Typhoid endemic in West Kochi : (31/03/03)
KOCHI
: Sayeeda Abdul Rehman of Eeraveli is in the Fort
Kochi Government Hospital nursing her grandson Amjad
who has contracted typhoid. Amjad's mother is also
a victim of the disease. Earlier, another grandchild
of Sayeeda was hospitalised with typhoid. There is
at least one person or the other in the locality who
is down with typhoid throughout the year. Typhoid
has become endemic to West Kochi. At any particular
time of the year, there are a few cases of typhoid
in the area. Such has been the situation for the last
6-7 years. With the disease continuing to cause some
real problems for the health authorities and an irritant
to Kochi Corporation and the Kerala Water Authority,
many feel that it is likely that very soon businesses
will also get affected. Fish exports from the area
and tourism are the major businesses here and both
face a threat from the endemic typhoid here. If the
authorities do not wake up, there is every possibility
that the place may face an embargo on fish exports
and tourism to the area be curtailed by international
agencies, say observers. Read
more >>
(Courtesy
The Hindu
dated 31/03/03)
CUSAT to start new courses : (31/03/03)
KOCHI
: The Cochin University of Science and Technology
(Cusat) has envisaged a revenue of Rs. 55.92 crores
and an expenditure of Rs. 57.68 crores in its budget
for the coming year. The budget proposed a special
project for students belonging to SC/ST and backward
communities, N. Unnikrishnan Nair, Vice-Chancellor,
said in a release here on Saturday. For these students,
Cusat would start B.Sc courses in Physiotherapy, Medical
Laboratory Technology, Medical Biochemistry, Microbiology,
Medical Radiology, Ophthalmic Assistants, Dental Mechanics
and Dental Hygiene. A School of Medical Science and
Technology would be formed for conducting these courses.
The State Government would finance the project. The
university had submitted a Rs.1.94-crore project in
this regard, Dr. Nair said. The budget also allocated
Rs. 20 lakhs for academic improvement and personality
development of students belonging to backward communities.
Around Rs. 20 lakhs would be utilised for student
counselling. Read
more >>
(Courtesy
The Hindu
dated 31/03/03)
Public cheated by misleading scientific reports
: (31/03/03)
Two
years back, the publication of a report in this website's
newspaper about a rare surgery done in a private hospital
in Kerala created a furore among medical community
and some commented that it was a bogus claim by the
surgeon concerned. Subsequently, there were suggestions
to introduce a pre-publication peer review for similar
medical reports so that the readers are not cheated.
A staff reporter is not a scientific expert to verify
the genuineness of these claims and thus it seems
appropriate to have some sort of pre-publication verification
of similar claims. At least, in this instance, the
newspaper was kind enough to publish the critical
comments of others. However, there were instances
when the newspapers or weeklies which publish similar
reports fail to publish the comments sent by experts
contradicting their reports and I think it is high
time that some forum is instituted for public redressal
in such situations in the State. The Press Council
is there for public redressal, but by the time a verdict
is given everybody might have forgotten about the
incident. Read
more >>
(Courtesy
The New Indian
Express dated 31/03/03)
Pneumonia scare hits Asian air travel :
(29/03/03)
HONG
KONG - International airlines today felt the direct
impact of a killer pneumonia outbreak after experts
called for passenger screening and a Singaporean stewardess
was hospitalised as a suspected case. As the global
death toll hit 54 with more than 1,400 cases recorded,
the World Health Organisation (WHO) yesterday recommended
that countries most affected by the disease start
screening international passengers at airports. It
stopped short of calling for outright travel restrictions
but more countries including the United States were
expected to curtail travel or issue advisories against
flying to Asian countries most affected by Severe
Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
(Courtesy
The Hindu
dated 29/03/03)
SARS due to Corona Virus? : (29/03/03)
SARS'
cause and cure have yet to be discovered but the WHO
said a consortium of international laboratories was
zeroing in on a member of the ``coronavirus'' family
after it turned up in specimens from victims. ``This
virus is unlike any known human or animal member of
the virus family,'' it said in its most recent bulletin,
adding that scientists were ``very close to knowing
for sure'' if the suspect virus is causing SARS. The
entire crew of Singapore Airlines flight SQ25 from
New York to Frankfurt on March 14 has been grounded
after three passengers fell ill with SARS.
