Disease

Officials say upcoming predictive model will integrate AI surveillance, climatic and population movement patterns to anticipate outbreak trajectories

My year of unraveling is how a despairing Christy Morrill described nightmarish months when his immune system hijacked his brain. What's called autoimmune encephalitis attacks the organ that makes us us, and it can appear out of the blue. Morrill went for a bike ride with friends along the California coast, stopping for lunch, and they noticed nothing wrong. Neither did Morrill until his wife asked how it went and he'd forgotten. Morrill would get worse before he got better. Unhinged and fighting to see light, he wrote as delusions set in and holes in his memory grew. Of all the ways our immune system can run amok and damage the body instead of protecting it, autoimmune encephalitis is one of the most unfathomable. Seemingly healthy people abruptly spiral with confusion, memory loss, seizures, even psychosis. But doctors are getting better at identifying it, thanks to discoveries of a growing list of the rogue antibodies responsible that, if found in blood and spinal fluid, aid ..

An artificial intelligence tool deployed by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in 2022 may have helped issue more than 5,000 alerts of infectious outbreaks to health authorities in real-time since installation, according to a study. Developed by WadhwaniAI, a New Delhi-based healthcare AI solutions provider, the 'Health Sentinel' tool could have helped slash 98 per cent of manual workload, enabling a quicker detection of an outbreak and proactive public health response, findings published as a pre-print paper and yet to be peer-reviewed suggest. Nearly 200 countries are legally bound by the International Health Regulations (IHR) to operate a national disease surveillance system. The IHR and World Health Organization work together in protecting global health security. News reports in print, electronic and online media are scanned by media scanning and verification tool under India's 'Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme' (IDSP) for unusual health events, which are th

Vitamin D deficiency remains particularly high among adolescents and working-age adults, largely due to indoor lifestyles and limited sun exposure

A Somali hospital ward packed with gasping children shows how war, climate and mistrust of vaccines is fueling the disease's return

The Kerala government has designated snakebite envenomation a disease of "utmost public health importance", a move aimed at enhancing data collection and documentation in response to concerns over fatalities from related incidents. The significant decision was made under Section 28 of the Kerala Public Health Act, 2023, as per the gazette notification issued on Friday. Snakebite envenomation is a life-threatening disease caused by the migration of venomous snakes, it said. "Snakebite envenomation is hereby declared a disease of public health importance throughout the state," said the notification signed by Dr Rajan Khobragade, Additional Chief Secretary (Health). Any disease, whether communicable or non-communicable, can be declared as a disease of public health importance if the government needs to collect more information about it or if any treatment standards are to be followed in its connection, it said. If appropriate treatment is not provided in a timely manner, the bite of

Chinese scientists discover new viruses in bat kidneys linked to fatal brain diseases, raising urgent concerns about future outbreaks

From mosquito-borne infections to water contamination, the monsoon brings a host of health risks - here's how to avoid falling ill and enjoy the season safely

Diverticular disease or diverticulosis is where small bulges or pouches (called diverticula) form in the wall of the colon, often due to a weakening in the muscle layer

More US children have died this flu season than at any time since the swine flu pandemic 15 years ago, according to a federal report released Friday. The 216 pediatric deaths reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eclipse the 207 reported last year. It's the most since the 2009-2010 H1N1 global flu pandemic. It's a startlingly high number, given that the flu season is still going on. The final pediatric death tally for the 2023-2024 flu season wasn't counted until autumn. This number that we have now is almost certainly an undercount, and one that when the season is declared over, and they compile all the data it's almost certain to go up, said Dr. Sean O'Leary, of the American Academy of Pediatrics. There are likely several contributors to this season's severity, but a big one is that fewer children are getting flu shots, added O'Leary, a University of Colorado pediatric infectious diseases specialist. The flu vaccination rate for US children has plummeted f

