Category: Healthcare

Hepatitis A outbreak in Kerala: 12 deaths confirmed, multiple districts on alert

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Kerala is witnessing its worst Hepatitis A outbreak in recent years. The state has reported 1,977 confirmed cases and 12 deaths since January this year, according to government data.

Apart from the confirmed cases, authorities said that another 5,536 suspected Hepatitis cases have been reported in the state this year. Besides the confirmed deaths, 15 others are suspected to have died due to the virus, The Indian Express reported.

A viral infection, the Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is an inflammation of the liver that can cause mild to severe illness. It is transmitted through contaminated food and water, or when an individual comes in direct contact with an infectious person.

Kerala Health Minister Veena George has put four districts — Kozhikode, Malappuram, Thrissur and Ernakulam — on alert as a maximum number of cases have been reported from here.

She said that directions have been issued to strengthen grassroots-level action plans in these four districts in the state.

Water sources in all the affected areas will be chlorinated, she said and added that restaurants have been ordered to supply only boiled water.

“Eateries will be inspected to ascertain whether all employees have mandatory health cards,” George said.

As per the data shared by the state health department, the total number of cases reported till May 13 this year is way higher than the cases reported in the whole year of 2023 (1,073 cases). In 2022, the state reported 231 cases, while in 2021, just 114 confirmed cases were there in Kerala.

Before that, 2020 saw 464 cases, while there was a spike in 2019 with 1,620 cases and 1,369 cases in 2018.

Meanwhile, health experts believe that one of the reasons behind the recent spike in cases is due to the quality of water in Kerala has deteriorated in recent years.

One of the worst-affected areas in the state is Vengoor panchayat in Ernakulam, where close to 200 cases have been reported since April 17.

Moreover, the region has seen one death, while 41 people are currently in hospital and the condition of four of them is said to be serious.

The health department found that the outbreak in this panchayat was due to the contaminated water supplied by the state water authority, Panchayat president Shilpa Sudheesh said.

Sudheesh noted that there was no proper chlorination of the water in this area.

Among the common symptoms of Hepatitis A include fatigue, fever, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, itching, and jaundice.

Some of the preventive measures include drinking boiled water, washing hands before eating and avoiding open defecation.

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CDSCO forms sub-committee to revise guidelines for over-the-counter drugs

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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In what could be a game changer in terms of medicines and drugs available without prescriptions at retail outlets and chemists, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has constituted a sub-committee to revisit guidelines and include relevant amendments in the provisions for drugs to be declared as over-the-counter (OTC), sources told CNBC-TV18.

The move comes on the back of the recommendation of the Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) meeting, held earlier in January this year. OTC drugs and medicines are those which can be sold at retail outlets, chemists etc without any prescription from a registered medical practitioner.

The proposed sub-committee will also examine the matter concerning various conditions based on which the status of a drug as an OTC is decided, along with coming up with a new and detailed mechanism for the drugs to be considered as OTC, including taking reference from international guidelines, sources added.

Also Read: ‘Blood not for sale’ says DCGI; blood centers cannot charge premium

The Department of Health and Family Welfare earlier in May 2022 had issued amendments for Schedule K drugs under the Drugs Rules, 1945, to give exemption to certain drugs from the mandatory requirement of being sold only on prescription of a registered medical practitioner.

Eight members in the proposed sub-committee include — Dr Anupam Prakash, Director and Professor of Medicine, Lady Hardinge Medical College, Delhi, with Dr Umesh D Suranagi, Associate Professor of Medicine, Director General of Health Services (DGHS); Dr Ratan Kumar Gupta, Department of Paediatrics, Vardhman Mahavir Medical College & Safdarjung Hospital, Delhi, Dr Bikash Medhi, Professor, Department of Pharmacology, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh; Dr Abhishek Agarwal, Professor, Department of Medicine, SMS Medical College, Jaipur; one representative from Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), and Drugs Controllers of Jharkhand and Karnataka, as members.

The sub-committee has a time of 3 months to submit its report, sources said. The sub-committee will also incorporate suggestions from different panels and committees of clinicians that have been constituted by the DGHS on a similar matter, sources added.

Also Read: Cough syrups raw material makers under the scanner of India’s drugs regulatory body

Many representations are pending with the CDSCO to include drugs such as — diclofenac diethylamine transdermal patch 200 mg, acetylsalicylic acid effervescent 500 tablets, dextromethorphan HBr lozenges 50 mg and mometasone furoate nasal spray 50 mcg, among others, under the OTC category, which will be examined closely by the proposed sub-committee, said sources.

