Manipur Research Articles

Evaluation of paragonimus metacercariae isolated from Maydelliathelphusa Lugubris and morphological characterization of Paragonimus Westermani recovered from an experimental model

Background: Humans acquire Paragonimus westermani (lung flukes) infestation by consumption of crabs and crayfish harboring Paragonimus metacercariae. This study was designed to evaluate the prevalence of P. westermani infection in fresh water crabs found in Manipur, India. The morphological characterization of adult fluke recovered from Wister rats infected with P. metacercariae was also studied. Materials and Methods: The freshwater crabs were collected from the mountain streams of Churachanpur district, Manipur, India. P. metacercariae were harvested from the crab extract under a stereomicroscope. To recover adult flukes, twenty P. westermani-type metacercariae were injected intraperitoneally to Wister rats. The adult fluke recovered from Wister rats were stained with borax carmine, and the whole mount was used for morphological assessment. Results: Crabs of species, Maydelliathelphusa lugubris, were found to harbor Paragonimus heterotremus- and westermani-type metacercariae. Two migratory flukes were recovered from the lung surface of the Wister rats injected intraperitoneally with metacercariae. The morphological features of the mounted specimen of adult fluke recovered showed six lobed ovaries with terminal branching and five lobed testes. On the basis of the morphological features, the species was identified as P. westermani despite the atypical features of its metacercariae. Conclusion: Here, we report the role of M. lugubris fresh water crab species as natural permissive hosts of lung fluke (P. westermani) in Manipur region of India.

Morpho-agronomic characterization and evaluation of a gene based marker in three aromatic pigmented Chakhao rice accessions of Manipur

Chakhao Poireiton, Chakhao Sempak and Chakhao Amubi are the three most popular traditional non-Basmati-type black scented rice of the state of Manipur in India. These varieties have long statured (135-145 cm height) plants which have high anthocyanin pigment on sheaths, leaf blades, nodes and internodes. They are characterized by late heading (115-120 days) and late maturity duration (145-150 days). The lemma and palea of grains are of purple colour with strong fragrance. The agro-morphological characterization of Chakhao Poireiton, Chakhao Sempak and Chakhao Amubi was done at College of Agriculture, Central Agricultural University, Imphal, India during the wet (Kharif) seasons of 2017 and 2018 following the DUS test guidelines for the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Authority (PPV & FRA). DNA extractions were done using SDS method and a CAPS marker for the OSB1 gene was used to discriminate rice seeds governing white and black colour. We validated the usefulness of this marker in three varieties of black scented rice and in a white local landrace as well as their crosses with the white local landrace.

Outcomes of hepatitis C treatment in vulnerable populations co-infected with HIV and hepatitis C: Programme description, Manipur, India

Outcomes of hepatitis C treatment in vulnerable populations co-infected with HIV and hepatitis C: Programme description, Manipur, India

Hepatitis C treatment outcomes among people who inject drugs co-infected with HIV in Manipur, India

Hepatitis C treatment outcomes among people who inject drugs co-infected with HIV in Manipur, India

Origin of the Nagas in Manipur

Origin of the Nagas in Manipur

Seroprevalence of Peste des petits ruminants in small ruminants in the North Eastern Region of India.

A seroprevalence study of the peste des petits ruminants (PPR) in small ruminants was carried out in the different states (Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura) in the North Eastern Region (NER) of India using serum samples collected from April 2017 to March 2018. A total number of 4,163 sera [sheep (n = 508) and goats (n = 3,655)] collected from 345 epi‑units/villages covering 176 municipalities in NER were screened by competitive ELISA kit for the detection of PPR virus antibodies. The results revealed that the seroprevalence of PPR in small ruminants in Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura was 34.3%, 10.3%, 4.7%, 15.7%, 14.7%, and 5.5%, respectively with an overall 14.5% prevalence.Association between the presence of antibodies and goats has been showed to be significant (p < 0.01) at the NER level level and within every single state. This manuscript highlights the need for continuous monitoring of this important disease as for the severe economic impact PPR may have in the affected countries.

