C.P. Girish Kumar

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• PhD
• Scientist F at Indian Council of Medical Research

People living with HIV (PLHIV) are known to be at a higher risk of developing an array of aging-related diseases despite well-adhered combined antiretroviral therapy (cART). The present study aimed to investigate the impact of chronic HIV infection on neurocognitive function in virally suppressed PLHIV. We enrolled HIV-positive individuals randomly...

Introduction. The existence of a mutual relationship between gut microbiota and immune homeostasis highlights its importance in the context of kidney transplantation. Gap statement. The translational utility of gut microbiota as a biomarker for allograft injury has not been assessed before. Aim. In this study, we aimed to characterize the gut micro...

Background Enteric infections are hypothesized to be associated with intussusception in children. A small increase in intussusception following rotavirus vaccination has been seen in some settings. We conducted post-marketing surveillance for intussusception following rotavirus vaccine, Rotavac introduction in India and evaluated association of int...

Scrub typhus, a neglected disease, is a significant health concern in the Tsutsugamushi triangle of the Asia–Pacific and has raised global concerns due to recent cases occurring outside this region. To estimate the global prevalence of scrub typhus, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis. We conducted a systematic search of PubMed, Scop...

Scrub typhus, a neglected disease, is a significant health concern in the Tsutsugamushi triangle of the Asia-Pacific and has raised global concerns due to recent cases occurring outside this region. To estimate the global prevalence of scrub typhus, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis. We conducted a systematic search of PubMed, Scop...

Background Limited data exists regarding risk factors for adverse outcomes in older adults hospitalized with Community-Acquired Pneumonia (CAP) in low- and middle-income countries such as India. This multisite study aimed to assess outcomes and associated risk factors among adults aged ≥60 years hospitalized with pneumonia. Methods Between Decembe...

After the introduction of the rotavirus vaccine into the Universal Immunization Program in India in 2016, relatively few studies have assessed the prevalence and epidemiological patterns of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) among hospitalized children ≤5 years of age. We used a uniform protocol to recruit children with AGE as well as standardized testing...

Introduction Advocacy for the provision of public health resources, including vaccine for the prevention of acute respiratory illnesses (ARIs) among older adults in India, needs evidence on costs and benefits. Using a cohort of community-dwelling adults aged 60 years and older in India, we estimated the cost of ARI episode and its determinants. Me...

Cytokines are major players in orchestrating inflammation, disease pathogenesis, and severity during COVID-19. Members of the interleukin (IL)-10 family of cytokines play important roles in regulating immune responses to various inflammatory and infectious diseases. However, the role of the IL-10 family of cytokines in COVID-19 remains elusive. Hen...

Background Antimicrobial resistance poses a significant threat to public health globally. We studied the prevalence of colonization with extended-spectrum cephalosporin-resistant Enterobacterales (ESCrE), carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE), and colistin-resistant Enterobacterales (Col-RE) in hospitals and the surrounding community in South...

Objective: The burden of asymptomatic Dengue infections is understudied. Therefore, we systematically reviewed the literature to estimate the global prevalence of asymptomatic Dengue infections. Methods: We searched cross-sectional studies reporting the prevalence of asymptomatic Dengue infections from PubMed, Scopus, and Embase. Prevalence of a...

Revolutionary progress in combinational antiretroviral therapy (cART) has transformed Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection into a chronic manageable disease; yet there exists an uneasy truce between the virus and the immune cells, where inflammation is limited but infection continues to fester from latent reservoirs of the virus. Clinical s...

Background Plasmacytoid and myeloid dendritic cells play a vital role in the protection against viral infections. In COVID-19, there is an impairment of dendritic cell (DC) function and interferon secretion which has been correlated with disease severity. Results In this study, we described the frequency of DC subsets and the plasma levels of Type...

Background In the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, an increased incidence of ROCM was noted in India among those infected with COVID. We determined risk factors for rhino-orbito-cerebral mucormycosis (ROCM) post Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among those never and ever hospitalized for COVID-19 separately through a multicentric, hospital-based, unma...

