Peralam Yegneswaran Prakash

Manipal Academy of Higher Education | MAHE · Department of Microbiology

Reproducible and in situ microbial detection, particularly of microbes significant in urinary tract infections (UTIs) such as Candida albicans, provides a unique opportunity to bring equity in the healthcare outcomes of disenfranchised groups like women in low-resource settings. Here, we demonstrate a system to potentially detect vulvovaginal candi...

The members of the genus Aspergillus have worldwide distribution due to their extensive span over diverse ecological habitats. They have profound impacts on the environmental, ecological, economical, biotechnological, and medical fields. This has made it necessary to resolve the taxonomical identity of these fungi with a holistic polyphasic approac...

Medicopsis romeroi is one of the frequent pathogens causing subcutaneous infections in immunocompromised patients. In this study, a sexual morph of Medicopsis romeroi was found on a decaying woody stem of the mangrove plant Suaeda monoica and its asexual morph was produced on malt extract agar. The sexual morph connection was established based on b...

We present a high resolution, ultra-frugal printing of paper microfluidic devices using in-house paraffin formulation on a simple filter paper. The patterns printed using an office inkjet printer formed a selective hydrophobic barrier of 4 ± 1 µm thickness with a hydrophilic channel width of 275 µm. These printed patterns effectively confine common...

This study employs a commercial multifilament cotton thread as a low-cost microbial identification assay integrated with smartphone-based imaging for high throughput and rapid detection of pathogens. The thread device with inter-twined fibers was drop-cast with test media and a pH indicator. The target pathogens scavenge the media components with d...

Schizophyllum commune is an emerging basidiomycetous fungus increasingly reported attributing pulmonary infections. However, the involvement of S. commune in primary cutaneous ulcerative lesions in humans has not yet been reported. The aetiology of S. commune in wound infection may be overlooked or misdiagnosed. This may be due to the atypical colo...

Background: Onychomycosis is extremely rare in neonates, infrequently reported in children and is considered to be exclusively a disease of adults. Case presentation: We, herein report a case of fingernail onychomycosis in a 28-day-old, healthy, male neonate. The child presented with a history of yellowish discoloration of the fingernail of the...

Aim: This study aims to test the tensile strength and growth of Candida albicans on Viscogel tissue conditioner when incorporated with coconut oil (CCO) and to compare its efficacy with other antifungal agents. Settings and Design: Evaluative - In-vitro study design. Materials and Methods: Fifty dumbbell‑shaped samples (n = 10) of Viscogel tissue c...

3-Hydrazinyl-3-oxo-1-(thiophen-2-yl)prop-1-en-2-yl]benzamide (4) is identified as a key intermediate for the synthesis of some new 3-[aryl substituted hydrazinyl]-3-oxo-1-(thiophen-2-yl)prop-1-en-2-yl]benzamide (Schiff base compounds) (5a–5o). The nucleophilic attack of hydrazine hydrate on 2-phenyl-4-(thiophen-2-ylmethylidene)-1,3-oxazol-5(4H)-one...

The objectives of this study were to study the effect of COPD medication of 6 months or more duration on oral health parameters of adult patients. A cross‐sectional study was conducted to assess and compare the decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT), oral hygiene index‐simplified (OHI‐S), periodontal disease index (PDI) scores, and presence of c...

Actinobacteria: Diversity and Biotechnological Applications: New and Future Developments in Microbial Biotechnology and Bioengineering, a volume in the series New and Future Developments in Microbial Biotechnology and Bioengineering series, offers the latest on the biotechnology of Kingdom actinobacteria, covering unique niches like their endospher...

Contagion – The annual MAC ID Newsletter: (Publication by Manipal McGill Centre for Infectious Diseases (MAC ID) Prasanna School of Public Health, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal)

Contagion – The annual MAC ID Newsletter: (Publication by Manipal McGill Centre for Infectious Diseases (MAC ID) Prasanna School of Public Health, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal)

The genus Tritirachium is a mitosporic fungus which inhabits in soil and decaying plant material and also a notable insect pathogen. Human infections with Tritirachium species though rare were previously reported to cause corneal ulcers, otomycosis, onychomycosis, and dermatomycosis of the scalp and hence may be considered as a potential pathogen....

We present a rare case of corneal ulcer caused by a species of a coelomycetes fungus, Chaetomium strumarium. This fungal genus is a rare causative agent of keratomycosis, with only a handful of cases reported. The clinical presentation, investigative techniques, and preliminary management of our patient are reported. The cases reported in global li...

