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According to a report in Mint, the Drugs Controller General of India, V G Somani, and three senior scientists at the Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL) were suspended after an investigation revealed that counterfeit Remdesivir antivirals were sold during the second wave of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

The CDL is India’s top laboratory and is in charge of examining the quality of medicines and vaccines. According to government sources, it has now come to light that the three suspended scientists purposely put off performing comparable testing on Remdesivir. The development occurs at a time when the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization has been shaken by bribery suspicions (CDSCO).

Remdesivir was once hailed as a “miracle medication,” but the researchers didn’t report their findings to CDSCO until after the sample had expired. The drug regulator approved Remdesivir’s limited emergency usage in 2020 for people with coronaviruses. Before the WHO issued a warning against its usage, former US president Donald Trump took the injectable Remdesivir for the first time after contracting the infection.

Also Read: Covid case update: 16,103 fresh cases reported in India, Active cases cross 1.11 lakh mark

In an interview with Mint, one of the govt officials stated, “CDL Kolkata is an apex lab for quality check of life-saving drugs, medicines and vaccines. They have to submit a quality compliance report to the CDSCO in a timely manner. However, during the covid pandemic, such reports were allowed to be submitted in a fast-track manner.” He further added that in the case of Remdesivir, the report was delayed intentionally for a period of nine months.

Last month, the health ministry received a tip about it, and as a result, Union Health Minister Mandaviya initiated an inquiry. The Remdesivir sample was shown to be fake throughout the inquiry, and the three suspended scientists were caught trying to hide the information.

Now, the DGCI has also received a strong warning, instructing it to prevent such occurrences from occurring in the future. Additionally, the health ministry has directed V G Somani to frequently check on the performance of central labs, which are in charge of ensuring the quality of life-saving medications.

On the day of his “terahvi” (13th day after his death), a 55-year-old government doctor from Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh who had been assigned to Chitrakoot received his transfer notice over WhatsApp.

He had requested a move to Prayagraj, his homeland, for the last two years, citing a chronic illness, but his request wasn’t fulfilled till after he passed away.

Due to a liver infection, Dipendra Singh, a district hospital employee in Chitrakoot, was seriously unwell for a protracted period of time.

According to his relatives, Singh had asked to be sent to Prayagraj for medical reasons.

Singh passed away on the evening of June 17.

He was, however, moved from Chitrakoot to Prayagraj in accordance with the transfer list made public by the State Health and Family Welfare department on June 30.

Ironically, on the day when his ‘terahvi’ procedures were being carried out, his family received the transfer list on his WhatsApp number.

Singh’s younger brother, Hemendra Singh, said, “My brother was suffering from a severe liver infection and was requesting a transfer for the past two years, but all the requests failed to make any impact on the State Health department.

Also Read: Centre suspends 3 scientists over fake Remdesivir sale in Covid 2nd wave

He was on leave for the past three months and finally breathed his last on the intervening night of June 17-18. We have now got his transfer orders.”

Chief Medical Superintendent, Motilal Nehru Divisional hospital, Prayagraj, Indu Kanojia, said, “I have not received any written order of Dipendra Singh’s transfer to this hospital. However, in the transfer list, which was released on social media, he was transferred to this hospital.”

Dipendra was posted 11 years ago as a senior consultant in Joint District hospital, Chitrakoot.

He applied for a transfer to Prayagraj so that he could get his treatment under the supervision of his family members.

Singh is survived by his wife Abha Singh, who is a gynaecologist and lives with two minor sons.

Singh’s wife said, “Seeing the transfer order after his death, we don’t know how to react.”

A team of researchers has created a quick Covid-19 test that might be used to quickly detect the many SARS-CoV-2 variants.

The team has already tested CoVarScan on samples from more than 4,000 patients after inventing CoVarScan, a quick Covid-19 test that last year identified the signatures of eight hotspots on the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

The researchers claimed that this test can correctly distinguish between all existing SARS-CoV-2 variants and is as accurate as previous techniques for diagnosing Covid.

“Using this test, we can determine very quickly what variants are in the community and if a new variant is emerging,” said researcher Jeffrey SoRelle from the University of Texas Southwestern in the US.

“It also has implications for individual patients when we are dealing with variants that respond differently to treatments,” SoRelle added.

Compared to whole-genome sequencing, CoVarScan had 96 per cent sensitivity and 99 per cent specificity, the researchers said, in a study, published in the journal Clinical Chemistry.

Also Read: Uttar Pradesh: Doctor receives transfer letter after 13 days of death

It recognised and distinguished the Delta, Mu, Lambda, and Omicron variations of Covid-19, as well as the BA.2 Omicron strain, which was once referred to as “stealth Omicron” since it was not detected by several tests meant to solely identify the Omicron strain.

While there are alternative Covid-19 assays available, they often only detect tiny compounds on the surface of the virus or a portion of the SARS-CoV-2 genetic material, making it impossible to distinguish the variation.

Many scientists are also concerned that these tests may not be reliable in detecting particular variations or may fail to catch emerging strains.