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Amul set to launch high-protein ‘super milk’ and organic spices next week

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Indian cooperative giant Amul is all set to launch a “super milk” — which promises 35 grams of protein in a glass of milk — within a week, Managing Director Jayen Mehta revealed in a conversation with CNBC Awaaz.

Typically, there’s about 3 grams of protein in 200 millilitres (ml) of Amul toned milk, according to the nutritional information on the pack. The full cream milk has about 7 grams.

“This is the highest level of protein in any of our products. We are calling it super milk,” Mehta added.

Amul has already launched high-protein variants —  15-20 grams per unit —  of lassi, milkshakes and buttermilk as well as whey protein, sold via its e-commerce platform.

Not just the high-protein milk, the company, with an annual turnover of over ₹55,000 crore ($7.2 billion) in 2023, is set to unveil a range of organic products next week.

“Organic masalas will hit the market this week itself. There will be 20 more products, gur (jaggery) and sugar, from our organic division soon,” Mehta said.

Amul has also set its eyes on the US market. “We have been exporting butter, cheese, ghee, shrikhand, ice cream, and paneer to the US. Our customers in the US have been wanting more of our products, which have a more Indian taste, including the high-fat milk like Amul Gold,” the company’s chief said.

Will Amul increase milk prices?

“We have not increased the price of milk for 15 months… if the monsoon remains normal, and if the summer remains predictable, we don’t have any plan to increase prices as of now,” he added.

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An emergency ambulance startup raises $20 million to add more cities and services

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Hyderabad-based RED.Health, a medical emergency response platform that dispatches ambulances within eight minutes, has raised $20 million in its Series B funding led by Jungle Ventures.

The round also saw participation from existing and new investors including HealthQuad, HealthX, and Alteria Capital.

Founded by Prabhdeep Singh in 2016, RED.Health (formerly known as StanPlus) is currently operating a multi-city fleet of over 6,000 ambulances in partnership with more than 100 hospitals and 70 enterprises across 20 cities in India.

A portion of freshly raised capital has been set aside for expansion to over 40 cities and more than 500 hospitals.

Currently, the startup is offering services in the top 20 cities in the country including all six metros: Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Pune.

RED.Health’s ambulance fleet comprises 450 managed ambulances, 6,000 Saathi road ambulances and 10 aircraft dedicated to emergency air services.

“Since our last fundraise, we’ve made substantial strides in technology development, particularly in refining our dispatch system to ensure seamless operations without delays or errors. With this round, we’re set to scale operations in becoming the only integrated medical emergency response platform in India,” said Prabhdeep Singh, Founder and CEO, RED.Health.

The company is also set to introduce a subscription-based model that promises quick and accessible medical assistance, eliminating complexities of pricing variations that exist in the market.

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Benefits of Semaglutide as per study published in Nature Medicine

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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A recent study featured in the medical journal Nature Medicine has indicated that semaglutide, a medication used for treating diabetes and aiding weight loss, can reduce the likelihood of major heart issues by 20%.

Semaglutide, administered weekly via injection, belongs to the GLP-1 group of drugs, primarily prescribed for adults with Type 2 diabetes but also approved for weight management. Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide drugs, Wegovy and Ozempic, hold a significant market share globally, contributing $8.7 billion in sales for the company in the previous quarter.

The study, which focused on over 17,000 adults with heart conditions, overweight, or obesity but without diabetes, demonstrated promising results. Over a span of 65 weeks, patients experienced consistent weight loss with semaglutide, a trend that persisted for up to 4 years.

By the 208th week, individuals on semaglutide had shed approximately 10% of their body weight and 7.7 cm from their waistlines, in contrast to a mere 1.5% reduction in body weight and 1.3 cm decrease in waistlines among those not using the medication. This weight loss trend was observed across various demographics, including genders, races, body types, and geographical regions.

Furthermore, the data indicated that semaglutide exhibited fewer adverse effects and helped in preventing health complications, particularly in individuals with higher Body Mass Index (BMI).

Besides Novo Nordisk, Eli Lily too has introduced its weight loss drug Zepbound and diabetes drug Mounjaro, both GLP 1 class of drugs with molecules different from Semaglutide.

This research though focused on semaglutide is is deemed crucial by experts as it provides statistics of the importance of weight loss across various demographic groups helping then in personalised care strategies for maintaining health.

For example, experts underscore the escalating health risks associated with weight gain and obesity, noting that the prevalence of individuals with a BMI of 30 or higher has tripled since 1975. Excessive body fat, particularly around vital organs, heightens the risks of developing heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic ailments.