Aims: The current study aimed at determining the differences between the cutaneous microbial flora of patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and those without, and thus evaluate for cutaneous microbiome dysbiosis in diabetes. Methods: We employed a case-control study design with 41 participants in each group. The skin over the toe-web spa...

Abstract Background: Poultry farming and consumption of poultry (Gallus gallus domesticus) meat and eggs are common gastronomical practices worldwide. Till now, a detailed understanding about the gut colonisation of Gallus gallus domesticus by yeasts and their virulence properties and drug resistance patterns in available literature remain sparse....

Aspergillus and Fusarium are the most common fungi causing mycotic keratitis. Injury to the eye with vegetable matter, cow tail injury, long-term use of topical steroids are some of the risk factors for mycotic keratitis. There are few case reports of keratitis caused by Bipolaris. The human pathogenic species in the genus are Bipolaris spicifera,...

Probiotics play a vital role in clinical applications for the treatment of diarrhea, obesity and urinary tract infections. Phytate, an anti-nutrient, chelates essential minerals that are vital for human health. In the past few decades, research reports emphasize extensively on phytate degradation in animals. There is a growing need for finding alte...

Introduction: The auxanographic carbohydrate assimilation had been an important method for differentiation of yeasts. Prevailing methods described in the literature for carbohydrate assimilation has limited scope for use in large scale yeast identification. Aim: To optimize the large scale auxanographic carbohydrate assimilation method for yeast id...

The increase in public online databases dedicated to fungal identification is noteworthy. This can be attributed to improved access to molecular approaches to characterize fungi, as well as to delineate species within specific fungal groups in the last 2 decades, leading to an ever-increasing complexity of taxonomic assortments and nomenclatural re...

The Kingdom fungi encompass a massive diversity of taxa with wide-ranging ecologies, life cycles, and morphologies ranging from unicellular aquatic chytrids to large mushrooms. Before molecular methods came in existence, taxonomists considered this Kingdom to be a member of the plant kingdom due to certain life styles like immobility and growth hab...

The Kingdom fungi encompass a massive diversity of taxa with wide-ranging ecologies, life cycles, and morphologies ranging from unicellular aquatic chytrids to large mushrooms. Before molecular methods came in existence, taxonomists considered this Kingdom to be a member of the plant kingdom due to certain life styles like immobility and growth hab...

Objective: To study the clinico-microbiological profile of oral candidiasis in head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) patients undergoing curative radiotherapy (cRT). Methods: Patients undergoing cRT and developing oral candidiasis were enrolled. Clinical features such as pain and xerostomia were recorded. Candida isolates from lesions were spe...

Since its primary release in 1992 and a second version in 2007 the book ‘Descriptions of Medical Fungi’ has been impressively advanced in its utility for identification of fungi. The initial editions of this book titled ‘Descriptions of Medical QAP Fungi’ were prepared as description sheets to facilitate identification of fungi at participant labor...

A number of techniques have been developed to recognize larvae of Strongyloides stercoralis in stool samples, including direct smear of faeces in saline-Lugol iodine stain, Baermann concentration, formalin-ethyl acetate concentration, Harada-Mori filter paper culture and nutrient agar plate cultures. [1],[2],[3] We propose a novel method to recogni...

Zincoderm GM cream is a fixed dose combination of clobetasol, gentamicin, miconazole and zinc. Studies have been done for efficacy of each component like clobetasol, gentamicin and miconazole but as fixed dose combination including Zinc has not been reported yet. Hence a study was planned to assess the efficacy of Zincoderm GM cream in experimental...

Intestinal parasitic infestation has been a major public health problem throughout the world, particularly in developing countries owing to unhygienic living conditions. Early and accurate diagnosis as well as improvement in detection rates of intestinal parasites is of prime importance in limiting the incidence of parasitic infestations and decrea...

43rd National Conference of Indian Association of Dermatologists, Venerologists & Leprologists DERMACON 2015 Daily Conference Newsletter

Microbioscope: (Publication by Department of Microbiology, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal University)

Primary cutaneous nocardiosis can present as an abscess or cellulitis with sporotrichoid morphology. Deep inoculation in the subcutaneous tissue can present as a mycetoma. Mycetoma over the elbow region is rare. We herein describe a case of primary cutaneous nocardiosis presenting as a mycetoma, caused by Nocardia asteroides. The patient had extens...