Coverage evaluation of the universal immunization program in Imphal-East district of Manipur: a cross-sectional study

Background: For the state of Manipur, the evaluated coverage among children as per NFHS-2, NFHS-3 and NFHS-4 were 42.3%, 46.8% and 65.9% respectively. But with the introduction of Mission Indradhanush in December 2014 which aimed in achieving the full immunization coverage to all eligible children over the next five years through special catch-up drives might have helped in improving the coverage. Hence, some improvement is expected by now. To ascertain the current status, the study was taken up. The current study was conducted to evaluate the primary vaccination coverage among children aged 12-23 months. The study also aimed to determine any association between important background characteristics with the vaccination status.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Imphal East District, Manipur during May 2017 to April 2020 among mothers having 12-23 months old children. 1,309 eligible study-women were selected by using multi-stage sampling technique. Data on their background characteristics, immunization status of the children and vaccination-related details were collected by using a pre-tested interview schedule.Results: The full immunization rate among children was found to be 93%. There was significant association between the immunization status and important background characteristics like place of delivery, order of birth, family income and mother’s educational status.Conclusions: Present study indicated that the full immunization coverage of the district was higher than the national and regional coverage findings. Place of delivery, order of birth, family income and mothers’ low educational status were found to be significantly associated with full immunization coverage.

Molecular epidemiology of Japanese encephalitis virus in pig population of Odisha, Assam and Manipur states of India

Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) comes under the family Flaviviridae and genus flavivirus. Pigs act as reservoir and amplifying intermediate host for JEV. The current investigation was conducted to understand the prevalence of JEV infection in pigs in three different geographical sites in India (Odisha, Assam and Manipur). Total 857 serum samples were tested by ELISA and RT-PCR, while only RT-PCR was performed in case of 275 tonsils tissues for detection of JEV. It was observed that JEV prevalence was highest in Manipur (positive 39, 25.5% in serum and 10% in tonsil) but lower in Assam (positive 15, 3.8% in serum and 0% in tonsils) and Odisha (positive 7, 1.5% in serum and 3.7% in tonsils). Genotype III (GIII) of JEV was the dominant genotype. Further, analysis of E gene revealed sporadic mutations of S83G, H76P, E78Q, C55S, and S64W along with two consistent mutations V46S and V51I in GIII. Whereas, a single mutation S118N was observed in the GI strain. In conclusion, the high JE virus infection rate of pig in the current locations suggests the need for continuous surveillance of this virus in pigs which will ultimately help to adopt an effective control strategy to prevent the spread of JE infection to human.

Some Noteworthy Bat (Mammalia: Chiroptera) Records from Manipur State, Northeastern India

Specimen based records of five species from Manipur state namely Rhinolophus sinicus, R. yunanensis, Kerivoula picta, Myotis muricola and Miniopterus magnater is presented. The mensural data of the examined specimens from Manipur and comparative data from India and Nepal are also provided. With the current additions, the bat inventory of Manipur stands at 17 species. This also highlights the paucity of information on the bat species diversity and distribution of bat fauna in the state and calls for extensive field based studies.

Biochemical and morphological fingerprints of isolated Anabaena sp.: a precious feedstock for food additives

In this recent work, the isolation of cyanobacterium CCC 744 from the state of Manipur, India, was focused. The isolation showed an evolutionary relationship with Anabaena sp. It was evident that 6.61% of ash was present in the biomass of isolated cyanobacteria, followed by 26.10% of carbohydrate, 38.57% of protein, 27.13% of lipid, and 1.6% of moisture. The production ability of CCC 744 was evaluated after cultivation in BG 11 medium for 30 days, and 135.42 μg/mg of C-phycocyanin (PC), 12.39 μg/mg of C-phycoerythrin (PE), 36.03 μg/mg of allophycocyanin (APC), 7.44 μg/mg of chlorophyll-a, 33.7 μg/mg of ammonia excretion, and 327.03 mg/l of exopolysaccharide (EPS) were produced. Here in this investigation, purification and characterization of released polysaccharide (RPS) and capsular polysaccharide (CPS) were also studied. Both EPSs were found negative in charge, and the major component of both EPSs was carbohydrate. The molecular weight of RPS and CPS was measured by size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and found as 46.89 and 12.64 KDa, respectively. The value of flow index for CPS and RPS was found to be 0.22 and 0.355, respectively, indicating that they are pseudoplastic fluid. A 1000 μg of CPS and RPS showed 1.32 and 1.92 times, respectively, higher antioxidant potential than 10 μg of ascorbic acid. Results also showed that 300 μg of CPS and 500 μg of CPS exhibited 1.69 and four times higher scavenging potentiality, respectively, than 10 μg of gallic acid. The amount of exopolysaccharide and phycobiliprotein production was impressive and can be exploited in the future for large-scale production.

