The number of lives lost due to viral hepatitis infections is increasing and already accounts for 3,500 deaths daily, according to this report by the World Health Organization (WHO). This is the first consolidated WHO report on viral hepatitis epidemiology, service coverage and product access, with improved data for action. …
as the Simlipal National Park in Orissa's Mayurbhanj district closes during monsoon to protect wildlife, it turns into a graveyard for its human inhabitants, reports an independent working group on protected areas. In June, an infant's death inside the sanctuary sparked off an investigation by this group of local ngos …
The Assam health department has sounded a health alert after 74 people died of Japanese encephalitis. At least 254 have been affected by the mosquito-borne disease in the past two weeks. The worst affected districts in the state are Dibrugarh, Sibsagar, Lakhimpur and Golaghat, says J M Bora, joint director …
In the 1980s, worried parents and medical researchers in the us alleged that mercury in vaccines was responsible for the growing number of autism cases among children in the country. The issue was debated in medical circles, wheels moved in many western countries, but developing countries still don’t have a …
the problem of resurgence of tuberculosis (tb) might be blamed on the failure of its vaccine, for researchers have found that there is more than one strain of tuberculosis bacterium prevalent in different parts of the world. " Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes tb is so genetically distinct in …
the inclusion of Hepatitis b vaccine in India's universal immunisation programme (uip) could be stayed till there is adequate data on the vaccine's efficacy. Following a meeting on March 3 in New Delhi, between who officials and Indian paediatricians, the un body said it would look into the doctors' concerns …
From all accounts, the central government was fully equipped to deal with the possibility of an outbreak of avian influenza. The systems for surveillance and monitoring were supposed to be in place. Events in the first two months of the year proved otherwise. On February 18, the Indian government officially …
corrosive oceans: Increased carbon dioxide emissions are rapidly making the world's oceans more acidic. If this continues it could cause mass extinction of marine life similar to that which occurred 65 million years ago when dinosaurs disappeared, according to Ken Caldeira of the Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology. The …
The news that Indian poultry in parts of Maharashtra and Gujarat have been detected with the deadly avian influenza virus may have temporarily shaken chicken eaters in the country. But it will be a mistake to believe that we have contained the problem, simply because we have culled (killed and …
This revised version of the operational field guide on pulse polio immunization will provide practical guidelines to health administrators and planners at the state, district and sub district levels for performing NID/SNID operations. This includes recognizing gaps identified in the earlier IPPI rounds and undertaking corrective actions. It is essential …
function table() { var popurl="image/20060131/37-graph.jpg" winpops=window.open(popurl,"","width=385,height=350,scrollbars=yes") } spaced out South stuck between rock and hard place A good example of how manouevring space for developing countries is being constrained is the case of the vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella (mmr). A generation ago, in Delhi you could get vaccinated …
The technology for developing new vaccines and the research that goes into it is becoming increasingly sophisticated and dependent upon an enormous corpus of funds to get off the blocks. This is raising important issues relating to pricing, access and international equity. Take the flu vaccine
chinese scientists have come out with an improved live vaccine to protect poultry and other birds from avian flu. Developed at the country's Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, the vaccine also protects birds from the Newcastle Disease. According to the Chinese agriculture ministry, this is the first vaccine that offers protection …
india may soon come out with a vaccine against cholera. The first and second phase of clinical trials for a recombinant oral vaccine, completed recently, have shown a good immunological response, according to a release by the department of biotechnology. Preparations are now being made for phase- iii clinical trials …
In the rural heartland of eastern Uttar Pradesh (up), it is difficult to find that criminal called Japanese encephalitis (je). je is transmitted from infected pigs to humans by mosquitoes. So I decided to track down villages with piggeries (pig-keeping is a survival profession here). Travelling from Gorakhpur city to …
as human trials of the first Indian rotavirus (rv) vaccine move to an advanced stage, some scientists have expressed concern about its effectiveness in view of the constantly emerging strains of the virus. But developers of the candidate vaccine hope this vaccine will work against most, if not all, strains. …
on September 21, 2005 came a press release. "A Task Force on Health Tourism constituted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare would assess the opportunities for promoting India as a health destination, recommend action to be taken by the Central and State Governments and specially recommend about super …
uk study raises doubts about the new generation vaccines being developed against tuberculosis (tb), a major killer in the developing world. Most of the research on tb vaccines is being done in Europe and the us where the immune response of the people is different from those living in the …
scientists at the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (ivri) in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, have developed the country's first vaccine against the notorious peste des petits ruminants (ppr) disease that afflicts sheep and goats. Also known as sheep and goat plague, ppr epidemics occur every year in India, causing an annual loss …
