Incurable JE threatens India

Japanese encephalitis is the leading cause of brain inflammation in Asia.

Panic gripped Manipur in July, 2016 when a four-year-old girl -- after suffering high fever, convulsions, and slipping in and out of consciousness over a few days -- succumbed to Japanese encephalitis (JE), the state’s first death from the viral brain infection transmitted by the Culex mosquito since 2010. A few days later, the virus claimed its second victim, an adult. These deaths were enough to close school until the end of July in the district of Churachandpur and spark a reaction in Parliament a fortnight ago.

Why we don’t want sex education

In the age of the Internet, gender, sexuality, puberty and sexual health remain taboo topics in schools and homes.

During a workshop on puberty awareness targeted at 10- to 12-year-old boys, sex educator Anju Kishinchandani was faced with a curious situation. When they were talking about the growth of pubic hair, one of her students thought he would have to stop going to school. Perplexed, she asked him why, and he said that since he wore shorts to school, hair might grow out from under them.

Purging mental healthcare of neglect

The Mental Health Care Bill, unanimously passed by the Rajya Sabha, is an important legislative measure to deal with a serious but grossly neglected public health problem in the country. Mental disorders are sometimes considered as divine punishment and often mixed up with taboo and superstition. The widespread ignorance and misconceptions about them result in lack of medical care and wrong treatment administered by quacks and others least qualified for the job. Illness is often not recognised in time.

Why not a right to primary healthcare?

India’s high out-of-pocket expenditures and abysmal health indices call for a cogent policy response by the Centre and States.

Liberal economists promoting the power of markets often believe that markets ultimately allow for a ‘perfect’, symmetric allocation of resources. This is assumed to lead to an optimal or ‘equilibrium’ price in the case of all goods and services, maximising welfare for all stakeholders.

Hope Is The Thing With Feathers: thought-provoking poem by Emily Dickinson:

"Hope" is the thing with feathers -

That perches in the soul -

And sings the tune without the words -

And never stops - at all -

I am a good Boy... I am a good Girl... (Article for young students)

Because...

1. I respect to my parents, my teachers and everybody and I always learn good things from them.
2. I always play with real friends and enjoy the real outdoor games like football, kabbadi, race, wrestling etc I don’t like mobile phone games. I refer stairs over lift, that’s why I am healthy.

What parents should know about vaccination?

What parents can do best for their children. They can offer the best place to live – a good house, best clothes to wear, best meal to eat, best health insurance policy for their future security, best TV, Smartphone and other gazette for their entertainment, as per their affordability. They can buy the best medicine in case of sickness. Is it enough?

Government Medical College and Hospital selected for 150-crore facility upgrade programme

AURANGABAD: The Union government of India has selected city-based Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) to avail benefits under its Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY). Accordingly, the government has asked the GMCH to submit a proposal to sanction Rs 150 crore to upgrade it for rendering better and affordable healthcare facilities to the patients.

PL Gattani, medical superintendent of GMCH, said, "The hospital administration received a letter from the government seeking proposal under PMSSY for upgrading the institute.

Breakthrough cancer drugs all set for India launch

MUMBAI: Cancer patients in India are set to gain faster access to two of the world's best known new generation drugs - Keytruda from US based Merck and Bristol Myer Squibb's Opdivo - both used to treat melanoma, a form of malignant skin cancer and a life-threatening lung cancer. 

The right way to feed your baby– An insightful feature on the occasion of World Breastfeeding Week

CHENNAI: Six months of breastfeeding, approximately 12 times a day and 20 minutes each — you do the math. It’s not easy for her. A mother is prone to physical and psychological stress. While the awareness is increasing, some lactating mothers tend to pick up the milk powder that is bought well in advance even before the problems begin. According to UNICEF, 1.5 million babies around the world, across communities, die of diarrhoea every year. The cause? Bottle and formula feeding. In India especially, despite oral rehydration treatment and antibiotics, diarrhoea continues to be an important cause of infant mortality.

Mosquitoes are the answer to mosquito borne diseases; here’s why

By: The Financial Express | Published: August 5, 2016 6:19 AM

Mosquitoes can be the answer to the world’s mosquito borne disease problem

While China claims that it has been able to achieve 90% reduction in mosquito populations in the past and WHO this year announced more research to be done on topic of GM mosquitoes, countries like US and Brazil are considering to adopt the technique in order to tackle the Zika problem.

Too much alcohol may cause breathing problems: study

Excessive alcohol consumption may disrupt the healthy balance in the lungs and impact your breathing, a new study has warned. Adults who drink excessively were found to have less nitric oxide in their exhaled breath than adults who do not drink. The finding is significant because nitric oxide helps protect against certain harmful bacteria, researchers said.