Effect of Chinese neem (Melia azedarach L.) on the storage of pea seeds

The Chinese neem, Melia azedarach L. in Meliaceae family is a native tree of Asia and Southern Australia which possess important insecticidal properties. It is also found abundantly in the state of Manipur too and known as ‘‘Seijrak’’ in Manipuri. So an experiment was conducted in the experimental laboratory of Agronomy Department, College of Agriculture, Iroisemba, Central Agricultural University, Imphal in 2017-2019, to study the “Effect of Melia azedarach L. on controlling insect pests on storage of pea seeds (Pisum sativum var Makhyatmubi) in Manipur condition”. It was found that when we mixed the Melia azedarach L. with pea seeds in the ratio 1Kg pea seeds:150g Melia azedarach L. and above, there were no damage of the pea seeds by insect pests but in control where there was no Melia azedarach L., all the seeds were damaged by insect pests.

Assessment of shifting cultivation fallows in Northeastern India using Landsat imageries

Shifting cultivation (Jhum) has been a threat to the rich biodiversity of Northeastern India (NEI). Here, we applied an integrated spectral enhancement technique to map the shifting cultivation fallow/ current jhum area in NEI for 2014, 2016 and 2018 using Landsat-8 data. The natural vegetation in shifting cultivation fallow land was analyzed through field sampling. Manipur state occupied the highest shifting cultivation fallow area of 1528.5 km2 (2014), and it was minimum in Tripura state with 178.3 km2 (2018). The shifting cultivation fallow hotspot map was derived to identify the repetitive patches, in which the state of Arunachal Pradesh topped with 24.9% and Tripura with lowest 3.6%. Field sampling revealed dominance of four invasive species viz., Mikania micrantha, Ageratum houstonianum, Chromolaena odorata and Ageratina adenophora. We provided an insight into shifting cultivation fallow dynamics and vegetation composition in less than 3 year old shifting cultivation fallow lands. The study using remote sensing approach revealed that the fragile ecosystems of NEI are still facing the threat from shifting cultivation, though the trend has started declining. The generated database can be regularly updated in future using recent Sentinel-2 data with higher spatial and temporal resolution that would enhance the quality of land use management plans.

Implications for planning of hydroelectric projects in Northeast India: an analysis of the impacts of the Tipaimukh project

In recent years, while developed countries are decommissioning hydroelectric projects (HEPs)/dams at a higher rate than constructing new ones, developing economies are doing the opposite. Although HEPs are regarded green, renewable and cheap, recent studies reveal that they do more harm than good. The impacts of HEPs are multiple, including socio-economic, environmental and geopolitical. India’s Northeastern (NE) region is a part of the Ganges–Brahmaputra–Meghna river basin, and has immense hydropower potential. A large number of HEPs are planned or under construction in the region, mainly in the hilly states of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Sikkim and Mizoram. One such mega project is the Tipaimukh multipurpose HEP, to be constructed on the Barak river in the state of Manipur. The project is highly controversial, and is being protested against by the locals, academicians, researchers, social activists, NGOs, as well as Bangladesh. Further, a serious cost–benefit analysis, judicious environmental impact assessment and democratic public hearings have been questioned. The area submergence of the project is disproportionately high compared to other such projects of NE India, and the project site and the adjoining areas form a part of Indo-Burma global biodiversity hotspot. The present study details the impacts of the project from multidisciplinary perspectives, categorized into bio-physical, socio-economic and geopolitical impacts, including impacts on the downstream riparian nation—Bangladesh. Based on the study, we have provided recommendations, if ever the construction of project is actualized. Since there is lack of any such analysis, the present study is of immense significance on the decision making of the project, and paves a guideline for impact analysis of the upcoming large number of projects of the region.

Integrated Geospatial Database and Web Based Tools for Land Management and Administrative Planning (ILMAP) for Imphal East and Thoubal Districts, Manipur State, India

Manipur, as most of the north eastern area, come under hilly and difficult area, economically and infrastructurally underdeveloped area category. Manipur is facing the unenviable situation of being a resource starved State coupled with decades old insurgency widespread across the State, desperately crying out for a major thrust in inclusive development. As part of the initiative by the Govt. of India for the development of the north-eastern India, an Integrated Land Management and Administrative Planning (ILMAP) was taken up in Manipur State with the state-of-the-art technology. In the present work Imphal East and Thoubal Districts are selected. The objective of the study is to generate GIS database on drainage, water bodies, administrative boundaries, and other utility maps. The methodology involves geo-referencing of Quick Bird (QB) data with the help of DGPS survey. Drainage and surface water bodies, base map and land use/land cover maps are generated with the help of QB data. Point of Interest is mapped in all urban areas covering important landmarks such as Govt. offices, post offices, banks, religious places, and places of tourist interest etc., along with photographs and geographical coordinates. Using the soil maps generated by AISLUS and NBSS and LUP as a base, soil maps are prepared. All these maps are geo-referenced to QB satellite data. Using this database, a customized GIS application is developed for e-governance which can be accessed by authorized beneficiaries through State Wide Area Network (SWAN). The application was deployed in the State Data Centre (SDC) and training was provided to all the department officials for effective use in all developmental projects.

