Health issues in India
Mosquitoes present one of India’s most prominent health threats because of the diseases they carry. Infectious diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, and recently, the Zika virus have caused much alarm in India and are responsible for several lakh deaths every year. Numerous novel methods have been suggested for curbing mosquito populations or reducing their […]
Malaria has been one of the biggest medical concerns in India in modern memory. The disease is, to this day, still abundant across the majority of India and is responsible for a considerable number of deaths. Prevalence Malaria has been observed in India as far back as the writings of ancient medical texts such as […]
Could a new defence against malaria be found in human blood? Research suggests that human platelets — a component of the blood — form a first-line defence against the malaria parasite. Such a discovery could lead to an entirely new approach to treating the disease and could aid India in curbing the number of malaria […]
Fears of infectious disease outbreaks in the aftermath of the Kerala floods appear to have been realised. Cases of leptospirosis, acute diarrhoeal disease (ADD) and dengue fever have been reported from the afflicted state, where 483 people lost their lives in its worst floods in almost a century. Kerala has reported 159 cases of leptospirosis […]
A study published earlier this year in The Lancet Infectious Diseases showed promising results for methylene blue as a malaria treatment, potentially indicating its future use as a first line treatment. Commonly used in the treatment of the blood disorder methemoglobinemia, the study indicates the dye could be a means of tackling even drug resistant […]
. This article was first published on The News Minute and has been republished with permission. By Nishitha Aysha Ashraf With the monsoon season entering its third week in Kerala, the number of dengue cases is on the rise across the state. In spite of various preventive measures which the state health department has undertaken since […]
City doctors in Jaipur have noted a trend of dengue fever cases being reported during the summer months. Does could point towards a genetic change in the dengue virus? Dengue fever cases typically reach peak levels during and after the monsoon season, as the cooler and wetter conditions present Ideal conditions for the virus’s mosquito […]
Could India’s rapidly expanding medical tourism industry be providing a new route for infectious diseases and drug resistance to spread across the globe? Senior health officials in the US think so. “We have a problem in India, .” said Dr Anthony S Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases during a […]
Rising temperatures may be directly linked to the increased numbers of dengue fever outbreaks India is currently experiencing. New evidence suggests that, as temperatures rise, the incubation time of the dengue virus within their mosquito hosts shortens. This leads to increased rates of transmission. Previous studies have shown a gradual rise in temperature in India. […]
The tragedy in Gorakhpur, in which more than 60 children aged 12 and below died over the course of 5 days has received international media attention. There are calls for the resignation of many of those deemed responsible. Oxygen supplies dwindled because the supplier company was not paid, according to reports. This led to the […]