Conversely, even modest weight loss, around 5%, can enhance heart and blood sugar health, with greater weight loss, ideally exceeding 10%, yielding even more significant benefits.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Maharashtra new COVID-19 scare: 91 cases of new subvariant found

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Maharashtra authorities have reportedly identified 91 cases of the new COVID-19 Omicron subvariant KP.2. This variant, surpassing the previously circulating JN.1 variant, has emerged as a primary driver of cases in various nations worldwide.

According to the Times of India, Pune has reported 51 cases of the KP.2 variant, followed by Thane with 20 reported cases. The emergence of KP.2, globally detected in January, has significantly altered the landscape of COVID-19 transmission. Alarmingly, it is now confirmed to be the predominant variant in the United States.

Maharashtra also first identified cases of this subvariant as early as January. By March and April, it had become the dominant strain in the region.

The lineage of KP.2 can be traced back to its predecessor, JN.1, which held prominence as the predominant COVID strain by the end of 2023. The surge in cases witnessed in March, averaging around 250 detections, is attributed to the rapid spread of the KP.2 variant across the state.

Apart from Pune and Thane, additional cases of the KP.2 variant have been identified in various districts. Seven cases each were reported in Amravati and Aurangabad, while Solapur recorded two cases.

Furthermore, isolated instances of the KP.2 variant were reported in Ahmednagar, Nashik, Latur, and Sangli. Notably, no cases have been reported from Mumbai, underscoring the uneven distribution of this emergent strain across Maharashtra.

Also Read: Nearly 12% of India’s eligible children received no dose of measles vaccine, study finds

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Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10,000 Zantac cancer suits

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Pfizer Inc. has agreed to settle more than 10,000 cases accusing it of hiding the cancer risks of its Zantac heartburn drug, according to people familiar with the deal, the biggest of the litigation.

The agreements cover cases in state courts across the US but don’t completely resolve the company’s exposure to Zantac claims, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the settlement publicly. Financial details of the accords weren’t immediately available.

The deal is likely to reassure investors, who have seen other Zantac makers, including GSK Plc and Sanofi, sign settlements. Concerns about the drugmakers’ exposure to Zantac suits helped wipe out about $45 billion in combined market value in the summer of 2022. The shares have since recovered and have risen on news of the earlier deals.

Pfizer shares gained 1.2% in trading on Thursday. They’ve lost 26% in the past 12 months through Thursday’s close.

“Pfizer has explored and will continue to explore opportunistic settlements of certain cases if appropriate, and has settled certain cases,” the New York-based company said in an emailed statement. “The company has not sold a Zantac product in more than 15 years and did so only for a limited period of time.”

Bloomberg News reported last month that Sanofi agreed to pay more than $100 million to resolve about 4,000 Zantac cases. Zantac has been owned by different drugmakers in its more than 30-year run as one of the most popular antacids in the US.

The settlements come as GSK defends itself in its first US jury trial over claims it knew Zantac posed a serious risk. In opening statements May 2 in Chicago, a lawyer for the plaintiff blamed corporate greed for his client’s colorectal cancer, while an attorney for GSK told the jurors no scientific studies have linked Zantac to the disease, which affects millions of Americans every year.

GSK has also settled some Zantac cases before they could go to trial.

News of the Pfizer settlement surfaced in a filing in state court in Delaware tied to the Chicago trial. More than 70,000 Zantac suits have been filed in Delaware, where a judge is mulling whether scientific evidence underlying those cases is sufficiently robust to allow them to go to trial.

Zantac plaintiffs’ lawyers filed an April 29 notice that the Chicago judge had reviewed the underlying science and cleared the case for trial. They noted that the order applied only to GSK and Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, which also made Zantac at one point, because “Pfizer had already settled.”

Zantac, developed by GSK and Warner-Lambert, hit the US market as a prescription drug in 1983 before becoming an over-the-counter heartburn treatment in 1996. Sanofi, which acquired it in 2017, recalled it in 2019, about a month after an independent lab released tests showing the likely carcinogen NDMA in the drug and its generics. The lab’s research indicated the drug’s active ingredient, ranitidine, formed NDMA over time or at higher temperatures.

The US Food and Drug Administration confirmed the findings in 2020 and ordered drugmakers to take all versions of the medicine off the market. Sanofi has since returned Zantac to store shelves but without ranitidine. It is now made with famotidine, the active ingredient in competitor Pepcid.

The companies got a big win in 2022 when a federal judge threw out more than 5,000 suits in Florida, saying the science behind the cancer claims was flawed. That decision also applied to about 50,000 unfiled cases covered by a multi-district litigation, according to court filings. Many of those cases later were filed in Delaware.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Nearly 12% of India’s eligible children received no dose of measles vaccine, study finds

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Nearly 12% of children in India who are eligible for measles vaccination have received none of the recommended double-dose, signalling a “concerning gap” in immunisation coverage, a new study has found.

