Covid-19 cases emerging faster outside China: WHO

There are now more new cases of the coronavirus reported each day outside China than inside the hardest-hit country, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday.

Geneva: There are now more new cases of the coronavirus reported each day outside China than inside the hardest-hit country, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday. "Yesterday, the number of new cases reported outside China exceeded the number of new cases in China for the first time," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told diplomats in Geneva, according to a written version of his speech....read more

Coranxiety: Corona Anxiety

Spread Facts and not Fears

I attended a WHO webinar yesterday on preparedness on mental health aspects of coronavirus. The virus so far has infected over 80000 people from 41 countries, with 503 new cases and 12 deaths outside China. The expected total deaths are 4095 world over....read more

Getting prepared for the worst: Here are the numbers

WHO has asked for countries and cities to prepare for the disaster that coronavirus threatens to cause. We hope COVID-19 behaves like SARS and MERS and never enters India, but we need to be prepared for the worst.

If coronavirus comes to India, what will happen? Let us take Delhi as example with 1.67 crore population (1.67879410) and the worst possible scenario -...read more

Swine flu in Delhi: Six Apex Court Judges Have Swine Flu

Some facts about swine flu 1.Among human influenza A viruses, three major subtypes of hemagglutinins - H1, H2, and H3 - and two subtypes of neuraminidases - N1 and N2 – are known. Influenza B viruses have been shown to have a lesser inclination for antigenic changes, and merely antigenic drifts in the hemagglutinin have been noted....read more

Preparing for community transmission of the COVID-19 coronavirus

There is currently an explosion of sustained person-to-person community spread of COVID-19 in several countries, including South Korea, Italy, Iran, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and Singapore.

The strategy of containing the disease at the borders may no longer be enough. The strategy would shift from a containment strategy to that of mitigation....read more

41 countries affected, 503 new cases and 12 deaths outside China yesterday

CMAAO Update 26th February on COVID-19

Only 20% will have symptoms and will go for testing, rest may self-quarantine, 15% of serious will die. In Iran, 16 died of 95 tested; this means they are only testing serious patients.

41 countries, 503 new cases and 12 deaths outside China yesterday; Cases in eight countries have been traced to Iran. Expected total deaths 4095. From Canary Islands, hotel cases have spread to Spain, France, Austria, Croatia and Switzerland....read more

Thinking Differently

There are three ways to manage stress. One is to think opposite, second is to think different and the third is to think positive.

Thinking opposite was advocated by Patanjali, thinking differently by Adi Shankaracharya and thinking positive by Gautam Buddha. Out of the three approaches, the Indian Vedic philosophy focuses on thinking differently. Thinking positive and thinking opposite may not be feasible at the time of any adversity....read more

How Corona Aware Are You

Health Sutras By Dr K K Aggarwal

Vaccines are not just for children. Even adults need vaccination. Ask your doctor for flu, hepatitis B, tetanus and pneumonia vaccine.

Healthcare News Monitor

Killer medicine

The Indian Express

The deaths of 11 children in Jammu’s Udhampur district should drive home the dire urgency of plugging loopholes in the country’s drug regulatory regime. Initial investigations point to a cough syrup, Cold Best-PC. A laboratory in PGIMER Chandigarh has found the presence of the toxic compound, Diethylene Glycol, in samples from a batch of the medicine manufactured by the Himachal Pradesh-based Digital Vision. The state’s drug regulator has suspended the company’s manufacturing licence. But Digital Vision’s track record — in the last five years, drugs manufactured by it have been red-flagged more than once by the country’s apex drug regulatory authority, the Central Drug Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), as well as by regulators in Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra and J&K — should have been reason enough for regulators to be more vigilant about the company’s production practices. Under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, regulating the manufacture, sale and distribution of drugs is primarily the concern of state authorities. The CDSCO is responsible for laying down the standards of drugs, coordinating the activities of state regulatory authorities and providing them expert advice. But by all accounts, there is scarcely any information-sharing between the Centre and the states and among states. The CDSCO has not issued binding guidelines to state regulators for recalling medicines that are not of standard quality (NSQ).

