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An ICMR study has found that the six-month all-oral treatment regimens for multidrug-resistant and rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis are cost-effective and offer improved health outcomes compared to the longer treatment plans currently used in India. The economic evaluation conducted by ICMR's National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis (NIRT) was published in the Indian Journal of Medical Research (IJMR). It assessed the cost-effectiveness of the shorter bedaquiline-based regimens -- BPaL (bedaquiline, pretomanid and linezolid) and BPaLM (with moxifloxacin) -- in comparison with the nine-to-11-month and the 18-to 20-month-long bedaquiline-containing treatment plans used under the National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP). The analysis revealed that the BPaL regimen is more effective against multidrug-resistant and rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis and, at the same time, more economical. For each additional quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained, the health system spends Rs 37
The Union Health Ministry has banned the manufacture, sale and distribution of all oral formulations containing the popular painkiller nimesulide above 100 mg, citing serious risks to health, an official notification said. The decision was taken following a recommendation by ICMR, the apex health research body of India, it said. "The Central government is satisfied that the use of all oral formulations containing Nimesulide above 100 mg in immediate release dosage form is likely to involve risk to human beings and that safer alternatives to the said drug are available," the notification issued on Monday said. It stated that it is necessary and expedient in the public interest to prohibit the manufacture, sale and distribution of the drug in the country for human use. "Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 26A of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and after consultation with the Drugs Technical Advisory Board, the Centre, hereby prohibits the manufacture, sal
Pathogens were found in 11.1 per cent of the 4.5 lakh patients tested by the network of labs under the Indian Council of Medical Research as part of efforts to identify viral infections of public health significance. The top five pathogens detected were Influenza A in acute respiratory infection (ARI)/ severe acute respiratory infections (SARI cases), dengue virus among acute fever and haemorrhagic fever cases, Hepatitis A in jaundice cases, Norovirus in among acute diarrheal disease (ADD) outbreaks and Herpes simplex virus (HSV) in Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) cases. The spread of infectious diseases rose from 10.7 per cent in the first quarter to 11.5 per cent in the second quarter of 2025, according to the report by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) According to the Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratories (VRDL) network of ICMR, between January and March, out of 2,28,856 samples, 24,502 (10.7 per cent) were found to contain pathogens from April to June 2025, .
The Indian Council of Medical Research has successfully conducted animal trials using indigenously developed monoclonal antibodies for treating Nipah virus infection and has now sought collaboration with Indian industry partners for producing them to ensure their timely availability during outbreaks. Monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-made proteins that mimic the antibodies produced by the immune system to protect against foreign substances and harmful pathogens. The Nipah virus (NiV), which has an extremely high fatality rate, has emerged as one of the most significant zoonotic threats to India, with repeated outbreaks recorded since 2001, according to the Expression of Interest (EoI) document issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The apex health research body has issued an EoI stating: "The ICMR is willing to collaborate with eligible organisations, companies, and manufacturers for the 'Development and Manufacturing of Monoclonal Antibodies against Nipah Viral
The South-South collaboration remains a priority through joint projects and capacity building to ensure that the region benefits from each other's expertise, ICMR Director General Dr Rajiv Bahl said, emphasising that "science and research must serve people directly". He made the remarks at the concluding day of the two-day regional meeting titled "Health Research and Innovations in Public Health: Exchange of Good Practices across RESEARCH Platform", organised by the Indian council of Medical Research (ICMR). The event, held at the Sushma Swaraj Bhawan, brought together senior representatives from Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Timor-Leste to deliberate on strengthening health-research systems, facilitate the exchange of good practices and promote cross-border collaboration in South and Southeast Asia. The meeting marked an important milestone in fostering collaboration across South and Southeast Asia to ensure that health research directly informs policy, addresses regional priorities
A study funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has demonstrated the impact of improved nutrition in reducing tuberculosis cases and fatalities, with the WHO incorporating the findings into updated global guidance on controlling the disease. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of nutritional supplementation on tuberculosis incidence in household contacts of adults with microbiologically confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis. Household contacts of 2,800 patients with microbiologically confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis across 28 units of the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme in four districts of Jharkhand were enrolled for this field-based, open-label, cluster-randomised controlled trial. The study, published by The Lancet, said that in India, tuberculosis and undernutrition are syndemic, with a high burden of TB coexisting with a high burden of undernutrition in patients and in the population. In a post on X on August 7, ICMR said the WHO has recogni