Getting the coronavirus test right

CHANDIGARH: Diagnostics have been of immense help in containing Covid-19. TOI’s Shimona Kanwar spoke to experts to understand the type of tests which are available to detect the virus and their accuracyNew, quicker test available:A new kit based on Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats technology (CRISPR) gives the result in a hour’s time. It is claimed that unlike RTPCR , CRISPR has fewer chances of giving inaccurate results. In this technique, genetic material from the RNA of the virus does not have to be converted into DNA. That is why while RTPCR takes 5-6 hours in one round, CRISPR takes just about an hour. The test has been approved by FDABest time for accurate test:There have been publications which have found that the usual incubation period for Covid-19 is five days, and the vast majority of infected patients who develop symptoms will do so within 10-14 days. Detection of specific antibodies, typically, begins during the first week of symptoms, and many patients seroconvert by the end of the second week after symptoms begin, with nearly all patients becoming seropositive by the end of the third week....read more

CMAAO Coronavirus Facts and Myth Buster: G4 EA H1N1

964: G4 New hybrid Flu Virus in Pigs with Pandemic Potential: G4 EA H1N11. A new flu virus (hybrid) that has been identified in Chinese pigs has features that make it more infectious to humans and needs to be watched closely in case it becomes a potential pandemic virus. 2. Chinese researchers looked at influenza viruses found in pigs between 2011 and 2018 and identified a "G4" strain of H1N1 that possesses "all the essential hallmarks of a candidate pandemic virus", as per a report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. ,3.G4 includes sequences from a virus discovered in birds in Europe and Asia, and the one that caused the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, which was a hybrid of human, swine and bird flu viruses. ....read more

Vedic science behind post-traumatic stress disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD is a type of stress that lasts for up to 13 days if handled properly and for months or years if not handled well after an acute stress. It can be a serious disorder.The reference to mourning a death can be found in the Vedic literature. There is a custom that the grieved partner is made to weep till she or he is overwhelmed with emotions. In fact, all relatives and friends participate in the exercise, depending upon their respective closeness to the deceased.After the antim yatra, the grieving person is made to sit for 90 minutes every day as a part of the ceremony, which either ends on chautha or tervi where again everybody known gather together. Thereafter, normal activities of life are resumed. ....read more

Healthcare News Monitor

Skilled life sciences specialists give India an edge in times of a pandemic

Express Pharma

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has unsettled the world in ways not thought possible before. Since the outbreak in Wuhan in the Hubei province of China, the infection spread rapidly engulfing swathes of population across the globe. Healthcare and medicines have become the lifeblood for all nations looking for ways to fight the pandemic. As the second-most populous country in the world, India has had to gear itself to stave off the worst of this epidemic and so far we have done a commendable job. The Government has doubled up on its healthcare efforts and our frontline health workers have been working tirelessly. Hundreds of thousands of doctors, nurses, caregivers and other health specialists have been engaged in the isolation, monitoring and treatment of the infected. They have proven to be the corona warriors who have led from the forefront in the fight against COVID-19.

Is the Covid-19 drug good news for Glenmark Pharmaceuticals?

usiness Line

Favipiravir’s potential is unclear; challengesin the US business need a watchThe stock of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals came into the limelight two weeks ago and rallied as much as 40 per cent on a single day after the company launched favipiravir, an oral antiviral drug for treating mild to moderate Covid-19. Glenmark is the first company to receive manufacturing and marketing approval from India’s drug regulator as part of the accelerated approval process to bring out its version of favipiravir in India.

Coronavirus positive Hyderabad doctor charged around Rs 1.5 lakh at private hospital despite price-cap

The Indian Express

Adoctor in Hyderabad was allegedly charged around 1.5 lakh for 30-hour hospital stay, putting a question mark on governments price-cap on coronavirus treatment at private hospitals.,Dr Sultana, who is Duty Medical Officer (DMO) at government-run Fever Hospital in Hyderabad, is now the new victim of the private hospital in the city. ,Dr Sultana was tested positive for the novel coronavirus on June 24 and after that, she was home quarantined. ,On July 2, she suffered a minor breathing issue and got herself admitted to a private hospital. ,To her shock, she was charged around Rs 1.5 lakh for 30-hour stay at the hospital.

Meerut hospital offers negative Covid result for Rs 2,500, FIR filed

The Indian Express

“Pay Rs 2,500 and you will get a negative report for Covid-19 test that will bear the seal of one of the two government hospitals in Meerut. The report has a validity of 14 days.” : This is what a private hospital in the town has been promising people in a video that went viral on social media, after which an FIR was registered against the hospital management. The facility has also been sealed and the District Magistrate on Saturday recommended that its licence be cancelled.Meerut Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Rajkumar Saini ordered a probe on Saturday after a person showed him the video, which is 2 minutes and 38 seconds long, and also the ‘negative report of Covid-19 test’, at his office. The CMO also directed his deputy, Gopal Singh, to register an FIR in this connection with the Lisadi Gate police station.