Health

New Delhi, October 20: Five swine flu deaths were reported in India Tuesday, taking the toll due to Influenza A (H1N1) virus to 420, health authorities said here.

Also, 89 new cases were reported in the country, taking the total number of people affected with the flu to 12,969.

All the deaths had occurred earlier, but the laboratory confirmations of the viral infections came Tuesday, officials said.

Of the five deaths, two occurred in Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. With this the toll due to the virus in the state has touched 44.

Nasiriyah, October 20: Two southern Iraqi provinces will shut their nearly 2,500 schools this week in a bid to combat swine flu, officials said on Tuesday.

The mass closures in Dhi Qar and Wassit provinces, due to start on Wednesday and Thursday respectively, are Iraq’s first since the A(H1N1) virus was first reported in Mexico in April.

Universities, however, will remain open in both provinces.

“We took the decision to close the schools because we are afraid for the health of our students,” Dhi Qar’s environmental director Raji Naeema said.

New Delhi, October 20: Concerned that many physicians are no longer taught to diagnose and treat tuberculosis (TB), the World Medical Association (WMA) launched a new online refresher course here Thursday.

Washington, October 19: Migraine sufferers may be more vulnerable to an alcohol-induced headache after a night of drinking, according to researchers.

Until now, studying the mechanism behind migraine and other forms of recurrent headaches has not been possible in an animal model, says Michael Oshinsky, assistant Neurology professor at Jefferson Medical College (JMC).

New Delhi, October 18: Two people died of swine flu in Maharashtra while one person succumbed in Uttarakhand, taking the all India toll to 408, a health ministry official said on Sunday.

Maharashtra, which tops the casualty list, has reported a total of 173 deaths.

Uttarakhand has reported its third death. According to the official, the person who died October 14 in Uttarakhand has been confirmed to have died of H1N1.

New Delhi, October 18: Two people died of swine flu in Maharashtra while one person succumbed in Uttarakhand, taking the all India toll to 408, a health ministry official said on Sunday.

Maharashtra, which tops the casualty list, has reported a total of 173 deaths.

Uttarakhand has reported its third death. According to the official, the person who died October 14 in Uttarakhand has been confirmed to have died of H1N1.

London, October 18: No need to undergo unpleasant examinations to spot an early symptom of bowel cancer – one of the deadliest. Now, scientists claim to have developed a new test which can detect the disease from outside one’s body.

Bowel cancer or colorectal cancer includes cancerous growths in the colon, rectum and appendix. With 655,000 deaths worldwide per year, it’s the third most common form of cancer. Currently the common test to detect the disease is colonoscopy either under a local or general anaesthetic.

Bangalore, October 18: Fifteen-year old Abishek hopes his bones will no longer break everytime he tries to chase a puppy down the street and trips.

The boy, studying in class 10, suffers from brittle bones, a genetic disorder that causes frequent fractures, and is waiting for a surgery that promises to make his bone strong.

Like him, eight-year-old Gururaj from Belgaum is waiting to know how it means to land your feet on the ground and walk straight. Born with club feet, he is waiting to take those first steps of his life without having to bend his thighs or knees.

Bangalore, October 18: Fifteen-year old Abishek hopes his bones will no longer break everytime he tries to chase a puppy down the street and trips.

The boy, studying in class 10, suffers from brittle bones, a genetic disorder that causes frequent fractures, and is waiting for a surgery that promises to make his bone strong.

Like him, eight-year-old Gururaj from Belgaum is waiting to know how it means to land your feet on the ground and walk straight. Born with club feet, he is waiting to take those first steps of his life without having to bend his thighs or knees.

Washington, October 18: Researchers have decoded the atomic structure of a key human enzyme, potentially opening the way towards less toxic HIV drugs.

“Many anti-HIV drugs are designed to stop the process of DNA replication,” says Whitney Yin, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Texas-Austin (UT-A).

“That turns out to be a great thing to do to help cure virus infections, because it stops the processes of viral replication,” adds Yin.

Chandigarh, October 18: A senior doctor at a leading hospital here has tested positive for the influenza A (H1N1) virus, a health official said on Saturday.

He is among the dozens of doctors and other medical staff here who have contracted swine flu.

“The patient is a resident doctor of Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER). He was exhibiting symptoms of swine flu like running nose, high fever and bad throat. We had collected his throat and nasal swab samples Thursday and his report has come positive,” a health official said.

New York, October 18: In a major step towards growing replacement for parts of damaged heart, Harvard researchers have created a strip of pulsing heart muscle from mouse embryonic stem cells.

The new study, which was published in the journal Science today, begins to confront what will be a major frontier for stem cell biology: translating recent basic science advances to meet the promise of regenerative medicine by finding ways to make such cells functional and potentially useful for therapies.

New York, October 18: ‘Swine flu’, used to describe the killer viral infection, has been named the most politically incorrect word of 2009 by Global Language Monitor, a group that studies word usage.

“Though hundreds of millions know of the current pandemic as swine flu, various governments and agencies for political motives ranging from protecting pork producers to religious sensitivity have chosen to address the virus by its formal name, influenza A(H1N1),” the GLM said.

