Health

New Delhi, September 13: A vaccine which produces a robust immune response at one go might make swine flu easier to handle, but authorities in India feel any such immunisation needs intensive testing as it may compound any side effects the vaccine might have.

According to Director of Indian Council of Health Research (ICMR), VM Katoch, any vaccine which is introduced in India will have to be tested on the Indian population as any side effects which the vaccine might have will be compounded.

New Delhi, September 13: Administering cough syrups to children with acute cough might be a fairly common practice in every household, but the effect of medicinal administration might be little more than placebo, a study says.

Published in the latest edition of the Indian Pediatrics Journal, the study which analyses the clinical outcome of cough syrups on children in terms of symptom relief, concluded that there was no difference between various pharmacological agents compared to placebo or non-medicated administrations.

Chicago, September 13: Scientists have discovered how bacteria fend off a wide range of antibiotics, and blocking that defense mechanism could give existing antibiotics more power to fight dangerous infections.

Researchers at New York University said that bacteria produce certain nitric oxide-producing enzymes to resist antibiotics.

Drugs that inhibit these enzymes can make antibiotics much more potent, making even deadly superbugs like Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA succumb, they said.

New Delhi, September 13: Even as India is grappling with the swine flu which has claimed over 165 lives in the last two months, the World Health Organisation has said there is an increasing trend of the pandemic in the country.

In its recent update on the deadly disease, the UN agency, on its official website, said, “In the tropical regions of Asia, respiratory disease activity remains geographically regional or widespread but the trend is generally increasing as noted in India, Bangladesh, and Cambodia.”

New York, September 13: Poverty is as a strong a predictor of premature death today as it was a century ago, according to findings from a study in England and Wales.

“Despite all the medical, public health, social, economic, and political changes over the 20th century, patterns of poverty and mortality and the relations between them remain firmly entrenched,” states Dr Ian N Gregory, from Lancaster University, UK.

Gregory reached this conclusion after analyzing census and death data for 634 districts from the 1900s and directly comparing it with data from 2001.

New Delhi, September 13: Twelve people succumbed to swine flu on Saturday, taking the nation-wide death toll to 167 as 183 fresh cases were reported from various parts of the country.

Delhi reported the maximum number of 56 fresh cases, followed by 42 in Maharashtra, 28 in Karnataka and 24 in Tamil Nadu.

Of the 12 deaths, six were reported from Maharashtra, five from Karnataka and one from Uttar Pradesh.

“Karnataka has received five more death reports across the state occurring in the last few days, details of which are being compiled,” a senior health ministry official said.

New Delhi, September 12: Eleven swine flu deaths, including six in Maharashtra and four in Karnataka, were reported Saturday, pushing up India’s toll from the Influenza A(H1N1) virus to 172, health authorities said here.

One death was reported from Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad area, near the national capital. This is the first swine flu death in the state.

According to N.K. Chaturvedi, the medical superintendent of the Ram Manohar Lohia hospital here, the Ghaziabad resident had come to the hospital 12 days late.

Karnataka, September 12: With the H1N1 virus claiming 53 lives in Karnataka, the state authorities are blaming frequently travelling IT professionals and pollution in cities like Bangalore for the surge in swine flu cases.

“We are trying our best to control it. But look at the pollution level in cities like Bangalore – it is compounding the problem of swine flu,” Karnataka principal secretary (Health) I.R. Perumal told IANS.

Chicago, September 12: US researchers have discovered two genes associated with repairing the damaged central nervous systems of mice with multiple sclerosis, according to a study presented at a conference in Germany.

The findings offer new hope for developing more effective therapies and predicting the outcomes of how particular patients will respond to the debilitating disease.

New Delhi, September 11: Swine flu after ruling over the world has also heated it thrill in India. as Swine Flu Virus has affected around 5,600 peoples out of which more than 150 deaths has been noted.

The whole country is suffering with the fear of Swine Flu H1N1 Virus as day after day the new cases are coming up.

Till date it has been noted that more than 41 deaths been noted in Pune, around 70 deaths in Maharastra, 50 died in Karnatake, four deaths in Bangalore while two deaths in Bijapur & Davangere.

London, September 11: Intake of iodine is a must for developing the full intellectual potential of children, a new study has revealed.

Otago University (O-U) researchers have shown that iodine supplementation to correct the mild deficiency common in children improves their performance in cognitive tests. Fish and seafood are rich sources of iodine.

Beijing, September 11: Tens of millions of people could be infected with swine flu in China in the coming months, a health ministry official said Friday, adding that fatalities would be “unavoidable”.

“According to expert estimates, our nation during the autumn season might have several tens of millions infected with A(H1N1),” Liang Wannian, deputy director of the ministry’s health emergency office, told a press conference.

Pune, September 11: Three more persons succumbed to swine flu here, taking the toll in the viral fever in the city to 40, health officials said Friday.

Prakash Chavan (48), Seema Shirsat (3) and Amar Khalkolkar (17) died last night in different hospitals.

