Shankey Sehgal

• EHL Hospitality Business School

Leptospirosis outbreaks occur frequently in North and South Andaman Islands but not in Middle Andaman. In 2002, an outbreak appeared in Middle Andaman for the first time. Although a study on risk factors was conducted in North Andaman, it used seropositivity to define leptospirosis. Since seropositivity might not indicate current leptospiral infect...

ELISA based on the recombinant OmpL1 and LipL41 antigens of Leptospira interrogans serovar autumnalis strain N2 have been developed, for the serodiagnosis of the severe pulmonary form of leptospirosis on the endemic Andaman Islands. The recombinant OmpL1 and LipL41 were produced using Escherichia coli expression systems and then purified before eac...

Leptospirosis is an emerging zoonosis. In the Andaman Islands during the early twentieth century, it occurred in the penal settlements of the British India Administration, mostly as Weil's disease, an acute febrile illness with hepato-renal complications. It was caused by leptospires belonging to groups Akiamy A and Andamans A. After the 1930s noth...

In India diurnally subperiodic filariasis is prevalent only in the Nicobar district of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, with significant health problem. Sample surveys indicated that this form of filariasis is restricted to a small region of Nancowry group of islands with Ochlerotatus niveus as the vector. We therefore carried out a comprehensive study...

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands a Union Territory of India is a stretch of more than 300 islands in the Bay of Bengal. The Asian tsunami of December 2004 severely affected the islands particularly Car Nicobar an island inhabited predominantly by Nicobarese tribes. Several hundred people were killed and thousands went missing. All the 17 villages in...

The Jarawas, a classical hunter-gatherer tribe of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India, were living in isolation for several centuries. They came into contact with the civilized world recently. Serological studies carried out among them revealed that hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is hyper-endemic. The present study was carried out to investigate...

A study was conducted among the Onge tribe of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands with the objectives of identifying demographic factors responsible for the decline in their population and assessing their nutritional status, which is an important determinant of child survival. The study included estimation of indices of fertility and child mortality, a...

The leptospiral antigens that are conserved among the diverse pathogenic leptospires have potential importance in the development of new serodiagnostic and immunoprotective strategies. The present study was therefore carried out to find out the phenotypic conservation of the leptospiral proteins OmpL1 and LipL41, and the genetic conservation of omp...

A survey to assess injection related practices carried out among the Nicobarese, a mongoloid tribe of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. The survey was carried out using the rapid assessment and response guide of Safe Injection Global Network of the World Health Organization and included review of randomly selected prescriptions of patients attend...

Hepatitis B virus infection is highly endemic among the tribes of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. We screened 223 hepatitis B surface antigen-positive members of these tribes for hepatitis delta virus infection (HDV). The infection was observed only among the Nicobarese. Considering the serious consequences of HDV infection, we suggest that the...

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Abstract Background Pools of salt water and puddles created by giant waves from the sea due to the tsunami that occurred on 26th December 2004 would facilitate increased breeding of brackish water malaria vector, Anopheles sundaicus. Land uplifts in North Andaman and subsidence in South Andaman have been reported and subsidence may lead to environm...

Leptospirosis is an emerging zoonotic disease with widespread distribution. The disease, caused by a large number of pathogenic serovars of leptospires, varies in severity from mild flu like illness to severe and fatal forms. It has often been observed that the strains of the same serovar are associated with different clinical syndromes. In this st...

We monitored diel-landing periodicity (biting activity/cycle) of Ochlerotatus niveus and the infection/infectivity pattern through human-landing collections on Teressa Island, which is remotely located in the Nicobar district of the Andaman and Nicobar group of Islands of India, for a period of one year. The biting activity was seen throughout the...

Early diagnosis is the key to the treatment of leptospirosis. For development of rapid diagnostic kits, a thorough knowledge about the nature of the proteins expressed by the pathogen during infection is necessary. The present study was undertaken to understand the nature of immunoreactive proteins from commonly circulating serogroups of Leptospira...