(Courtesy
The Hindu
dated 29/03/03)
'India blocking Dhaka's polio-free status'
: (29/03/03)
Dhaka
- Bangladesh has charged that polio cases in India
were posing difficulties for it to be declared as
a polio-free country as people travel frequently between
the two countries. Although no child with polio was
found in Bangladesh after 2000, the country could
not be declared polio-free because of polio-affected
children in neighbouring India, Bangladesh's Health
and Family Welfare Minister, Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain,
said here on Friday. "Since there is a two-way
traffic between the people of the two countries, there
is every possibility of carrying the virus to this
country,'' he was quoted as saying.
(Courtesy
The Hindu
dated 29/03/03 & PTI )
South India ignored in forming All India medical
institutes : (27/03/03)
New
Delhi : South India will not get even one of the proposed
six All India Medical Sciences Institutes to be set
up in the country. The Institutes, modelled after
the AIIMS, New Delhi, will be set up in Bihar, Orissa,
Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttaranchal.
The institutes will be set up before the closure of
the Tenth plan. Each institute is estimated at Rs
387 crore. Assembly elections will be held this year
in three of the six states--Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh
and Rajasthan. Minister for Health, Sushma Swaraj,
said that medical colleges in all states can be upgraded
to the stature of AIIMS. The ministry is studying
about medical colleges that have the potential for
expansion. The government has plans to set up a special
medical cell called 'Sanjeevani', to provide immediate
service in areas hit by natural calamities.
(Courtesy
Malayala Manorama
dated 27/03/03)
Medico's death: legal notices served on 6
persons : (27/03/03)
KOLLAM
- The former Chathannur MLA, N. Anirudhan, has sent
legal notices to six respondents in connection with
the `unnatural' death of his only son, A.S. Anish,
a final year medical student at the T.D. Medical College,
Alappuzha. Those served with the legal notice are
the registrar of the University of Kerala, Rajan,
the principal of the T.D. Medical College, Alappuzha,
Dalus, the chief examiner for the final year MBBS
examination, 2001-2002, Ramakrishnan and Sujathan,
external examiners for the same examination, and the
Chief Secretary, Chandrashekharan Nair. The notice
holds that the mental torture and harassment at the
hands of those in charge of the examination had resulted
in Anish's death. A final year MBBS student at the
Alappuzha Medical College, it was after attending
the medicine clinical examination on April 3 last
year that Anish went missing. Read
more >>
(Courtesy
The Hindu dated 27/03/03)
The functioning of Laboratories hit :
(23/03/03)
The
functions of the laboratories maintained by the Hospital
Development Society have been hit by the approach
by the employees. The labs started for serving the
patients round the clock near the Casualty, OTs and
Wards have not been accepting the samples and specimen
as required. Most of the time, no employees are present
at the lab. The bystanders and patients would have
to wait for long durations for getting the results.
There are even complaints that the results are not
given promptly evne after remitting the fees.
(Courtesy
Malayala Manorama
dated 23/03/03)
Actions against harrassment of Doctors needed
- Speaker : (23/03/03)
The
speaker Mr. Vakkam Purushothaman has called for the
cessation of the unnecessary harrassment of doctors.
He was speaking at the anniversary of the KIMS Hospital.
He also criticised doctors at the Private Hospitals
for sending back patients who are unable to pay fees.
The doctors should be humane, he said. He congratulated
KIMS for providing it's services even to the poor
patients. He inaugrated the Neonatal ICU, Newborn
Clinic and the Mobile Health Services ambulance facilites.
(Courtesy
Malayala Manorama
dated 23/03/03)
Centre approve Loan for development of Hospitals
: (22/03/03)
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
: The Central Governement has approved a loan Rs.
