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More than 80 per cent of genomic studies across the world looking into diseases are concentrated in high-income countries, and under five per cent in low and middle-income countries, according to a new global analysis by the World Health Organization (WHO). More than 6,500 genomic clinical studies were registered globally between 1990 and 2024 via the WHO's International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, with a steep rise after 2010 driven by advances in sequencing technologies, lower costs and wider applications, it said. China led the list of top ten countries ranked by total number of genomic clinical studies registered over the past three decades, followed by the United States and Italy. India featured among the top 20 countries. "Fewer than five per cent of all studies were conducted in lower middle-income and low-income countries combined, while high-income countries accounted for over 80 per cent of all genomic studies," authors of the 'Human genomics technologies in clinica
Three children of a family have died within 48 hours after coming down with fever in a village here, prompting the authorities to dispatch a team of doctors to the area to test other children for diseases like malaria and dengue, according to officials. Medical reports of the three children who died in Gularhiya Tola village of Nebua Naurangia block are awaited to ascertain the cause of death, the officials said on Saturday. Pintu Gaur's daughter Manju (7) took ill a week ago. She was taken to a local doctor but she did not get better. She was then taken to the district hospital, where she died on Wednesday, according to the officials. Soon after, Gaur's younger daughter Khushi (3) also developed high fever. As her condition deteriorated, she was referred from the district hospital to BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur, where she died on Friday morning. In a third blow to the family, Krishna (5), the son of Gaur's elder brother Dashrath, also came down with fever. He died while he wa
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
Every time humans cut into the Amazon rainforest or burn or destroy parts of it, they're making people sick. It's an idea Indigenous people have lived by for thousands of years. Now a new study in the journal Communications Earth & Environment adds to the scientific evidence supporting it, by finding that instances of several diseases were lowered in areas where forest was set aside for Indigenous peoples who maintained it well. With the United Nations climate summit set for Brazil in November, the study authors and outside experts said the work highlights the stakes for people around the world as negotiators try to address climate change. Belem, the city hosting the conference, is known as the gateway to the Amazon, and many who will be attending, from activists to delegates, think the role of Indigenous communities in climate action and conservation will be highlighted in a distinct way. The forest man' or man forest,' according to the Indigenous perspective, has always been ...
Four persons have been diagnosed with the Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), a rare immunological nerve disorder, at a village in Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur district, an official said on Thursday. Some (suspected) cases of GBS have been reported in Multanpura village, but their number is still less, Mandsaur Collector Aditi Garg told PTI Videos. "A total of seven such cases have been reported, and the infection has been confirmed in four of them," she said. After the confirmation of GBS, investigation and survey teams have been deployed in Multanpura. They were going door-to-door to find out if anyone else was suffering from the disease, she said. GBS is a rare neurological condition in which the immune system attacks the nerves, causing muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis. Though it is uncommon, it can affect anyone and usually occurs after infection. Early identification of GBS symptoms and timely treatment are crucial for recovery. Garg said they have got information that some
Goa Minister Vishwajit Rane has said that officials of the state health department have been asked to create awareness among people about the Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV), influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) to prevent panic. Rane stated the same in a written reply to a starred question tabled by St Cruz MLA Rudolfo Fernandes on Friday, the last day of the Goa legislative assembly's winter session. MLA Fernandes had asked if the state Government was aware of the recent spread of the HMPV in a few states in India and sought to know the precautions being taken to prevent the spread of the virus in Goa. State Health Minister Rane said all health officers have been asked to create awareness about HMPV, ILI and SARI among the general public to prevent any panic. He said that while strengthening and reviewing surveillance for ILI and SARI, officials have been asked to investigate severe cases of SARI or pneumonia with tests for H1N1, COVID-19, etc.,
The U.S. winter virus season is in full force, and by one measure is the most intense in 15 years. One indicator of flu activity is the percentage of doctor's office visits driven by flu-like symptoms. Last week, that number was clearly higher than the peak of any winter flu season since 2009-2010, when a swine flu pandemic hit the nation, according to data posted Friday morning by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of course, other viral infections can be mistaken for flu. But COVID-19 appears to be on the decline, according to hospital data and to CDC modeling projections. Available data also suggests another respiratory illness, RSV, has been fading nationally. The flu has forced schools to shut down in some states. The Godley Independent School District, a 3,200-student system near Fort Worth, Texas, last week closed for three days after 650 students and 60 staff were out Tuesday. Jeff Meador, a district spokesman, said the vast majority of illnesses there have bee
Jharkhand Health Minister Irfan Ansari on Tuesday said the state has been unaffected by the human metapneumovirus infection, and there is no need to panic over the detection of such cases in other parts of the country. Ansari said he is closely monitoring the situation. The infection of HMPV has been reported in parts of the country but there is no impact in Jharkhand. I have been closely monitoring the situation. There is no need to panic as no cases of the HMPV infection have so far been reported in the state, Ansari told reporters at Congress headquarters here. Human metapneumovirus is one of the many respiratory viruses that can cause infections in people of all ages, particularly during the winter and early spring months. The infection is usually a mild and self-limiting condition and most cases recover on their own, according to doctors. The Centre has advised states to step up surveillance for respiratory illnesses, including ILI and SARI, and spread awareness about the ...