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Refresher Training of CERT by FOCUS
Saturday, March 31, 2012
DON’T FEAR SWINE FLU, FIGHT IT!
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Friday, March 30, 2012
Save up to 20% on power bills this summer Use High Power Consuming Gadgets Early Morning Or Late In The Evening
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Thursday, March 29, 2012
The American Red Cross and Edison International Launch Safety and Emergency Preparedness Partnership
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Army chief fires another letter salvo Forwards TMC MP Missive To CBI For Probe On Lt Gen Suhag
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AN ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN? A manhole near the JJ flyover has been lying open for the past two days
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Tuesday, March 27, 2012
25% cancer deaths in Maha, UP
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H1N1 infects three more in city
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Monday, March 26, 2012
State has only 36 inspectors FOR 86,000 ELEVATORS
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Sunday, March 25, 2012
‘First 1000 steps’ march gains support
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10 injured as lift crashes Cops Suspect Elevator Gave Way Due To Overloading
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Friday, March 23, 2012
New form of TB gives docs sleepless nights
Mumbai: Fifteen-yearold Vina's diagnostic report looks dismal. The lab report shows that the tuberculosis (TB) bacillus in her lungs is sensitive only to two drugs and resistant to eight others.
"The world may debate whether to call her TB an extremely, extensivelyor a totally drug-resistant form but the fact is how does one treat a child with only two drugs?'' says Ghatkopar-based Dr Amol Manerkar, who is treating Vina. "For all practical purposes,'' he adds, "the child's disease is totally resistant to drugs.''
In the last two months, Mumbai has gained in terms of government attention (a special TB programme), money (the city's TB budget may increase 6 times) and infrastructure (new labs, machines), but the ground reality is grim, say doctors on World TB Day.
WHO sticks to its stand
The World Health Organization, in a special meeting in Geneva, said it was too early to dub the new, severely drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis as totally-drug resistant TB. P 6
Another H1N1 case in city
The the grandmother city's first H1 of N1 a case Mulund in nine boy, months, is also suffering from the flu. Meanwhile, a one-year-old became Pune's eighth victim in 10 days. P 2 TB patients' woes worsen due to expensive drugs
Victim Can Infect 10 Others In A Year: Docs
Mumbai: Incidence of the new form of highly drug-resistant TB is growing across the city. Areas with a high population density-—such as Ghatkopar and Kurla—are particularly vulnerable.
Vina (name changed), who lives in Ramabai Colony in Ghatkopar (E), is only one of the three patients whom Dr Amol Manerkar diagnosed with severely drug-resistant TB in the Ghatkopar-Kurla belt in March. One of these new patients is only sensitive to
one drug. TB is treated with a combination of drugs. "How can I ask this patient from a modest background to buy this one drug which is not only expensive but cannot guarantee a cure if taken alone,'' asks the doctor.
Mumbai's special TB programme had proposed that patients going to private doctors would also be able to access the government's free drugs. But private doctors say this partnership has not yet started. "I sent two of my patients who have severe drug resistance to government hospitals as they are too poor to afford to buy medicines privately. But they haven't been given any second-line drugs as the government is waiting to test them all over again,'' complains a doctor from Dadar.
In January, Hinduja Hospital had revealed that 12 of its patients had totallydrug-resistant TB (TDRTB). A central team visited Mumbai thereafter and said that it would be premature to label the cases as TDR-TB. However, the Union government gave the green signal for a pilot project in Mumbai to recognize each of the 24 civic wards as a TB district with special staff and infrastructure.
The BMC has diagnosed 683 patients with drug-resistant TB. "As per our protocol, 347 of these patients are in category IV treatment and eight others in Category V treatment,'' says Dr Mini Khetrapal, who is Mumbai's first TB control officer.
