WHO published its World health statistics report 2025, revealing the deeper health impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on loss of lives, longevity and overall health and well-being. In just two years, between 2019 and 2021, global life expectancy fell by 1.8 years—the largest drop in recent history— reversing a …
The World Health Organization recommends countries should stock enough Tamiflu (one of the two antiviral medicines for avian influenza) for a quarter of their population to ward off a possible outbreak. At a cost of US $60 per course of medication, this means the total spending could touch US $100 …
All avian influenza (AI) viruses belong to Type A influenza in the Orthomyxoviridae family. Type A viruses are divided into subtypes based on two proteins
Avian flu has caused 62 deaths out of the 121 cases reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO) in the last two years. The highly virulent strain of the flu virus causes multi-organ failure and has a high fatality rate. Though the virus currently does not transmit from human to …
function table() { var popurl="image/20051015/35-table.jpg" winpops=window.open(popurl,"","width=275,height=420,scrollbars=yes") } a water treatment powder has won the 2005 Stockholm Industry Water Award for innovative corporate development of water and wastewater process technologies. The powder
The genetically modified (gm) food industry has found a fresh ally in the form of the World Health Organization (who). Following a review of the available evidence on the impact of gm foods on health and development, who has given a clean chit to gm crops. In its report, "Modern …
Over 90 per cent of Tanzania's population (over 30 million people) is threatened by an elephantiasis (lymphatic filaria) epidemic. On May 23, 2005, Tanzania's assistant minister for health Hussein Mwinyi said the danger was "great'; "the situation could get worse if the trend is left unchecked'. The National Institute for …
A lthough India has committed to curb non-communicable diseases, as per the recommendations of the World Health Organization (who), its policies in other sectors will prevent this from happening. This was apparent at the National Consultation on Implementation of who's Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health held recently …
angola is facing an epidemic of Marburg haemorrhagic fever that has claimed as many as 244 lives since October 2004. The World Health Organization (who) confirmed the epidemic on March 23, 2005 on the basis of tests done by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (cdc) in the us. …
the World Health Organization (who) has consented to genetic modification of the smallpox virus to find better drugs and vaccines against the malady. Though smallpox was eradicated in 1977, the possibility exists of the lethal virus being used as a bioterrorism tool. Taking note of the threat, the un is …
The g7 has decided to establish a "bioterrorism crisis centre' and provide millions of shots to the World Health Organisation's international "vaccine bank' to counter any germ weapon attack by terrorists in future. g7 health ministers said on December 10, 2004, that the crisis centre will also help manage epidemics …
In September 2003, the Bureau of Indian Standards set the desirable limit of arsenic in drinking water as 0.01 mg/l. This is in consonance with the standard recommended by the World Health Organization (who) and the us-Environmental Protection Agency (epa). However, in a recent paper (
researchers have evolved a technology to manufacture vaccines that do not need to be refrigerated. The feat may enable additional vaccination of 10 million children every year, claim officials of the uk-based Cambridge Biostability, which will manufacture the vaccine in collaboration with Panacea Biotec, New Delhi. The vaccine will simultaneously …
Is the World Health Organization (WHO) targeting Indian generic drug manufacturers? The UN agency recently removed three anti-HIV drugs produced by India's Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited from its prequalification list. This list is used by procurement agencies to select good quality medicines. Exclusion from the list could affect the availability of …
a researcher from China's Harbin Veterinary Research Institute has recently stated that farmed pigs in some parts of the country have been infected with the h5n1 strain of the fatal avian influenza virus. The findings were presented at an international symposium on sars and avian influenza held recently in Beijing. …
Although obesity is today a global pandemic, research on the disease in India is still nascent. This worries experts: nearly 15-30 per cent of the country’s urban population and four to eight per cent of the rural population is either overweight or obese, with children forming 16-18 per cent in …
With dengue fever spreading in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Indonesia and Sri Lanka, the World Health Organisation (who) has issued a warning to all neighbouring countries. Around 658 people have died in Indonesia, 59 in Sri Lanka and three in Bangladesh. There are around 68,000 suspected cases of the disease. Bhutan, which …
scientists may open the Pandora's box if they are given the go-ahead to create a new form of the flu virus. This is the grim message of an article published recently in the acclaimed journal Science (Vol 305, No 5684, July 30, 2004). The article ponders over the repercussions of …
as part of its initiative to promote traditional systems of medicine, the World Health Organization (who) has recently set forth a set of guidelines to help member states evolve regulations aimed at providing consumers with information on the appropriate use of the remedies. Currently, 80 per cent of the world …