Purpose: Endophthalmitis due to Pyrenochaeta romeroi has not been reported in literature (PubMed, Medline). We report an interesting case of P. romeroi causing chronic endophthalmitis in an immunocompetent lady. Methods: Retrospective interventional case report. A 25-year-old immunocompetent lady presented with pain and redness in the left eye o...

Nocardia is a weekly staining gram-positive bacilli, forming partially acid-fast beaded branching filaments. Nocardia is found in soil rich in organic matter. They also form a part of oral microflora. Here, we report a case of oral nocardiosis in a 50-year-old male patient who was a known diabetic. He presented with painful swelling on the left sid...

Background & objectives: Malassezia species implicated with dandruff vary at different geographical locations. The present study was conducted to determine the spectrum and distribution of Malassezia species in dandruff patients and healthy individuals. Methods: Patients with dandruff from northern (Chandigarh) and southern (Manipal, Karnataka) pa...

Bioethika Bytes (Official newsletter of the Manipal and Mangalore units of International Network of UNESCO Chair in Bioethics)

Fusarium Solani is commonly found in soil, and it is associated with infections in immunocompromised individuals. Fusaroium solani causing infection in immunocompetent adult male is rare and usually overlooked. We report a case of mycetoma caused by Fusariom solani in an immunocompetent adult male from South India.

A 32 year old female presented with a 4 year history of on and off dry scaly lesions in the webspaces. KOH mount of the skin scrapings was positive for fungal hyphae. The fungus was isolated on Sabouraud dextrose agar and identified as Cylindrocarpon lichenicola. The patient was treated and responded to itraconazole.

The aim of present invitro study was to investigate antimicrobial efficacy of leaf extract of the cashew plant (Anacardium occidentale) and 2% chlorhexidine gluconate solution against Enterococcus faecalis and Candida albicans. Disk diffusion method using lawn cultures of the E. faecalis and C. albicans was performed to determine the antimicrobial...

Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gatti both cause infection in immunocompromised patients. We report a case of meningitis with C.gatti in an AIDS patient. This case to our knowledge is the first case of C.gatti being reported from Sikkim (North East India).

Aspergillus fumigatus is a filamentous mold that causes infections in patients who are inmmunocompromised. We report a case of Aspergillus tracheobronchitis in fulminant systemic lupus erythematosus case. Diagnosis with more invasive diagnostic procedures & aggressive antifungal therapy is indicated at early stage.

Background: Onychomycosis is worldwide in distribution and the genera of causative agents are diverse. This study was carried out to demonstrate if the causative agents differed with a difference in temperature, climate and locale. Methods: Seventy patients in coastal tropical region of Karnataka and fifty patients in the hilly temperate region of...

In an era where an emerging threat due cryptococcosis is encountered among the immunocompromised patients especially in those AIDS and in immunocompetent patients attributed to the virulent C. gattii counterpart the need for a study to better understand this disease is imperative. Routine surveillance and application of molecular typing methods are...

Introduction: Taphonomy refers to the study of conditions and processes by which cadavers become fossilized. The degradative role of certain arthropods and other zoo saprophytes on human cadavers is now applied in estimating Post Mortem Interval (PMI)1 but pose its own limitations when cadaver remains have been recovered from bottom of the deep wel...

In this study, condensation of 2-amino-5-chlorobenzoic acid with benzoyl chloride afforded 2-benzamido-5-chloro benzoic acid which on cyclization with different primary amines yielded the corresponding 6-chloro-2-phenyl-3-substituted quinazolin-4(3H)-ones (V1–V8). The reaction was monitored by thin layer chromatographic analysis. The structure of t...

Geotrichum candidum is yeast like fungi that cause infections in immunocompromised patients. We report a case of renal fungal ball with Geotrichum candidum in a 27 yr. old women post-partum. This case to our knowledge is the first case of renal fungal bezoar due to Geotrichum candidum reported in India.

Background: Irritant diaper dermatitis is a localized form of contact dermatitis often complicated by the primary as well as secondary involvement of colonizer yeasts predominantly the Candida albicans. AIMS: To assess the anticandidal activity of Miconazole Nitrate, Clotrimazole, Terbinafine HCl, Benzalkonium Chloride and Cetrimide in their pure a...

Yeasts constitute a highly heterogeneous group of unicellular organisms and have been most intimately associated with man from the dawn of his existence. Fruit juices contain various concentrations of sucrose, which constitutes a very important component of the medium for the growth of fungi. Dairy products are especially favorable environment for...

