Polio vaccine sans potency given to children
Senior medical officials were not aware that an indicator on the polio vaccine vial changes colour to show if the contents have lost potency. This led to the administration of the vaccine to 35,000 children in Ghaziabad. This is part of the findings of a committee set up by the …
Malnutrition cause of infant mortality among Andaman tribe
Malnutrition might be responsible for high infant mortality among the vanishing Great Andamanese Tribe whose population has drastically declined to 36 in recent years, according to a study.Though war and epidemics were cited as reasons for the high mortality in past, a recent study by the Indian Council of Medical …
New draft denies NRIs easy access to bio-resources
The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has prepared a revised draft for the Biological Diversity Bill, which would replace the first draft prepared in October 1997.Among the main differences is the fact that the new draft has included non-resident Indians among those who cannot obtain biological resorce for …
Private Viagra imports thrust foreign drugs into limelight
Despite the risks involved in the practice, an increasing number of people are privately importing foreign drugs that have yet to gain official approval in Japan. The latest product to come into the limelight is Viagra, a pill to treat impotence that went on sale in the United States in …
New cure for backaches
A new procedure "spinal stimulator implant" to cure backache has been performed on a 45-year-old patient from Mauritius at the Apollo hospital in Hyderabad.A team of doctors, headed by Dr Rajsunder Raj, director (pain management) at Napean hospital in Sydney, performed the operation on Thursday, on the patient who had …
HK activists protest US dumping of waste in Asia
Hong Kong environmentalists on Friday staged a protest during the visit of President Bill Clinton against US dumping of hazardous waste and the sale of unwanted products in Asia.Fifteen activists from the Friends of the earth staged a noisy protest near the Convention and Exhibition Centre where Mr Clinton was …
New air for a new age
Oxygen bars have already breathed new life into the health scene in the U.S. and now they look set for Southeast Asia. Some doctors believe that the apparent benefits of oxygen bars are due to the naturally calming effect of deep breathing in a clean and smoke-free environment, and not …
Cell transplant may help undo effects of stroke
Doctors at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center said they have performed the first transplant of human nerve cells into a patient's brain in an effort to reverse paralysis and other effects of stroke. The procedure involves a novel technique for manufacturing human neurons. If it proves safe and effective, …
Ban on late abortion in place in Virginia
Abortion clinics remained open for business in Virginia despite a new state law banning a type of late-term abortion procedure. The law took effect hours after a federal appeals judge rejected an injunction that abortion clinics and doctors opposed to the law obtained a week ago.
French court rules on AIDS
France's highest court ruled that knowingly transmitting the AIDS virus was not tantamount to poisoning. This makes it likely that a former prime minister and two former ministers will escape prosecution for the contamination in 1985 of hemophiliacs by AIDS-tainted blood products.
Law mooted to protect water sources
The TMC MLA representing the Sivakasi constituency, Mr. R. Chokkar, has mooted the formulation of a legislation to protect the water sources that are being fast endangered by construction of buildings. In a memorandum submitted to the Cheif Minister, Mr. M. Karunanidhi, the MLA drew his attention to an ironic …
Officers are not aware of polio vaccine
The field personnel carrying out the administration of the high-profile polio immunisation drive are unaware of the basic specifications about the vaccine administered to children, says an inquiry report submitted to the Union health ministry. The investigation was carried out after reports of spurious oral polio vaccines being administered to …
Birth control pills
Women can safely use at home emergency supplies of morning-after pills to prevent pregnancy, a British study concludes. The research, conducted in England, gave women packets of the hormone pills to use in case they wanted to preotect themselves from pregnancy after having sex without birth control. The study found …
Panel submets report
The high level technical committee constituted to inquire into the incident where children in Ghaziabad were administered "spurious" Oral Polio Vaccine, has submitted its report to the government. The committee has clarified that vaccines were not spurious, but had lost their potency.
WB to provide 250 pound m for B'desh's health project
The World Bank has approved a loan of 250 pound million towards a Health and Population Programme Project in Bangladesh.The project's total cost is 2.9 pound billion. The government of Bangladesh has allocated 2.2 pound billion to support the programme and the Bank's funding will come from its concessionary lending …
Short-cut to cloning
A shortcut to clone and genetically engineer cattle has been developed that could open doors to better farm animals, treatments for some human diseases and animal to human transplants, researchers said. James Robi, who is the researcher at the University of Massachusetts, said that they grew 12 calves using the …
Search for stray comets stepped up
American space agency Nasa is redoubling its efforts to find asteroids and comets that may be on a collision course with Earth. It is now widely accepted that large asteroids, several kilometres in diameter, have struck the Earth and caused mass extinctions. Scientists believe that if they are early in …
2.5 lakh TB patients in Haryana
The National Tuberculosis Association has allotted a project to the district TB centre to study the "incidence of HIV positive among TB cases." This centre has recently concluded a study of "incidence of initial drug resistance" in collaboration with the New Delhi TB Centre.
Gen Ershad, Begums & Ganga water pact
Were India and Bangladesh on the verge of signing a Ganga water treaty in 1990 , a good seven years before they actually did? They were, going by principal actors of that period. What jinxed it was the fall of the governments, first of Vishwanath Pratap Singh in November 1990 …
Tk 15314 cr intergrated health programme
The Bangladesh government launched a five year (1998-2003) massive intergrated improved programme in the health and population sector to increase efficiency accountability, sustainability and effectiveness of the primary health care services at grass root levels across the country.
