India’s health minister Mansukh Mandaviya has announced that manufacturing activities of Marion Biotech’s unit near the national capital Delhi have been stopped following an inspection by India’s apex drugs regulating body. https://thewire.in/government/uzbekistan-cough-syrup-noida-marion-biotech-mandaviya. Uzbek authorities had announced that consumption of a cough syrup produced by the company had led to the deaths of 18 children in […]
National
Measles outbreak attributed to low vaccine coverage
A measles outbreak in Mumbai, followed by Ranchi, Ahmedabad and Malappuram in India over the past month has drawn attention to the large number of unvaccinated children. Over 16,000 suspected cases have been recorded in India. Of the 20 children who have died of measles since October 26 in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, just one […]
Dr Soumya Swaminathan to resign as chief scientist at the WHO
Dr Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist at the WHO, will resign from her post on November 30 after a five-year stint and return to India. The 63-year-old, who is two years short of the WHO’s mandatory retirement age, told The Indian Express that she felt an urge to do “more hands-on practical work” and that she […]
Invasive mosquito species linked to unusual malaria outbreak
Scientists have linked an invasive mosquito to an unusual outbreak of malaria in Ethiopia. Anopheles stephensi, native to southern Asia, was first identified in Africa a decade ago in the Republic of Djibouti, which borders Ethiopia. It has since spread to at least four other countries in sub-Saharan Africa. www.science.org/content/article/unusual-malaria-outbreak-tied-invasive-mosquito? Now, amid lingering questions about whether […]
Two COVID-19 antibody therapies are no longer recommended by the WHO
Two COVID-19 antibody therapies are no longer recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), on the basis that Omicron and the variant’s latest offshoots have likely rendered them obsolete. www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/who-strongly-advises-against-use-two-covid-treatments-2022-09-15/? The two therapies – which are designed to work by binding to the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 to neutralise the virus’ ability to infect cells […]
Could cancer become a notifiable disease?
India’s current cancer figures are currently based on estimates, with just a minority of cases of the condition actually recorded in cause of death reports. The true burden may be far higher than current figures suggest. The parliamentary standing committee on health and family welfare submitted a report entitled “Cancer Care Plan and Management: […]
TB Free India programme launched
India’s President Droupadi Murmu on Friday launched the Prime Minister’s TB Free India programme and urged Indians to work collectively towards elimination of the disease. www.livemint.com/news/india/president-murmu-launches-tb-elimination-program-urges-indians-to-help-patients-11662719403399.html President Murmu also launched the Ni-kshay Mitra initiative to ensure additional diagnostic, nutritional, and vocational support to those undergoing TB treatment, and encouraged people to come forward as donors […]
New viral infection referred to as tomato flu, first detected in children in Kerala in May, has spread to two other states of India
An outbreak of a new viral infection referred to as tomato flu that was first detected in children in the southern Indian state of Kerala in May has spread to two other states of the country. www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/23/tomato-flu-outbreak-in-india-spreads-to-two-more-states? According to an article in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine, 82 children aged under five had been diagnosed with […]
First Asian monkeypox death occurs in India
India has reported Asia’s first monkeypox related death, just the fourth death to occur as a result of the current global outbreak. A young man in the state of Kerala was confirmed as of Saturday to be the first death to occur in India. Kerala’s revenue minister told reporters that the government had isolated 21 […]
Four monkeypox cases now reported in India
India has reported its fourth case of monkeypox. While the cases still remain low, the key concern over the most recently reported case is that the individual had no record of international travel. All three previous cases had been reported in Kerala. The fourth case occurred in a 31-year-old man in Delhi. The man had […]