The National Centre for Disease Control (previously known as the National Institute of Communicable Diseases) is an institute under the Indian Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. It was established in July 1963 for research in epidemiology and control of communicable diseases and to reorganize the activities of the Malaria Institute of India. It has nine branches at Alwar, Bengaluru, Trivandrum, Calicut, Coonoor, Jagdalpur, Patna, Rajahmundry and Varanasi to advise the respective state governments on public health. The headquarters are in Sham Nath Marg, in New Delhi..
Background and objective Leptospirosis is a globally prevalent zoonotic disease with a differential diagnosis of acute febrile illness that is significantly underreported in Rajasthan, India. This study aimed to assess the seropositivity for Leptospira in patients attending a tertiary care center in Rajasthan and study their clinico-epidemiological profile. Material and methods A cross-sectional study was conducted between July 2019 and June 2022 at the Advanced Research Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Medical College and Hospital, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. Serum samples from 2,996 patients presenting with undifferentiated febrile illness/pyrexia of unknown origin (UFI/PUO) were tested for Leptospira IgM antibodies using an IgM capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). A total of 290 patients with a duration of illness of less than five days underwent Leptospira testing by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Demographic characteristics, clinical features, exposure history, and duration of animal contact were obtained from the specimen requisition forms. Data were analyzed using appropriate statistical methods. Results A seropositivity of 5.01% (150/2,996) for Leptospira was found in the present study, with a male predominance of 58.67% (88/150) and 41.33% (62/150) female among positive cases. All samples (290) tested negative by PCR. The highest positivity was observed in the age group of 19-30 years. Highest positivity was observed during the monsoon and post-monsoon periods and winter (July-December, peak December) in Rajasthan. Seasonal analysis revealed that December consistently showed high positivity (10.70%), followed by July (8.53%), October (8.0%), and February (6.07%). However, the highest positivity was seen in November 2020 (36.36%) and December 2020 (20%). All 150 patients reported symptoms like fever and myalgia, whereas 76% (114/150) presented with headaches. Prolonged contact with animals and lack of awareness about zoonotic diseases were identified as major risk factors contributing to disease transmission in Rajasthan. Conclusion Leptospirosis is an underdiagnosed cause of acute febrile illness in Rajasthan, with animal exposure being a significant risk factor in our setting, particularly during the monsoon and post-monsoon seasons. Enhanced diagnostic facilities, increased awareness among clinicians, and targeted public health interventions are crucial to reducing associated morbidity and mortality.
The Strategic Workshop on "Workers' Safety and Health in a Changing Climate," convened by the All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health (AIIHPH), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in collaboration with the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the National Programme on Climate Change and Human Health (NPCCHH), was held in October 2025 at Kolkata. The Strategic Workshop on "Workers' Safety and Health in a Changing Climate" aimed to foster multisectoral dialog and collaboration to address the growing impact of climate change on occupational health, safety, and productivity, thereby contributing to sustainable development. Convened under the leadership of AIIHPH, NCDC, and NPCCHH, the 2-day workshop brought together senior policymakers, researchers, academicians, and industry leaders from diverse sectors. Discussions were structured around five major, interconnected themes: 1) Protecting Workers from Extreme Weather Events (Heat), 2) Occupational and Environmental Air Pollution, 3) Chemical Exposures in a Changing Climate, 4) Technology for Climate-Resilient Workplaces, and 5) Psychosocial Well-being of Workers. Key recommendations from the deliberations were consolidated after discussions into actionable points, emphasizing the need for an integrated, technology-enabled, and equity-focused approach. Actionable steps included integrating health surveillance with climate data (e.g., WBGT/IMD forecasts), developing a National Chemical Exposure Surveillance Network, adopting AI/IoT-based predictive safety tools, and institutionalizing psychosocial care. The workshop reaffirmed a commitment to the vision of "Health for All, Safe Work for All," urging interministerial convergence (Health, Labor, Environment) and supportive partnerships-especially with Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)-to ensure a climate-resilient workforce.
Insecticide resistance in mosquito vectors continues to undermine the effectiveness of vector-borne disease control programmes, including those targeting dengue. Resistance is most often attributed to insecticide use within public-health operations; however, increasing evidence suggests that additional selection pressures may operate outside formal control systems. Among these, horticultural and peri-domestic insecticide use in urban and peri-urban settings remains comparatively under-examined. Urban gardens, nurseries and small-scale horticultural environments frequently involve the application of insecticides belonging to chemical classes also used in public-health vector control. Mosquito larvae and adults occupying these environments may therefore encounter heterogeneous insecticide residues at low or sub-lethal concentrations and irregular intervals. Such exposure scenarios, documented in laboratory and field studies, are recognised conditions under which metabolic, target-site and behavioural resistance mechanisms can potentially be selected and maintained. In parallel, routine domestic use of mosquito coils, vapourisers and aerosols may further contribute to background chemical exposure in resting and feeding habitats. Emerging evidence indicates that these decentralised environments may function as permissive ecological settings for resistance development and cross-resistance to insecticides of public-health relevance. Mosquito populations exposed to such chemical backgrounds may subsequently disperse into neighbouring communities, with possible implications for the operational longevity of space spraying, larviciding and emerging chemical control tools. This perspective synthesises ecological, mechanistic and operational evidence to highlight horticultural and domestic insecticide use as potential, but insufficiently monitored, contributors to the resistance landscape. It underscores surveillance and regulatory gaps and calls for targeted investigation of horticultural microhabitats, improved stewardship of domestic insecticides, and strengthened cross-sector coordination between public health, urban planning and agriculture.
Mucormycosis is a rare fungal infection that contributes to the high mortality rate of 45–90
PURPOSE:To assess clinical impact of American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) 7th, 8th, and 9th edition transitions and staging patterns on resectable oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). METHODOLOGY:A decade-long cohort (2014-2025) was analyzed across three AJCC editions. Depth of Invasion (DOI)'s prognostic value was assessed using chi-square tests, while vermillion lip reclassification in the 9th edition was evaluated using risk ratios. Stage migration and treatment-impacting transitions were quantified using transition matrices and heatmaps. Kaplan-Meier curves with risk tables were generated to assess overall survival for the AJCC 8th and 9th editions. RESULTS:Out of a sample size of 532 (M:F = 7:1; mean age 50.9 years, buccal mucosa (65%), tongue/floor of mouth (32.2%), and lip (2.8%), 96.8% were treatment-naïve. DOI-driven upstaging occurred in 29.3% of cases (McNemar's p < 0.001), prompting treatment escalation. Vermillion lip cancers demonstrated lower nodal metastatic risk than other oral subsites {RR 1.39 (95% CI: 0.47-4.11)}. Furthermore, regrouping vermillion lip within cutaneous malignancy demonstrated a 4- fold difference in propensity for nodal metastases between early and advanced T stage (RR = 4.0, 95% CI: 0.66-24.3; OR = 10.0, 95% CI: 0.94-106.5) endorsing its inclusion within cutaneous malignancy. The 7th-8th edition transition caused significant upstaging and treatment escalation, while the 9th edition remained stable except for marked lip tumor reclassification (p < 0.001). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed comparable overall survival, with a modest late advantage for the AJCC 9th edition. CONCLUSION:AJCC staging evolution has progressively improved risk stratification in oral cancers. The 8th edition introduced clinically meaningful refinements, while the 9th edition maintained staging stability and optimized lip cancer classification.