Washington, October 18: Taking vitamin E doesn’t protect head and neck cancer patients from developing new tumors, Canadian researchers report. In fact, it may actually raise the risk of developing a second cancer.

The study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (Vol. 97, No. 7: 481-488), is the second recent piece of research to cast doubt on the use of vitamin E against cancer. Just last month a team of international researchers said vitamin E supplements don’t offer any protection against cancer but may well raise the risk of heart failure in some patients.

Washington, October 17: British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline said Friday US regulators approved its vaccine Cervarix to prevent the leading cause of cervical cancer in women.

The approval from the Food and Drug Administration allows Glaxo to compete against Merck’s blockbuster vaccine Gardasil, which has been on the market here since 2006.

London-based Glaxo said it expects to launch the vaccine late this year.

Cervarix already is approved in nearly 100 other countries, but had been delayed in the US since 2007, when the FDA requested additional data from the company.

Geneva, October 17: At least 4,735 people have been killed by swine flu since the viral disease was detected in April, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said in a latest update.

Of all the deaths, 3,406 occurred in the Americas, 530 occurred in South-East Asia and 432 occurred in the West Pacific. Europe, East Mediterranean and Africa reported 207, 90 and 70 deaths respectively. The WHO declared the swine flu as pandemic in June.

New York, October 17: In a major step towards growing replacement for parts of damaged heart, Harvard researchers have created a strip of pulsing heart muscle
from mouse embryonic stem cells.

The new study, which was published in the journal Science today, begins to confront what will be a major frontier for stem cell biology: translating recent basic science advances to meet the promise of regenerative medicine by finding ways to make such cells functional and potentially useful for therapies.

New York, October 17: Carbon monoxide, a deadly toxin, could be beneficial in treating various infections and organ transplantation if used in small, extremely controlled doses, a recent research has revealed.

According to Dr Patty J Lee, an associate professor of internal medicine at Yale School of Medicine, a new research has shown that carbon monoxide, often called a silent killer, has benefits in everything from infections to organ transplantation and could also be a medical treatment.

Dubai, October 17: The Dubai Health Authority has introduced mandatory breast cancer awareness sessions for its 5,855 women employees.

October is breast cancer awareness month and screenings are being encouraged across the country.

The RAK Hospital, too, is conducting a month-long campaign on breast cancer awareness in its efforts to fight the malady, which is reportedly increasing.

Geneva, October 17: At least 4,735 people have been killed by swine flu since the viral disease was detected in April, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said in a latest update.

Of all the deaths, 3,406 occurred in the Americas, 530 occurred in South-East Asia and 432 occurred in the West Pacific. Europe, East Mediterranean and Africa reported 207, 90 and 70 deaths respectively. The WHO declared the swine flu as pandemic in June.

New Delhi, October 16: With the capital seeing a spurt in dengue cases, civic bodies have intensified measures to prevent its spread and sent notices to various government buildings and the AIIMS director for high mosquito breeding.

“A notice has been sent to the AIIMS director after high breeding indices were found in the overhead tanks of the servants’ quarters near his home,” NDMC Chief Medical Officer (Malaria) R N Singh said.

He said high breeding has also been found in several government buildings in areas like East Kidwai Nagar and blamed “laxity” by CPWD for the situation.

Cairo, October 15: Egypt on Thursday announced the closure of a Christian school in Cairo because of swine flu, the education system’s first casualty of the (A)H1N1 virus.

The College of the Mother of God will close for two weeks following the discovery of three swine flu cases among pupils, the health and education ministries said in a statement.

The girls school founded by French Catholic nuns in the 19th century has 1,200 pupils of various faiths.

New Delhi, October 15: Six swine flu deaths, including three from Maharashtra, took the total of India’s swine flu deaths to 405 Thursday, health ministry said.

Besides Maharashtra, two deaths were reported from Gujarat and one from Kerala.

With these fatalities, Maharashtra’s swine flu casualty figure has reached 171. The deaths in Gujarat now stand at 38, and in Kerala at least 10 people have succumbed to the contagious virus.

Also, the country reported 152 fresh cases, which took the influenza A (H1N1) infection figure in India to 12,486.

Jalandhar, October 15: The health department today carried out raids at an outlet of a leading retail network and recovered old stocks, which were kept for sale with slips showing incorrect manufacturing details.

An official spokesman said on a tip-off, officials raided the premises of Vishal Mega Mart and recovered old stocks of fine wheat flour (maida) and rice flake (chidvade).

He said details like name of the manufacturer, date of packaging and batch number were not seen on the packets, which are mandatory under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act (PFA).

Banglore, October 15: Share your ‘pain and guilt’ and stay away from alcohol and drug addiction. This is the latest mantra adopted by CARE (chemical addiction rehabilitation education), a Bangalore-based rehabilitation centre to help alcohol addicts here.

At an ongoing free counselling programme conducted by CARE at its office in Bannerghatta Road here, counsellors are encouraging visitors, who are mainly alcoholics, to share their pain and guilt to help them get rid of addiction.