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Authors are the souls of any journal, and deserve much respect. To publish a journal manuscripts are needed from authors. Authors have a great responsibility for producing facts of their work in terms of number and results truthfully and an individual honesty is expected from authors in this regards. Both ways its true "No authors-No manuscripts-No journals" and "No journals–No manuscripts–No authors". Reviewing a manuscript is also a very responsible and important task of any peer-reviewed journal and to be taken seriously. It needs knowledge on the subject, sincerity, honesty and determination. Although the process of reviewing a manuscript is a time consuming task butit is expected to give one's best remarks within the time frame of the journal.
Salient features of the JCDR: It is a biomedical, multidisciplinary (including all medical and dental specialities), e-journal, with wide scope and extensive author support. At the same time, a free text of manuscript is available in HTML and PDF format. There is fast growing authorship and readership with JCDR as this can be judged by the number of articles published in it i e; in Feb 2007 of its first issue, it contained 5 articles only, and now in its recent volume published in April 2011, it contained 67 manuscripts. This e-journal is fulfilling the commitments and objectives sincerely, (as stated by Editor-in-chief in his preface to first edition) i e; to encourage physicians through the internet, especially from the developing countries who witness a spectrum of disease and acquire a wealth of knowledge to publish their experiences to benefit the medical community in patients care. I also feel that many of us have work of substance, newer ideas, adequate clinical materials but poor in medical writing and hesitation to submit the work and need help. JCDR provides authors help in this regards.
Timely publication of journal: Publication of manuscripts and bringing out the issue in time is one of the positive aspects of JCDR and is possible with strong support team in terms of peer reviewers, proof reading, language check, computer operators, etc. This is one of the great reasons for authors to submit their work with JCDR. Another best part of JCDR is "Online first Publications" facilities available for the authors. This facility not only provides the prompt publications of the manuscripts but at the same time also early availability of the manuscripts for the readers.
Indexation and online availability: Indexation transforms the journal in some sense from its local ownership to the worldwide professional community and to the public.JCDR is indexed with Embase & EMbiology, Google Scholar, Index Copernicus, Chemical Abstracts Service, Journal seek Database, Indian Science Abstracts, to name few of them. Manuscriptspublished in JCDR are available on major search engines ie; google, yahoo, msn.
In the era of fast growing newer technologies, and in computer and internet friendly environment the manuscripts preparation, submission, review, revision, etc and all can be done and checked with a click from all corer of the world, at any time. Of course there is always a scope for improvement in every field and none is perfect. To progress, one needs to identify the areas of one's weakness and to strengthen them.
It is well said that "happy beginning is half done" and it fits perfectly with JCDR. It has grown considerably and I feel it has already grown up from its infancy to adolescence, achieving the status of standard online e-journal form Indian continent since its inception in Feb 2007. This had been made possible due to the efforts and the hard work put in it. The way the JCDR is improving with every new volume, with good quality original manuscripts, makes it a quality journal for readers. I must thank and congratulate Dr Hemant Jain, Editor-in-Chief JCDR and his team for their sincere efforts, dedication, and determination for making JCDR a fast growing journal.
Every one of us: authors, reviewers, editors, and publisher are responsible for enhancing the stature of the journal. I wish for a great success for JCDR."
Thanking you
With sincere regards
Dr. Rajendra Kumar Ghritlaharey, M.S., M. Ch., FAIS
Associate Professor,
Department of Paediatric Surgery, Gandhi Medical College & Associated
Kamla Nehru & Hamidia Hospitals Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh 462 001 (India)
E-mail: drrajendrak1@rediffmail.com
On May 11,2011
Dr. Shankar P.R.
"On looking back through my Gmail archives after being requested by the journal to write a short editorial about my experiences of publishing with the Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research (JCDR), I came across an e-mail from Dr. Hemant Jain, Editor, in March 2007, which introduced the new electronic journal. The main features of the journal which were outlined in the e-mail were extensive author support, cash rewards, the peer review process, and other salient features of the journal.
Over a span of over four years, we (I and my colleagues) have published around 25 articles in the journal. In this editorial, I plan to briefly discuss my experiences of publishing with JCDR and the strengths of the journal and to finally address the areas for improvement.
