Explore Business Standard
Don’t miss the latest developments in business and finance.
The Viral Fever
The pig farmers of Mizoram suffered a loss of nearly Rs 800 crore following the outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) in the state since 2021, the assembly was informed on Tuesday. In a written reply to a question, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Minister C Lalsawivunga said that 57,217 pigs died of ASF and 43,159 others were culled to prevent the spread of the disease between March 2021 and 15 August 2024. Pig farmers of the northeastern state incurred financial loss to the tune of Rs 799.68 crore during that period, he said. The minister said that 9,866 pigs have died and 17,977 others culled causing a loss of Rs 239.45 crore due to ASF between January to 15 August this year. Lalsawivunga said that the state government received financial assistance of varied amounts from the Centre from time to time to tackl the situation. The state government declared ASF as state of disaster or calamity on January 1 this year, he said adding that the administration is making massive efforts to
A persistent cough, sometimes accompanied by fever, running through India for the past two-three months is due to Influenza A subtype H3N2, ICMR experts said. The H3N2, which has been in wide circulation for the past two-three months, causes more hospitalisations than other subtypes, said Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) scientists who keep a close watch on ailments caused by respiratory viruses through the Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratories network. They have also suggested a list of Dos and Don'ts for people to follow to protect themselves from contracting the virus. The Indian Medical Association (IMA), on the other hand, has advised against indiscriminate use of antibiotics amid rising cases of cough, cold and nausea across the country. Seasonal fever will last five to seven days, it said. The fever goes away at the end of three days but the cough can persist for up to three weeks, the IMA's Standing Committee for Anti-Microbial Resistance said. Viral cases h
The Indian Council of Medical Research has issued guidelines warning against the use of antibiotics for conditions such as low-grade fever and viral bronchitis while advising doctors to follow a timeline while prescribing them. The ICMR guidelines stated that antibiotics should be prescribed for a duration of five days for skin and soft tissue infections, five days in case of community-acquired pneumonia and eight days for hospital-acquired pneumonia. "A clinical diagnosis most often helps us predict causative pathogens fitting into a clinical syndrome which would tailor the correct antibiotic rather than blindly relying on fever, procalcitonin levels, WBC counts, cultures or radiology to make a diagnosis of infection," the guidelines said. It stated limiting empiric antibiotic therapy to seriously ill patients. Generally, empiric antibiotic therapy is only recommended for a select group of patients suffering from severe sepsis and septic shock, community-acquired pneumonia, ...