Viral Threat: Indian pharma catches China’s COVID sickness

Financial Express - Amitendu Palit

Concern has been expressed over the impact of the COVID-19, or the novel Coronavirus, on supplies in India, particularly the pharmaceutical industry. Is the industry really in trouble? India’s dependence on China for supply of various imports—raw materials, intermediates, finished products—is significant. The largest Indian imports from China are those of machineries, and components. Various electrical and non-electrical machineries, industrial appliances, machine parts, and components comprise half of Indian imports from China. These are followed by imports of organic chemicals and fertilisers. With a share of around 12% in India’s total imports from China, organic chemicals are the third largest group in the latter. Within organic chemicals, imports required by the pharmaceutical industry are the largest. Heterocyclic nitrogen compounds and antibiotics are the largest organic chemical imports by China from India, accounting for almost 30% of such imports. Heterocyclic nitrogen compounds typically contain carbon and nitrogen in their molecular structures. Like other heterocyclic compounds that comprise of oxygen and sulphur, nitrogen compounds have extensive therapeutic use. Apart from wide applications in pharmaceutical research and drug discovery, heterocyclic nitrogen compounds are used in antibiotics, anti-cancer, anti-migraine, anti-ulcer, anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, and anti-depressant drugs. Nearly 70% of India’s total imports of heterocyclic compounds are from China. Of these, 80-90% of the entire requirement of some compounds, such as those with unfused rings, is sourced from China only. On antibiotics, too, India’s sourcing dependence on China is quite high. The most significant among these are penicillin and its salts, rifampicin and its salts, 6-APA, and various other antibiotics.

Gynae, peon booked for taking Rs 20k for conducting abortion

The Times of India

Police booked a gynaecologist and a peon posted at General Hospital, Sector 6, for allegedly accepting Rs 20,000 for conducting an abortion following an inquiry on Wednesday, four days after the complaint was received. Dr Sneh Singh, deputy civil surgeon, had lodged the complaint against Dr Poonam Bhargava, the gynaecologist and Baljinder, the peon, after receiving video clips from Amandeep Singh, a resident of Patiala, on February 20 The video filmed secretly by Amandeep on his mobile phone showed him meeting Dr Bhargava and telling her that his wife was pregnant with their third girl child and they wanted to abort it. In response, the doctor offered to carry out the abortion at their house in exchange of Rs 20,000. On Sunday, health minister Anil Vij ordered the gynaecologist’s suspension. Civil surgeon Dr Jasjeet Kaur had constituted a committee of six doctors, including Dr Sangeeta Singhal, Dr Umesh Modi, Dr Rani Singh, Dr Suresh Kumar, Dr Parvinder and Dr Saroj Aggarwal, to conduct the probe into the alleged facilitating of an illegal medical termination of pregnancy of a four-month foetus. The committee in its report submitted said the video clearly shows her intention to perform the MTP for Rs 20,000, despite being told that the woman already has two daughters and has come after a “test”. Police registered a case against Bhargava and the peon under Sections 3, 4 and 5 of the MTP Act, Section 27-B (ii) and 28 of Drugs and Cosmetic Act 1940 and different Sections of the Indian Penal Code at the Sector 5 police station. VIDEO PROOF A man had submitted video clips of him telling Dr Poonam Bhargava, a gynaecologist, that that his wife was pregnant with their third girl child and they wanted to abort it The doctor, in the video, is seen agreeing to conduct the abortion for Rs 20,000 Haryana health minister has already ordered the suspension of the doctor.

Maharashtra Doctor Booked In Rape Case; Absconding

Medical Dialogues- Garima

A city based doctor has been booked for allegedly raping a 23 year old woman under false pretext. According to the police, investigation has been launched into the case and efforts are on to nab the accused doctor who is currently absconding. The recent media reports state that the alleged incident took place over a week ago on February 15th at Bhiwandi town in Maharashtras Thane district. The doctor has been accused of taking the complainant woman to show a flat in Bhiwandi and allegedly raping her there. Informing UNI about the same, Assistant Police Inspector Deepak Boi Bhiwandi taluka police station stated, The accused took the victim under the pretext of showing her a flat to Bhiwandi and raped her in a room, on February 15." Read Also: Raipur: Man Arrested After Homeopathy Doctor Alleges Rape, Blackmail Following the alleged incident, the woman, who is an employee of a private firm lodged a complaint with the Bhiwandi taluka police station which has now booked the doctor under rape charges. PTI reports that a case under section 376 (rape) was registered on February 24th and the police are investigating the case. A manhunt has been launched for the accused who is absconding; a police official informed PTI.