Health Care in India : News & Updates
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Third patient free from HIV: The science behind the viral treatment
A German man is likely the third patient in the world to be free from the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection after a stem-cell transplant that he went through about a decade ago.A report published in the journal Nature Medicine states that health experts detected the absence of a viral rebound and the lack of immunological signs of HIV-1 antigen persistence following Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT).
Researchers said that HIV-1 persists in the body during Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) but HSCT has been shown to substantially reduce the viral reservoir. They, however, noted that some of the reservoir-harboring immune cells are extremely long-lived, partially resistant to chemotherapy regimens used during HSCT procedures, and can cause viral rebound.
Doctors then conducted extensive tests to confirm the findings. (Photo: Getty)
It is to be noted that a true cure for the viral infection should completely end the virus reservoir, and the man being called the Dusseldorf patient stopped taking ART in 2018. He has been free since then.
WHAT IS ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPY?
Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is used to treat people infected with HIV and consists of a combination of drugs that stop the replication of the virus in the cells. According to the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), it reduces mortality and morbidity rates among HIV-infected people and improves their quality of life.Researchers have long said that while ART helps people with HIV live longer, it can not fully cure them. It reduces the viral load to an undetectable level and such people have no risk of transmitting HIV to their HIV-negative partners through sex. HIV targets the infection-fighting CD4 cells of the immune system that reduces the ability to fight back.
The therapy prevents HIV from making copies of itself in the cell, which gives the immune system a chance to produce more CD4 cells.
HIV-1 persists in the body during Antiretroviral Therapy (ART). (Photo: Getty)
WHAT HAPPENED WITH DUSSELDORF PATIENT?
The German patient was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, a form of blood cancer in 2011, months after he started antiretroviral therapy following his diagnosis of HIV. In 2013, he received a stem cell transplant from an unrelated donor to treat the blood cancer. The transplant introduced two copies of a rare genetic mutation known as CCR5-delta32 in his system.This rare genetic mutation, which is predominantly found in central and northern Europe, results in the absence of a docking site for HIV in immune cells, providing good protection against infection with the virus. According to the Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf, where he was treated, in 2018, following careful planning and with constant, close monitoring, the anti-viral HIV therapy – which had ensured that any residual HIV was kept under control up to that point – ended.
Doctors then conducted extensive tests to confirm the findings to establish whether signs of replication-capable HI-viruses can still be found. The detailed virological and immunological analysis of the blood and tissue of the Dusseldorf Patient now provides important insights.
“Following our intensive research, we can now confirm that it is fundamentally possible to prevent the replication of HIV on a sustainable basis by combining two key methods," Dr. Bjorn Jensen of the Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf added.
Third patient free from HIV: The science behind the viral treatment
Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is used to treat people infected with HIV and consists of a combination of drugs that stop the replication of the virus.
Mumbai doctors see rise in coughing bouts after viral illness, more in kids | Mumbai News - Times of India
Doctors have observed a dramatic rise in patients with chronic and persistent coughs after full recovery from a viral illness over the last two months
timesofindia.indiatimes.com
India may miss 2030 deadline for over half of health SDGs: Lancet study
India is not on target for over 50 per cent of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators related to health and social determinants of health seven years before the 2030 deadline, according to a study published in The Lancet journal.An international team of researchers found that over 75 per cent Indian districts are off target for crucial SDG indicators like access to basic services, poverty, stunting and wasting of children, anaemia, child marriage, partner violence, tobacco use, and modern contraceptive use.
For these indicators, more than 75 per cent of the districts were off-target. These districts are concentrated in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, and Odisha.
"India is not on target for 19 of the 33 SDGs indicators ... Because of a worsening trend observed between 2016 and 2021, and assuming no course correction occurs, many districts will never meet the targets on the SDGs even well after 2030," the authors of the study noted.
"Developing a strategic roadmap at this time will help India ensure success with regards to meeting the SDGs," they said.
India's emergence and sustenance as a leading economic power depends on meeting some of the more basic health and social determinants of health-related SDGs in an immediate and equitable manner, the authors said.