My experiences of publishing with JCDR: Overall, my experiences of publishing withJCDR have been positive. The best point about the journal is that it responds to queries from the author. This may seem to be simple and not too much to ask for, but unfortunately, many journals in the subcontinent and from many developing countries do not respond or they respond with a long delay to the queries from the authors 1. The reasons could be many, including lack of optimal secretarial and other support. Another problem with many journals is the slowness of the review process. Editorial processing and peer review can take anywhere between a year to two years with some journals. Also, some journals do not keep the contributors informed about the progress of the review process. Due to the long review process, the articles can lose their relevance and topicality. A major benefit with JCDR is the timeliness and promptness of its response. In Dr Jain's e-mail which was sent to me in 2007, before the introduction of the Pre-publishing system, he had stated that he had received my submission and that he would get back to me within seven days and he did!
Most of the manuscripts are published within 3 to 4 months of their submission if they are found to be suitable after the review process. JCDR is published bimonthly and the accepted articles were usually published in the next issue. Recently, due to the increased volume of the submissions, the review process has become slower and it ?? Section can take from 4 to 6 months for the articles to be reviewed. The journal has an extensive author support system and it has recently introduced a paid expedited review process. The journal also mentions the average time for processing the manuscript under different submission systems - regular submission and expedited review.
Strengths of the journal: The journal has an online first facility in which the accepted manuscripts may be published on the website before being included in a regular issue of the journal. This cuts down the time between their acceptance and the publication. The journal is indexed in many databases, though not in PubMed. The editorial board should now take steps to index the journal in PubMed. The journal has a system of notifying readers through e-mail when a new issue is released. Also, the articles are available in both the HTML and the PDF formats. I especially like the new and colorful page format of the journal. Also, the access statistics of the articles are available. The prepublication and the manuscript tracking system are also helpful for the authors.
Areas for improvement: In certain cases, I felt that the peer review process of the manuscripts was not up to international standards and that it should be strengthened. Also, the number of manuscripts in an issue is high and it may be difficult for readers to go through all of them. The journal can consider tightening of the peer review process and increasing the quality standards for the acceptance of the manuscripts. I faced occasional problems with the online manuscript submission (Pre-publishing) system, which have to be addressed.
Overall, the publishing process with JCDR has been smooth, quick and relatively hassle free and I can recommend other authors to consider the journal as an outlet for their work."
Dr. P. Ravi Shankar
KIST Medical College, P.O. Box 14142, Kathmandu, Nepal.
E-mail: ravi.dr.shankar@gmail.com
On April 2011 Anuradha
Dear team JCDR, I would like to thank you for the very professional and polite service provided by everyone at JCDR. While i have been in the field of writing and editing for sometime, this has been my first attempt in publishing a scientific paper.Thank you for hand-holding me through the process.
Dr. Anuradha
E-mail: anuradha2nittur@gmail.com
On Jan 2020
Original article / research
Full Version
Trend Analysis of Malaria Prevalence in a District of Western Ghats, Karnataka, India: A Retrospective Study
Correspondence Address :
Dr. K Archana Rao,
No. 108, First Floor, MIG, KHB Colony, 2nd Stage, 6th Cross, Basaveshwaranagar, Bangalore-560079, Karnataka, India.
E-mail: archanaswaroop79@gmail.com
Introduction: Malaria, among vector-borne diseases, has remained a major threat to public health for decades due to its course and complications. As an endemic region, malaria poses a great threat as it can cause multi-organ failure. Despite continuous monitoring and effective implementation of control measures, India still contributes to the majority of cases in the sub-Asian region.
Aim: To estimate the prevalence of malaria, to determine the seasonality and to analyse the trend of the disease over a period.
Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective study conducted at Chikamagalur a district in Karnataka, India, in the year 2022 over a period of six months. The study was done by collecting the data of patient details from the laboratory register. The results were analysed, positive results were calculated for disease burden by Plasmodium vivax (P. vivax) and Plasmodium falciparum (P. falciparum).
Results: Out of 27,474 samples, 94 were found positive for malaria parasite of which P. vivax cases were 90 (95%) and 4 (5%) were P. falciparum cases. The prevalence rate was 0.34%. There was a 24% drop in malaria cases from 2019-2021 when compared to 2015-2018.
Conclusion: The present study shows decline in the number of malaria cases from 2015 to 2021. The cases showed seasonal variation with maximum cases being reported in September. As India is in the decline phase of cases, with the collective efforts of clinicians, laboratory personnel and community health workers, elimination of malaria could be a possibility.
Burden, Decline, Elimination of malaria, Malaria, Prevalence
In the tropical regions, of all the vector borne diseases, malaria is a constant major health problem due to its morbidity and mortality. According to the data published, it gains global attention, as nearly 300-500 million cases and 1.5-2.7 million deaths are reported annually (1),(2). As per the National Vector Borne Disease Control Program (NVBDCP) (3) incidence records, in most parts of India the Annual Parasite Index (API) was five (3). The API is an index to express malaria cases per thousand populations. In India, high API index was reported from Rajasthan followed by Gujarat, Karnataka etc., (3).
