Describe your study and its findings. From 2006 to 2009 over 70 per cent of the forest staff in the reserve, which lies in a protected area in the Eastern Himalayan global biodiversity hotspot, suffered from malaria. Its treatment cost park managers nearly three per cent of their total budget …
A mystery fever is stalking children in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district. As many as 47 children succumbed to the disease by June 29. Seventy-nine others, admitted in the two government hospitals in the district, were either undergoing treatment or had been discharged after treatment. The disease has been around in Muzaffarpur …
MOSQUITOES rely on chemical cues such as smell of human breath, sweat and skin to get to a potential prey. This olfactory pathway has spawned several research papers. The latest comes from scientists led by Anandasankar Ray from the University of California, USA. They have discovered chemicals which can prevent …
BACTERIA could be the new hero in the fight against the spread of malaria. Researchers at the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the US have demonstrated how two different bacteria can halt the growth of Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite that causes malaria. It is estimated that the …
DISEASES like dengue and yellow fever are transmitted by the mosquito Aedes aegypti. The mosquito originated in sub-Saharan Africa, where some of its populations still breed in forests and feed on animals. Many of its populations, however, have evolved to thrive in human habitats in and outside Africa. It is …
How does artificial light affect insects? The strong illumination of artificial light attracts insects. We reviewed the epidemiological information on three insect-borne diseases, chagas, kala azar and malaria, and found artificial lighting changed the behaviour of insect vectors and thereby the modes of disease transmission. For example, the chagas parasite …
BIOLOGISTS have just woken up to the presence of chemicals that can dictate the egg-laying preferences of a mosquito. A whiff of the chemical can make a gravid insect avoid a water pool. Is this the malaria solution the world is waiting for? A team of ecologists at University of …
MALARIA incidence has more than trebled in Mumbai this year even as the civic authorities launched a special drive to control it. Twenty-one persons died and 34,712 contracted malaria since April this year. This is 47 per cent of the total registered malaria cases in Maharashtra, Suresh Shetty, health minister, …
Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are common vectors for dengue virus and chikungunya virus. In areas where both viruses cocirculate, they can be transmitted together. During a dengue outbreak in Delhi in 2006, 17 of 69 serum samples were positive for chikungunya virus by reverse transcription
Although the issue of anthropogenic climate forcing and public health is widely recognized, one fundamental aspect has remained underappreciated: the impact of climatic change on plant biology and the well-being of human systems. The authors aimed to critically evaluate the extant and probable links between plant function and human health, …
Dengue—a viral disease that can refer to both dengue fever and the more severe dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF)—swept away records again this past spring as it raged across Brazil, infecting more than 160,000 people and killing more than 100. The reports were similar to those out of Southeast Asia in …
There are outbreaks of dengue every year in India. They vary in the predominant serotype involved, clinical features and predominant laboratory findings. This study of the 2006 outbreak in Delhi highlights clinical features and laboratory parameters of dengue cases and compares the clinical features among the adult and paediatric age …
Malaysia is looking to battle dengue fever by releasing mosquitoes that have been genetically engineered to be sterile. Although these efforts have stirred public concern, the country's Academy of Sciences is likely to recommend the strategy to the government within a month. Original Source
The Union Health Ministry has convened a meeting with the health directors of all the northeastern states at Guwahati on April 9 to discuss the outbreak of malaria in East Garo Hills district even before the onset of monsoon. At least 31 people have died of the disease in the …
A review meeting is scheduled to take place on April 9 between Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry officials and Health Directors of northeastern States at Guwahati to discuss the recent outbreak of malaria in Meghalaya. An official of the health department here said the meeting is being held to …
All four districts of Tripura have become malaria drug resistant while the State Government has asked the Centre to provide help in combating vulnerability to the deadly disease. Replying to a calling attention in the State Assembly here today, State Health and Family Welfare Minister Tapan Chakraborty revealed that three …
After Colva, malaria has raised its ugly head in coastal Benaulim due to the booming construction activity. As many as 16 cases of plasmodium falciparum have been detected near a construction site, close to a starred hotel over the last few days, causing concern both amongst locals as well as …
Dengue is spreading in the Americas. Incremental changes in climate could help explain the disease's expansion, according to environmental scientists. But some dengue experts have called the link with climate "alarmist' and scientifically unsound. Original Source
The State government is ready with an action plan to prevent the recurrence of chikungunya and other epidemics, Health Minister P.K. Sreemathy told the Assembly on Monday. Answering a submission from Kerala Congress (M) leader K.M. Mani, she said the government had sanctioned a sum of Rs.48.3 crore to the …
Chennai: Stormwater drains in two zones of the Chennai Corporation have been digitally mapped using the geographic information system (GIS). Just a few clicks on the digitised map will help officials find data on stormwater drains, which need to be managed well to reduce floods and improve public health in …