Andaman and Nicobar Islands in India has a century long history of human leptospirosis. Several isolates have been recovered over the years from different locations. The present study was undertaken to understand the clonal relationship between all these pathogenic leptospires recovered from these islands. Arbitrarily primed polymerase chain reacti...

Pools of salt water and puddles created by giant waves from the sea due to the tsunami that occurred on 26th December 2004 would facilitate increased breeding of brackish water malaria vector, Anopheles sundaicus. Land uplifts in North Andaman and subsidence in South Andaman have been reported and subsidence may lead to environmental disturbances a...

Leptospirosis is an important public health problem in the Andaman Islands. The disease is being increasingly reported among children and adolescents in recent times. An attempt was made to find out the level of exposure to leptospires, to estimate the incidence of infection and to identity the risk factors for acquiring infection among children. A...

A screw-capped glass tube containing a Leptospira culture accidentally broke and the laboratory worker who was handling the tube sustained a cut on his hand. The wound was flooded with the culture. The culture was that of strain MG 347 belonging to serovar Australis recovered from a patient, and it had undergone 52 passages in Ellinghausen McCullou...

Hepatitis B infection is highly endemic among the primitive tribes of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India and it is necessary to initiate hepatitis B vaccination for control of this infection. A pilot project of mass hepatitis B vaccination using indigenously developed vaccine was initiated among Nicobarese tribe of Car Nicobar Island. Sero-protecti...

To assess the tuberculosis (TB) situation in the tribal community of Car Nicobar island 15 years after the national TB programme was implemented in this area after an intensive phase of TB control in 1986. The entire population of Car Nicobar was enumerated through a house-to-house survey. Children aged <14 years were tuberculin tested and read for...

The available serological techniques for the diagnosis of leptospirosis have less sensitivity during the early stage of the disease. Understanding of leptospiral proteins expressed during acute and convalescent phases of leptospirosis, would be help the develop of new serodiagnostic strategies. Therefore, the present study was carried out to identi...

Leptospirosis is endemic in the Andaman Islands, often occurring as outbreaks during the post-monsoon period. Pulmonary involvement is common and associated with high morbidity and mortality. During the investigation of an outbreak in North Andaman in 1996 an isolate was recovered from the blood of a patient with fever, headache, body aches and hae...

A sero-survey to assess the prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection was carried out among the Nicobarese children attending different primary schools of Car Nicobar Island. A total of 1574 children were screened for different serological markers of infection. Overall, 44% of the children had evidence of HBV infection with 23% positive for HBsAg....

Discovery and validation of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the human genome is an active area of interest, because of their usefulness in evolutionary and disease-association studies. We have resequenced 70 chromosomes from the Jarawa, a Negrito tribal group inhabiting the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago, for a ≈ 10 kb genomic region spa...

Lepto Dri Dot is a new card agglutination test developed by the Dutch Royal Tropical Institute for the rapid diagnosis of leptospirosis. We evaluated the test in field conditions in The Andaman Islands. Patients suspected of leptospirosis who attended three primary health centres were included in the study. The test results were compared with blood...

The Lepto lateral flow assay for leptospirosis was evaluated at a primary health centre in the Andaman Islands, where leptospirosis is endemic. One hundred and seventeen suspected patients were included in the study; acute serum samples were collected from all of them and convalescent samples from 104. The standard criteria for diagnosis of leptosp...

Leptospirosis is a major public health problem in Andaman Islands. Several strains of Leptospira have been isolated from the Andamans over the years. Leptospires isolated recently from human cases were compared with one of the earliest available isolates from these islands, dating back to 1929, to study their serological and genetic relatedness. Ra...

Outbreaks of leptospirosis that present with predominant pulmonary signs and symptoms have been occurring in the Andaman Islands since the late 1980s. Before this, pulmonary haemorrhage had not been observed as a common complication of leptospirosis in India. During an outbreak on North Andaman in 1997, four leptospire isolates were obtained from b...