Malaria is a mosquito-borne illness which remains an important public health problem in both under developed and developing countries and a major cause of morbidity and mortality in both rural and urban areas. It spreads to people through the bite of female Anopheles mosquitoes (4). The four important species that cause human infection are P. falciparum, P. vivax, Plasmodium malariae and Plasmodium ovale. Malaria is endemic in India and the most common species spreading infection are P. falciparum and P. vivax. A typical attack of malaria comprises of-cold stage, hot stage and sweating stage (5). Clinical symptoms can vary from headache, fever, shivering, vomiting, haemolytic anaemia, jaundice, haematuria, altered sensorium and convulsions (6).
Due to the complications arising from P. falciparum, it is considered more fatal than P. vivax [7,8]. The geographical location and climatic conditions are favourable for transmission of malaria in India like climate, season, temperature, humidity, rainfall, altitude and host factors like gender, race, population mobility, housing, occupation socio-economic status etc., having an influence on malaria epidemiology (9),(10). Also, location of mosquito breeding sites in and around the housing areas and clustering of human habitations which act as reservoirs of parasites that makes the transmission rate higher and poses a great challenge in the control of cases in endemic areas of India (11). Chikkmangalur is a hill station in Karnataka, a state in southwest India, with an area of 30 km². Chikkamagalur situated in the Western Ghats covered with trees and waterfalls. The town’s elevation of 1,090 m above sea level makes it an ideal place for breeding and also transmission of the same. Effective implementation of insecticide spraying, prevention of water stagnation, using larvicidal agents helped in countries like India and Srilanka, severely reducing the Anopheline population (12). The objective of the study was to estimate the prevalence of malarial parasitic infection among patients attending tertiary care hospital, to determine the seasonality of the disease and to analyse the trend of the disease over the period.
This was a retrospective study, to determine the prevalence of malaria. The present study was done from Chikkamagalur area which is a hillock in Western Ghats. The data was collected retrospectively from January 2015 to December 2021 from District hospital Chikkamagaluru and analysed over six months. The study was presented to ethical committee clearance board and approval was obtained with the number bearing RMCH/IEC12/2023.
Inclusion criteria: The study population included all the patients (both sexes and any age groups) with fever as chief complaint, associated with chills, rigors, who either attended Outpatient Department (OPD) or patients admitted in ward.
Exclusion criteria: The patients without symptoms suggestive of malaria were excluded from the study.
Methodology: A total of 27,474 samples were examined during the study period. The data regarding the patient details (like age, gender, year of hospital visit) were collected from the laboratory registers maintained. All the samples received were processed according to the standard protocols. Peripheral blood smear examination was done on all samples. Two types of smears were done. One was the thick smear for screening and other was a thin smear which helped in the identification of different stages of malaria parasite. The smears were stained with pararosaniline dye (leishman stain), smears were dried and observed under microscope (13). Additional immunochromatographic assay done using commercially available kit (Meriscreen Malaria Pf/Pv Ag, Meril life manufacturers) in which precoated antibody specific to histidine rich protein ll of P. falciparum and antibody specific to lactate dehydrogenase of Plasmodium series was used. The above antigens were detected (13). The results were entered in log registers and maintained. The data included patient details, chief complaints, number of blood samples collected, number of samples tested positive for P. vivax and P. falciparum. The data was collected, compiled and analysed to understand the prevalence of malaria in the area.
Statistical Analysis
The data were entered into Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software 28.0 for analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to summarise the study participants and the frequency of malaria on different independent variables and presented by tables, figures and texts. Z-test was applied to determine the significance and statistical analysis was carried out at 5% level of significance and p-value <0.05 was considered as significant.
A total of 27,474 samples were examined from 2015 to 2021 out of which 94 samples were found microscopically positive for malaria parasite of which P. vivax cases were 90 (95%) and 4 (5%) were P. falciparum cases. Prevalence rate was 0.34%.
Prevalence of malaria in the present study was more in males 64/94 (68%) as compared to female 30/94 (32%) with male to female ratio 2:1 (Table/Fig 1). Maximum number of cases was seen among the age group of 11-40 years (86, 91.4%) with peak in 21- 30 years. Considering different species of Plasmodium causing the disease, between 11-40 years are group, P. vivax accounted for 82 (96%) and P. falciparum was in 4 (4%) patients. There was decline in the number of cases from 34 positive cases in 2015 to one positive case in 2021 as shown in (Table/Fig 2). The cases showed seasonal variation. As shown in (Table/Fig 3), maximum numbers of cases were seen from July to November with peak in September which corresponds to monsoon and post monsoon seasons of the year.