Epidemiological scenario of dengue in the state of Manipur during the last 3 years.

BackgroundThe study of disease transmission of dengue fever (DF) is perplexing in the Indian subcontinent as all the four serotypes are circling. Also, there is no efficient epidemiological examination done on dengue cases in Manipur, a north-eastern territory of India.MethodWe utilized the dengue information extricated from the lab register of Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL) from 2016 to 2018. All presumed outpatient and inpatients dengue cases from open and private health-care facilities are incorporated into the VRDL database whose informed consent were gotten.ResultsA sum of 1689 instances of associated patients with dengue infection was tried for dengue ELISA test and 272 (16.10%) samples were seen as seropositive. The month-wise conveyance of dengue cases is very intriguing as the three years of study demonstrates a variation design in perception. In all the three years dengue seropositive cases were seen higher in the male populace. Be that as it may, there is no noteworthy incentive to the inspiration of dengue seropositive towards male than female.ConclusionOur examination exhibits a comparative epidemiological investigation on seroprevelance of dengue in the province of Manipur for three years. This is an endeavour to show epidemiological dengue seroprevelance in the territory of Manipur which in future would be a reference from general wellbeing worries for making up essential move intend to shorten the spread of dengue.

Genetic Diversity and Multiplicity of Infection in Plasmodium Falciparum Isolates Causing Uncomplicated Malaria Infections in North-East India

Understanding the genetic diversity of Plasmodium falciparum still remains a major obstacle in developing effective malaria control strategies in different geographical regions of North East India. The study was aimed to determine the genetic diversity of P. falciparum merozoite surface protein 1 (mspl) and 2 (msp2) and multiplicity of infection (MOl) from uncomplicated malaria patients from the states of Assam, Manipur and Meghalaya in North East India. A total of sixty six P. falciparum isolates from uncomplicated malaria patients attending various public health centers of northeastern states were collected from September 2015 to December 2018 prior to treatment. Parasite DNA was extracted and mspl and msp2 gene frequencies and diversity were analyzed using allele-specific nested PCR assay followed by sequencmg. Analysis of mspl alleles revealed that Kl allelic family was predominant with 33.34% followed by MAD20 at 18.18%% and R033 at 9.09% respectively. In msp2, the 3D7 family was most highly represented with 50% prevalence against 31.81% for FC27. Multiclonal infections were observed with 26 (39.40%) and 12 (18.18%) patients harboring more than one parasite genotype followed by MOl at 1.12 and 0.95 for mspl and msp2 genes respectively. The present study showed the highest genetic diversity in P. falciparum infected patients in Assam state with multiple clones followed by Meghalaya and Manipur indicating gene flow between the parasite populations within the states due to frequent human migration.

Taxonomic review of the Asian Horned Frogs (Amphibia: Megophrys Kuhl & Van Hasselt) of Northeast India and Bangladesh previously misidentified as M. parva (Boulenger), with descriptions of three new species

ABSTRACT Megophrys parva is currently considered to be among the most widely dispersed species within the genus, however, recent studies have provided compelling evidence that this species represents a complex of morphologically similar, deeply divergent taxa. The focus of this paper is to take a closer look at species from Northeast India (NEI) and Bangladesh that are currently, or were until recently, considered to represent M. parva, now comprising the M. (Xenophrys) megacephala species group. We investigate their troublesome taxonomic histories, identify hidden cryptic species diversity using morphological and molecular data, and resolve many of the historical misidentifications that have led to a proliferation of taxonomic confusion in this group. Molecular analyses extend the geographic distribution of the M. (X.) megacephala species group east into northern Myanmar based on available sequence data. A detailed redescription of the paralectotypes of M. parva is provided to better define this poorly known species. The geographic distributions of the taxonomically obscure species, M. serchhipii and M. zunhebotoensis, are extended far beyond their respective type localities, and both are considerably better defined taxonomically based on detailed descriptions of referred specimens, and comparison with relevant congeners. Significant geographic range extensions are also provided for the recently described species M. oropedion and M. megacephala. Three new species from the Indian states of Nagaland and Manipur are identified using a combination of morphological characters, supported by significant genetic divergence. Examination of historical specimen collections and scrutiny of published literature provide sufficient evidence to remove M. parva and M. wuliangshanensis from the checklist of Indian species. Previous records of M. parva from Bangladesh are demonstrated to represent M. serchhipii. Recent reports of M. glandulosa and M. robusta from Meghalaya are also revised and are considered to be based on misidentifications of known species from the state. The revised distributions of NEI’s small-sized horned frogs provide insights into the biogeography of the group. One of the newly described species known only from the high-elevation Dzükou Valley, Nagaland, might require immediate conservation action due to increased tourist activity at its type locality. http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:CE06A188-88E4-44CD-86A4-A62DD902B0A5