810 Crores by the World Bankk for the development
of all Government hospitals in the state other than
the Medical College hospitals. This was informed by
the Health Minister Mr. P. Sankaran. Some discussions
with the World Bank authorities have to be held at
Washington now. The similar loan of Rs. 127 Crores
for the Medical Colleges has not been approved by
the Centre. NABARD has promised to allot Rs. 42 Crores
for the purchase of instruments at the Government
hospitals earlier. There is a plan for installing
modern air-conditioning facilities at all Operation
Theatres in the Medical College. For this Rs. 60 Lakhs
has been alloted.
(Courtesy
Malayala Manorama
dated 23/03/03)
Druggists, chemists to observe hartal :
(22/03/03)
Kottayam
: All Kerala Chemists and Druggists Association on
Saturday urged the government to exempt the retail
drugs traders from the purview of value added tax.
The authorities were not allowing to charge more than
a stipulated price formulated as per the drugs price
control order, K.P.Paul, AKCDA president, told reporters
here. About eight lakh chemists and druggists would
observe a hartal on march 25 if the authorities did
not make any modifications in VAT. They would also
organise a dharna at the secretariat on that day.
Read
more >>
(Courtesy
Malayala Manorama
dated 22/03/03)
IMC team to assess Kochi cooperative medical
college : (22/03/03)
New
Delhi : The Indian Medical Council will be sending
an expert committee to look into the issue of recognition
of the Cooperative Medical College, Kochi. The state
minister for cooperation, M.V. Raghavan, held talks
with the Union Health Minister, Sushma Swaraj, on
the issue. Sushma made it clear that temporary sanction
cannot be made without an assessment of the expert
committee. The state government will let the Medical
Council know about a convenient date for making the
assessment. Read
more >>
(Courtesy
Malayala Manorama
dated 22/03/03)
Scientists Track Source of Mystery Pneumonia
: (21/03/03)
WASHINGTON
(Reuters) - Doctors said on Wednesday they were homing
in on a possible cause and source of a mysterious
global outbreak of pneumonia, naming a family of viruses
responsible for everyday measles and more exotic diseases
such as Nipah virus. Teams in Hong Kong and Germany
said they found evidence of a virus known as a paramyxovirus
in some of the patients with the illness, called severe
acute respiratory syndrome. Hong Kong health officials
identified a hotel as the likely source of the territory's
outbreak. They said a doctor from China's Guangdong
province stayed at the Metropole Hotel in the Special
Administrative Region's Kowloon district and infected
six other people before he died earlier this month.
Read
more >>
(Courtesy
Reuters, Yahoo!
News)
Pneumonia alarm at airport : (21/03/03)
NEW
DELHI - To prevent the entry into India of the mysterious
pneumonia which has claimed a dozen lives in Asia
and has caused considerable panic worldwide, the Directorate-General
of Health Services has trained over 80 Immigration
officials at the Indira Gandhi International Airport
here to identify passengers affected by the deadly
virus. The officials have been told of the areas affected
by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome as well as
its symptoms, diagnosis and the procedures to be followed
once an incoming passenger is detected with it, says
the Airport Health Officer, Sujit Kumar Singh. After
the World Health Organisation sounded an alert on
the outbreak of "atypical pneumonia", the
DGHS issued instructions for training Immigration
officials. A doctor has been deputed for round- the-clock
duty at Delhi airport. Read
more >>
(Courtesy
The Hindu
dated 21/03/03)
'Recuperative Holiday' scheme introduced in Kerala
: (21/03/03)
Thiruvananthapuram
: The Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS)
here has come out with a unique scheme called ''Recuperative
Holiday in Kerala,'' combining the rich tourism potential
of the State with ''world class medical treatment
facilities available at the KIMS.'' Under the scheme,
a patient could undergo surgeries at the KIMS and
spend any number of days in a tourist spot of his
choice in Kerala during the recuperation period. The
Medical Tourism Package had been launched in the Middle
East, Far East and Europe and the response was encouraging,
E M Najeeb, a leading tour operator and Executive
Director of KIMS, said here on Wednesdasy night. Read
more >>
(Courtesy
Malayala Manorama
dated 21/03/03)
MCH C. T. Scan Unit still paralyzed :
(19/03/03)
Even
after the arrival of the spare parts from Japan, The
C. T. Scan unit is still defunctional as the authorities
have not taken any action to take them into custody.
