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Pneumonia deaths: Fourteen children lost every hour

The world’s ‘forgotten epidemic’ of pneumonia is resulting in fourteen pneumonia deaths among children under five every hour in India.  In 2018, 127,000 children succumbed to pneumonia in India, according to a joint report of the Every Breath Counts Coalition, Save the Children, and UNICEF released earlier this month entitled ‘Fighting for Breath in India: …

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National Health Profile 2019: The main takeaways

Life expectancy has increased, but noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and infectious diseases continue to take a toll and access to healthcare is far from equitable across the country. This is according to the latest National Health Profile released by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare earlier this week.  “A healthy India is no longer …

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If there’s a major disease outbreak, is India prepared?

Earlier this year, a list was unveiled of ten diseases which could result in a future epidemic in India. Now, an index has been unveiled of countries ranked according to their preparedness in the face of a future infectious disease outbreak of epidemic or pandemic proprtions.  The Global Health Security Index – prepared by the …

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What World Polio Day taught India

Today marked World Polio Day, an annual observance acknowledging what once was a dominant threat to global health – and could well become a thing of the past entirely so long as momentum is sustained as we approach polio’s endgame. With the observance came a landmark report from the World Health Organization (WHO): wild poliovirus …

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Dengue fever outbreak fears in Bihar

Amidst fears of a dengue fever outbreak in Bihar state capital Patna, the state health department is readying itself.  Waterlogged following a period of heavy rainfall, Patna has registered almost 250 dengue cases since September 27th – compared to 409 cases registered between January 1st and September 27th. Across the state, flooding has affected 1,400 …

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KFD in Karnataka: Experts call for new strategy in tackling monkey fever

Experts have called for Karnataka to formulate a new strategy in tackling Kyasanur forest disease (KFD) or ‘monkey fever’.  The disease, which is endemic in south Asia, made headlines at the beginning of this year following an outbreak in the Shivamogga district. Between November 2018 and April 2019, 342 KFD infections were reported in the …

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“Water Aunties”: A boon to rural India?

Water in India’s rural locations is often a risky business. Could “water aunties” be a solution? In areas where sewage systems are either non-existent, dysfunctional or in a state of disrepair, open defecation is still common. Water is often sourced from groundwater supplies and contamination is simply a fact of life. Outbreaks of diseases such …

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Sepsis in India: A major threat to public health

September 13th marks World Sepsis Day – a day of particular importance for the public health community to be reminded of the significant burden of sepsis in India.  Sepsis is “a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated immune response to infection”, caused by no single bacteria or virus: “rather, any type of pathogenic infection …

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WHO-SEARO pledge on measles and rubella

The recent meeting of World Health Organization (WHO) South-East Region nations saw a commitment issued to eliminate measles and rubella by 2023.  The 72nd Session of the WHO Regional Office for Southeast Asia (WHO-SEARO), which took place in Delhi, saw member countries pledge to increase immunisation rates in order to boost herd immunity against the …

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A major step towards food safety in India

The country’s apex food regulator is taking a major step towards improving food safety and hygiene standards in India.  As the Centre launches a large-scale campaign to promote healthy eating in India, it has been announced that 1.7 lakh inspectors have been trained by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) over a …

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