Lumpy skin disease (LSD) caused by lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV) inflicts significant economic losses in cattle production with impact on livelihoods of smallholders. This study reports the first occurrence of LSD in cattle in India and analyses epidemiological and genetic characterization data from LSD outbreaks in five districts of Odisha state in August 2019. In all, 182 of 2,539 cattle were affected with an apparent morbidity rate of 7.1% and no mortality. Out of 102 samples from 60 LSD suspected and 17 asymptomatic in-contact cattle tested, 29.87% cattle were positive by capripoxvirus generic PCR and 37.66% were positive by LSDV real-time PCR. All the in-contact cattle tested were negative for LSDV. Among affected cattle, LSDV genome was detected more in scabs (79.16%) than blood (31.81%) and frozen bull semen (20.45%). Differential diagnosis by PCR was negative for pseudo-LSD, buffalopox, cowpox, pseudo-cowpox and bovine papular stomatitis. Five selected PCR and real-time PCRpositive LSDV DNA were sequenced in three genomic regions, P32 (LSDV074), F (LSDV117) and RPO30 (LSDV036). Phylogenetic analysis based on partial P32 and F gene sequences and complete RPO30 gene sequences showed that all the five Indian LSDV strains were identical and clustered with other field strains of LSDV circulating globally. However, the F and RPO30 gene sequence analyses revealed that Indian LSDV strains are genetically closer to the South African NI2490/KSGP-like strains than the strains detected in Europe, which was rather surprising. The present study established the existence of LSDV in India and involvement of LSDV field strains in the outbreaks. Additionally, we provided evidence of LSDV shedding in semen of naturally infected bulls. Further studies are required to determine the source of LSD introduction, extent of spread, modes of transmission and impact on dairy cattle production in India and effective control measures must be undertaken urgently.

Background:Titanium has been the most popular material of choice for dental implantology over the past few decades. Its properties have been found to be most suitable for the success of implant treatment. But recently, zirconia is slowly emerging as one of the materials which might replace the gold standard of dental implant, i.e., titanium.Materials and Methods:Literature was searched to retrieve information about zirconia dental implant and studies were critically analyzed. PubMed database was searched for information about zirconia dental implant regarding mechanical properties, osseointegration, surface roughness, biocompatibility, and soft tissue health around it. The literature search was limited to English language articles published from 1975 to 2015.Results:A total of 45 papers met the inclusion criteria for this review, among the relevant search in the database.Conclusion:Literature search showed that some of the properties of zirconia seem to be suitable for making it an ideal dental implant, such as biocompatibility, osseointegration, favourable soft tissue response and aesthetics due to light transmission and its color. At the same time, some studies also point out its drawbacks. It was also found that most of the studies on zirconia dental implants are short-term studies and there is a need for more long-term clinical trials to prove that zirconia is worth enough to replace titanium as a biomaterial in dental implantology.

Background: Cross contamination of HIV is a real threat today. Dental treatment often includes direct contact with a patient's blood and saliva, therefore dental professionals can be easily exposed to HIV microorganisms. Hence, it is essential to gain insight into dental students' knowledge and attitude towards HIV patients.Method: A cross-sectional survey of 186 clinical year dental students (year 3, 4 and 5) in the 2015-2016 academic session at the Faculty of Dentistry, Melaka-Manipal Medical College (MMMC), Manipal University, Melaka volunteered to participate in the study. A self-administered questionnaire was used to determine their knowledge and attitude towards HIV/AIDS patients.Results: Among 137 respondents (females 74.5% and males 25.6%), 40.9% were Malay, 46.7% were Chinese, 10.2% were Indian and 2.2% were others. The majority had an excellent (41.6%) to good (56.2%) knowledge and only (18%) had a professional attitude. There was a statistically significant association of knowledge with gender (P = 0.009) and ethnicity (P = 0.024), However, no association was found between attitude and gender (P = 0.756) or ethnicity (P = 0.792), or between knowledge and attitude (P = 0.473) of dental students.Conclusion: Dental students' knowledge was not significantly associated with attitude. However, knowledge was associated with gender and ethnicity, but no association was found between age and knowledge and between age, gender, or ethnicity and attitude. Material and MethodA cross-sectional survey was carried out from August to December 2015 at the Faculty of Dentistry, MMMC, Manipal University, Melaka, Malaysia. Taking the size of source population (N = 186) and margin of error (e-0.05), the sample size (n) was calculated as 127 by using the Yamane formula. It was decided that the final sample size would include all clinical year (year 3, 4 and 5) dental students (186) who were enrolled at the Institute in the academic year 2015-2016, to allow for participant dropout. The study was approved by Institutional Research and Ethics Committee of the university. The purpose of the study was explained clearly and, a written consent was obtained from the students. All student participation in the study was voluntary and no incentive was given for completing the survey.The survey instrument was selfadministered questionnaire in the English language, which had been previously used among dental students in Iran (4) and India (7). The questionnaire was made up of four parts.1. Part I focused on the socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents, including gender, age, ethnicity, and batch.2. Part II includes 18 close-ended questions related to knowledge of HIV/AIDS. A total knowledge score was obtained by adding the points given for each true/false question with each correct response scored as two [2] and incorrect responses scored as zero [0]. Hence, a student's total score could range from 0 to 36.The scores (4, 7) were interpreted into four segments: a. < 25% -weak, b. 25%-50% -moderate, c. 51%-75% -good, ...