The spare parts had arrived four days back at the
Airport Cargo Division and are waiting for clearance.
The C. T. Scan unit has not been functioning for about
two weeks now. The parts which amount upto 27 lakhs
include main parts such as the 'tube'. The authorities
have promised to take action and get the spare parts
and start the functioning of the Unit in two days.
(Courtesy
Malayala Manorama
19/03/03)
Plan to ease pressure on anti-rabies unit
at GH : (19/03/03)
Even
as the threat of rabies has increased with the onset
of summer and the expanding population of stray dogs
in the city and suburbs, the health authorities are
planning to equip physicians on managing dog-bite
victims at the peripheral taluk hospitals. The anti-rabies
treatment unit at the General Hospital (GH), the only
referral centre for dog-bite victims in the southern
districts, continues to face an acute shortage of
human serum, the only life-line for victims of severe
bites. The resource-strapped unit here registers between
100 to 150 cases, including around 50 new cases, of
dog-bite victims from neighbouring districts.
Read more >>
(Courtesy
The Hindu
dated 19/03/03)
Plea to make HIV test mandatory before marriage
: (19/03/03)
Jammu
March 18. A writ petition has been filed in the Jammu
and Kashmir High Court seeking a direction to make
HIV tests mandatory before marriage. The petition,
filed by the Society for Health, Environment, Education
and Research, has been treated as Public Interest
Litigation (PIL). In the absence of any such law it
is very difficult to convince the people, the petition
said. Various studies show that AIDS cases have been
on the rise in the State. Estimates given by the National
AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) put the number of
cases in the State at 30,000. Students studying outside
J&K, frequent travellers, truck drivers and businessmen
have been identified as high-risk groups. Read
more >>
(Courtesy
The Hindu dated
19/03/03)
Killer pneumonia likely to be new bug :
(19/03/03)
A
new microbe that has jumped from animals to humans
is likely to be the cause of the deadly pneumonia
that has spread rapidly around the globe. This is
the conclusion of international scientists who have
tested for virtually every known human pathogen without
success. The highly infectious illness - dubbed Severe
Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) - has so far claimed
at least nine lives from a total of over 500 cases.
The outbreak has prompted serious concern at the World
Health Organization and other health authorities.
The recent spread around the world stems from a single
case in Hanoi, Vietnam. The Far East has been worst
hit, with Vietnam now having 54 cases, Hong Kong having
123 and Singapore having 23, according to reports
on Tuesday. Read
More >>
(Courtesy
New Scientist)
Doctors in Hong Kong Identify Deadly Pneumonia
Virus : (19/03/03)
Doctors
in Hong Kong have scored a major breakthrough in identifying
a deadly pneumonia virus that has killed at least
11 people and left hundreds ill as it races around
the world. Medical experts said the discovery would
make the disease easier to diagnose and opened the
way for a vaccine to be developed. But they stressed
more lab work had to be done to pin down the exact
make-up of the virus and scientists had not ruled
out that it might be a new strain. "From the
shape of the virus, it belongs to the paramyxoviridae
family," said virologist John Tam at the Chinese
University in Hong Kong. Though the symptoms appear
similar, influenza was not a member of the that family,
said Lo Wing-lok, an infectious disease expert. World
health authorities have long been preparing for some
new strain of flu they fear could repeat the devastation
of the 1918 pandemic that killed an estimated 20 million
people. Read
more >>
(Courtesy
Yahoo! News, Reuters)
HK doctors 'identify killer disease' :
(19/03/03)
Scientists
in Hong Kong have claimed a key breakthrough against
a virulent form of pneumonia which is claiming more
victims around the world. The researchers have identified
the mystery respiratory illness at the heart of a
global health scare as a virus from the paramyxoviridae
family. More work is needed to establish whether the
virus is a new strain and whether it is curable, according
to the doctors from the Chinese University of Hong
Kong and Prince of Wales Hospital. But a university
spokeswoman told BBC News Online that the discovery
indicated that the treatment being given to patients
suffering from the atypical pneumonia in Hong Kong
- the hardest-hit area - was the right kind. Earlier,
a spokesman for the World Health Organisation said
the longer the virus went unidentified, the more likely
it was a new illness. Read
more >>
(Courtesy
BBC)
Mystery disease: Health Ministry keeping vigil
: (18/03/03)
Even
as there were reports of more people being hospitalised
