Pollution

14 cities in India, along with our national capital Delhi, are among the 20 most polluted cities in the world about PM2.5 levels in 2016. For PM10 levels also, 13 Indian cities are included among the 20 most-polluted cities of the world in 2016. (WHO)

Clinical

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2015 compared the outcomes patients who underwent appendectomies with those who underwent treatment with antibiotics. In the group that had the surgery, all but one of the 273 surgical patients had successful outcomes. Among the non-surgical group, 70 of the 256 patients – that’s 27 percent – had a recurrence and required surgery within the next 12 months. Still, for the other 186 patients, antibiotic therapy spared them the risks and costs of surgery.

In a large prospective study, Swedish researchers have found an inverse association between nut consumption and incident AF. Eating nuts three or more times a week was associated with an 18% reduced risk for AF. The study was published online in Heart on April 16.

Weather

Temperatures more than 40.0°C is recorded at most parts of Rajasthan, Vidarbha, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Rayalaseema, Marathwada; at many parts of Gujarat region; at one or two pockets of Madhya Maharashtra and North Interior Karnataka (Annexure 3).

Temperature recoded at 1430 hours of today have risen by 4-8°C at one or two pockets of Sikkim and by more than 8°C at one or two pockets over north Coastal Andhra Pradesh

Policy

Collection charges of Bio Medical Waste from clinics without beds fixed by Delhi Government @ 6000/ annum.

Legal

19 million compensations: A girl will receive a £6.8 million lump sum, plus annual, index-linked, payments to cover the costs of her care for life. Those payments will start at £130,000-a-year, before rising to £174,250-a-year in 2020. When she approaches her twenties, in 2028, the payments will rise again to £228,000-a-year. Given the girls long-life expectancy, the capitalised value of the settlement is £19,410,417. Had the trust accepted 100 per cent liability for her injuries, the awards total value would have been in excess of £22 million

The girl was born at King’s College Hospital in London with high levels of bilirubin. King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust accepted that there had been shortcomings in the care provided to the girl, which subsequently left her with catastrophic brain damage. It was accepted that had the medics swiftly carried out a total blood exchange the girl would have escaped permanent injury.

Public Health

The Indian Council of Medical Research today said 10.8 per cent of all deaths in India are caused by hypertension as it launched a month-long awareness campaign in collaboration with the Public Health Foundation of India and the International Society of Hypertension, along with over 50 partner institutions.

THE No. 1 contributing risk factor for global death is raised blood pressure – causing strokes, heart attacks and other cardiovascular complications. 10 MILLION lives are lost each year needlessly due to raised blood pressure and ONLY HALF of people with high blood pressure, know it. These deaths are PREVENTABLE. And that’s the real tragedy.  

A beverage company has withdrawn a lawsuit against the Heart Foundation of Jamaica (HFJ) for featuring one of its products in a campaign to raise public awareness on the health risks of consuming sugar-sweetened beverages.

‘presenteeism’ or people coming into work when they are ill is a new term. .A report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development found that 86% of the 1,000 organisations surveyed in the United Kingdom, representing over 4 million workers, had noticed employees coming into work when they were ill. The rise compares with a survey in 2010 when just 26% of employers observed the behaviour. In 2016 the figure was 72%.The survey also found that ‘leaveism’, such as people using annual leave to work, is a growing problem. More than two-thirds of respondents (69%) reported that leaveism has occurred in their organisation over the last year.Millions of pounds are lost owing to absenteeism, and presenteeism — when employees are at work but not operating at optimum levels. The presence of ill people at work is more costly to the business than their absence, not only if illness is transmitted to other colleagues, but also because ill employees are likely to work less effectively than usual, may be more susceptible to costly mistakes, take longer to recover from their illness and cause lower workplace morale.

The first treatment for smallpox is nearing approval. Called tecovirimat, the drug stops the variola virus, which causes smallpox, from sending out copies of itself and infecting other cells. An advisory committee to the U.S. Federal Drug Administration unanimously recommended approval of tecovirimat, or TPOXX, on May 1. The FDA is expected to make its decision this summer.

The Union Cabinet has approved the continuation of the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) beyond 12th Five Year Plan to 2019-20.

AMR

2016, the South African Veterinary Council also issued a letter to all members of the veterinary profession, effectively banning colistin use in food-producing animals. “It is recommended that colistin not be used in food-producing animals at all,” the letter stated, “unless the veterinarian can justify its use at the hand of a sensitivity test and as a very last resort to treat an animal. Any conduct to the contrary would be regarded by Council as unprofessional conduct.”

Colistin has been used in veterinary medicine for decades, to treat Gram-negative gastrointestinal infections in poultry and pigs.

Awards

FICCI health care excellence Awards 30^th August. 10^th edition. Entries open.