She is hopeful. "We have increased the capacity in Sewri TB Hospital to treat drug-resistant TB from 44 to 90 beds. Within a couple of months, all these drug-resistant patients will be covered,'' she says, adding that medicines have already been given to all to ensure that their disease doesn't spread to others.
Soon, the BMC will kickstart an initiative of door-to-door surveillance in 10 wards that include Ghatkopar and Kurla.
"TB is a disease that spreads easily due to overcrowding. The government needs to strengthen its surveillance process to ensure that the disease doesn't spread,'' says a senior doctor at a south Mumbai hospital.
Dr Manerkar points out to hubs such as Thakar Baba colony in Kurla where people work in small, overcrowded shoemakingunits."If oneperson has drug-resistant TB, the airborne disease can spread to many others. After all, each TB patient can infect 10 others in a year,'' he says.
TUBERCULOSIS OVER THE YEARS
In mid-90s, multidrug resistant TB was first reported In 2006, extensively drugs-resistant TB (XDR) emerged In 2008, two cases were reported from Italy that had resistance to both first and second-line treatments In 2009, 15 TB patients in Iran were reported to be resistant to all anti-TB drugs tested, prompting researchers to coin new terms "extremely drug resistant" (XXDR-TB) and "totally drugresistant TB" (TDR-TB). In January 2012, four patients in India were described as having "totally drug-resistant" tuberculosis. Media subsequently reported a further eight such cases. In March, WHO said insufficient evidence to use term TDR-TB As per WHO nomenclature, multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is TB that is resistant to both of the main first line drugs, isoniazid and rifampicin WHO says extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) is MDR-TB with additional resistance to any of the injectables (amikacin, kanamycin or capreomycin), plus resistance to any fluoroquinolones
NOT YET TIME
WHO has given three technical reasons for its decision not to use the label of totally drug-resistant tuberculosis 1 Drug susceptibility testing (DST), key to defining new levels of drug resistance, lacks accuracy for several drugs used to treat multi drug-resistant (MDR) and extensively
drug-resistant (XDR)-TB 2 Insufficient correlation of DST results with clinical response to treatment for several drugs used to treat XDR-TB 3Newdrugs are undergoing clinical trials and could prove effective against drugresistant strains
Posted by Unknown at 10:32 PM 0 comments
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Cheap jewellery can be toxic!
HEALTH FLASH
Experts have detected alarming levels of harmful chemicals in the composition of low-priced jewellery items targeted at youngsters, which may have dangerous health implications. A non-profit environmental safety organisation found lead, cadmium, chromium, mercury and arsenic among other highly toxic chemicals, in jewellery items. The health issues linked to these substances in past tests on animals and humans comprise acute allergies, birth defects, impaired learning, liver toxicity and cancer.
Of the 99 pieces tested Using X-ray fluorescence, 25 per cent contained levels of lead which exceeded the limit of lead permitted in the manufacturing of children's products. "It ends up in the jewellery because it's cheap, it's easy to melt, it makes nice heavy pieces of jewellery and in fact we've found in a lot of the pieces we've tested that are 95 per cent lead by weight, that the alloy composition is almost identical to what you'd find in lead acid car batteries," the report said.Additionally, 10 per cent of the items contained known carcinogen cadmium, most likely because there have been no restrictions on its use. The biggest concern is that children put the necklace pendants and rings in their mouths, chipping and wearing away the thin protective coating. Over time, the levels of cadmium or lead to which a child could be exposed this way is quite dangerous.
Posted by Unknown at 10:00 PM 0 comments
Chemicals in toys, tin cans fuel obesity
Chemicals that mimic or interfere with the effect of hormones could be fuelling the obesity epidemic, warns a health study. The chemicals, found in mobile phone cases and tin cans, shampoos and shower curtains, may also help trigger diabetes, researchers have concluded. The report called for prompt action to reduce exposure, particularly among pregnant women and those planning to start a family. Some experts described the report as alarming, but others said the key to good health is in what we eat and drink.