The study provides the first systematic midline assessment of the progress that 707 Indian districts out of 763 have made to achieve the SDGs related to health and social determinants of health.
The assessment suggests an urgent need to increase the pace and momentum on four SDG goals: No poverty (SDG 1), zero hunger (SDG 2), good health and well-being (SDG 3) and gender equality (SDG 5).
The researchers, from Harvard University, US, Laxmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute in New Delhi, Graduate School of Korea University, and Institute of Economic Growth, New Delhi, pointed out some positives aswell. India is on-target to meet 13 out of the 33 indicators.
These are internet use, bank account for women, full vaccination, improved sanitation, reduction in multi-dimensional poverty, birth registration, skilled birth attendants, electricity access, tobacco use reduction among women, lowering of child marriage among less than 15-
year-old girls, under-five mortality, teenage sexual violence and neonatal mortality.
Among the 19 off-target indicators, the conditions have worsened for three related to anaemia because of an increase in the prevalence of anaemia among pregnant and non-pregnant women between 2016 and 2021.
The authors believe that India would never be able to meet the SDGS targets related to anaemia if this trend continues.
For the remaining 16 indicators that are off-target, the observed rate of change between 2016 and 2021, though in desirable direction, is insufficient to meet SDG targets by 2030, they said.
Assuming the observed rate of change, India will meet its targets on improved water by 2031, hand washing facility by 2033, clean fuel for cooking by 2035, teenage pregnancy in 2039, and partner violence (sexual) by 2040, according to the researchers.
Another 11 off-target indicators will be met between 2041 and 2162, including access to basic services in 2047 and partner violence (physical or sexual) in 2090, they added.
India may miss 2030 deadline for over half of health SDGs: Lancet study
India is not on target for over 50 per cent of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators related to health and social determinants of health seven years before the 2030 deadline, according to a study published in The Lancet journal.
Sing is king: A nutty way to solve India’s protein problem
My grandfather had his ways of being annoying — such as spending a lot of money that he did not have — but his social sympathies were broad. His best friend, for many years, was...
Flu cases with Covid-like symptoms rise in India, Centre issues advisory: Top points
The H3N2 influenza has caused more hospitalisations than other subtypes in recent months, and the Indian Council of Medical Research has issued dos and don'ts to prevent the spread of the virus.
Indian govt to take action against 76 drug companies for shoddy products
Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya confirmed a crackdown but did not give details of companies against which action had been taken.
m.economictimes.com
"The F.D.A. confirmed that it had not inspected the factory where the eyedrops were made in India before the infections were reported, but that the agency had since visited the plant, which is operated by Global Pharma Healthcare."
— Rezaul Hasan Laskar (@Rezhasan) April 3, 2023
Eye Drop Deaths: US stops India-made eyedrop import after drug resistant bacteria infections | India News - Times of India
India News: A highly drug-resistant bacteria that was linked to eyedrops imported from India and that spread from person to person in a long-term care center in C
m.timesofindia.com
In the largest deal in the Indian healthcare space, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings has bought a majority stake in Bengaluru-based Manipal Health Enterprises for over $2 billion. Manipal Health Enterprises runs India's second-biggest hospital chain, Manipal Hospitals, with 29 hospitals across 16 cities.
Singapore fund Temasek takes over Manipal in $2billion+ deal - The Times of India
International Business News: BENGALURU: In the largest deal in the Indian healthcare space, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings has bought a majority stake in Benga.
m.timesofindia.com
AIIMS Guwahati
Ayushman Northeast!
— Dr Mansukh Mandaviya (मोदी का परिवार) (@mansukhmandviya) April 12, 2023
PM @NarendraModi Ji to dedicate to the nation AIIMS Guwahati, the first AIIMS of Northeast, on 14th April.