In May 2021, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was detected in Asiatic lions in a zoological park in India. Sequence and phylogenetic analyses showed the SARS-CoV-2 strains were the B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant. To reduce transmission of variants of concern, surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in wild animal populations should be increased.

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Identification and estimation of the prevalence of Pasteurella multocida organisms in different animal and avian species in India during November 2000 to July 2003 was carried out. Out of 418 samples collected from different outbreaks suspected to be caused by P. multocida, a total of 206 bacterial cultures were identified as P. multocida on the basis of cultural, morphological and biochemical characteristics. All the 206 cultures were isolated from different domestic animal species (cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat, pig and rabbit), avian species (chicken, duck, quail, turkey, goose) and wild animals such as leopard and deer. Serotyping of P. multocida cultures revealed the presence of various serotypes (A:1, A:3, A:1,3, A:4, B:2, D:1 and -:1) among the livestock population. P. multocida polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay applied on different forms of bacterial cultures (bacterial culture lysate, direct bacterial colony and mixed bacterial culture lysate) yielded an amplified product of approximately 460 bp specific for P. multocida. The results of PCR assay correlated well with conventional methods of identification. The present investigation revealed the presence of varied serotypes among livestock and PCR assay was found to be useful for rapid, sensitive and specific diagnosis of pasteurellosis in animals and avian species.

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Background:Nanosized ceramics may represent a promising class of bone graft substitutes due to their improved osseointegrative properties. Nanocrystalline Hydroxyapatite (NcHA) bind to bone and stimulate bone healing by stimulation of osteoblast activity. The present study aims to explore the clinical and radiographical outcome of NcHA bonegraft (Sybograf®) with collagen membrane (Periocol®), in comparison with open flap debridement (OFD), in the treatment of intrabony periodontal defects.Materials and Methods:A parallel-group, randomized, controlled clinical trial was designed to conduct the study. Eighteen intrabony defects in 14 systemically healthy patients aged between 25 to 65 years were randomly assigned to test and control group. The plaque index, gingival index, probing pocket depth (PPD), clinical attachment level (CAL), and gingival recession (REC) were recorded at baseline, and were reevaluated at 6 months. In addition to this, radiographic bone fill was assessed using digital software. At the test site, NcHA bone graft and collagen membrane was placed, whereas at the control site, only OFD was done. Recall appointments were made at 7 days, 30 days, and then at 3 months and 6 months.Results:The data were subjected to statistical analysis using the Mann-Whitney ‘U’ Test and Wilcoxon signed rank sum test. In the control group, the mean reduction of PPD was 3.22±1.09 mm (P=0.007) and CAL gain was 2.77±1.09 mm (P=0.007). In the test group, the mean PPD reduction of 4.33±0.5 mm (P=0.006) and mean gain in CAL was 3.77±0.66 mm (P=0.006) at 6 months. The mean increase in REC was 0.55±0.72 mm (P=0.025) in test, and 0.44±0.52 mm (P=0.046) in control group. The mean gain in radiographic defect fill was 2.07±0.67 mm (P=0.008) in test and 0.91±0.21 mm (P=0.007) in control group.Conclusion:The nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite bone graft in combination with collagen membrane demonstrated clinical advantages beyond that achieved by OFD alone.