• About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • DMCA
  • Privacy Policy
  • Follow on Google News
Saturday, September 23, 2023
  • Login
Country First
  • Home
  • India
    • National
    • State News
  • World
  • Business
  • Education
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
    • Health & Fitness
    • Fashion & Beauty
    • Travel
    • Food
    • Photography
  • Tech
    • App News
    • Gadgets
  • Auto
  • Others
    • Sports
    • Agriculture
    • Science
    • Astrology
    • Finance/Money
    • Press Release
    • Religion
    • Social Work
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • India
    • National
    • State News
  • World
  • Business
  • Education
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
    • Health & Fitness
    • Fashion & Beauty
    • Travel
    • Food
    • Photography
  • Tech
    • App News
    • Gadgets
  • Auto
  • Others
    • Sports
    • Agriculture
    • Science
    • Astrology
    • Finance/Money
    • Press Release
    • Religion
    • Social Work
No Result
View All Result
Country First
No Result
View All Result

Study warns Diphtheria could become a major global threat

Country First by Country First
March 9, 2021
in Health & Fitness
Reading Time: 3 mins read
A A
0
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

New Delhi: In a new health scare, a team of researchers from India, the UK and Russia, has found that Diphtheria, which is a relatively easily-preventable infection, has started to become resistant to several classes of antibiotics, and in future, it may even become immune to vaccination.

In a report, the team has also suggested that there was a possibility of the disease once more becoming a major threat across the globe because of the impact of COVID-19 on vaccination schedules in different parts of the world, coupled with a rise in the number of infections.

You might also like

Artificial Intelligence can’t replace doctors healing touch, Experts

Artificial Intelligence can’t replace doctors healing touch, Experts

September 21, 2023
KareXpert achieves Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission Certification, paving the way for the digital healthcare revolution

KareXpert achieves Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission Certification, paving the way for the digital healthcare revolution

September 13, 2023

Diphtheria is a highly contagious infection. It can affect the nose and throat, and sometimes the skin. If left untreated it can prove fatal. In high-income countries, all babies are vaccinated against the infection. However, in low- and middle-income countries, the disease can still cause sporadic infections or outbreaks in unvaccinated and partially-vaccinated communities.

The number of diphtheria cases reported globally has been increasing gradually. In 2018, there were 16,651 reported cases, more than double the yearly average for 1996-2017 (8,105 cases).

Diphtheria is primarily caused by the bacterium Corynebacterium diphtheriae and is mainly spread by coughs and sneezes, or through close contact with someone infected. In most cases, the bacteria cause acute infections, driven by the diphtheria toxin – the key target of the vaccine. However, non-toxigenic C. diphtheria can also cause disease, often in the form of systemic infections.

The researchers used genomics to map the infections, including a subset from India, where over half of the globally reported cases occurred in 2018. By analysing the genomes of 61 bacteria isolated from patients and combining these with 441 publicly available genomes that had been collected from across the world over 122 years (1896-2018), they build a phylogenetic tree – a genetic ‘family tree’ – to see how the infections are related, understand how they spread and assess the presence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes and determine toxin variation.

The main disease-causing component of C. diphtheriae is the diphtheria toxin, which is encoded by the `tox’ gene. It is this component that is targeted by vaccines. In total, the researchers found 18 different variants of the `tox’ gene, of which several had the potential to change the structure of the toxin.

Diphtheria infections can usually be treated with several classes of antibiotics. While C. diphtheriae’s resistance to antibiotics have been reported, the extent of such resistance remains largely unknown.

The team looked for genes that might confer some degree of resistance to antimicrobials and they found that the average number of antimicrobial resistance genes per genome was increasing each decade. Genomes of bacteria isolated from infections from the most recent decade (2010-19) showed the highest average number of AMR genes per genome, almost four times as many on average than in the next highest decade, which was the 1990s.

In a report on their study published in Nature Communication today, the team said, “While our data does not, at present, highlight any efficacy concern in the currently used tox variant type 16 based diphtheria toxoid vaccine, the continually increasing toxin diversity and prevalence of non-toxigenic strains do however forecast a real possibility of vaccine escape and antitoxin treatment failure in future. While the current vaccine against diphtheria continues to remain largely effective, it is vital to conduct further in vitro and in vivo studies”.