Only about eight per cent of bacterial infections detected in 2019 in India were treated appropriately, according to an analysis of low- and middle-income countries. Findings published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal show that in 2019, there were nearly 15 lakh bacterial infections resistant to carbapenems -- a common antibiotic -- across eight countries that were under study. Carbapenems are used for treating severe infections -- such as those acquired from being inside a hospital, where bacteria resistant to antibiotics are abundant. Of the 15 lakh bacterial infections, only over a lakh treatment courses were procured -- the resulting treatment gap meant that only 6.9 per cent of the patients were treated appropriately, researchers, including those from the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP), Switzerland, found. "India procured most of the treatment courses (80.5 per cent; 83,468 courses), with 7.8 per cent of infections treated appropriately

A second unvaccinated child has died from measles in Texas, as the United States confronts its worst outbreak of the disease in more than 30 years. The school-aged child, with no underlying conditions, died from complications while hospitalised, according to the University Medical Center (UMC) Health System in Lubbock, a leading regional hospital and teaching institution. The death follows another fatal pediatric case in Texas in February and an adult death in neighbouring New Mexico in early March. Nationwide, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed 607 measles cases across 21 states this year, more than double the total for all of 2023. Texas has reported 481 cases, the highest statewide tally in decades. "If this trend continues, we may surpass the 2019 outbreak -- the worst in nearly 30 years," Dr Peter Hotez, a leading vaccine expert at Baylor College of Medicine, told PTI. "And what's tragic is that these deaths are entirely preventable." Measl

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed Norovirus outbreak aboard Queen Mary 2 as it sails to the Caribbean; the cruise line intensifies sanitation efforts

World Tuberculosis Day is observed every year to recognise the ongoing battle against the world's deadliest disease that primarily affects the lungs

Over the course of several weeks, Nigerians confirmed the deaths of at least 26 due to outbreak of meningitis. In Kerala, India, around 5 people have shown signs of the illness

Actor Gene Hackman died of heart disease a full week after his wife died from hantavirus in their New Mexico hillside home, likely unaware that she was dead because he was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease, authorities revealed Friday. Both deaths were ruled to be from natural causes, chief medical examiner Dr Heather Jarrell said alongside state fire and health officials at a news conference. Mr Hackman showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer's disease, Jarrell said. He was in a very poor state of health. He had significant heart disease, and I think ultimately that's what resulted in his death. Authorities didn't suspect foul play after the bodies of Hackman, 95, and Betsy Arakawa, 65, were discovered February 26. Immediate tests for carbon monoxide poisoning were negative. Investigators found that the last known communication and activity from Arakawa was February 11 when she visited a pharmacy, pet store and grocery before returning to their gated neighbourhood that .

WHO has introduced a new module dedicated to traditional medicine conditions in its 2025 update to the International Classification of Diseases, marking a monumental step in the systematic tracking and global integration of traditional systems of healthcare practices, the government said on Wednesday. The Ayush Ministry said this update follows the successful year-long testing and deliberations after the launch of International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11 TM-2 in January last year for Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani systems of medicine for country implementation testing. "This groundbreaking inclusion of traditional medicine in WHO's internationally recognised health framework ensures that traditional health systems of Ayurveda, Siddha, and Unani are officially documented and categorized in ICD-11, alongside conventional medical conditions. This elevates their status in global health reporting, research and policymaking," it said. Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, the secretary in the ...

Prolonged illnesses like cancer and chronic infections often leave the immune system in a state of exhaustion, where its frontline defenders - T cells - lose their ability to function effectively

A 17-year-old girl died at a private hospital here due to suspected Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), the first such case in Assam in the current season, doctors of the health facility said on Saturday. However, there was no official confirmation from the hospital and the state health department. "The Class-12 girl was admitted to Pratiksha Hospital around 10 days ago and she was diagnosed with GBS," a paediatrician of the hospital told PTI on condition of anonymity. GBS is a rare condition that causes sudden numbness and muscle weakness, with symptoms including severe weakness in the limbs and loose motions. "The girl's condition worsened and was put on ventilator support. It was a very severe variety of GBS and she expired last night," the doctor said. He said it is the "first known case of GBS in Assam" this season, although it is a very common bacterial disease, affecting the nervous system. "In the last six months, no GBS case was detected. All over India, there has been a wave

Infected water source likely the reason for rare neurological condition, say doctors