Fractional Dose Inactivated Polio Vaccine Campaign Held in India

Thursday, July 28, 2016

Following the detection of vaccine-derived poliovirus in the sewage system in Hyderabad, a vaccination campaign has been held to boost immunity and prevent a poliovirus outbreak. 

On 20 June, a campaign using fractional dose intradermal inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) began in Hyderabad, India, led by the State Government and the Ministry of Health and supported by partners including WHO and UNICEF.

PUBLIC HEALTH ASIA: 2018 must be the final target for polio eradicatio...

PUBLIC HEALTH ASIA: 2018 must be the final target for polio eradicatio...: Since the eradication of smallpox in the late 1970s, no other diseases have followed suit; the goal that has come closest so far is eradica...

1,300 die of cancer every day in India

As per data of the National Cancer Registry Programme of the India Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the estimated mortality rate due to cancer saw an increase of six per cent approximately between 2012 and 2014. "There has been close to 5 lakh deaths due to cancer in the country in 2014," said a senior Health Ministry official.

World Hepatitis Day: The hidden threat of hepatitis

The Lancet Global Health

July 28 is World Hepatitis Day—a time to “join together to make the elimination of viral hepatitis our next greatest achievement”. Hepatitis is, belatedly, beginning to nudge its way into the global awareness. Having been neglected entirely in the Millennium Development Goals, it gets a name-check alongside AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria within Sustainable Development Goal target 3.3, and—at the World Health Assembly in May this year—the first Global Health Sector Strategy on Viral Hepatitis was endorsed. This much-anticipated strategy has a goal of eliminating viral hepatitis as a major public health threat by 2030, and particularly focuses on hepatitis B and C viruses, which cause the greatest burden worldwide.

Tobacco, unhealthy diet, no exercise top risk factors for Indian youth, says report

This report comes close on the heels of a World Health Organisation report released two days ago, emphasising how big a problem NCDs are in the region.

Seven of every 10 boys and girls in the 13-15 years age group in India get too little exercise, meaning less than 60 minutes per day. More than one in five of them is overweight or obese, placing them at a high risk of developing non communicable diseases (NCDs)

Doctors WHO are not: Healthcare in India needs to be revisited

Medical education and the healthcare sector are in news for all the wrong reasons. ‘The Health Workforce in India’, a WHO report, based on the 2001 census data claims that over 57 per cent allopathic doctors in the country have no medical qualifications. Some experts claim the data on which the WHO report has relied is flawed. Still, the findings may shock urban Indians but villagers heavily depend on quacks or unqualified doctors, who fill a void in India’s healthcare system. According to a report, about 25 lakh quacks practise medicine without acquiring formal training.

Mobile MD: How mobile devices will revolutionize healthcare

Armed with the newest devices and technologies, patients will enjoy better health outcomes, doctors and medical professionals will be more effective and efficient, costs for payers and governments will be slashed and populations will – for the most part – be more health conscious.

Saturday Digest: posts by Shannon L. Alder:

This week, the Saturday Digest brings you thought-provoking posts by Shannon L. Alder:

“You have to let go of what could have been, how you should have acted and what you wish you would have said differently. You have to accept that you can’t change the past experiences, opinions of others at that moment in time or outcomes from their choices or yours. When you finally recognize that truth then you will understand the true meaning of forgiveness of yourself and others. From this point you will finally be free.” 

Density of doctors in India poor, says WHO study

A WHO study titled ‘The Health Workforce in India’, published in June 2016, revealed that the density of all doctors — allopathic, ayurvedic, homoeopathic and unani — at the national level was 80 doctors per lakh population compared to 130 in China.

Ignoring those who don’t have a medical qualification, the number for India fell to 36 doctors per lakh population. As for nurses and midwives, India had 61 workers per lakh population compared to 96 in China. The number reduced tenfold to 6 per lakh population, if only those with a medical qualification were considered.

Internet Addiction: An Issue of Public Health Importance

Japan and Korea are grappling with net-induced intellectual and emotional disorders. Why fall into that trap?

The telecom and IT minister recently announced that India will soon have half-a-billion internet users. That’s an unprecedented achievement considering India’s struggle to add internet users just 5-8 years ago. As a result of easy access to WiFi, intuitive user-experience through touch screens, and availability of affordable mobile and tablet devices, internet usage is poised for a dramatic rise in the coming years.