Health News

At least four new cases of polio have been reported in Pakistan, taking the tally to 32 this year, according to an official statement. Of the four new cases, three were reported from Sindh province and one from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. So far this year, 16 cases have been reported from Balochistan, 10 from Sindh, four from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and one each from Punjab and Islamabad. Currently only two out of seven regions i.e. Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan are polio-free. The virus has reached five regions, including four provinces and the federal capital, according to the official data. The Dawn newspaper reported that an official of the Health Ministry said that the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme vaccinated nearly 33 million children under the age of five during a nationwide campaign in September this year. The campaign aimed to protect children from the devastating effects of polio. A comprehensive evaluation of the campaign was conducted to assess its

A small fraction of those doses could help curb what is now the biggest mpox outbreak on record in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring countries, disease experts say

25-year-old Mumbai-based founder of Soshals app was hospitalised after following a 'poor lifestyle.' He shared a post on X sharing the ugly side of hustle culture

Karnataka Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil on Friday asked people not to worry about the mpox outbreak reported in some African countries as no infection has been detected in India till now. The minister said free testing facilities have been arranged at the Victoria Hospital. Mpox infections are generally self-limiting, lasting between two and four weeks, and its patients usually recover with supportive medical care and management. It is transmitted through prolonged and close contact with an infected patient. We held a departmental meeting today on preparedness for mpox. As of now, there is nothing to worry about, as no cases have been reported here, Patil told reporters after a meeting with the officials here. The central government has issued guidelines. At Victoria Hospital, we have arranged free testing facilities, he added. The minister said the people of Karnataka need not worry as the state government has made all preparations to deal with the infection. T

Arunachal Pradesh is placed among the top four states in the country for all categories of substance abuse, the assembly was informed on Tuesday. Responding to a question by senior BJP member Wanglin Lowangdong, Health & Family Welfare Minister Biyuram Wahge said that according to a survey, the magnitude of substance use in the northeastern state is alarming'. The survey examined the extent and pattern of use of eight categories of psychoactive substances - alcohol, cannabis, opioids, cocaine, amphetamine stimulants, sedatives, inhalants and hallucinogens - and found that Arunachal Pradesh is among the top four states in India, the minister said. He added that opium cultivation has been in practice among several tribes of the state for centuries while poppy cultivation and opium consumption have been deeply ingrained in the socio-economic and cultural life of the people in the eastern part of Arunachal Pradesh. A report by the Central Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) warns of ...

Kerala Health Minister Veena George on Saturday convened a high-level meeting to take steps to prevent a Nipah outbreak in the state. The meeting was convened in the wake of an outbreak of the virus infection that was suspected in northern Malappuram district. According to local media reports, a boy from Malappuram, who is under treatment in a private hospital in neighbouring Kozhikode, was suspected to have symptoms of Nipah and his samples were sent to a central lab for a detailed scientific examination. As per a statement from the Health Minister's office, the final test results were yet to be received but steps, as per the Nipah protocol, have already been initiated in the morning. The actions would be coordinated according to the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) formulated as per the government order with regard to Nipah prevention, it said. The health minister would reach Malappuram soon and lead the Nipah prevention activities, the statement added. Various higher officia

Union Minister of Science and Technology launches the Indo-French Liver and Metabolic Disease Network to find India-specific interventions for metabolic disorders

India saw a single-day rise of 160 Covid cases, while the number of active cases stood at 1,338, the Union health ministry said on Thursday. One death from Maharashtra was reported in 24 hours, according to the ministry's data updated at 8 am. The number of daily cases had dropped to double-digits till December 5, but cases had begun to increase after the emergence of a new variant and cold weather conditions. After December 5, a maximum of a single-day rise of 841 new cases was reported on December 31, 2023, which is 0.2 per cent of the peak cases reported in May 2021, official sources said. A majority (around 92 per cent) of the total active cases are under home isolation, they said. "The currently available data suggests that the JN.1 variant is neither leading to an exponential rise in the new cases nor a surge in hospitalisation and mortality," the official source stated. India has witnessed three waves of COVID-19 in the past with the peak incidence of daily new cases and d

