DRUG-resistant NDM-1 gene has been debated ever since India was identified a source of the gene in patients in the UK. The debate intensified on April 7, 2011, when the journal Lancet Infectious Disease published a paper which stated that the gene (New Delhi Metallo-betalactamase- 1) was found in tap …
WORLD leaders trying to mitigate the effects of depleting biodiversity of various ecosystems have a reason to worry. Loss of biodiversity may make organisms, including humans, more vulnerable to infectious diseases and influence emergence of new illnesses. That is the conclusion of a paper which stated animals, plants and microbes …
How does artificial light affect insects? The strong illumination of artificial light attracts insects. We reviewed the epidemiological information on three insect-borne diseases, chagas, kala azar and malaria, and found artificial lighting changed the behaviour of insect vectors and thereby the modes of disease transmission. For example, the chagas parasite …
Bacteria are amongst the most adaptable organisms on Earth. Long evolutionary timescales, extremely short generation times, exposure to the most diverse and often hostile environments, together with the remarkable power of natural selection have made microorganisms the most resilient of life forms on this planet. In the last few days …
Hypotheses about the genesis of novel H1N1 influenza (the pandemic strain of swine flu) range far and wide. Some public health and epidemiology experts are taking a fresh look at concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) , which they say provide ideal conditions that facilitate the mutation of viral pathogens into …
Intrinsic antibiotic resistance has been a fact of bacterium life since long before humans discovered the use of antibiotic drugs. However, the introduction of pharmaceutical antibiotics in the 1940s and explosion in use ever since dramatically accelerated the spread of antibiotic-resistance genes. Today, the problem of antibiotic resistance is so …
David Gartner, senior counsel of U.S.-based Global AIDS Alliance, expressed hope Friday that Japan would take a lead in addressing global health problems in July's Group of Eight summit. "At last year's G-8 summit, the leaders promised to provide at least $60 billion to reach the commitment to universal access …
India is home to nearly one-fifth of the global burden of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis cases and this could ruin its national tuberculosis control programme, warns the latest annual tuberculosis report card released by a non-government organisation, Global Health Advocates. "The consequences of not maintaining a consistently high quality of services …
The increase in the drop out rate of tuberculosis patients during treatment and a rise in treatment failures is adding to India's multi-drug resistant TB cases. Drug resistance occurs when patients are not treated with standard treatment protocols or when they discontinue treatment. Presenting the India TB Control Report Card …
Poor hygiene, addiction to tobacco, poverty and illiteracy are attributed to be some of the main reasons for the prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) among tribals in the Agency areas and the poor in urban slums in both East and West Godavari districts. A large number of tribals and general public, …
District collector Sailaja Ramaiyer has called upon doctors, Dot workers and NGOs to work collectively to check tuberculosis (TB) in the district. The collector was the chief guest at a meeting organised to mark the World Tuberculosis (TB) Day y Krishna District TB Control Society and Krishna District TB Association …
The village of Palli about 10 km from Cheyyar in Tiruvannamalai district was agog with activity after 5 p.m. on Sunday. The villagers, including several children, squatted on the ground in front of the Panchayat Union Elementary School while many stood at a distance and watched the members of Gipsy …
A tuberculosis research expert today said the world urgently needs a new drug for TB to provide relief to the ailing patients. In a statement issued on the eve of the World TB Day, Dr Balganesh, head of research at AstraZeneca, said, "With new societal changes, impacting the immune system, …
BANGKOK, Thailand: Rabbit fever, a disease that can be lethal if not treated early, has killed a woman in Thailand, marking the country's first reported case, a health official said Wednesday. The 37-year-old woman from Prachuap Khiri Khan province, about 230 kilometers (149 miles) south of Bangkok, died last month …
Government Epidemiologists yesterday warned the public who developed symptoms of Leptospirosis (Rat Fever) to immediately consult the MOH or the PHI in the area to get the prophylaxis (injection) as a safeguard against the killer disease. Health Ministry's Chief Epidemiologist Dr. Nihal Abeysingha told the media yesterday that Leptospirosis had …
Disease remains a "stubborn threat' to public health, says report Responsible for almost 10 per cent of AIDS-related deaths India loses 100 million productive workdays every year because of TB Businesses around the world have been urged to play a more active role in tackling health problems among their workforce, …
An integrated approach is needed to face the challenges of human and animal diseases, as climate change contributes to emergence of new infectious diseases, experts told a seminar yesterday. The British Council organised the seminar titled 'Infectious diseases: A vision for future detection, identification and monitoring' as part of a …
Pneumonia has been claiming the highest number of child lives in the country, despite a remarkable progress in under-five child survival for immunization and oral saline over the last three decades, pediatricians and health scientists said here yesterday. "Pneumonia is still the leading cause of childhood deaths in Bangladesh,' Steve …
Non-communicable diseases (NCD) or lifestyle diseases may not have appeared among the top ten diseases in the country, but they were increasing at an alarming rate and were an unwelcome addition to infectious diseases, which were still of grave concern to the health of the Bhutanese, say health officials. Figures …