Spanish and South Korean researchers went through over 240 studies on obesity, pollution and type 2 diabetes. They concluded that the evidence that chemicals can lead to weight gain in animals is compelling. They added that the link between environmental chemicals and diabetes in people was first made more than 15 years ago and the volume and strength of evidence has been particularly persuasive since 2006.Posted by Unknown at 9:59 PM 0 comments
Fifa’s safety guidelines never followed
Bangalore: The third death on the football field in Bangalore in the last eight years clearly shows that organizers of football tournaments have not taken any of the safety guidelines seriously. The absence of any kind of emergency medical help at the Bangalore Football Stadium on Wednesday once again proved that the no one cares for players' safety.
"The player (Venkatesh) was brought dead and there were no signs of life," said Dr Ajit Benedict Royan of Hosmat hospital which is located in the neighbouring compound of the football stadium.After Cristiano Junior's death at the Sree Kanteerava stadium during the Federation Cup final there was lot of talk about the need of emergency medical care at the venue but Venkatesh's death proves that nothing has really changed.
"Fifa's guidelines are clear on the need to have an ambulance, paramedics and defibrillators before the start of any match. Sadly we give zero importance to medical care. In most of the tournaments hardly any money is set apart for ensuring medical facilities. The latest death is another sad instance and I hope now at least our officials will learn a lesson," leading sports medicine practitioner Dr PSM Chandran told TOI.
Some of the players who watched the death of Venkatesh said the player was not fit for action. "He vomited before the start of the match and even the few minutes he played he could hardly run. Finally he came near the line and collapsed," a player said.
If this version is true then it is a clear violation of the Fifa guidelines on players' health. "There are viruses that usually cause only a cold but sometimes an acute inflammation of the heart muscle occurs, particularly with intense exercise. That is why you must never train or play when you have a cold with fever or aching joints. The "above-collar" rule says that any symptoms below your neck are a strict 'NO' to exercise. That means a running nose is OK, but a productive cough is not," it says.
AIFF may hold emergency meeting: Meanwhile, All India Football Federation secretary Kushal Das told TOI that the death of the player is a serious incident and the AIFF may even call an emergency committee meeting to discuss the matter.
"I am told that a player died after he collapsed while he was warming up. I didn't know that it happened during the match," Das said.
The top official said he was still awaiting more details from the state body before taking any action.
PREVIOUS ON-FIELD DEATHS IN INDIA
Sanjib Dutta – 1993 Kannur, Kerala Cristiano Junior – 2004 BangaloreAllebi Djwrey – 2008 Bangalore
Posted by Unknown at 9:24 PM 0 comments
Dust haze sees pollution levels INCREASE BY 500%
Suspended Particulate Matter Rises From 200 To 1,200 Units Per Cubic MetreHosps See Increase In Patients With Breathlessness
Mumbaikars woke up on Wednesday to a thick layer of dust that had enveloped the city reducing visibility levels to six times lower than normal and increasing pollution levels by nearly 500%. But the dusty haze, as the MET has called this phenomenon—it was more pronounced in north India—is not benign, and doctors spent the better part of the day fielding calls from citizens who complained of breathlessness. Because of the haze, suspended particulate matter (SPM) levels rose from 200 units per cubic meter to 1,200 units, reported the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB). Dr Ajay Deshpande, joint director of MPCB, described the SPM levels as "a historic rise", never before witnessed in the city.
Though weather officials say the haze is a temporary 24-hour phenomenon, the particulate matter will take a longer time to dissipate, and doctors have advised patients susceptible to respiratory ailments to take extra precautions (See box)."The sun was pale. The journey from home to office felt like I was travelling through a large construction site. By the time I reached office, I could feel the dirt on me," said Amey Bashisht, who resides in Dahisar and works at Churchgate. Commuters said they could barely see the train approaching the platform.
