Acute Respiratory Infection cases on rise in India: Study

Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) cases have shown an "increasing" trend in the country, even as researchers have "unearthed" wide array of health effects associated with air pollution exposure over the last 30 years.
As per the 'National Health Profile 2015' published by Central Bureau of Health Intelligence (CBHI) today, nearly 3,000 people have died due to ARI in 2014.
The data released by Union Health Minister J P Nadda showed that 3,48,14,636 ARI cases were reported in 2014, out of which 1,67,90,438 were females while the total number of deaths were 2,932.
The number of ARI deaths in 2013 was much higher as it stood at 3,513. The number of reported ARI cases in 2013 were 3,34,23,107, the study said.

In Delhi, 3,90,170 ARI cases were reported in 2013 even as the national capital witnessed 175 deaths due to ARI while the latest data showed that in 2014, 3,39,506 cases were reported in which 104 deaths were reported.
In 2013, 753 deaths were reported in West Bengal - the highest from ARI, while in 2014, 625 and 619 deaths were reported from West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh respectively.
The digital version of the annual document, which has been prepared for the first time, was also released.
The National Health Profile covers demographic, socio-economic, health status and health finance indicators, along with comprehensive information on health infrastructure and human resources in health sector.