Whole-genome sequencing, which is time-consuming and expensive and relies on advanced tools and analysis to spell out the whole RNA sequence contained in the viruses, is often required to identify the form of Covid-19 a patient has.

Early in 2021, SoRelle and his colleagues sought to monitor how effectively existing tests were picking up new SARS-CoV-2 strains. However, they realised that sequencing a large number of samples would not be efficient or quick, so they created their own test.

“A common critique of this kind of test is that it requires constant adjustment for new variants, but CoVarScan has not needed any adjustment in more than a year; it is still performing very well,” said SoRelle.

“In the future, if we did need to adjust it, we could easily add as many as 20 or 30 additional hotspots to the test,” he added.

After setting aside the State Commission’s ruling and clearing a Mahim hospital and its senior gynaecologist of the charge of medical negligence, the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission determined that there was no evidence of willful negligence more than two decades after a pregnant woman and her unborn child died while she was being admitted for her second delivery.

In 2015, the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission ordered Surlata Hospital and Dr. Sharad Gogate to compensate the deceased Sunita Shate’s husband Sarasheej Shate and their little daughter with Rs. 20 lakhs.

President Justice RK Agrawal and member SM Kantikar of the National Panel said in their ruling that the state commission had erroneously relied exclusively on the testimony of a doctor named MD Gupta who had determined that Dr. Gogate had engaged in egregious negligence. It said that because the doctor was not a gynaecology expert, his advice was not trustworthy.

Also Read: Researchers develop CoVarScan-a – a rapid test that identifies Covid-19 variants in hours

The medical board of AIIMS was consulted by the committee, who concluded that there was no proof of medical malpractice. It also reviewed relevant medical literature and came to the conclusion that Caesarean deliveries are linked to an uncommon disease that occurs during delivery.

It said the condition was not within the control of any doctor to anticipate or prevent and there is no evidence of willful negligence or breach of the duty of care.

On September 21, 2000, Sunita was induced due to labour pains. Shate said before the state commission that the doctor left her in the hands of the nurses and “aayas” while telling them to wait for a “normal birth” even though she needed a C-Section. He claimed she began vomiting the following day, her health deteriorated, and she passed away.

Both the hospital and the physician had disputed this. The doctor said he had delivered 5,500 babies during his 28 years of practise and that the accuser had omitted a number of details. He said that the husband had asked him to cause labour pains because they lived far away in Mulund, and that was the reason he had provided labor-inducing medications. In addition, when the medication did not work, a procedure was carried out, and the patient and her family were advised that it may produce vomiting but that they need not be alarmed.

A doctor from the Prakasam district named Pagadala Lakshmi Reddy recently left his position with the government because he felt compelled to aid the people in his home area. Lakshmi was described as smart and intelligent when she was born to farmer couple P Chinna Venkata Reddy and Subbamma. She never showed much interest in traditional textbook education. He was instructed to take care of the family’s more than 30 cattle after failing the SSC examinations on his first try.

A year later, he was inspired to become a doctor and provide his services to the underprivileged in the Markapur region after visiting the K Ramachandra Reddy Hospital, which is known for offering free healthcare to the poor and is run by the family of the late great communist leader Puchhalapalli Sundaraiah.

That was a life-changing moment as he fell in love with books and ensured that in the next five years he qualified to pursue MBBS from Kurnool Medical College in 2005. He graduated from Rangaraya Medical College in Kakinada and went on to become a general surgeon years later.

Becoming a doctor

Dr. Lakshmi Reddy is a native of the isolated hinterland of Malyavanthuni Padu in the Markapur mandal. Dr. Reddy began his career as a government doctor after completing his schooling and worked in a variety of locations, including Dupadu, Dornala, and Peddaraveedu. He spent three years working as a general surgeon at the Markapur district government hospital.

He carried out 230 major and 1,380 minor procedures while working as a government physician. He became the primary care physician for many of the area’s underprivileged residents because Markapur is his native mandal. Dr. Reddy saw to guarantee that his patients received medications and necessities throughout the most severe Covid-19 years. He obtained ’20 lakh for the same from well-known benefactors and his family. He was most recently sent from Markapur to Narasaraopeta Government Hospital in the Palanadu district.

Also Read: Consumer panel exonerates gynaec of medical negligence after 22 years

When he decided to serve

Dr. Lakshmi Reddy made the decision to stay put and submit his papers because of his strong emotional connection to Markapur and its residents. He just started a clinic and now bills each patient just $30 for a consultation. Along with that, he established the Dr. Lakshmi Reddy Charitable Trust, whose ultimate purpose is to build a super-specialty hospital for the needy inside the boundaries of Markapur.

“I was inspired by the life of Puchhalapalli Sundaraiah and, thus, decided to live like him throughout my life. My aim is to offer all medical tests with a nominal fee of `100 per test, just like what AIIMS-Mangalagiri is doing. My younger brother Chinna Lakshmi Reddy is a scientist and he is planning to establish a pharma unit here in Markapur to support my ideology towards giving free services to the poor. My parents, even my wife and daughter, also support my views.”

A recent research discovered that DNA methylation in bacteria controls pathogenicity, reproduction, and gene expression. The findings was published in the journal Genome Biology.