The researchers were drawn from the Department of Biotechnology’s Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, Faridabad, Maharishi Valmiki Infectious Diseases Hospital, Delhi, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, World Health Organization, New Delhi, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, New Delhi, Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology & Infectious Disease, University of Cambridge, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, UK, Gabrichevsky Research Institute for Epidemiology and Microbiology, Moscow, Russia, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. (India Science Wire)

Tags: acuteAMRantibioticsbabiesbacteriumcontagiouscoughCOVID-19diseasefatalgenomegenomicshealth scareIndiainfectionmap phylogenetic treenoseoutbreaksresistanceskinsneezethreatthroattoxinUKvaccinationworld
Previous Post

IIT-Madras Launches new programme to boost women leadership

Next Post

Raw drug repository for medicinal herbs established in CSIR-NBRI

Country First

Country First

Related Posts

Artificial Intelligence can’t replace doctors healing touch, Experts

Artificial Intelligence can’t replace doctors healing touch, Experts

by Country First
September 21, 2023
0

Suryadatta Education Foundation organized one day a National Conclave on 'Impact of AI & Digital Technology in Medical Sciences' &...

KareXpert achieves Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission Certification, paving the way for the digital healthcare revolution

KareXpert achieves Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission Certification, paving the way for the digital healthcare revolution

by Country First
September 13, 2023
0

This milestone achievement positions KareXpert as a driving force behind the "Digital Healthcare Revolution" sweeping across the nation KareXpert, Jio-backed...

“Dr. Anjum Shaikh’s Empowering Debut: Groundbreaking Book ‘EmpowHER: Wellness, Hygiene, and YOU’ Sets a New Standard for Women’s Health Advocacy

“Dr. Anjum Shaikh’s Empowering Debut: Groundbreaking Book ‘EmpowHER: Wellness, Hygiene, and YOU’ Sets a New Standard for Women’s Health Advocacy

by Country First
September 5, 2023
0

Dr. Anjum Shaikh, a distinguished figure in the fields of health-tech and public health, is thrilled to introduce her latest...

“Empowering Women Through Innovative Healthcare: Dr. Monika Agarwal, Leading Cosmetic Gynaecologist and Laparoscopic Surgeon in Ghaziabad”

“Empowering Women Through Innovative Healthcare: Dr. Monika Agarwal, Leading Cosmetic Gynaecologist and Laparoscopic Surgeon in Ghaziabad”

by Country First
September 4, 2023
0

Dr. Monika Agarwal is a renowned gynaecologist and laparoscopic surgeon with extensive experience in laparoscopic surgeries, high-risk pregnancy and cosmetic...

Next Post

Raw drug repository for medicinal herbs established in CSIR-NBRI

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Post

https://www.zee5.com/articles/film-on-padma-shri-kaur-singhs-life-finally-gets-release-date-to-be-out-on-july-22

Film on Padma Shri Kaur Singh’s life finally gets a release date; to be out on July 22

June 27, 2022

Holi Remedies with Ace Astro-Numerologist Sidhharrth S Kumaar

March 27, 2021
Umber Jafri new song “Tum Na Aaye” by Saregama Music- A tribute to his father Vilayet Jafri, last Ghazal

Umber Jafri new song “Tum Na Aaye” by Saregama Music- A tribute to his father Vilayet Jafri, last Ghazal

October 3, 2022

Category

  • Agriculture
  • App News
  • Astrology
  • Auto
  • Business
  • Education
  • Entertainment
  • Fashion & Beauty
  • Finance/Money
  • Food
  • Gadgets
  • Health & Fitness
  • Lifestyle
  • National
  • Photography
  • Politics
  • Press Release
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Social Work
  • Sports
  • State News
  • Tech
  • Travel
  • World

Tags

Ace Entrepreneur Ahmedabad Artificial intelligence author Bengaluru Blockchain technology Content Creator COVID-19 Cryptocurrency CSIR Delhi Digital Marketing DST Dubai Education entrepreneur Fairplay Ginny Kapoor Gujarat India's Most Prominent Pageant Indian Institute of Technology Influencer Influencerquipo Kingston Technology K Raheja Corp Homes MoES Mr. Gagandeep Kapoor Mrs.INDIA Galaxy Mrs.INDIA Galaxy 2022 Mumbai Music Industry National Pageant Mrs.INDIA Galaxy 2022 NFT Nidarshana Gowani Noida pandemic photography Pune real estate research social media Surat technology solutions TTK Prestige Vibrant Concepts

Country First is a digital news and story platform that bring you the news, articles, stories, and opinions on the latest happenings worldwide covering various sectors like nation, politics, and governance, social sector, review, foreign affairs, defence and security, latest review, lifestyle, entertainment, sports, technology, auto sectors, education, business and start-ups updates, Agriculture, Science, finance, money, food, and culture, etc.

  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • DMCA
  • Privacy Policy
  • Follow on Google News

© 2022 Country First

No Result
View All Result
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • DMCA
  • Home
  • Privacy Policy

© 2022 Country First

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In