Gujarat witnessed a significant improvement in public health infrastructure in the last two decades driven by the state government's efforts to ensure that quality medical services reach every corner, as per official data. In the state budget 2023-24, the government allocated Rs 15,182 crore for the healthcare sector, compared to Rs 12,240 crore provisioned for this sector in the 2022-23 budget. Finance Minister Kanubhai Desai had also announced to double the insurance cover under the revamped Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana-Mukhyamantri Amrutam (PMJAY-MA) scheme from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh in the state budget presented last February. Gujarat's healthcare infrastructure has also witnessed growth, with a 41 per cent surge in primary health centres and a 37 per cent increase in community health centres between 2001-02 and 2021-22. The state now hosts 319 CHCs, 1,463 PHCs, and 6,575 sub-centres, as per the data. The number of medical colleges in Gujarat has also risen sharply from n

Kerala now has 194 active cases, accounting for 61 per cent of the active cases in India

Findings adds weight to earlier work by the same team of researchers that suggested that drug-induced mutations of Covid were spreading in some populations, although not in great numbers

Inaugurated by President Droupadi Murmu on September 17, the Ayushman Bhava campaign is part of the Seva Pakhwada being organised by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

The total number of Nipah infections confirmed in the state is six, of which two persons have died, and four persons are being treated

Proposals aim to standardise drug manufacturing practices after a few Indian medicines were flagged as 'substandard' by the WHO

By 2050, nearly one billion people globally are projected to be living with osteoarthritis, which affects joints, according to new research published in The Lancet Rheumatology journal. Currently, 15 per cent of the world's population aged 30 years or above experience osteoarthritis, the study found after analysing 30 years of osteoarthritis data (1990-2020) from more than 200 countries. In 2020, 595 million people were found to be affected by osteoarthritis, a 132 per cent increase from 256 million people in 1990, the study led by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), Washington, US, as part of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021 said. The study attributed the rapid increase in the osteoarthritis cases mainly to aging, population growth and obesity. "With the key drivers of people living longer and a growing world population, we need to anticipate stress on health systems in most countries," said Jaimie Steinmetz, the study's corresponding author and lead ...

Seventeen patients have died in the last 24 hours in civic-run Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital in Kalwa in Thane city, Maharashtra minister Tanaji Sawant and a senior police official said on Sunday. The police official said the management of the facility have cited critical nature of the patients as well as age as causes. State health minister Sawant said the dean of the hospital has been asked to submit a report in two days. A Thane Municipal Corporation official said the deaths were being analysed and several civic officials are at the heavily-patronised facility for inspection of records etc. Some officials put the toll at 18 but this could not be confirmed. Speaking to PTI, Deputy Commissioner of Police Ganesh Gawde said, "We have information of 17 deaths in the last 24 hours. We have been told the usual figure per day is six to seven." "The hospital management told us some of the patients arrived there in a critical stage and succumbed during treatment. Some were elderl

Industry insiders feel this is a step towards implementing and codifying the Uniform Code of Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices

Realty major DLF on Thursday announced that it has tied up with Global Health Ltd (Medanta) to set up a 400-bed multi-speciality hospital in the national capital. The two companies will have an equal partnership in the new joint venture. DLF and Global Health Ltd -- a leading private multi-specialty tertiary care provider -- have "entered into an understanding for forming a company to launch a 400-bed multi-super specialty hospital to provide the highest quality of healthcare in the heart of Delhi in Greater Kailash-I." Both DLF and Medanta will own 50-50 equity in the new company. DLF will be a strategic investor and Medanta will run the hospital and have operational control. DLF Chairman Rajiv Singh said, We are excited to participate in setting up a world class hospital in South Delhi at a location which is closely associated with the origins of our company." The new hospital will strengthen the medical infrastructure in Delhi and further strengthen its deep commitment to impr

It is the fastest growing segment in IPM with a 25% CAGR

As many as 1,774 health facilities across 32 states and Union Territories have adopted the 'Scan and Share' service which enables for quick and seamless OPD registration for patients using smartphones, the Lok Sabha was told on Friday. A total of 52 lakh tokens have been generated using the service under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) which aims to create a digital platform enabling interoperability of health data within the health ecosystem to create longitudinal electronic health record of every citizen, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said in response to a question. According to the data shared by the minister, 552 healthcare facilities in Uttar Pradesh (the highest), followed by 336 in Andhra Pradesh, 277 in Bihar, Karnataka 224 and 137 in Maharashtra have adopted the service. Under the Mission, the Scan and Share feature has been enabled for quick and seamless OPD (out patient department) registration for patients at hospitals using their smartphone, he ...