Purpose: Diabetes mellitus (DM) and diabetic retinopathy (DR) contribute to ocular morbidity and are emerging as diseases with significant public health impact. Our aim was to assess the countrywide prevalence of DR and sight-threatening DR (STDR) among persons with diabetes and to evaluate the coverage of DR examinations among them. Methods: The present survey was planned to estimate the burden of DR in the population aged ≥50 years for assisting in the planning and prioritization of diabetic eye services. For this survey, 21 districts with a high prevalence of DM were selected among the 31 districts where the national blindness and visual impairment survey was conducted. The total sample size was 63,000 people aged 50 years and above. DR was assessed by dilated fundus examination with indirect ophthalmoscope and was graded according to Scottish DR grading. STDR included severe nonproliferative DR, proliferative DR, and clinically significant macular edema. Results: The prevalence of diabetes in the surveyed population was 11.8%. Among them, one-third were newly diagnosed DM, that is, diagnosed at the time of the survey. The study revealed that the prevalence of DR among persons with diabetes was 16.9%, the prevalence of STDR was 3.6%, and the prevalence of mild retinopathy was 11.8%. Risk factors for DR in the current study were duration of diabetes (>10 years, OR 4.8, 95% CI: 3.3–6.9), poor glycemic control (≥200 mg/dL, OR: 1.5, 95% CI: 1.2–1.7) and insulin treatment (OR: 2.6, 95% CI: 1.7–4.1). Conclusion: The current study highlights the substantial burden of DM and DR in India and the critical need to adopt a coordinated and multisectoral approach to reduce their prevalence. There is a need for early identification of persons with diabetes and their routine screening for DR along with availability of treatment facilities.

Molecular markers have emerged as useful tools to assess the genetic diversity across crops. In lentil, molecular markers are limited. The objective of the study was to explore crossgenera transferability of sequence tagged microsatellite site (STMS) markers from related legumes and assess their utility in lentils. Thirty lentil {Lens culinaris Medik. subsp. culinaris) accessions were evaluated for genetic similarity analysis using cross-genera STMS markers. Thirty-nine STMS markers amplified 68 alíeles with an average of 1.74 alíeles per locus. Twenty lentil-specific STMS markers produced a total of 36 amplicons, of which 90% (18) markers were polymorphic. A maximum of four alíeles were obtained with primers SSR13 and SSR19. Of 47 STMS markers from other legume genera, only 19 markers produced 32 scorable amplicons, and only 58% (11) of the amplified markers exhibited polymorphism. The polymorphism information content values observed with lentil specific markers ranged from 0.02 to 0.99, while for transferrable markers it ranged from 0.06 to 0.84. Maximum genetic similarity was observed between 'NDL1' and 'LH84-8' (0.942) and minimum between 'PL234' and 'Precoz' (0.709). The dendrogram based on Jaccard's similarity coefficients showed limited genetic variability among the cultivars included in the present study. A combination of lentil-specific and transferrable STMS markers was successfully used for identification of genetic similarity in lentil germplasm.

The Nipah virus outbreak in Kerala, India, claimed 21 lives out of 23 cases, with a case fatality rate of 88.9% (deaths/laboratory-confirmed cases, 16/18). ► This outbreak highlights the ongoing need for laboratory training, increased diagnostic capacity for Nipah virus and pathogens of high consequence, the need for improved hospital infection control and the importance of rapid detection and response.

The recessive adult plant leaf rust resistance (APR) gene Lr48 in CSP44 was tagged using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. The population was phenotyped under controlled conditions using pathotype 77-5 (121R63-1) at both seedling and adult plant stages. Four microsatellite markers Xwmc175, Xwmc332, Xwmc627 and Xwmc149 were linked to Lr48 and mapped to chromosome 2BL with distances of 10.3, 2.5, 12.6 and 20.7 cM from Lr48 covering a length of 31 cM. Lr48 was placed between markers Xwmc175 and Xwmc332. The earlier reported location of Lr48 on 2BS could not be confirmed. The markers were validated on another population and the closest SSR marker, Xwmc332, was specific to resistance allele Lr48 and did not amplify in wheat lines carrying other resistance genes, thus enabling breeders to pyramid Lr48 with other leaf rust resistance genes.