Mysterious disease kills 13 children in Bihar |  |
- Mysterious disease kills 13 children in Bihar
- Now, free condoms, contraceptives at your doorstep!
- Hyderabad lab checked for illegal clinical trials
- Imaging cereals for increased crop yields
| Mysterious disease kills 13 children in Bihar Posted: 18 Jun 2011 02:06 PM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Patna, June 18 - Thirteen children have died of a mysterious disease in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district during the past five days, officials said Saturday. Of these, five children succumbed in the last 48 hours. 'In the last five days, a total of 13 children have died of a mysterious disease and over 50 children have been admitted to different hospitals,' a district health official said. A.P. Singh, district civil surgeon, told IANS on phone from Muzaffarpur that the cause of the deaths could not be ascertained till now. 'We cannot say what disease led to the death of the children here. The disease is yet to be identified. Whether it is encephalitis or some unknown disease, we can say only after medical reports come,' he said. The district administration has sounded a high alert to check the spread of the disease. The children reported high fever followed by bouts of unconsciousness and convulsions leading to their death. Local people termed the mysterious disease as 'chamki ki bimari' and claimed that the symptoms are similar to that of encephalitis, a disease that causes inflammation of the brain. Official sources in the state health department here said there was no facility to identify encephalitis in Bihar. Alarmed by a likely outbreak of suspected encephalitis, the principal secretary of health department Amarjeet Sinha Friday visited Muzaffarpur to take appropriate steps for the children afflicted with the mysterious disease. He said that a team of doctors from Patna will Saturday collect samples for further investigation. http://www.rxpgnews.com    |
| Now, free condoms, contraceptives at your doorstep! Posted: 17 Jun 2011 11:47 PM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Mumbai, June 17 - The government will shortly launch a scheme to make male and female contraceptives available at people's doorsteps in a major bid to boost population control efforts, Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said Friday. Accredited Social Health Activists - volunteers would promote the use of contraceptives - both male and female - at the household level in targeted districts, he said. 'Under the scheme, the centre will make available contraceptives free of cost at the block level, from where ASHA volunteers will pick up their supplies,' Azad said, addressing the 53rd Convocation of the International Institute of Population Sciences - here. Azad said the 2011 Census shows that efforts towards population stabilisation have yielded results. 'We have succeeded in reducing both fertility and mortality rates substantially and increasing the average life expectancy of the Indian population,' he said but expressed concern at the large regional disparities in demographic outcomes across different Indian states. For instance, he said the Empowered Action Group - States, like Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgrah - where 45 percent of India's population resides - lag behind the rest of the country in both fertility and mortality rate decline. Azad emphasised that the government was committed to providing quality and universal health care to the rural population through the National Rural Health Mission -. 'The funding to the health sector is going to be increased from the present level of less than 1 percent of GDP to 2-3 percent of GDP during the 12th Five Year Plan -,' he said. He also said that under the newly-launched Janani-Shishu Suraksha Karyakram -, the government has made child deliveries at government health institutions completely free. Launched June 1 this year, the scheme provides for free diagnostic tests including ultrasound, free... http://www.rxpgnews.com   |
| Hyderabad lab checked for illegal clinical trials Posted: 17 Jun 2011 11:11 PM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Hyderabad, June 17 - Drug control authorities in Andhra Pradesh Friday carried out inspections at a Hyderabad lab conducting clinical trials following allegations that poor women from Guntur district were used for testing a drug to treat breast cancer. The officials conducted inspections at the Axis Lab in the Miyapur neighbourhood, checked the records to verify if the lab was following the regulations. The move came after police in Guntur district arrested two persons allegedly working as brokers for a Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical company to engage poor women for the unauthorised drug trials. Kommu Karunamma and Shaikh Jameela were arrested from Piduguralla town, about 300 km from here, after 20 women took ill allegedly following clinical trials. The brokers were allegedly hiring gullible women and taking them to Hyderabad where their blood samples were taken and they were given injections and tablets. They were being paid around Rs.3,000 to Rs.10,000 for the trials conducted during last three months. The issue came to light Thursday after some women complained of severe body pain and extreme weakness. A few of them had even difficulty walking. A local doctor told them they could have been tested for breast cancer drugs. The pharmaceutical company is allegedly using the services of various labs in Hyderabad to conduct the trials. Axis Lab admitted that it conducted the trials on one woman. Health Minister D.L. Ravindra Reddy ordered a probe, but said there was no evidence as to which company was conducting the trials. Taking a suo moto cognizance of the incident, the Andhra Pradesh State Human Rights Commission asked the health secretary to submit a report. The panel directed the government to pay compensation to the affected women and provide them the medical treatment. R.P. Meena, director general of drug administration, denied that they sealed any lab or conducted raids. 'Our officials only conducted inspections... http://www.rxpgnews.com   |
| Imaging cereals for increased crop yields Posted: 17 Jun 2011 05:00 AM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) University of Adelaide computer scientists are developing image-based technology which promises a major boost to the breeding of improved cereal varieties for the harsher environmental conditions expected under climate change. Led by Professor Anton van den Hengel, Director of the Australian Centre for Visual Technologies (ACVT), the computer scientists are joining with plant physiologists and an industry partner to develop technology that will be able to accurately estimate plant yield of potential new cereal varieties well before grain production. They will use multiple images of plants as they grow to construct computerised 3-D models that will match the plants' changing shape with its biological properties and, ultimately, predict yield. We are using image analysis to understand the shape of plants so that we can automatically and rapidly measure plant structural properties and how they change over time, said Professor van den Hengel. We want to be able to predict yield based on a collection of measurable plant attributes early in the plant's lifespan, rather than having to wait for the plant to mature and then measuring the yield. Professor van den Hengel said this image-based approach would enable detailed, accurate and rapid estimation of large numbers of plants' potential yields under various growing conditions, for example high salinity or drought. This novel image analysis technology promises to transform crop breeding and, as a result, the agricultural industry, he said. By expediting the development of plant varieties capable of delivering increased yield under harsh environmental conditions this project will help improve Australia's agricultural efficiency and competitiveness. It will help Australian agriculture prepare for the impact of climate change and the need to produce more food for a growing population. The image-based analysis will be incorporated into the Plant Accelerator at the University's Waite... http://www.rxpgnews.com   |
| You are subscribed to email updates from RxPG News : Latest Medical, Healthcare and Research News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
Post a Comment