The advent of technologies has made allogenic transplantation a potential curative therapy for end-stage renal diseases, but the episodes of rejection still remain as one of the challenges in the post-transplant scenario. In the recent years, several human and animal studies have elucidated that gut microbial dysbiosis is closely linked with alloge...

Background Covaxin/BBV152 is one of the most widely used vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 infection and one of the few vaccines used extensively in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Methods We investigated the effect of Covaxin on the SARS-CoV-2 specific IgG and IgA and neutralizing antibody (NAb) levels at baseline (M0) and at months 1 (M1), 2...

We estimated the effectiveness of two doses of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (Covishield) vaccine against any COVID-19 infection among individuals ≥45 years in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. A community-based cohort study was conducted from May to September 2021 in a selected geographic area in Chennai. The estimated sample size was 10,232. We enrolled 69,435 i...

India witnessed a very strong second wave of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during March and June 2021. Newly emerging variants of concern can escape immunity and cause reinfection. We tested newly diagnosed COVID-19 cases during the second wave in Chennai, India for the presence of Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to estimate the extent of r...

Introduction Large-scale sero-prevalence studies with representation from all age groups are required to estimate the true burden of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections in the community. Serial serological surveys in fixed cohorts enable study of dynamics of viral transmission and correlates of immune response ov...

T cells are thought to be an important correlates of protection against SARS-CoV2 infection. However, the composition of T cell subsets in convalescent individuals of SARS-CoV2 infection has not been well studied. The authors determined the lymphocyte absolute counts, the frequency of memory T cell subsets, and the plasma levels of common γ-chain i...

Background: Examination of CD4+ T cell responses during the natural course of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection offers useful information for the improvement of vaccination strategies against this virus and the protective effect of these T cells. Methods: We characterized the SARS-CoV-2-specific CD4+ T cell a...

Background India began COVID-19 vaccination in January 2021, initially targeting healthcare and frontline workers. The vaccination strategy was expanded in a phased manner and currently covers all individuals aged 18 years and above. India experienced a severe second wave of COVID-19 during March–June 2021. We conducted a fourth nationwide serosurv...

Introduction Relapse of leprosy among patients released from treatment (RFT) is an indicator of the success of anti-leprosy treatment. Due to inadequate follow-up, relapse in leprosy patients after RFT is not systematically documented in India. Relapsed leprosy patients pose a risk in the transmission of leprosy bacilli. We determined the incidence...

Objectives To identify risk factors associated with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in a Tertiary care cancer hospital-based cluster and recommend control measures. Methods We conducted tracing and confirmation among hospital and community contacts. We telephonically interviewed and abstracted information from hospital records and registers. W...

Covaxin/BBV152 is a whole virion inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. The effect of prime-boost vaccination with Covaxin on systemic immune responses is not known. We investigated the effect of Covaxin on the plasma levels of a wide panel of cytokines and chemokines at baseline (M0) and at months 1 (M1), 2 (M2) and 3 (M3) following prime-boost vaccinati...

Monocytes are thought to play an important role in host defence and pathogenesis of COVID-19. However, a comprehensive examination of monocyte numbers and function has not been performed longitudinally in acute and convalescent COVID-19. We examined the absolute counts of monocytes, the frequency of monocyte subsets, the plasma levels of monocyte a...

Purpose We describe here a multicentric community- dwelling cohort of older adults (>60 years of age) established to estimate incidence, study risk factors, healthcare utilisation and economic burden associated with influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in India. Participants The four sites of this cohort are in northern (Ballabgarh), sou...

It is essential to examine the longevity of the defensive immune response engendered by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. We examined the SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody responses and ex vivo memory B-cell subsets in seven groups of individuals with COVID-19 classified based on days since reverse-transcription pol...

Background & objectives: : Infection fatality ratio (IFR) is considered a more robust and reliable indicator than case fatality ratio for severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Age- and sex-stratified IFRs are crucial to guide public health response. Infections estimated through representative community-based serosurveys would gauge more accurate IFRs...

