Health issues in India
A recent UN report has predicted a 1.5 °C temperature rise globally by 2040 – with potentially devastating implications for India. The state of the environment and the health of a nation are closely tied. This is being brought to the forefront of India’s attention currently with ever more evidence arising linking the country’s catastrophic […]
Reports by the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has confirmed a new outbreak of the Zika virus in the western State of Rajasthan. This is the third outbreak of the virus in India since 2017. The first one was reported in January 2017 in Rajasthan’s neighbouring state of Gujarat. The second was observed […]
In Karnataka, 456 people have tested positive for the H1N1 virus — also known as swine flu. A 52 year-old woman from Siddipet is the first reported fatality resulting from H1N1 infection. Another eleven patients are currently in critical care at the time of writing. The woman was admitted to hospital with a high fever, […]
India’s recent polio scare has highlighted that maintaining vigilance against the disease is of the utmost importance — even four years after its eradication in the country was declared. The Union Health Ministry confirmed the contamination of a number of batches of vaccines with type-2 poliovirus vaccine in three states: Maharashtra, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh. […]
Healthcare expenditure for NCDs is overwhelmingly paid for out of pocket, driving many into poverty. With NCD rates and risk factors such as obesity rising considerably in India, a considerable bill is being footed by the public. A recent study published in The Lancet estimates a total expenditure on diabetes healthcare of $31 billion in […]
“I found myself fighting violence against women An Unnamed violence, a deliberate violence” Dr Denis Mukwege A gynecologist surgeon from Bukavu in Congo, Dr Denis Mukwege, has won the Nobel Peace Prize for leading a heroic fight to save lives of sexual assault victims. Dr Mukwege has devoted his life to healing the wounds of […]
India is no stranger to cardiac disease. Swiftly outpacing the nation’s previous high death tolls due to infectious diseases, heart disease has become India’s biggest killer. In 2016 this was highlighted when statistics showed that 28.1 percent of all deaths in India were due to heart conditions. Due to the high death toll cardiac disease […]
A recent study published in The Lancet has uncovered a deeper link between circadian rhythm and the frequency of seizures in epilepsy patients. Such knowledge of the frequency and distribution of seizures could prove invaluable in providing treatment to those suffering from epilepsy. More accurate timetables could be provided to encourage patients take medications at […]
More than half the world’s nations are not on track to reach the UN target to reduce premature deaths from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, and diabetes by 2030, according to a new analysis published in The Lancet. India is one of them. NCDs have long since reached epidemic […]
The Union Health Ministry has created a draft policy that could help to identify hemoglobinopathies, thalassemia and sickle cell disease. With sickle cell anaemia reaching prevalences of up to 35 percent in some communities, such a programme could identify many unaware of their status and who go without treatment as a result. Titled ‘Prevention and […]