Have a look at the stunning pictures of the New AIIMS of New India! 🏥 pic.twitter.com/jvdW05EU0v
My article with Chirag in today's ET where we investigate why anaemia prevalence among Indian children and women was not going down despite government schemes & rising incomes. We found that serious problems with benchmarks and measurement are grossly overstating the levels 1/n pic.twitter.com/ooI0kL1gui
— Sanjeev Sanyal (@sanjeevsanyal) April 14, 2023
We need accurate measures. First, public health policy is about trade-offs. By exaggerating one problem, we are diverting resources from others. Second, poor data means we cannot judge the impact of government measures. Feedback loops are essential for effective policy-making 3/3
— Sanjeev Sanyal (@sanjeevsanyal) April 14, 2023
I'd encourage you to read this article Paddington. This is where all those myths of 7000 deaths per day due to malnutrition by fellow Paddingtons peddling this theory back home in the UK to raise funds which those Paddingtons come here to disburse & bum kids along the way while also collecting data on child sex abuse come from.
You ought to be alerting your fellow Paddingtons to this scam unless of course you're beneficiary too. @BMD
WHO alert on another ‘contaminated’ cough syrup made in India, third in 7 months
The alert says Guaifenesin was found to contain ‘unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol’ by the quality control labs of the Therapeutic Goods Administration of Australia.
indianexpress.com
WHO alert on another ‘contaminated’ cough syrup made in India, third in 7 months
The alert says Guaifenesin was found to contain ‘unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol’ by the quality control labs of the Therapeutic Goods Administration of Australia.indianexpress.com
In odisha in several districts fake drugs are being raided . This is recent news
Fake drug: Bargarh police arrests four from Varanasi
BARGARH: A Bargarh Police team raided Varanasi and arrested four persons on Tuesday in connection with the fake drug racket that was busted in the district earl
These actions are going on for at least 2/3 months . Making generic drugs is not some big deal . We have competition from china , indonesia , some african countries . If govt does not get its shit together all name earned over decades ll be lost .
Refer to post 107 where government seems to have woken up after second alert from WHO. Our security and compliance norms need to be looked into which seems to be critical nowadays.In odisha in several districts fake drugs are being raided . This is recent news
Fake drug: Bargarh police arrests four from Varanasi
BARGARH: A Bargarh Police team raided Varanasi and arrested four persons on Tuesday in connection with the fake drug racket that was busted in the district earlwww.newindianexpress.com
These actions are going on for at least 2/3 months . Making generic drugs is not some big deal . We have competition from china , indonesia , some african countries . If govt does not get its shit together all name earned over decades ll be lost .
Indian study reveals about 3% of drugs ‘substandard’ amid official crackdown
In wake of children’s cough syrup scandal, an expert says regulatory system is ‘grossly understaffed and underfunctional’
'India has sophisticated hospitals': Indonesian health ministry director
“I will recommend to my friends in Indonesia that India has sophisticated hospitals and talented doctors,” Sugiyanto said.
Prime Minister inaugurated the proton beam therapy facility at the Tata Memorial Centre’s Kharghar campus . first in a public setup in India, will provide the cutting-edge proton beam treatment for free to 60% of the patients needing it. The remaining 40% will pay a subsidised rate—almost a third of the Rs 30-lakh tag in the private sector. Standard radiation therapy uses X-rays (photons) to deliver radiation and, more often than not, affects healthy tissues surrounding the cancer site. But high-energy protons can deliver most of their energy to a particular point, reducing the risk of side-effects and thus making it a safer option for children.
Proton therapy comes to public sector now | India News - Times of India
India News: Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated the much-awaited proton beam therapy facility at the Tata Memorial Centre’s Kharghar campus on Thur
m.timesofindia.com
NSSO survey shows India’s progress on UN's Sustainable Development Goals
95.7% people were living in households with an improved drinking water source, 63.1% (92% in urban areas) households had access to clean fuel for cooking, and 82% people had access handwashing facility with soap or detergent within the household’s premises and an improved toilet.
These findings, all related to Sustainable Development Goals are from a new Multiple Indicator Survey (MIS) conducted by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) in 2020-21, the report for which was released on March 7. The data shows how close or far India is from achieving select Sustainable Development Goals. Adopted by the UN in 2015, SDGs are a set of 17 inter-related goals on developmental issues.
