Page 6 - Health News

Govt reviews Covid situation; advises people to mask up, get vaccinated

In view of a sudden spurt in COVID cases in China and some other countries, the Union health minister on Wednesday reviewed the situation in the country and asked people to follow COVID-appropriate behaviour, including wearing masks in crowded places, and get vaccinated. "COVID is not over yet. I have directed all concerned to be alert and strengthen surveillance. We are prepared to manage any situation," Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said. During the meeting, attended by experts and senior officials, the minister was briefed on the global COVID-19 situation and the domestic scenario, including the preparedness of all stakeholders. Noting that only 27-28 per cent of India's eligible population have taken the precaution dose of COVID-19, NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr V K Paul, after the meeting, said people should take the jab and also wear masks in crowded places. Paul urged people not to panic and said that there was no change in the guidelines for international air tra

Possible neural link between early life trauma and eating disorder: Study

Research has revealed how a pathway in thebrain that typically provides signals to stop eating may be altered by early life trauma

Healthcare should transform to patient-centric: Karnataka Health Minister

Emphasizing on transformation in the healthcare sector, Karnataka Health Minister said that healthcare should be shifted from doctor-centric to patient-centric and hospital-centric to home-centric

Mucosal DNA vaccine found effective in stopping Covid in its tracks: Study

A mucosal DNA vaccine was proved effective in stopping COVID-19 in its tracks, a small-scale study conducted in mice has found. An international research team has demonstrated that its mucosal DNA vaccine is capable of ensuring the total survival of a group of mice infected with a version of the virus adapted to this species, whereas the latter kills 100 per cent of unvaccinated mice. Each group of mice tested consisted of 10 individuals, the study said. The study is published in the Biomaterials journal. Created using a vector developed by a Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) researcher at the Immunology and New Concepts in Immunotherapy Laboratory, Nantes University, France, this vaccine acts in a manner similar to that of RNA vaccines on the market. The DNA delivered by the vector enters the target cells, causing them to produce a SARS-CoV-2 protein and allowing the immune system to prepare itself by producing antibodies and lymphocytes against the virus. A vec

WHO stands by action of issuing alert against Maiden Pharma cough syrup

Asserts that testing done in labs in Ghana and Switzerland confirmed excess levels of contaminated syrups that are "dangerous and should not be in any medicine, ever"

India sees most number of cervical cancer cases, deaths in Asia: Lancet

Lancet report titled, "Global estimates of incidence and mortality of cervical cancer in 2020: a baseline analysis of the WHO Global Cervical Cancer Elimination Initiative," highlights glaring reality

Maiden Pharma's cough syrups are safe, WHO jumped the gun: DCGI

'Irreparable damage' to Indian pharma's global image, drug regulator writes to WHO

Maharashtra reports 22 new coronavirus cases, 1 death; active tally at 193

Maharashtra on Wednesday reported 22 new COVID-19 cases, taking the overall tally to 81,36,252, while one more patient succumbed to the infection in the state, pushing up the toll to 1,48,409, said the health department. Fresh addition to the coronavirus death toll in the state has been reported after a gap of several days. Maharashtra had recorded 27 COVID-19 cases and zero fatality on Tuesday. The Mumbai administrative circle reported 11 cases, followed by Pune (6), Latur (3), and Nashik circles (2), said the health department in a bulletin. The Mumbai circle reported the lone coronavirus-related death, it said. An administrative circle consists of multiple districts and the state has eight such circles. With 9,219 swab samples tested in the last 24 hours, their cumulative number in the state rose to 8,57,76,957, said the bulletin. The number of recoveries increased to 79,87,650 after 24 patients recuperated from the infection during the day, leaving the state with 193 active

Karnataka govt simultaneously launches 114 'Namma Clinics' across State

The Karnataka government on Wednesday simultaneously launched 114 'Namma Clinics', which would provide primary healthcare services to vulnerable sections, especially the urban poor and daily wage workers, across the state. The Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai inaugurated a Namma Clinic at Bhairidevarakoppa in Hubballi of Dharwad district in the presence of Health Minister K Sudhakar, among others. Twelve types of health services will be available at these centres free of cost, and each clinic will consist of a medical officer, a nurse, lab technician, and a Group D employee, an official statement had said earlier. Health Minister K Sudhakar said the government is working to operationalise all 438 Namma Clinics across the State as announced earlier and all the remaining ones will be functional by January-end. A total of 243 of Namma Clinics will be functioning under the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) area, and work is underway to make them operational for public service by

Study finds climate change can cause itchy eyes, runny nose

Researchers have discovered how the contiguous United States' two most common allergies, oak and ragweed pollen, would vary due to climate change

AIIMS to get digi library to streamline procurements, increase transparency

To increase transparency and streamline procurement process, the AIIMS administration here has decided set up a digital library on which all supply and work orders will be made public from April 1 next year. The Procurement Digital Library - a repository of all the supply and work orders -- will ensure transparency and reduce the burden of RTI's related to procurement at the institute, according to an office memorandum issued on December 9. "The data on this PDL shall also be helpful to other government institutions for benchmarking their engineering and stores procurement against AllMS procurement trends, prices and specifications," the OM issued by AIIMS Director Dr M Srinivas said. All supply and work orders shall be mandatorily uploaded on the PDL as soon as the order is issued to the vendors, it said. The reference to last purchase price and consumption pattern for similar items available on the stores digital library shall be placed on record in the e-file while seeking ...

