Health issues in India
Every year, the world observes World TB Day on March 24 to raise awareness of the continued tuberculosis epidemic, especially in the developing world, and efforts to fight it. March 24 is the date in 1882 when mycobacterium tuberculosis – the pathogenic bacteria which causes the disease – was discovered the Nobel Prize winning scientist […]
Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats facing Indian public health – and poultry farms are serving as a breeding ground for the crisis. “This news is not altogether surprising, though this does not make it any less concerning. Research has uncovered numerous instances of poultry farms breeding antibiotic resistance” A recent study of […]
By Andrew M Colman, University of Leicester This article was originally published by The Conversation ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ An 85-year-old woman with dementia is admitted to hospital with worsening confusion, new urinary incontinence and constipation. These symptoms suggest a urinary tract infection, but the doctor treating her has a dilemma because the symptoms also suggest her dementia […]
Here is another example of the crumbling state of India’s healthcare infrastructure and the reason behind lack of access to essential, life-saving drugs. India has a shortage of an estimated 600,000 doctors and two million nurses, claims a study conducted by the Centre for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP), titled “Access Barriers to Antibiotics.” […]
Recent reports have surfaced of a new “super antibiotic” being developed by Japanese pharma company Shionogi. The term super antibiotic is problematic. At best, it could simply be wishful thinking. At worst, it could be a dangerous exaggeration in a world where antibiotic resistance is a looming threat to public health. Is appropriate language being […]
Are India’s poultry farms worsening the antibiotic resistance crisis in India? In the expert opinion of Ramanan Laxminarayan, director of the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy, Washington DC and New Delhi, this is certainly the case. According to Laxminarayan, the majority of the poultry feed used in India is medicated with antibiotics, used […]
Multi drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is to spike in India over the next twenty years, predicts a recent study published in The Lancet. The news puts the World Health Organization’s End TB strategy at risk of failure. It also jeopardises the pledge of the Indian government to end TB in the country by 2025. Unless […]