While this particular survey does not show progress over time, the level of achievement of different indicators that the NSSO survey shows is comparable to other surveys, which have shown progress. The survey also collected data on some miscellaneous indicators, such as migration and working knowledge of using computers.
The MIS was conducted by the NSSO across 2,76,409 households between January 2020 and August 2021. It has collected data on only select indicators of SDGs. Four key indicators on which data was collected are: access to improved source of drinking water, access to latrine, access to handwashing facility with soap and water within the household’s premises, and access to clean fuel for cooking.
The four key indicators covered by the MIS are similar to those covered by the National Family Health Survey (NFHS). The numbers reported by MIS for 2020-21 are also similar to the numbers reported by the 2019-21 NFHS for two of these indicators. For example, 95.7% people were living in households with an improved drinking water source in the MIS, compared to 95.9% in the 2019-21 NFHS. Similarly, 63.1% (92% in urban areas) households had access to clean fuel for cooking in MIS, compared to 58.6% (89.7% in urban areas) in the NFHS.
The access handwashing facility with soap or detergent within the household’s premises and an improved latrine diverges more across these two surveys. MIS data shows 82% people had access to the former compared to 71% in NFHS. The difference between the two surveys is largely on account of the difference in the access reported by rural areas: 77% in MIS compared to 64% in the NFHS. The divergence in access to improved sanitation shown by the two surveys is bigger. The MIS reports 83% access to improved sanitation facility compared to 70% in the NFHS. The difference in this indicator is also not very lopsided. The MIS numbers are bigger than NFHS numbers by 15 and 12 percentage points in urban and rural areas.
To be sure, some of the differences in the access to sanitation reported by the two surveys could be due to definitions, the method of sampling, or the sample itself, which need to examined closely. For example, accurate rural-urban classification has become difficult because a census has not been conducted, Himanshu, an associate professor of economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University told HT earlier. However, because the MIS data’s estimates are either close to higher than the NFHS for all these indicators, it is safe to assume that the progress shown on these indicators in the NFHS is not because of faulty data.
Apart from the data on SDGs, the MIS has also collected data on other miscellaneous indicators that are not usually collected by the NSSO or other large government surveys. For example, the MIS survey found that 29.1% of Indians are migrants. While this is similar to the number reported by the 2020-21 PLFS (28.9%), MIS additionally asked working migrants how their income changed after migration: 56% such people reported an increase while 22% each reported a decrease and no change. To be sure, migrants to urban areas reported an increase more than the average migrant. 68% of urban migrants reported an increase in income, while incomes decreased and remained the same for 12% and 20% of such migrants.
Data from the MIS report also shows that country, including a large share of the relatively young, is ill prepared to completely shift work and education online. Only 15.6% of those in the 15 years and above age group could send emails with attached files. This number improved to only 27.5% among the younger 15-25 years age group. Even if education was to be conducted through compact discs (CD) or other removable drives, not all students might be able to pursue such an education easily. Only 43% people in the 15-25 age group (35% in rural areas) could copy or move a file or folder.
NSSO survey shows India’s progress on UN's Sustainable Development Goals
Adopted by the UN in 2015, SDGs are a set of 17 inter-related goals on developmental issues.
win win for us .
Supply chain diversification is a once in a generation opportunity, that is ours to lose. pic.twitter.com/tKMyqy0JXs
— Diva Jain (@DivaJain2) May 23, 2023
US-based StemCures is set to establish a manufacturing lab focusing on stem cell therapy in Telangana's capital. The firm aims to create the largest stem cell manufacturing plant in India.
www.timesnownews.com
Another big-ticket investment in India! Largest stem cell manufacturing plant set to open in THIS state by US-based firm; huge investment, jobs expected
Hyderabad on Wednesday clutched a big-ticket investment in the life sciences sector. US-based StemCures is set to create the largest stem cell manufacturing plant in India. The facility will be set up with around $54 million in investment potential and employment potential for around 150 people...
