32 more testing labs can come up with AIIMS as mentor

Nagpur: Many ministers and political bigwigs in Maharashtra have announced that Covid-19 testing laboratories will be established in their constituencies. Some have also sanctioned funds for them.But mere announcements and funds would not be enough for labs to start. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has designated All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Nagpur, as the mentor institute for sanctioning Covid-19 laboratories in the state. All new labs in Maharashtra will come only through mentorship of AIIMS Nagpur....read more

CMAAO Coronavirus Facts and Myth Buster 54

CMAAO Corona Facts and Myth Buster 51FDA clears N95 decontamination process that could clean up to 4 million masks per dayThe USFDA has granted an emergency use authorization (EUA) for a decontamination process by a company named Advanced Sterilization Products (ASP) that could sterilize as many as 4 million N95 respirators per day for re-use....read more

CMAAO Coronavirus Facts and Myth Buster 53

Should clinic be closed if a COVID-positive patient comesCMAAO Advisory: If you are taking all standard precautions, continue the clinic.If you are not sure about the 100% safety standard precautions: fumigate the clinic for 24 hours with standard gas fumigation processContinue next day with full standard precautions....read more

The science behind observing Shradhs

Shradhs are observed every year in Dakshinayana during Chaturmas in the Krishna Paksha of Ashwin month. Many rituals are performed to satisfy the unfulfilled desires of three generations of our ancestors.According to the Vedas, every individual has three debts to be paid off, firstly, of the Devtas (Dev Rin), secondly of Guru and teachers (Rishi Rin) and, thirdly, of Ancestors (Pitra Rin). From a scientific point of view, devtas represent people with Daivik qualities; teachers are the ones who have taught us and Pitra, three generations of our ancestors. Rin, from scientific point of view, would mean unfinished desires or tasks....read more

Health Sutras By Dr K K Aggarwal

Go for Covid 19 test and isolation

Healthcare News Monitor

India fast-tracks HCQ supplies to UAE, leverages drug to get test kits elsewhere

Hindustan Times- Shishir Gupta

After supplying to most affected countries such as the US, Spain and the UK, India is all set to bulk supply hydroxychloroquine and paracetamol to close allies Russia, United Arab Emirates, Jordan and key partners in Latin America and Africa. A shipment of HCQ is also being sent to Dominican Republic, the current President of the UN Security Council, as well as Uganda and Ecuador, people familiar with the development said. An official said India is also committed to supplying the two drugs to its special strategic partner Russia; Russian President Vladimir Putin had spoken to PM Modi on March 25. But the special focus of the government at this point are the Gulf countries, particularly the UAE. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla are in constant touch with their Gulf counterparts. India has already sent a 15-member army medical team with supplies to Kuwait and supplied HCQ to Bahrain. Global demand for hydroxychloroquine manufactured by India boosted after some studies indicated that the drug, when paired with azithromycin, helped clear patients of the virus at a much faster rate than seen usually. The decision to quickly send the drugs to Abu Dhabi and Dubai was taken after UAE sent a request for 3.25 crore HCQ 200 mg tablets and 10 metric tonnes of active pharmaceutical ingredients. These commercial supplies will go through six Dubai-based consignees having contracts with Indian pharma majors in Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru.

Coronavirus outbreak: India plans ayurvedic trials on patients soon

Business Standard- Sohini Das

India may soon start trials of treatment protocols on coronavirus (Covid-19) patients using ayurvedic medicines. On the preventive front, many states, including Haryana, Goa and Kerala, have started using ayurvedic medicines for asymptomatic patients and even frontline workers. “The ayush ministry had invited suggestions from ayurvedic and homeopathy practitioners across India. They got around 2,000 proposals. Now, the task force (formed for scientific validation of ayurveda and traditional medicine formulas through research institutions) that has been going through these proposals has shortlisted a protocol. It is expected to be notified soon,” said an industry source, who has been attending meetings with the ministry. Once notified, these would then be tried on patients suffering from Covid-19 — first on asymptomatic ones or non-severe patients and also suspects. Addressing the nation on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked about traditional home remedies (like drinking warm water through the day and taking home-made immunity boosters). He had earlier held a video conference with ayush practitioners. The task force has members from the department of biotechnology (DBT), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and also ayush practitioners. It is deliberating on inter-drug reactions if a patient is administered an ayurvedic medicine to fight Covid-19 along with the regular allopathic therapy.

Covid-19: Quarantined man’s father attacks Hyderabad doctors after inmate tests positive

Hindustan Times - Srinivasa Rao Apparasu

A man whose son has been quarantined on suspicion of having Covid-19 symptoms assaulted a junior resident doctor at state-run Osmania General Hospital (OGH) in Hyderabad on Tuesday, the hospital said. The assault once again raised questions about the security of medical professionals battling the coronavirus pandemic. People with symptoms of Covid-19 are currently being kept at OGH and if any of them test positive for the virus, they are shifted immediately to Gandhi Hospital, the designated facility for treatment of the positive cases. On Tuesday, two of those quarantined at OGH tested positive for Covid-19 and they were taken to Gandhi Hospital immediately. On coming to know about it, the father of a young man who has been under quarantine in the adjacent bed of one of the patients who tested positive, became furious. He rushed to the hospital and started abusing the doctors ask why his son was kept close to a Covid-19 patient. He demanded that his son be discharged from the hospital and sent home as it was risky for him to be there in the ward.

Unsung heroes who can strengthen India’s response to Covid-19

The Indian Express- Nachiket Mor, Manuj Garg

Think about the last time you went to see a doctor: were you running a temperature? Did you have body ache, a cough, a stuffy nose and perhaps some trouble breathing? If this scenario sounds ominous to you now, you’re not alone. Now think about whether you went to a big hospital or a private clinic down the road. If it was the latter – and it is for many in India – then this primary healthcare provider, your family doctor, is invaluable in maintaining your personal health. The family/community doctor is an institution in India: from cold and cough to broken bones and chronic diseases, this doctor often advises entire families on a range of health issues. Outside Tier 1 cities, where there are fewer doctors and medical facilities, they are even more central to the health of a community. Indeed, the NITI Aayog has acknowledged the role solo practitioners play in India’s healthcare landscape. “The private sector is the foremost provider of healthcare. Notwithstanding the emergence of an organized and increasingly visible corporate subsector, private provision remains dominated by solo practitioners, small providers and stand-alone hospitals in which Fee-For-Service (FFS) is the main method of payment, ” wrote Gerard La Forgea in “Organization and Provision” in Health System for a New India: Building Blocks: Potential Pathways to Reform, a report published by the NITI Aayog in November 2019. Yet these are challenging times – the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic on March 11. And in mounting a large and appropriate response to it, the health ministry has centralised some of the Covid-19 caregiving functions. Doctors in private clinics have for now been asked to refer all Covid-19 suspected cases to specialised centres. This approach has its pros and limitations.