Meanwhile, all schools in Lonavala near here have been closed by civic authorities after a girl student from Don Bosco tested positive for the virus and 11 others showed symptoms of the flu.

–IANS

Washington, September 11: It’s time to get the first of at least two flu shots recommended for many Americans this fall: Vaccine against regular winter flu is ready.

Despite all the headlines about the new swine flu, doctors do expect some garden-variety influenza to hit this fall, too. And health authorities on Thursday urged people to go ahead and get that first inoculation out of the way before the lines start forming for swine flu vaccine next month.

Geneva, September 11: Most of the 2.6 million deaths of young people each year are preventable, according to a new study supported by the World Health Organisation and released in Geneva Friday.

The main causes of deaths in the 10-24 age group were road traffic accidents, complications during pregnancy and child birth, suicide, violence, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis.

The study, to be published in the Lancet, a medical journal, found that 97 percent of these deaths were taking place in low and middle-income countries.

Bangalore, September 11: With six new swine flu deaths being reported in Karnataka, the death toll due to the H1N1 virus in the state reached 53, a health official said here Friday.

While four deaths were reported from Bangalore, the other two were registered in Davangere and Bijapur.

However, the report confirming that all six tested positive for the virus was received only on Sep 10, a health official said.

Out of the four deaths in Bangalore, two were reported from Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGICD).

Washington, September 11: We’ve made some updates to washingtonpost.com’s Groups, MyPost and comment pages. We need you to verify your MyPost ID by logging in before you can post to the new pages. We apologize for the inconvenience.

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New Delhi, September 10: Delhi today reported its fifth swine flu death when a 12-year-old girl undergoing treatment succumbed to the viral infection even as the condition of a 35-year-old man remained critical.

A 66-year-old man from Hissar Hoshiar Singh, who was admitted to Metro Heart hospital here for heart ailment and diagnosed positve for swine flu, also died today. However, Delhi’s swine flu management nodal officer Anjan Prakash said this death cannot be counted among casualties in the national capital.

Jalandhar, September 10: Claiming that doctors in the state are being targeted by unscrupulous elements, Indian Medical Association’s Punjab unit today hailed the state police chief’s instruction that appropriate inquiry be held prior to booking a doctor in cases of medical negligence.

In a letter to all Zonal IGs, Range DIGs & District SSPs, the state’s Director General of Police directed them to ensure that the guidelines of the Apex Court in this regard be meticulously complied with while investigating cases of medical negligence.

Dehradun, September 10: The prestigious Doon School today suspended its classes and other activities like assemblies and sports till September 21 in the wake of some students testing positive for swine flu.

Five students tested positive for H1N1 virus on Tuesday and four cases were detected yesterday.

A spokesperson of the school said there are no fresh cases today and the school continues to work closely with state health authorities.

“We are monitoring the situation on the campus continuously and our doctor is keeping the authorities fully informed,” the spokesperson said.

Thiruvananthapuram, September 10: Taking note of reports of high incidence of cancer in some parts of Kuttanad area in Kerala, the state Health Department had ordered a survey to be conducted to ascertain the facts, Health Minister P K Sreemathy told the state assembly today.

If media reports in this regard were found true, detailed studies would be held and necessary steps taken, she informred the house during question hour.

New Delhi, September 10: Swine flu continued to spread across the country as nine more deaths and 176 fresh cases of the viral disease were reported during the day.

Delhi reported the maximum 68 cases followed by Haryana (14), Karnataka (32), Tamil Nadu (19) and Maharashtra (26).

Out of the nine deaths reported, five are from Maharashtra and four from Karnataka.

With today’s deaths, the total number of lives lost due to the viral infection in the country has reached 154.

Till date, samples from 27,070 people have been tested for swine flu out of which 5,611 have tested positive.

Beijing, September 10: China is further calling on government bodies and the public to continue fighting the H1N1 flu epidemic by various means, including free vaccination and allowing flexible work hours.

In a notice issued Thursday by the General Office of the State Council called on all government departments and large-scale companies to come out with plans to deal with possible outbreaks, such as allowing flexible work hours and sequential leave to employees.

Washington, September 10: Adding ascorbic acid and sugar to green tea can help the body absorb antioxidants better, says a study.

Mario Ferruzzi, associate professor of food science at Purdue University, adapted a digestion model with human intestinal cells to show that adding ascorbic acid to green tea would increase the absorbability of catechins found in the tea.

Catechins, a class of polyphenols common in tea, cocoa and grape, are antioxidants thought to fight heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and other health problems.

Dehra Dun, September 10: Four more students of Doon School have tested positive for swine flu, taking the total number of affected children in the institution to nine.

Five students of the school tested positive for swine flu on Tuesday and four fresh cases were detected yesterday, officials said.

In the wake of the outbreak of the virus in the school, the Uttarakhand Health department has advised all schools in the hill state like Welham, Sherwood and Woodstock to keep a close watch on the students.