Background & objectives: Vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 is a recommendation from the World Health Organization as the foremost preference in the current situation to control the COVID-19 pandemic. BBV152 is one of the approved vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 in India. In this study, we determined SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody levels at day 0 (baseline,...

We conducted a nationally representative population-based survey in 60 districts from 15 Indian states covering all five geographic regions during 2017–2018 to estimate the age specific seroprevalence of dengue. Of the 12,300 sera collected, 4,955 were positive for IgG antibodies against dengue virus using IgG Indirect ELISA indicating past dengue...

Background Antimicrobial resistance is a global health emergency. Persons colonized with multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) are at risk for developing subsequent multidrug-resistant infections, as colonization represents an important precursor to invasive infection. Despite reports documenting the worldwide dissemination of MDROs, fundamental qu...

Background: Earlier serosurveys in India revealed seroprevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) of 0.73% in May–June 2020 and 7.1% in August–September 2020. A third serosurvey was conducted between December 2020 and January 2021 to estimate the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among the general population and...

Background India is among the nations reporting substantial healthcare burden linked to pneumococcal infections. Nafithromycin is a novel lactone ketolide antibiotic, which recently entered Phase 3 development in India for the indication of community-acquired bacterial pneumonia (CABP). Objectives To assess the in vitro activity of nafithromycin a...

Background Earlier serosurveys in India revealed SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence of 0.73% during May-June and 7.1% during August-September 2020. We conducted the third serosurvey during Dec 2020 and Jan 2021, to estimate the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among general population and healthcare workers (HCWs) in India. Methods We conducted the s...

Introduction A hospital-based sentinel surveillance network for bacterial meningitis was established in India to estimate the burden of bacterial meningitis, and the proportion of major vaccine-preventable causative organisms. This report summarises the findings of the surveillance conducted between March 2012, and September 2016 in eleven hospital...

Citation: Varghese, T.; Alokit Khakha, S.; Giri, S.; Nair, N.P.; Badur, M.; Gathwala, G.; Chaudhury, S.; Kaushik, S.; Dash, M.; Mohakud, N.K.; et al. Rotavirus Strain

Hepatitis B is a major co-infection among people with HIV (PWHIV) worldwide. There is a paucity of data on HBV genetic diversity in India, which would be useful for targeted preventive and management interventions. To characterize the distribution of HBV genotypes and sub-genotypes, samples of 180 HIV-HBV co-infected individuals from a study previo...

COVID sero-prevalence survey round 1

We conducted a cross-sectional survey to estimate the seroprevalence of IgG against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in Chennai, India. Among 12,405 serum samples tested, weighted seroprevalence was 18.4% (95% CI 14.8%-22.6%). These findings indicate most of the population of Chennai is still susceptible to this virus.

Background The first national severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) serosurvey in India, done in May–June, 2020, among adults aged 18 years or older from 21 states, found a SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody seroprevalence of 0·73% (95% CI 0·34–1·13). We aimed to assess the more recent nationwide seroprevalence in the general population...

Background The first national severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) serosurvey in India, done in May-June, 2020, among adults aged 18 years or older from 21 states, found a SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody seroprevalence of 0·73% (95% CI 0·34-1·13). We aimed to assess the more recent nationwide seroprevalence in the general population...

Background Diphtheria is re-emerging as a public health problem in several Indian states. Most diphtheria cases are among children older than 5 years. In this study, we aimed to estimate age-specific immunity against diphtheria in children aged 5–17 years in India. Methods We used residual serum samples from a cross-sectional, population-based ser...

Objective High burden of rotavirus associated diarrhea has been documented among Indian children. The phased introduction of an indigenous rotavirus vaccine ‘ROTAVAC’ in India's national immunization programme began in 2017. Phase-III trial showed the vaccine to have a low-intussusception-risk profile. However, evaluation of post-licensure trends o...