In other organisms, including humans, DNA methylation is essential for regulating the tissue-specific gene expression that establishes a cell’s identity, such as whether it is a skin cell or a brain cell.

“The study of DNA methylation is part of the field of epigenetics. It is important because it helps us understand why one particular type of bacteria causes a more severe disease than another or how a normal cell can change and give rise to diseases, such as cancer,” said corresponding author Dr Tao Wu, assistant professor of molecular and human genetics at Baylor College of Medicine.

The Wu Lab is a cancer epigenetics lab. Its long-term goal is to overcome cancer therapeutic resistance by better understanding the role of epigenetics in this disease.

In bacteria, there are three different forms of DNA methylation.

-The most common is one that tags the DNA base or building block adenine (N6-methyladenine or 6mA).

-The other two tag the DNA base cytosine (N4-methylcytosine or 4mC and 5-methylcytosine or 5mC).

Although there are many methods to study DNA methylation, a few can efficiently map the three types simultaneously, Wu explained.

“It was thought that organisms other than bacteria, including mammals, mostly only used methyl-cytosine tags – the 5mC – to regulate gene activity. But in 2016, when I was at Yale University, we reported in Nature the discovery that DNA 6mA also is present in mammals,” Wu said. “This finding opened a whole new set of possibilities in the study of cancer epigenetics.”

The traditional methods to study the 5mC do not capture the adenine methylation in mammalian tissues. “This motivated us to develop a novel method to profile not only 6mA but also 4mC and 5mC,” Wu said.

In the current paper, Wu and his colleagues present the creation of a chemical-based sequencing approach for concurrently quantifying many epigenetic markers. Their approach, dubbed NT-seq—nitrite treatment followed by next-generation sequencing—is a sequencing technique for identifying various forms of DNA methylation throughout the whole genome. Additionally, the approach can amplify small clinical samples, which is something that other technologies cannot achieve.

Also Read: Doctor quits job to treat the unprivileged in native village of Prakasam district

“We show that NT-seq can detect 6mA, 4mC and 5mC both in bacterial and non-bacterial cells, including mammalian cells,” Wu said. “Compared to other methods, NT-seq is efficient, cost-effective, quicker and has high resolution. Some of its limitations are specific to the particular composition of some genomes. We have suggestions in the paper on how to compensate for this limitation.”

“We are excited about NT-seq,” Wu said. “It can uncover new DNA methylation patterns or motifs, validate results obtained with other methods, generate datasets for developing machine-learning tools for methylation analysis and paves the way to further the epigenetic study of genomic DNA 6mA in non-bacterial organisms, including studies on the epigenetics of cancer.”

According to a research that was published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines was equivalent for persons with a higher body mass index (BMI) and of a healthy weight but somewhat lower for underweight people.

At least 14 days after receiving a second dose of vaccine, Oxford University researchers examined the likelihood of developing a serious illness in vaccinated vs unvaccinated individuals.

Despite the fact that the COVID-19 vaccination greatly decreased the number of serious illness cases for everyone, independent of body size, the impact was slightly less pronounced in underweight individuals.

Comparing underweight vaccinated individuals with unvaccinated individuals of the same BMI, hospitalisation or death rates were almost half as likely.

Researchers hypothesise that it may be because those who were underweight also had the lowest vaccination rates. It could also be a sign of a weakened immune system brought on by frailty or other low body weight-related disorders. Exploring the connection between BMI and immunological responses requires more study.

On the other hand, those who had vaccinations and were in the healthy and high BMI categories had a about 70% lower hospitalisation rate than those who did not. Two weeks after receiving a second dose, those with a healthy BMI or a higher BMI had a roughly two-thirds lower mortality rate than those who had not received the vaccine.

“Our findings provide further evidence that COVID-19 vaccines save lives for people of all sizes. Our results provide reassurance to people with obesity that COVID-19 vaccines are equally as effective for them as for people with a lower BMI, and that vaccination substantially reduces their risk of severe illness if they are infected with COVID-19,” said lead author Dr Carmen Piernas of the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, at Oxford.

“These data also highlight the need for targeted efforts to increase vaccine uptake in people with a low BMI, where uptake is currently lower than for people with a higher BMI,” Piernas added.

From December 8, 2020, to November 17, 2021, the study’s team included 9,171,524 patients who were over 18 years old, had BMI information, and had never before experienced SARS-CoV-2 infection. Depending on their BMI, people were categorised.

Also Read: DNA methylation: Study reveals why normal cells may alter to cause cancer

In addition, the researchers discovered that those with low and high BMI had a noticeably greater chance of developing serious illness after receiving two doses of the vaccine than those with a healthy BMI.

In comparison to a healthy BMI of 23, a BMI of 17 was associated with a 50% increase in the chance of hospitalisation, and a very high BMI of 44 was associated with a threefold increase in the risk of hospitalisation.

Although there is no known reason for the elevated risk among obese individuals, it is consistent with the greater occurrence of seasonal flu infections among those with a higher BMI. The group suggested that one possible cause might be an altered immunological response in those who are obese.

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