A study was conducted with the objective of assessing the leptospiral carrier state and seroprevalence among animal population of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. A total of 494 sera samples from different domestic animals and 85 samples from rats (Rattus rattus) were tested by microscopic agglutination test using nine serogroups prevalent in these isl...

To understand the possible origin of hepatitis B virus (HBV), three of the four hyperendemic, primitive accessible tribes of the Andaman and Nicobar islands, India, were investigated. The Nicobarese tribe was investigated in 1989 and 1999. The S gene from 65 HBV isolates was amplified by PCR and sequenced. Genotyping and serotyping were carried out...

Jarawas, a classical hunter-gatherer tribe of Andaman and Nicobar islands have lived in isolation for several centuries. It is only recently have they started to come in contact with the outsiders, shedding their hostility. Since then, several disease outbreaks have been reported amongst them. Screening of sera samples collected during one such out...

Although leptospirosis is known to have occurred in India since the early years of the 20th century, no accurate data on disease burden exist. During the past two decades, leptospirosis cases have been reported with increasing frequency from different parts of the country. Several large outbreaks have occurred. In the year 2000, the Indian Council...

The incidence of leptospirosis in human beings has been increasing in recent years. Early diagnosis and treatment can prevent complications and reduce mortality. The conventional laboratory methods for diagnosis rely on the demonstration of leptospires in clinical specimens, recovering the organisms in culture or the demonstration of antibodies to...

Hepatitis-B infection is highly endemic among the primitive tribes of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. A pilot project of hepatitis-B vaccination using indigenously developed (Shanvac-B) was initiated among the Nicobarese tribe in Car Nicobar Island. The 936 individuals negative for HBsAg and anti-HBs were administered three doses of the vaccine...

We conducted a cross-sectional survey to assess the prevalence of disease and microfilaraemia caused by diurnally subperiodic strain of Wuchereria bancrofti transmitted by day biting Aedes niveus in Teressa Island, remotely located in the Nicobar district of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Lymphatic filariasis is a considerable public health problem o...

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Union Territory of India, are home to six primitive tribes. Studies carried out earlier among these tribes revealed very high rates of hepatitis B infection. We have now studied hepatitis A and E infection among them. A total of 951 serum samples were collected from four accessible tribes (Nicobarese, Shompens, Onge...

Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Union Territory of India, is home to six primitive tribes. Preliminary serological studies carried out earlier among the four accessible tribes revealed that hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is hyper-endemic among them. The present study was carried out to understand important modes of transmission and to identify poss...

Two weeks after the cyclone during October-November 1999, several persons in Orissa suffered from a febrile illness with haemorrhagic manifestations. Serum samples from a few such patients tested positive for anti-leptospiral IgM antibodies. We conducted a study in four villages that were flooded after the cyclone to examine the possibility of lept...

Making a diagnosis on the results of a single microscopic agglutination test (MAT) is difficult because of the uncertainties about the cut-off titre. The present study was conducted to determine the significant titre for a single MAT in areas of high and low endemicity for leptospirosis. A total of 1944 serum samples were collected from healthy ind...

Although darkground microscopy (DGM) is the method employed for examining the growth of leptospires in culture, it is not useful for diagnosis when used directly on body fluids. However, it continues to be used as a method for diagnosing leptospirosis in many centres in India. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of...

Leptospirosis has been an important public health problem in the Andaman Islands since 1988. As information about the exact etiological agent is not available, the present study was undertaken to isolate and identify Leptospira from human patients. An isolate coded AF61 was recovered from the blood of a patient clinically suspected to have leptospi...

Andaman and Nicobar Islands, is the home of six primitive tribes. No information is available on the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection among them. Hence a study was undertaken with the objective of assessing the sero-prevalence of HBV infection among the four accessible tribes of these islands. A total of 1266 serum samples were colle...