in Hong Kong and several other places in South East
Asia with symptoms of a mysterious disease raging
in the region for the past fortnight, a high-level
meeting of experts convened by the Union Health Ministry
today decided to wait for some more days before issuing
any national alert. Senior Ministry officials told
the media that the meeting decided against sounding
an alert right away to avoid any panic, particularly
considering that no case has been reported from anywhere
in the country so far. Read
more >>
(Courtesy
The Hindu
dated 18/03/03)
Kerala to set up AIDS testing centres in all
districts : (18/03/03)
Concerned
over the alarming growth of HIV positive cases, the
Kerala Government has decided to set up facilities
of AIDS detection in all the district hospitals. Replying
to questions in the State Assembly, Health Minister
P Sankaran said low-cost AIDS detection facility was
available at five centres at present. The test was
being conducted in the centres for a meagre Rs ten
as against the actual cost of Rs 300. Chief Minister
A K Antony said he would take the initiative to organise
an AIDS awareness programme for the MLAs and others
as the disease was fast emerging as a major health
problem in the State, which had a large number of
migrant population. Read
more >>
(Courtesy
Malayala Manorama
dated 18/03/03)
Govt. to intensify drive against AIDS :
(18/03/03)
The
Chief Minister, A.K. Antony, will call a meeting of
various departments, civic chiefs and all those concerned
to intensify the campaign against AIDS. Replying to
the questions of George J. Mathew, Maleth Sarala Devi,
K.C. Venugopal, Prathapa Varma Thampan, P.T. Thomas
and Radha Raghavan in the Assembly today, Mr. Antony
said the meeting would discuss the mode of organising
the campaign and distribution of funds through the
panchayats under the direct supervision of the Health
Department. Read
more >>
(Courtesy
The Hindu
dated 18/03/03)
Govt. to intensify drive against AIDS :
(18/03/03)
The
Chief Minister, A.K. Antony, will call a meeting of
various departments, civic chiefs and all those concerned
to intensify the campaign against AIDS. Replying to
the questions of George J. Mathew, Maleth Sarala Devi,
K.C. Venugopal, Prathapa Varma Thampan, P.T. Thomas
and Radha Raghavan in the Assembly today, Mr. Antony
said the meeting would discuss the mode of organising
the campaign and distribution of funds through the
panchayats under the direct supervision of the Health
Department. Read
more >>
(Courtesy
The Hindu
dated 18/03/03)
AIDS awareness campaign to be stepped up :
(18/03/03)
The
HIV/AIDS awareness campaign is to be stepped up in
Kerala in the light of the virtual ostracism of two
HIV-infected siblings orphaned by AIDS-afflicted parents
in Kollam in a manner reflective of the deep stigma
that continues to hound such victims in the modern
society. The siblings, Bency (7) and her brother Benson
(5), had, along with their grandparent and social
activists, sought Government intervention to get admission
in a school in their neighbourhood after staging a
protest in front of the Secretariat. The apparent
triumph vapourised when, in spite of instructions
to get them admitted to the Kaithakuzhy Government
LPS, they were denied the right to education after
an organised group of parents resisted the siblings'
admission. Read
more >>
(Courtesy
The Hindu
dated 18/03/03)
Deadly pneumonia virus extends global reach
: (17/03/03)
A
deadly strain of pneumonia is moving quickly around
the globe as infected travellers from parts of Asia
spread the disease, creating suspected cases in Britain,
Germany, Australia and the United States. The mysterious
respiratory disease, known as severe acute respiratory
syndrome and believed to have originated in China
late last year, has killed nine people and made hundreds
ill. In crowded Hong Kong, the number of infections
rose to 123 yesterday, up from 95 a day earlier, officials
said. Most of the patients are hospital staff. Of
the total, 111 were suffering severe pneumonia, compared
with 83 on Monday. Read
more >>
(Courtesy
Reuters, Khaleej
Times)
Interact more with patients, doctors told
: (16/03/03)
Doctors
should interact more with their patients and be more
open to them, the president of District Consumer Disputes
Redressal Forum, N. Haridas, has said. Medical camps
should be conducted more often and people should be
told about various diseases and modern treatment procedures
so that they were better informed, he said while inaugurating
the World Consumer Rights Day programmes organised
by Centre of Indian Consumer Protection and Research
(COINPAR) here on Saturday. Read
more >>
(Courtesy
The Hindu
dated 16/03/03)
School for Benson, Bency : (15/03/03)
The
special school sanctioned by the State Government
for the HIV positive siblings, Bency and Benson, from
Kaithakuzhy, near here, started functioning from today.
