New study claims to have found root of fatal malaria infection

The common fact about the disease is that the parasites carried and spread by Anopheles mosquito bites are behind the infectious disease.

Washington D.C: The origin of Malaria infection has finally been revealed. A new study has come up with the data that can aggravate the treatment of the complex infection.

According to Professor Ian Cheeseman from Texas Biomedical Research Institute, "We dont know what is inside malaria infections, or how many different genetically distinct strains of parasites there are. We dont know how related they are to each other. We dont know how many mosquitoes they came from." ....read more

Borna disease virus can be the cause of unidentified encephalitis

A virus that jumps from shrews ((छछुंदर or chachundar)) to humans could have been causing encephalitis unnoticed for decades in regions where the host shrew lives in the wild.

Eight newly-identified fatal cases of Borna disease virus 1 (BoDV-1) suggest that where the virus occurs in the wild, it could be behind a high proportion of severe and deadly cases of encephalitis, according to results from 56 patients who had developed signs of encephalitis over the past 20 years, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal. ....read more

Healthcare News Monitor

Pharma sales growth for 2019 fastest in 3 years

Mint - Leroy Leo

Medicine sales in India for 2019 grew at the fastest rate in three years aided by sales of anti-diabetic and cardiac care drug, data from market research firm AIOCD-AWACS showed. Sales of medicines in India grew 9.8% year-on-year to Rs1.4 lakh crore in the year gone by, with drugs used to treat chronic diseases leading sales growth. The trend for growth of anti-diabetic and cardiac care medicines reflects the rise in the number of diabetes and heart disease patients in the country, and the increasing focus of pharmaceutical companies on the therapy areas. Anti-diabetic medicines rose 12.6% year-on-year, with a new class of drugs called SGLT2 (sodium-glucose co-transporter 2) inhibitors driving growth, while cardiac care drugs rose 11.7%. Among cardiac medicines, it was the combination drug of sacubitril and valsartan which led sales growth. "SGLT2 is a new segment of anti-diabetes drugs. It is expected to grow disproportionately more than other diabetes medicines over the next 5-10 years," Vishal Manchanda, an analyst with Nirmal Bang Institutional Equities, said.

Revised NLEM to classify antibiotics by usage

The Economic Times – Teena Thacker

New advice differentiating common antibiotics from those to be used for most serious medical conditions is likely in the revised National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM). A government-appointed experts’ committee tasked with preparing the new NLEM will meet on Thursday to decide on which antibiotics should be included and which excluded from the list, in a bid to curb their indiscriminate use while ensuring availability at time of need. “The idea to review and revise antibiotics in the NLEM is that it should enhance treatment outcomes, curb drug-resistant bacteria and preserve the effectiveness of crucial antibiotics that are needed when all others fail,” said an expert, requesting anonymity. Inclusion or deletion from NLEM will affect major companies such as Sun Pharma NSE -0.06 % , GlaxoSmithKline NSE 0.34 % Pharmaceuticals (GSK), Lupin, Torrent, Cipla NSE 1.15 % , Dr Reddy’s, Alkem Laboratories, Aristo Pharmaceuticals and Mankind, all of which manufacture antibiotics in India. The standing national committee on medicine (SNCM) had earlier asked industry experts for feedback on antibiotics they felt were crucial to be removed from the NLEM, as the population has become resistant to them. “The meeting of experts on Thursday will review recommendations it has received from the industry and changes will be made in line with the WHO’s list of essential medicines,” added the expert.

Drunk Kolkata doctor jumps to death from 12th floor flat after squirming through window AC vent

The Times of India- Tamaghna Banerjee

KOLKATA: A 28-year-old doctor, allegedly in a state of drunken rage, jumped to death from his 12th floor flat, through a 2.25 ft x 1.4 ft opening in the wall that had been done to install a window air-conditioner, at a New Town highrise complex in the early hours of Thursday. As the doctor, Dharmendra (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Dharmendra) Kumar Choudhury, peeled off a plywood cover blocking the gap and wriggled out of the small gap – hundreds of witnesses from his wife, security guards, neighbours to policemen and fire brigade personnel kept shouting from below the building and outside his flat trying to calm him down, before he took the fatal plunge and fell head first on to the floor. Cops, who were already present there rushed him to a private hospital before taking him to a government hospital in Salt Lake where he was declared dead on arrival. Cops have sent his body for post mortem. An original resident of Jharkhand (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/jharkhand), Choudhury was a doctor of medicine and used to practise at two nursing homes in Ekbalpore and Kidderpore. Police said, Choudhury lived at the rented MIG apartment with his wife Bhumika, also a doctor, for the last 11 months. On Wednesday evening, the couple went to a local supermarket where from Choudhury bought a liquor bottle and began drinking once they returned home. “His wife has told us that he was over phone, while having his drinks. After a while, he allegedly became excited while still over phone and began drinking straight from the bottle when his wife intervened and tried to calm him down. The woman says, the man got further furious and began shouting at her before pushing her out of the apartment and closing the door from outside,” said a senior officer of Bidhannagar (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Bidhannagar) Commissionerate. The man then began ransacking the flat and started damaging the furniture inside. The woman sought help from neighbours before running down the building and inform the security guards. The neighbours and guards tried to calm him down from outside the building but he allegedly threw furniture and glass utensil at the door from inside the flat. The woman then called cops for help.

‘MBBS doc’ held as girl dies after his treatment

The Times of India- TNN

New Delhi: A man pretending to be an MBBS (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/CPMT) doctor was arrested as a 13- year-old girl (http://www.speakingtree.in/topics/people/girl), whom he had treated, died after having medicines given by him. During questioning, Banshi Lal showed an ayurvedic degree. Police said that Lal used to run a clinic at Sanjay Colony in south Delhi’s Bhatti Mines and treated local residents claiming to be an MBBS doctor. DCP (south) Atul Thakur said that they received a complaint from Bachchu Paswan, who said that his daughter was suffering from a health issue due to which he had consulted Lal. Lal assured Paswan that the girl would recover soon and gave her some medicines and an injection. This, however, deteriorated her condition and she died. Based on Paswan’s complaint a case was registered for culpable homicide. The accused was produced before court and sent to judicial custody.