Background Since its re-emergence in 2005, chikungunya virus (CHIKV) transmission has been documented in most Indian states. Information is scarce regarding the seroprevalence of CHIKV in India. We aimed to estimate the age-specific seroprevalence, force of infection (FOI), and proportion of the population susceptible to CHIKV infection. Methods W...

Hepatitis B is a major co-infection among people with HIV (PWHIV) worldwide. There is a paucity of data on HBV genetic diversity in India, which would be useful for targeted preventive and management interventions. To characterize the distribution of HBV genotypes and sub-genotypes, samples of 180 HIV-HBV co-infected individuals from a study previo...

BACKGROUND A three-dose, oral rotavirus vaccine (Rotavac) was introduced in the universal immunization program in India in 2016. A prelicensure trial involving 6799 infants was not large enough to detect a small increased risk of intussusception. Postmarketing surveillance data would be useful in assessing whether the risk of intussusception would...

Background: Rotavirus is an important cause of severe diarrhea requiring hospitalization, accounting for approximately 78,000 deaths annually in Indian children below 5 years of age. We present epidemiological data on severe rotavirus disease collected during hospital-based surveillance in India before the introduction of the oral rotavirus vaccine...

Background: From 2016, the Government of India introduced the oral rotavirus vaccine into the national immunization schedule. Currently, two indigenously developed vaccines (ROTAVAC, Bharat Biotech; ROTASIIL, Serum Institute of India) are included in the Indian immunization program. We report the rotavirus disease burden and the diversity of rotavi...

Introduction and Objectives: Despite a growing population of persons aged >60 years in middle-income countries, few data are available on the burden of influenza among older adults in India. We conducted a prospective multi-site cohort study among community dwelling adults aged >60 years to estimate the incidence of influenza-associated acute respi...

Population-based seroepidemiological studies measure the extent of SARS-CoV-2 infection. We report the findings of the first round of a national serosurvey to estimate the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among adult population of India.

Introduction: India introduced hepatitis-B (HB) vaccine in Universal immunization program in 2002-2003 on pilot basis, expanded to 10 states in 2007-2008 (phase-1) and entire country in 2011-2012 (phase-2). We tested sera from a nationally representative serosurvey, to estimate seroprevalence of different markers of HB infection among children age...

Conducting population-based serosurveillance for severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) will estimate and monitor the trend of infection in the adult general population, determine the socio-demographic risk factors and delineate the geographical spread of the infection. For this purpose, a serial cross-sectional survey would b...

Introduction Streptococcus pneumoniae is one of the frequently isolated organisms and an important aetiological agent of invasive bacterial diseases (IBD) like pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis. As a measure to control the burden of IBD, the Government of India introduced Pneumoccocal Conjugate Vaccine-13 (PCV-13) in the Universal Immunization Progr...

PCV Rollout in India; expectations and challenges

A multi-centric influenza surveillance conducted among 1500 elderly participants in Chennai, India, required weekly visits to the participants regularly for three years. Difficulties were faced in locating and navigating to households of the participants due to vast study area, adverse weather conditions and staff attrition, which affected data qua...

FOXp3 gene as a potential Bio marker for Antibody Mediated rejection in renal transplant recipients

Background: Group-A human rotaviruses (GARV) are among the major cause of childhood diarrhea worldwide. In lieu of monitoring the circulatory GARV strains and underscoring the burden of GARV related hospitalization, a systematic surveillance was conducted in three hospitals of eastern India. In this hospital-based diarrheal disease surveillance (2...

Background: Recently World Health Organization's Global Task Force on Cholera Control (GTFCC) has published a global roadmap for prevention and control of cholera. We review preparedness of existing governmental non-vaccine programs and strategies for cholera prevention and control in India. We also describe strengths and gaps in the context of im...

CXCL9 as a potential biomarker for renal allograft injury in renal transplant recipients

Background: Pneumococcal pneumonia is one of the major causes of mortality in children less than 5 years in Asia, especially in India. Available PCVs have less serotype coverage in India compared to western countries. Moreover, the baseline pneumococcal serotype and sequence type data is limited and available data doesn't represent the entire Indi...