Classes for them are being conducted by Madhusoodhanan
Pillai, who trains teachers for the Sarva Sikshan
Abhiyan. Mr. Pillai's first classes on the first day
comprised of alphabet writing and nursery rhymes.
Both Benson and Bency seemed to enjoy the school and
felt more 'at home' than at Kaithakuzhy Govt. L. P.
School where they were ostracised. After summer vacation,
a permanent teacher would be posted for them.
(Courtesy
The Hindu
dated 15/03/03)
C.
T. Scan and X-Ray units out of order at MCH : (11/03/03)
The
C. T. S. and X-Ray units in the Medical College hospital
Casualty are out of order. This has caused difficulties
for the patients. The doctors in the hospital are
now sending patients to private facilities for doing
the necessary tests. This has considerably delayed
the emergency care being administered to the needy
patients. There are 17 X-Ray taking machine units
at the casualty including the portable machines. 10
of these are out of order and the rest are too old.
(Courtesy
The Malayala
Manorama dated 11/03/03)
AIDS
: State achieves 'zero growth' : (11/03/03)
Even
as Kerala recently grabbed national headlines for
the outrageous treatment meted out to two young school
children living with HIV, the state has achieved a
remarkable fete in AIDS-HIV control. It is the only
state in the country to have achieved a 'zero growth'
of HIV population. This was revealed by a recent HIV-AIDS
surveillance carried out by the National AIDS Control
Organisation (NACO), the apex national body for fighting
the spread of HIV-AIDS. The virus' spread was found
to be the lowest in KErala. According to M. N. Gunavardhanan,
project director of the Kerala State AIDS Control
Society (KSACS), the rate of growth in the number
of HIV-afflicted persons has remained static in Kerala.
This means that there has only been a marginal increase
in the total number of HIV/AIDS affected person. This
also means that Kerala, which has high scores in several
public-health parameters, is gradually succeeding
in stalling the relentless march of the virus.
(Courtesy
The Hindu
dated 11/03/03)
Serum
shortage hits anti-rabies unit in G.H. :
(11/03/03)
A critical dearth of life-saving anti-rabies serum
at the anti-rabies treatment unit in the General Hospital
here is hampering the functioning of what is the only
referral refuge for rabies victims in the southern
districts. There have been six rabies deaths in as
many months and with the arrivals of dog-bite victims
expected to increase in the summer months ahead, the
erratic availability of serum is a cause for anxiety
among hospital authorities. The rabies treatment unit
had been shifted from the Public Health Laboratory
(PHL) to the General Hospital in November last year
to provide better care for victims. Earlier, patients
were being examined at the PHL and sent over to the
General Hospital for vaccination or administration
of serum. But the carry-over stocks of equine (horse-derived)
serum obtained from the PHL have run out. Read
more >>
(Courtesy
The Hindu
dated 11/03/03)
IMA
flays ostracism of siblings : (09/03/03)
The
Indian Medical Association (IMA) has described as
cruelly malicious and shameful the humiliation inflicted
on the HIV-infected siblings, Benson and Bency, who
had been orphaned by AIDS-afflicted parents. In a
statement here, the IMA office-bearers, P.T. Cheriyan
and T. Suresh Kumar, blamed the Government for its
failure to safeguard the constitutional right to education
of the two children who hail from Kollam district.