AIIA inks agreements with international institutions for promoting Ayurveda

In a bid to promote Ayurveda across continents, the All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the University of Medical Sciences, Cuba, and extended the agreement with Rosenberg European Academy of Ayurveda (REAA), Germany, for five more years to take forward collaborative programmes. The agreements were signed on the sidelines of the 9th World Ayurveda Congress and Arogya Expo. The MoU with Havana-based University of Medical Sciences was signed between Cuban Ambassador to India Alejandro Simancas Marin and Dr Tanuja M Nesari, the director of AIIA. The extension of collaboration with REAA was initiated by the academy's director Mark Rosenberg and Dr Nesari. With these collaborations, Delhi-based AIIA, an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of AYUSH, has 15 international partners and 35 national partners under its collaborative activities, Dr Nesari said. These partnerships come at a time when there is a big acceptance of Ayur

Adults who address stress are able to avoid negative health results: Study

A new study has found that younger adults who take preemptive steps to respond to stress are better able to avoid those negative health outcomes

Lessons from Covid: Pharma firms turn attention to adult vaccination

Vaccine companies have warmed up to the idea of adult vaccines for other diseases such as pneumonia, flu and shingles as well

Union Minister Pawa stresses on patient service referral system

Union Minister Bharati Pravin Pawar on Sunday said there is a need for an organised patient referral service system at various levels of the health care system in Odisha. The Union Minister of state for Health and Family Welfare, who visited AIIMS, Bhubaneswar here, said the daily footfall in the premier hospital is about 10,000 which puts a lot of burden on the facility. Pawar suggested various measures to address the daily huge footfall and patient waiting time for various services. While emphasizing on the need for an organized patient referral service system at various levels of the health care service system, she said in order to build such a type of robust patient referral criterion, there is requirement of a collaborative approach between AIIMS and other state-run health care institutions. She cited the example of effective COVID management during pandemic through a sound referral system across the country. During her visit, the Union Minister inaugurated a multi-utility .

Maharashtra records 50 new coronavirus cases, one death in 24 hours

Maharashtra on Tuesday recorded 50 new coronavirus cases, 58 recoveries and one fatality, the health department said in a bulletin. The state's COVID-19 case tally rose to 81,35,757, and death toll reached 1,48, 407. The state had recorded 23 cases and zero fatality on Monday. Mumbai recorded six cases and one fatality on Tuesday. Pune city recorded eight cases. The case fatality rate stands at 1.82 per cent. There are 431 active cases in the state now. As many as 58 patients recovered from coronavirus infection, taking the cumulative recoveries in the state to 79,86,919. The recovery rate in the state stands at 98.17 per cent. Maharashtra's coronavirus figures: New cases: 50; Fatality: 1; Active cases: 431; New Tests: 8,075.

Maternal Mortality Ratio dips to 97 in 2018-20 from 130 in 2014-16

Maternal Mortality Ratio has declined from 130 per lakh live births in 2014-16 to 97 per lakh live births in 2018-20, according to a special bulletin released by the office of the Registrar General of India. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya attributed the improvement to the Narendra Modi government's various healthcare initiatives. Maternal mortality in a region is a measure of the reproductive health of women in the area. Many women of reproductive age die due to complications during and following pregnancy and childbirth or abortion, the Special Bulletin on Maternal Mortality in India 2018-20 said. The present bulletin provides the level of maternal mortality for the period 2018-2020. According to World Health Organization, "Maternal death is the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from ...

ICMR recommends avoiding antibiotics for low-grade fever, issues guidelines

ICMR found in a survey that a large number of patients were no longer benefitting from the use of certain antibiotics as they have developed anti-microbial resistance to them

Chhattisgarh sees three COVID-19 cases, six recoveries; active tally now 20

Chhattisgarh on Friday reported three COVID-19 cases at a positivity rate of 0.16 per cent, taking the tally to 11,77,722, while the death toll remained unchanged at 14,145, an official said. The recovery count increased by six and stood at 11,63,557, leaving the state with 20 active cases, he said. "Durg accounted for two cases and Balodabazar one. With 1,846 samples examined during the day, the tally of coronavirus tests in the state went up to 1,87,94,096," he added. Chhattisgarh's coronavirus figures are as follows: Positive cases 11,77,722, new cases 3, death toll 14,145, recovered 11,63,557, active cases 20, today tests 1,846, total tests 1,87,94,096.

Govt has identified AMR as key priority in national health policy: Centre

The government has identified antimicrobial resistance as a key priority in its national health policy and a series of initiatives have been taken to build systems to counter it, Union minister Bharti Pawar said on Friday. Pawar was delivering India's national statement at the third Global High-Level Ministerial Conference on AMR at Muscat in Oman. The minister of State for Health said India's example of prioritizing the development and implementation of state action plans for containment of AMR is a best practice that can be further discussed and emulated by other countries, a Union Health Ministry statement quoting the minister said. Pawar elaborated that India's National Action Plan for containment of AMR (NAP-AMR) was officially released on April 19, 2017. The Delhi Declaration on AMR, which is an inter-ministerial consensus, was signed at the launch of NAP-AMR, by the ministers of the concerned ministries pledging their whole-hearted support in AMR containment. She emphasized