MET officials in Mumbai blamed the haze on a sandstorm in Rajasthan. "There was a sandstorm in Rajasthan as the temperatures rose very high. The dry winds displaced the sand particles there. Northerly winds carried forward the storm southward towards Mumbai," said V K Rajeev, director of weather forecast at Indian Meteorological Department, Mumbai.
But many meteorologists are attributing the haze across the country to the dust storms in the Middle East. Agencies like NASA released satellite images of a giant dust plume across the Arabian Sea from the Middle East to India on Tuesday, March 20, which affected many parts of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, UP and Rajasthan. "A dust haze was brought to the northern parts of India from Saudi Arabia by south westerly winds. It's a global phenomenon and India is also being affected. In Punjab and Rajasthan, visibility was 1km," said Ajit Tyagi, former director general of IMD.
Senior weather officials said the haze was due to a dust plume and was not a dust storm. Tyagi said: "A dust storm is a local phenomenon caused by winds blowing near the ground. What we are witnessing is a haze, which has been carried over miles across countries."
The high pollution levels spelt trouble for those who already suffer from asthma, sinusitis or rhinitis. Anjali Pujari (32) was one of many Mumbaikars who had problems breathing. Pujari, who already suffers from asthma, found her symptoms aggravated by noon. "When I went to the doctor's clinic, it was full of people with chest problems," she said. Doctors reported a sharp rise in the number of patients complaining of respiratory problems. Dr Ashok Mahasur, chest physician at Hinduja Hospital said: "Most were senior citizens who complained of breathlessness. There were also a few students, who were brought in after their exam or had to leave their paper mid-way because of bouts of coughing." A senior KEM doctor said: "It is a temporary problem. Patients need not fear."
Inputs from Chittaranjan Tembhekar COAST UNCLEAR
HEALTH ALERT
People suffering from chronic respiratory ailments like asthma, sinusitis, rhinitis, bronchitis, etc are more susceptible to the sudden rise in suspended particulate matter
SYMPTOMS
Wheezing
Breathlessness
Long bouts of coughing
ADVISORY
Stay indoors early morning when there is more pollen in the air Keep your doors and windows shut if your house is near a construction site Close your window and use air-conditioners to prevent dust from entering your home Travel by train to avoid pollution from vehicles Wear a mask and use gloves while cleaning Consult your doctor if wheezing and breathlessness persist
WHAT'S CAUSING THE DUSTY HAZE IN MUMBAI?
South-westerly air currents, on Tuesday, carried the dust from Saudi Arabia to many parts of northern India
By Wednesday morning, dust/haze was carried to Mumbai by northerly winds
MET department says a sandstorm in Rajasthan is responsible for the haze
SUSPENDED PARTICULATE MATTER RISES
Pollution levels increased six-fold from 200 units of suspended particulate matter to 1,200 units per cubic meter
Visibility was reduced to 1,200 km. Normal visibility is 6,000 km
Visibility was as low 1km in parts of Punjab and Rajasthan
FORECAST
MET officials say the haze will dissipate by today
Posted by Unknown at 9:12 PM 0 comments
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
BMC EXPANDS fight against TB with new schemes
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Posted by Unknown at 11:05 PM 0 comments
Monday, March 19, 2012
Open spaces: BMC likely to double funds
Mumbai: The civic body is likely to almost double the allocation for protection and development of open spaces to Rs 250 crore, said standing committee chairman Rahul Shewale on the eve of the 2012-13 budget's presentation. In the last budget, the BMC had set aside Rs 138 crore for green cover, gardens and playgrounds and beaches.
Apart from this, the municipal corporation is likely to hike water taxes by 20% to 30%. If approved, dwellers of residential complexes will have to pay Rs 4.50 for 1,000 litres of water instead of the current Rs 3.50; residents of chawls will have to shell out Rs 3.50 instead of Rs 2.25; and hotels will to pay Rs 30 instead of Rs 25.Posted by Unknown at 6:40 PM 0 comments
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