Background: The burden of dengue virus (DENV) infection across geographical regions of India is poorly quantified. We estimated the age-specific seroprevalence, force of infection, and number of infections in India. Methods: We did a community-based survey in 240 clusters (118 rural, 122 urban), selected from 60 districts of 15 Indian states fro...

We conducted a serosurvey of 155 healthcare workers and 124 household and community members who had close contact with 18 patients who had laboratory-confirmed Nipah virus infections in Kerala, India. We detected 3 sub-clinical infections; 2 persons had IgM and IgG and 1 only IgM against Nipah virus.

Introduction Rotavirus infection accounts for 39% of under-five diarrhoeal deaths globally and 22% of these deaths occur in India. Introduction of rotavirus vaccine in a national immunisation programme is considered to be the most effective intervention in preventing severe rotavirus disease. In 2016, India introduced an indigenous rotavirus vaccin...

India is one among the four Asian countries with the greatest number of deaths due to pneumococcal infection among children under 5 years. pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) has been introduced in a phased manner in five major Indian states. Ambiguity remains in choosing the appropriate type of PCV and optimum schedule with maximum effectiveness...

Background: In 2016, the Government of India introduced the oral rotavirus vaccine (ROTAVAC, Bharat Biotech, India) in 4 states of India as part of the Universal Immunization Programme, and expanded to 5 more states in 2017. We report four years of data on rotavirus gastroenteritis in hospitalized children < 5 years of age prior to vaccine introduc...

Helicobacter pylori is associated with a spectrum of severe gastrointestinal conditions. In this study, an attempt was made to correlate endoscopic mucosal patterns with H. pylori infection and examine the pathogenic potential of the strains. Among the 147 dyspeptic individuals studied, 42.2% were H. pylori infected. Association of H. pylori with t...

Background Worldwide, acute bacterial meningitis is a major cause of high morbidity and mortality among under five children, particularly in settings where vaccination for H. influenzae type b, S. pneumoniae and N. meningitidis is yet to be introduced in the national immunization programs. Estimation of disease burden of bacterial meningitis associ...

Introduction: Streptococcus pneumoniae is a significant cause of childhood bacterial meningitis in India. The United States Food and Drug Administration has licensed an immunochromatographic (ICT) test, Binax®NOW™, to detect the C polysaccharide antigen of S. pneumoniae in cerebrospinal fluids (CSF). Accurate etiological diagnosis of bacterial men...

Background: The indigenous oral rotavirus vaccine Rotavac® was introduced into the public immunization system in India in 2016 and will be expanded in phases. This data will describe the epidemiology of intussusception in India in absence of rotavirus vaccination and will help in setting up or designing a safety monitoring system. Methods: Medic...

Seasonal outbreaks of acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) with high mortality occur every year in Gorakhpur region of Uttar Pradesh, India. Earlier studies indicated the role of scrub typhus as the important etiology of AES in the region. AES cases were hospitalized late in the course of their illness. We established surveillance for acute febrile il...

Distribution of optical density (OD) values for Orientia tsutsugamushi IgM among patients with scrub typhus and controls in study of acute encephalitis syndrome, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

Outbreaks of acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) have been occurring in Gorakhpur Division, Uttar Pradesh, India, for several years. In 2016, we conducted a case–control study. Our findings revealed a high proportion of AES cases with Orientia tsutsugamushi IgM and IgG, indicating that scrub typhus is a cause of AES.

Outbreaks of AES with high fatality occur frequently in Gorakhpur division, India. Except for a small contribution (<10%) from Japanese Encephalitis, the etiology of AES has largely remained unknown. Investigations during the 2015 outbreak showed that a high proportion (62.7%) of patients had IgM antibodies against O. tsutsugamushi, indicating a po...

Objective: To estimate the burden of rotavirus-associated gastroenteritis in India. Methods: Hospital-based surveillance network was established, with clinical evaluation and laboratory testing for rotavirus among children aged below 5 years hospitalized with acute gastroenteritis. Results: Between September 2012 and December 2014, stool samples fr...