The present study aimed at determining the trend analysis of malaria cases in Chikmagalur, a hill station in Karnataka, India. The present study showed a decline in number of cases from 2015-2019. There was 24% drop in malaria cases from 2019-2021 when compared to 2015-2018. The results was concordant with the statistical data given by ministry of health family welfare which showed that there was a considerable decline in malaria cases in India (14). India is the only high endemic country which has reported a decline of 17.6% in 2019 as compared to 2018. The API reduced by 27.6% in 2018 compared to 2017 and by 18.4% in 2019 as compared to 2018. India has sustained API less than one since year 2012 (15). With the effective control and preventive measures and effective implementation of national programmes India is showing a decline phase in the number of cases reported as well as mortality because of malaria, which makes it assertive that India will be among one of the nations to eliminate malaria by 2025. When compared to other countries the prevalence rate in India shows a wide variations may be due to change in the geographical location and climatic conditions which affect mosquito breeding places also other factors like socio-economic conditions of patients, knowledge about healthcare and public health practices play a predominant role.
In India, malaria is found to be a seasonal disease. The cases are usually observed to increase from July to October. The conditions which favour transmission of malaria are good rainfall, relative humidity of 60% and temperature between 20-30°C (16). Regarding seasonal variation, in the present study maximum numbers of cases were found in the months of July to November with a peak in September. Similar findings are reported by a study in Navi Mumbai, India which showed around 20% (161) cases in October of total 809 cases reported in a year (5). Similarly studies done by Pandey S and Singh A, Jivabhai HT et al., showed an increase in number of cases in August, September and October which corresponds to the monsoon season of the year (17),(18). High prevalence of malaria in this period could be due to collection of water in rainy season and mosquito breeding which continues till November.
According to Park textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine, in India, about 70% of the infections are reported to be due to P. vivax, 25-30% due to P. falciparum, 4-8% due to mixed infection and 1% due to P. malariae (11). The present study showed 90 (95%) of cases are due to P. vivax and 4 (5%) of total cases are due to P. falciparum. In another study done in Arunachal Pradesh P. vivax accounted for 80.8% of infection and P. falciparum caused 17.7% of total malaria cases (9) which was comparable with present study. The present study concords with the other studies from India that showed higher number of P. vivax positive cases compare to P. falciparum. On contrary, study from Navi Mumbai (5) showed high rate of mixed infection in addition to routine malarial infection.
Male to female ratio in this study was 2:1, This difference in number of cases could be attributed to various reasons like body odour which may attract mosquitoes among males, also movement of males to wider areas when compared to females (19). All the above could be the reasons for more cases being reported among males than females. Similar difference in results were reported in a study done by Singh RK et al., from Gadchiroli (Maharashtra) (15).
Maximum number of cases of malaria occurred in the age group 21-30 years (46.8%) followed by age group 31-40 years (24.5%). The finding correlates with Singh G et al., (10%) who reported mean age group of 24.8 years and Sahar S et al., reported 16-30 years of age (20),(21). The reason of higher prevalence in this age group could be due to movement in wider areas possibly endemic, more chances of exposure to mosquito bites and most of carefree behaviour.
Limitation(s)
The data was restricted to one centre. Multicentric data may helps in better analysis of trend of the disease. Also, sample size during 2020 and 2021 was less because of COVID-19 pandemic. Restriction of mobility and transportation during pandemic might also affect in the case reporting.
This study shows a decline in malaria cases from 2015 to 2021. The disease shows seasonal variation, with a higher number of cases being reported from July to November, with a peak in September. This corresponds to the rainy and winter seasons resulting in more water stagnation and dampness, making a perfect breeding place for mosquitoes. With the collective efforts of clinicians, laboratory personnel, and community health workers, eradication of malaria could be a possibility. The study data may provide significant resources for these communities, which will help them in decisionmaking in the near future.
DOI: 10.7860/JCDR/2023/61248.17811
Date of Submission: Nov 05, 2022
Date of Peer Review: Dec 17, 2022
Date of Acceptance: Feb 08, 2023
Date of Publishing: May 01, 2023
AUTHOR DECLARATION:
• Financial or Other Competing Interests: None
• Was Ethics Committee Approval obtained for this study? Yes
• Was informed consent obtained from the subjects involved in the study? No
• For any images presented appropriate consent has been obtained from the subjects. NA
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