Cryptococcus neoformans is a eukaryotic, heterobasidiomycetous yeast; pathogenic to mammalian hosts with an epiphytic and saprophytic mode of existence in the environment. The present study explores the diversity among the pathogenic population of Cryptococcus neoformans serotype A and to investigate mode of reproduction and degree of clonality in...

Keratomycosis can have deleterious effect to human eye and may lead to loss of vision. Fungal keratitis caused by a Fusarium species was isolated and described. The isolate was identified to be Fusarium solani and confirmed by molecular data based on ITS rDNA sequence. The fungal isolate was evaluated for its antifungal susceptibility against five...

Candida species are a normal commensal of the oral cavity in healthy individuals, but can become an opportunistic pathogen when the oral ecosystem is unbalanced. Several virulence attributes have been identified in candidal infection, among which are the hydrolases, including the secreted aspartyl proteinases (Saps). This study evaluated and compar...

W.W. Baig, R.P. Attur, A. Chawla, S. Reddy, S. Pillai, L. Rao, G. Rao, K. Ashok, P. Yegneswaran. Epididymal and prostatic histoplasmosis in a renal transplant recipient from southern India. Transpl Infect Dis 2011: 13: 489–491. All rights reserved Abstract: An unusual case of epididymal and prostatic histoplasmosis is reported from Karnataka State...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial efficacy of 7% maleic acid (MA) and 17% ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) in elimination of Enterococcus faecalis, Candida albicans, and Staphylococcus aureus at different time intervals. Transfer culture of microbial strains were used for inoculum preparation and determination of time-ki...

Sporotrichosis caused by the fungus Sporothrix schenckii has been widely reported from the northern Himalayan belt and the north eastern region of India. Three autochthonous cases of lymphocutaneous sporotrichosis from east and south districts of Sikkim are reported. Fluid aspirate from the nodulo-ulcerative lesions were sent for cytology and funga...

Cellophane touch tape preparation provides reproducible results in minimal time when compared to tease mount and slide culture techniques for the identification of fungi from culture plates, but it is difficult to perform from tube cultures. Here, we describe an easy to perform touch tape preparation method that provided a better result from fungal...

The aim of present in vitro study was to investigate antimicrobial efficacy of hydroalcoholic extract of Cymbopogon citratus and 2% chlorhexidine gluconate solution against Candida albicans and Enterococcus faecalis. Punch well method using lawn cultures of the C. albicans and E. faecalis was performed to determine the antimicrobial efficacy in the...

Onychomycosis denotes fungal infection of the nail characte- rized by thickening, splitting, roughening and discoloration of nail and accessory structures due to dermatophytes, non-dermatophyte moulds and few yeast genera. Onychomycosis can have a lasting adverse impact on patient’s daily life, social functioning, physical and mental health; items...

Colletotrichum graminicola is a medically important fungus belonging to the order Melanconiales under the class Coelomycetes. The members of the genus Colletotrichum are primarily plant pathogens which cause anthracnoses (fungal infection in plants). In the past few decades, they are progressively being implicated as etiological agents of subcutane...

Enterococcus (E) faecalis bacteria adhere to dentine of teeth root canals to form the biofilm. E. faecalis has been shown to be resistant to antibiotics. This in vitro study aimed to investigate the efficacy of vancomycin and doxycycline in inhibiting E. faecalis biofilm formation. A total of 60 extracted human teeth were incubated with E. faecalis...

Yeasts produce killer toxin, which gives them a selective advantage against susceptible yeasts. In this study we isolated 8 various non-pathogenic yeasts from 12 different food products and detected killer toxin activity in them against a clinical isolate of Cryptococcus neoformans by chloroform exposure method. The experiment was performed in two...

Cognitive disorders like dementia, delirium, depression, anxiety, psychosis and mania are the commonest neuropsychiatric manifestations. We discuss here a case of an adult women presenting with neuropsychiatric manifestations of confusional psychosis owing to Cryptococcosis. The principal cause was consequently established by culturing Cryptococcus...

Sporotrichosis is commonly encountered due to traumatic implantation of thorns or decayed vegetation with the dimorphic fungi, Sporothrix schenckii. Zoonotic spread of Sporotrichosis is rare and we describe here the first case of feline transmission of lymphocutaneous sporotrichiosis encountered in India. An excision biopsy of nodulo-ulcerative les...

SUMMARY The present study highlights eight cases of pulmonary nocardiosis diagnosed during the time period of January 2006 - March 2008. Nocardia otitidiscaviarum, N. asteroides and N. brasiliensis were isolated from these cases.Whereas six patients were treated successfully, one showed partial response and one case expired before the institution o...