Word formation in contemporary Liangmai: A morphological study

This paper attempts to discuss the different processes of word formation in contemporary Liangmai, a Tibeto-Burman (TB) language of the Kuki-Chin-Naga sub group (Bradley 1997). The language is spoken by around 50,000 speakers in the state of Manipur and Nagaland, in the northeastern part of India. This paper discusses a detailed description of the word formation processes that are relevant in Liangmai, namely affixation, compounding and reduplication. Like the other TB languages of the region, Liangmai is an agglutinative language in which almost all the syllable boundary corresponds to morpheme boundary. Most of the Liangmai words are monosyllabic. In the case of disyllabic/polysyllabic words, various morphemes which composed the word are easily segmentable.

Workplace violence in a tertiary health-care institute in Manipur: A cross-sectional study

Background: Workplace violence is much prevalent across the globe in almost all institutions dealing directly with the general public and hospitals are no exception to it. Therefore, the objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of workplace violence among doctors and nurses in a tertiary health-care institute in Manipur and to discuss the contributing factors and preventive measures against workplace violence. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from March to April 2019 among a sample of 438 among doctors and nurses of clinical departments of a tertiary health-care institute, Manipur. A predesigned self-administered questionnaire which was modified and adopted from the “Workplace Violence in the Health Sector Country Case Study-Questionnaire” was used for data collection. Data were analyzed using SPSS IBM Statistics version 21. Statistical analyses such as mean, standard deviation (SD), proportion, and Chi-squared (χ2) test were performed taking P Results: The mean (±SD) age was 31.02 (±7.1) years. About 32.8% had experienced at least one form of violence. Verbal abuses were the most common form (72.8%). Staff nurses (45.7%) faced the maximum number of incidents. Significantly male staff faced more workplace violence than females. Conclusion: The prevalence of workplace violence was a little more than 1 out of 4. Verbal abuse was the most common workplace violence. The communication gap (123, 49.8%) was cited as the main cause of workplace violence. Increasing security measures and limiting numbers of patient's attendants are required to deal with workplace violence.

Training among in-service doctors in Manipur and their translation into practice

Introduction: Manipur, the easternmost state of India, suffer from lack of specialist doctors at peripheral public health service points. Among MBBS doctors, many lack knowledge on maternal and child health, resulting in delay identifying high-risk cases, which contribute to increased morbidity and mortality. Under RMNCH + A strategy as a continuum to the previous program, to overcome the shortage of specialist doctors, multi-skilling of doctors in the public health system is being undertaken. Training need assessment, proper conduct of training, mentoring should be ensured so that these service providers gain confidence and are thus able to practice newly acquired skills. Objectives: The aim is to determine the type and pattern of training among Medical Officers and to assess the level of translation of Basic Emergency Obstetric Care (BEmOC) training (knowledge and skills) into practice. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was done from June 2015 to October 2017. A questionnaire-guided interview was done among BEmOC trained in-service doctors. Data collected were analyzed using SPSS-version-21. Descriptive statistics such as percentage, mean, median, and standard deviation were used. Chi-square test and Fisher's exact test were used for testing the significance between the proportions. ANOVA and independent t-test were used for comparing means. A value of P Results: Out of 49 respondents, 82% responded and 61% were male. The mean knowledge score was 21 ± 2.8 with a range of 16–27 and the mean age was 33.2 ± 4.1. Gender, year of training, and performed manual removal of placenta were seen significantly associated with knowledge score. About 81.6% of the doctors conducted normal delivery in the past 6 months. Around 45% of the doctors reported performing manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) procedures in the past 6 months and were confident about it. Conclusion: The mean knowledge score about BEmOC was more than two-third of the total score. After training, the knowledge score seems to decrease as time passes. Males had better knowledge than females. There was no association between age, place of posting, and years of experience with knowledge. Almost half of the participants performed the induction of labor and MVA procedure in the last 6 months.