Leptospirosis occurs as seasonal outbreaks, lasting for about 3 weeks during October-November in North Andaman. A randomized controlled trial was undertaken to assess the efficacy of doxycycline prophylaxis in the prevention of infection and clinical disease due to leptospires during the outbreak period. A sample population of 782 persons, randomiz...

When irradiated with energetic electrons near room temperature, Li2O single crystals exhibit metallic Li colloids, as shown by conduction electron spin resonance (CESR) and 7Li-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments. These colloids are established as being of two types represented by two superimposed signals in a CESR spectrum: a Lorentzian l...

A comprehensive survey was carried out in the Port Blair town in Andaman and Nicobar islands, in order to study the distribution and relative prevalence of Aedes aegypti during the monsoon (July'1997-October'1997) season using larval survey and adult collection methods. Ae. aegypti was found in all 21 localities surveyed. Spatial variations in dist...

The Andaman islands were known to be endemic for leptospirosis during the early part of the century. Later, for about six decades no information about the status of the disease in these islands was available. In the late 1980s leptospirosis reappeared among the settler population and several outbreaks have been reported with high case fatality rate...

In an attempt to understand the clinical spectrum and pathological and biochemical abnormalities and their prognostic importance in leptospirosis, a prospective study was carried out in Port Blair during September 1996 to August 1997. Out of 80 patients suspected to have leptospirosis, 58 were proved to have current leptospiral infection using sero...

The LEPTO Dipstick assay is a newly developed test for the diagnosis of leptospirosis and uses a broadly reactive antigen for detecting IgM antibodies. The test was evaluated in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, using 867 serum samples from known cases of leptospirosis and controls. The efficacy of IgM ELISA was also tested for comparison. The LEPTO...

An unmatched case control study was conducted to study the various risk factors for acquiring leptospiral infection in Diglipur tehsil of North Andaman. A random sample of 1014 persons residing in various villages of Diglipur was inducted into the study. Serum samples were collected from them and tested for anti-leptospiral antibodies using microsc...

The population of the Great Andamanese tribe of the Andaman Islands has been declining at a rapid pace. The case fatality rate during a recent outbreak of dysentery was 30.8%, all the deaths being among under-fives. As malnutrition is known to potentiate susceptibility to death due to infectious diseases, we undertook a study to determine the preva...

A micro capsule agglutination test (MCAT) was evaluated for its usefulness in the diagnosis of leptospirosis. The test was performed on 180 serum samples from 120 patients suspected to have leptospirosis and the results were compared with those obtained by microscopic agglutination test (MAT). The overall sensitivity and specificity of the test in...

A survey for pulmonary tuberculosis was carried out for the first time in Little Andaman island covering a population of 12 of the 13 villages. A total of 190 (11.18%) chest symptomatics and five sputum positive cases were identified in the sample of 1700 persons aged 10 years and abovedrawn from that population.

Research Question: What is the health and nutritional status of Shompens â€" the primitive mongoloid tribe of Great Nicobar. Objectives: i) To study the health & nutritional status of the Shompens. ii) To identify their common health problems. Study design: Cross-sectional Setting: Bands of Shompens â€" the primitive mongoloid tribe of Great Nicoba...

A survey was carried out among the rural and urban settlers and two tribal groups viz. Nicobarese and Onges, of Andaman and Nicobar islands. The survey covered preschool school aged children and adults. Out of the total 1,384 stool samples examined, 652 (47.1%) showed ova or cysts of one or more intestinal parasites. Among the preschool children, N...

A filariasis survey was carried out for the first time in the Little Andaman island, covering a population of 12,247 in 12 of the 13 villages. Infection due to Wuchereria bancrofti was found only in 3 villages with microfilaria (mf) rate ranging from 1.02 to 6.45 per cent. Observations on the appearance of mf in peripheral blood showed that the par...

An outbreak of acute febrile illness with haemorrhagic manifestations and pulmonary involvement occurred in Diglipur of North Andaman during October-November 1993. Investigations were carried out to see whether leptospires were responsible for this outbreak. Serum samples were collected from suspected cases and tested for presence of antibodies to...