 76 confirmed cases. The OD and GD dysfunctions were significantly higher among confirmed COVID-19 cases compared to negative subjects [ Adj OR (95% CI): Smell 3.22 (1.77-5.88); taste 3.05 (1.61-5.76), p \ 0.001]. In this study, testing of smell and taste dysfunctions had higher sensitivity in identifying recent-onset loss of sensations in COVID-19 cases. Hence, it may be used as a simple and cost-effective screening test.

Introduction. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic emerged as a global health crisis in 2020. The first case in India was reported on 30 January 2020 and the disease spread throughout the country within months. Old persons, immunocompromised patients and persons with co-morbidities, especially of the respiratory system, have a more severe and often fatal outcome to the disease. In this study we have analysed the socio-demographic trend of the COVID-19 outbreak in Nagpur and adjoining districts. Methods. The study was conducted from April to December 2020. Nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs collected from suspected cases of COVID-19 were tested using reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) at a diagnostic molecular laboratory at a tertiary care hospital in central India. Patient-related data on demographic profile and indication for testing were obtained from laboratory requisition forms. The results of the inconclusive repeat samples were also noted. The data were analysed using SPSS v24.0. Results. A total of 46 898 samples were received from April to December 2020, of which 41 410 were included in the study; 90.6 % of samples belonged to adults and 9.4 % belonged to children. The overall positivity rate in the samples was 19.3 %, although it varied over the period. The yield was significantly high in the elderly age group (25.5 %) and symptomatic patients (22.6 %). On repeat testing of patients whose first test was inconclusive, 17.1% were positive. There was a steady increase of both the number of tests and the rate of positivity in the initial period of the study, followed by a sharp decline. Conclusion. We can conclude that rigorous contact tracing and COVID-appropriate behaviour (wearing a mask, social distancing and hand hygiene) are required to break the chain of transmission. Elderly people are more susceptible to infection and should follow stringent precautions. It is also important to perform repeat testing of those individuals whose tests are inconclusive with fresh samples so that no positive cases are missed. Understanding of demographics is crucial for better management of this crisis and proper allocation of resources.

Introduction: Prevalence of RTIs in females are very high and vary widely country to country and also region. Aim: The present study was aimed to look distribution of common RTIs in symptomatic females attending obstetrics and gynaecology OPD of a rural tertiary care hospital in Central India. Methods: Four high vaginal swabs and blood for serum was collected from each patient. Sample were processed for wet mount, gram stain, culture,VDRL and Mod. TPHA. Results: 500 females were screened for presence of symptoms of RTIs and 33.4% (167/500) had one or the other symptoms of RTIs. Candidiasis (25.14%) including non albicans candida and Bacterial vaginosis (23.95%) were the most prevalent infections followed by Trichomonas vaginalis 12/167 (7.1%) and syphilis 3/167 (1.7%). Conclusion: We observed laboratory confirmed predominance of candidiasis and BV in both urban and rural population and in pregnant as well as non pregnant females. Presence of considerable amount of infections in pregnant females calls for a routine screening of RTIs in this group. Also, clinically diagnosed Candida infection should be confirmed to species level as the NAC are more resistant to treatment leading to recurrent Vulvovaginal candidiasis.

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