The IMA leaders urged the Government and society to
understand the scientific fact that HIV/AIDS was not
a communicable disease and risks of transmission are
only through blood transfusion, sexual contact or
vertically from mother to child, and to correct their
attitudes towards HIV victims. Read
more >>
(Courtesy
The Hindu
dated 09/03/03)
'Abortion
pill a major step towards women's empowerment' : (09/03/03)
New
Delhi March 8. Experts participating at a consortium
on the National Consensus for Medical Abortion in
India today agreed that the abortion pill must be
introduced, in phases, in the family welfare programme
of the country. The recommendations would be placed
with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and
guidelines would be evolved on the manner the two-dose
pill (mifepristone and misoprostol) should be administered
with all precautions. "On the International Women's
Day, this was a major step towards women's empowerment,''
said Suneeta Mittal, Chief Coordinator of the Consortium
and of the India trials at the All-India Institute
of Medical Sciences. Speaking to The Hindu, the Secretary,
Department of Family Welfare, Prasada Rao, said the
pill could be introduced. Amendment will have to be
brought to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Rules,
under the Act, he said. The two-dose drug is already
being used, but some modification will have to be
notified by the Drug Controller for the second trimester
medical termination of pregnancy. Read
more >>
(Courtesy
The Hindu
dated 09/03/03)
MTP
Act may have to be amended for abortion by pill :
(08/03/03)
New
Delhi March 7. Experts at the consortium on national
consensus for medical abortion here are faced with
the dilemma whether the progressive Medical Termination
of Pregnancy Act 1971 should be amended to enable
easy access to the Abortion Pill (RU486 in combination
with a prostaglandin), albeit under medical supervision
with back-up facility. The consortium, organised by
the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS),
in collaboration with the WHO, the ICMR and the Ministry
of Family Welfare, is deliberating the strategy and
guidelines for launching the pill in the family welfare
programme as a safe alternative to surgical termination
of pregnancy. Read
more >>
(Courtesy
The Hindu
dated 08/03/03)
New
institute in tie-up for malaria vaccine : (08/03/03)
The
Institute of Bioinformatics (IOB), at the International
Technology Park Ltd. here, will collaborate with the
School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University,
U.S., to find proteins that could be potential candidates
for a malaria vaccine. The institute was inaugurated
at the ITPL on Friday by the Union Minister for Shipping,
Shatrughan Sinha. Akhilesh Pandey, Associate Professor,
Johns Hopkins University, and Chief Scientific Officer
of IOB, said he had started the institute in collaboration
with the university and by investing about $200,000.
The IOB had tie-ups with the University of Michigan,
U.S., and the University of South Denmark to build
comprehensive reference databases of all known human
proteins, and to conduct bioinformatics research,
he added. Read
more >>
(Courtesy
The Hindu
dated 08/03/03)
T.N.
doctors shun AIDS patients : (08/03/03)
Despite
Tamil Nadu's claims to high AIDS awareness, it is
still one of the most regressive States, with more
than 90 per cent doctors refusing to treat people
with HIV/AIDS. A fact that forces these patients to
go to the highly-stigmatised sexually transmitted
disease (STD) wards of Government hospitals even for
common colds. They would not get treatment elsewhere.
