The number of deaths among children under the age of five has reduced by half since 1990. Yet over 5 million children are still dying every year from mostly preventable causes. Pneumonia is responsible for nearly 20% of these deaths and is the leading infectious cause of death in this …
A recent Reuters report from London says, international donors led by billionaire Bill Gates pledged $4.3 billion to buy vaccines to protect children in poor countries against potential killers such as diarrhoeal diseases and pneumonia. The funding should allow more than 250 million of world's poorest children to be vaccinated …
Neonatal mortality rate in Bangladesh is 37 per 1000 live births on an average; in some areas this is even much higher. Over the past few decades we have observed under 5 mortality coming down gradually whereas, on the contrary levels of newborn mortality is still beyond the acceptable limit. …
Yet another panel of scientists has found no evidence that a popular vaccine causes autism. But despite the scientists’ best efforts, their report is unlikely to have any impact on the frustrating debate about the safety of these crucial medicines. “The M.M.R. vaccine doesn’t cause autism, and the evidence is …
An international study has come up with compelling evidence that vitamin A supplements is associated with large reductions in mortality, morbidity and vision problems, including night blindness, in children between six months and five years. The inexpensive supplements with few side-effects were found to bring about particular benefits in reducing …
Heavy rain during the last couple of weeks triggered flash flood in Khulna, Satkhira and Jessore districts, marooning at least seven lakh people. Flood has damaged over 200 educational institutions, aman plants, seedbeds and vegetables on over one lakh acres of land and washed away several thousand shrimp enclosures in …
Bangalore: Twenty lions and tigers have died over 15 months at the Bannerghatta Biological Park. According a reply by the government to a question in the Assembly, nine tigers and 11 lions in the park died of various diseases and ailments between January 2010 and March 2011. Of the nine …
THE national vaccine policy draft, submitted in the Delhi High Court recently, strongly favours inclusion of new vaccines in the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP). The court had sought the draft from the Centre last year in a case against introduction of new vaccines. It will hear the case next on …
When Alexander Fleming discovered pencillin in 1928 he could hardly have imagined that one day the world would be battling drug resistant superbugs with genes like New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase (NDM-1), which can render the most intensive antibiotic treatments ineffective. About 4.4 lakh new cases of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis emerge annually, causing …
FOR the past two years Badaliya has been participating in a village camel fair, organised about 60 km from Bikaner in Rajasthan. But this January she did not. She was suffering from pneumonia, having fever and continuous nasal discharge of phlegm. Badaliya is not alone. The contagious disease has affected …
It was a cold January morning. As the mist cleared, groups of women could be seen wending their way to the aanganwadi (kindergarten) in Khitwans village in Lalitpur district’s Birdha block. The women were either pregnant or lactating mothers. Pramilla Jha, a counsellor for infant feeding, was waiting for them. …
KOLKATA/MALDA: Even though the city dwellers were expected to get a breather from the chill, cold wave claimed another three victims, including a 106-year-old woman, today in Malda taking the toll to four in the state. Annapurna Saha (63), a resident of Malda town, and Radharani Das (106), a resident …
THE Global Alliance for Vaccine Immunization, cofounded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will create an advocacy group to raise $3.7 billion amid reduced donor contributions following the global financial crisis. The group is expected to start operating in the first quarter of 2011 and will include human rights …
After evidence that India is lagging behind on the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of reducing Infant Mortality Rate by 2015, it now turns out that it is faltering on the child survival MDG as well. The first-ever report tracking global progress against pneumonia, the leading killer of children under five …
Report reveals the need to reach target levels of coverage for life-saving interventions India has the highest number of pneumonia-related deaths in the world Only three countries reported coverage above the target level of 90 per cent for any vaccine NEW DELHI: Pneumonia, which is the world's leading infectious killer …
New Delhi: Acute Respiratory Infections, a disease group that includes pneumonia, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), is causing up to 4.25 million deaths annually. According to the firstever ARI Atlas published by the World Lung Foundation on Thursday, ARIs are the third largest cause of mortality in the world …
Around 50,000 under-5 babies die suffering from pneumonia every year in the country while the global figure is 15 lakh. Prof Dr Iqbal Bari, Head of Pediatrics Department of Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital (RMCH), revealed this while addressing a discussion on causes of pneumonia and its preventive measures at …
Around 50,000 under-five babies die from pneumonia every year in the country while the global figure is 15 lakh. Professor Iqbal Bari, head of pediatrics department of Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital, revealed this while addressing a discussion on causes of pneumonia and its preventive measures at RMCH conference hall …
A good number of unqualified village doctors practicing allopathy have been prescribing antibiotics for quick recovery from various infections, putting health of rural patients at high risk, an ICDDR, B study reveals. The study, still going on since the last three years, says the village doctors, almost 95 percent of …