It is a rule among doctors to direct HIV positive
patients to STD cells for any ailment, for fear of
contracting the virus. In Tamil Nadu, the high level
of awareness has not translated into action. When
Rekha (name changed) went to the General Hospital
in Chennai for what appeared to be a gynaecology problem,
she was sent to the STD department. After diagnosis,
they referred her to the gynaecology ward, which turned
her out. She was turned out again at the Government
Hospital for Women in Egmore. She was finally treated
in the Government TB Sanatorium, Tambaram, but, as
she had not been seen by a gynaecologist she has been
living in agony for the last six months. Read
more >>
(Courtesy
The Hindu
dated 08/03/03)
Kerala
Blood Donors Society inaugrated : (07/03/03)
The
Kerala Blood Donors' Society was inaugrated in a ceremony
held at Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday. The speaker
Mr. Vakkom Purushothaman urged the need to build up
awareness in the society about blood donation. Blood
donation should be promoted by providing infrastructure.
Other eminent personalities who spoke during the inaugration
included Mr. M . K. Joseph, Dr. K. Mohandas, Dr. B.
Ekbal, Mr. G. Rajmohan, Mr. B. C. Pai, Mr. U. Suresh
Kumar, Dr. Ratheesh C. Nair etc.
(Courtesy
Malayala Manorama dated 07/03/03)
Probe
sought into cancer growth in Thanneermukkam :
(07/03/03)
ALAPPUZHA:
Kerala Niyama Sahaya Vedi has filed a petition with
the State Human Rights Commission seeking an inquiry
into recurring cancer deaths in Thanneermukkam grama
panchayat in Alappuzha district. The petition is based
on a report published in this website's newspaper
on January 10 headlined `Cancer grows in a grama panchayat.'
The office-bearers of the Vedi and advocates in Alappuzha
Bar, Bijli Joseph, P K Sadanandan and Pradeep Koottala,
have noted in the petition that in spite of the this
website's newspaper report on over 72 cancer deaths
in the area within a short period, the Health Department,
the Water Resource Department and the Pollution Control
Board had done little to find out the cause of the
disease. Read
the whole article
(Courtesy
The New Indian
Express Online dated 06/03/03)
Plan to launch abortion pill in family welfare
programme : (06/03/03)
New
Delhi March 5. After the launch of the `morning after
pill' (emergency contraception), efforts are now on
to introduce a medical abortion pill in the family
welfare system to reduce the risk of surgical methods
of abortion. Trials have shown that early medical
abortion is successful in 90 to 95 per cent women
with negligible side effects. Trials are now on at
the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences to test
the efficacy, dosage and safety of the non-invasive
drugs separately and in combination, for medical termination
of pregnancy up to the second trimester — 12
to 20 weeks. Already permission has been granted for
early medical abortion with antiprogestogen—
mifepristone derivative, but experts are trying to
evolve an appropriate regime and safety protocol to
extend it to other drugs to cover the second trimester.
Read
the full article
(Courtesy
The Hindu
dated 06/03/03)
Neurosurgery
I. C. U. functions hindered : (06/03/03)
Due
to the non-functioning of the Air Conditioners, the
functions of the Neurosurgery have been hindered partially.
The 'Head Injury' wing of the I. C. U. has been closed
due to this. The patients being treated in that wing
have been transferred to the general wards. All the
three Air Conditioners in the Neurosurgery I. C. U.
near Ward 16 are having problems now. Two of them
stopped functioning a few months back.
(Courtesy
Malayala Manorama dated 06/03/03)
Complaint
against faulty treatment leading to death :
(02/03/03)
A
complaint has been raised against the Medical College
authorities by the brother of Mr. Baiju who passed
away after being admitted to the Medical College Tvm.
after a Road Traffic Accident on Thursday. Apparently
the complainant is accusing the administration of
'wrong' medicines leading to the death of his brother.
The subject died on Saturday morning after getting
some injections the previous night.
Rights
Panel lets off Doctor :
(01/03/03)
The
full bench of the Kerala State Humans Rights Commision
has decided not to initiate an further action against
Dr. Francis, the Superintendent of the Medical College,
Alappuzha. The decision was taken after Dr. Francis
appeared in person before the Commission in the capital
and tendered unconditional apology, oral and written,
for preventing the Commission member, S. Balaraman,
from entering the Medical College Hospital.
(Courtesy
The Hindu dated 01/03/03)
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