The findings showed that zero-dose cases were high in the northeastern states, with Nagaland reporting the greatest share at 26%. Tamil Nadu was found to report the lowest at 4.6%.

Researchers from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi investigated previously overlooked critical aspects of measles vaccination, focusing on zero-doses, partially vaccinated, and those fully immunised. They analysed data of over 43,000 children aged 2-3 years, collected through the National Family Health Survey 2019-21 (NFHS-5).

The team found that close to 30% of the eligible children have received only one measles-containing vaccine (MCV1), while about 60%t have been fully immunised (MCV2). The findings are published in the journal Vaccine.

In 2017, India adopted the National Strategic Plan for Achieving and Sustaining Measles and Rubella Elimination. The researchers acknowledged that disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic heightened the risk of measles in vulnerable populations.

While immunisation programmes were eventually resumed in a phased manner, measles zero-dose children pose a significant obstacle to achieving goals of eliminating the acute and highly contagious viral disease, the researchers said. Occurring primarily in children, symptoms can include high fever, cough, runny nose and a rash all over the body.

Being vaccinated is the best way to avoid getting sick and spreading the disease, according to the World Health Organisation.

The analysis also revealed huge inter-district variations, according to the researchers. They found that in Uttar Pradesh, while Prayagraj and Banda districts were found to have about 34% and 32% of these cases, respectively, Hapur and Etawah have 2.6% and 2.1% of zero-dose cases.

The researchers said Arunachal Pradesh was another such example, where the West Siang district had the greatest share with almost 50% of eligible children receiving no dose of the vaccination, while the Lower Dibang Valley district had only 2.8% of such cases.

Socio-demographic factors were analysed to influence the measles vaccination status of children, with those born later in the family being less likely to have received no dose.

Low levels of wealth and mother’s education too were found to increase the odds of children not receiving any dose of the vaccination.

Vaccine hesitancy, possibly influenced by culture and misinformation, can also lead to lower inoculation rates, the researchers said.

“Socioeconomic factors play a significant role in measles transmission, with individuals from lower socioeconomic classes experiencing higher attack rates resulting in outbreaks,” the authors wrote.

The findings underscored the need for tailored strategies, especially within districts displaying close to 10% variability in zero-dose cases, the researchers said.

“The identification of a notable percentage (11.5%) of children receiving zero-doses signals a concerning gap in immunisation coverage,” the authors wrote.

“This highlights the importance of last mile effort and application of big push theory in terms of more frequent rounds of campaigns mode vaccine delivery for the target of 95% vaccine coverage for population-level immunity,” they wrote.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Elon Musk-backed Neuralink’s implanted brain chip completes 100 days; details here

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Neuralink has completed a ‘successful 100 days’ with the first human implanted with a brain chip, its co-founder Elon Musk has said.

The company has come up with a brain-computer interface (BCI), which can eventually help patients with paralysis control external technology using only their minds. Called the ‘Link’, this system records neural signals using 1,024 electrodes across 64 ‘threads’ which are thinner than a human hair, as per the company’s website.

Noland Arbaugh, the first participant of the ‘PRIME’ study, received his Neuralink implant over 100 days ago at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix Arizona.

According to the company, the surgery went ‘extremely well’ and Arbaugh was able to go home the following day.

“Successful 100 days with the first human implant of @Neuralink,” Musk wrote on social media site X while sharing a link progress update.

In a blog post, Neuralink said that the aim of its PRIME study was to demonstrate that the ‘Link’ is safe and useful in daily life.

“We will monitor its technical performance remotely and quantify any benefit it provides by timing the duration of independent use and assessing how it affects study participants’ quality of life,” the company said.

Before having the chip, the company said that Arbaugh’s primary digital interface was a mouth-held tablet stylus (mouth stick) that had to be put in place by a caregiver.

It can only be used in an upright position to operate a tablet. However, its prolonged usage may lead to discomfort, muscle fatigue, and pressure sores, the company said.

Weeks after his surgery, Arbaugh is said to have used the ‘Link’ to control his laptop from different positions, including while lying down in bed.

Further, Neuralink said that he plays online computer games like Chess and Civilization VI with friends, besides browsing the internet, live streams, and using other applications on his MacBook — all by controlling a cursor with his mind.

‘Malfunction’

Earlier on Wednesday, the company said that part of its brain implant malfunctioned after it put the system in a human patient.

Neuralink said that in the weeks after the surgery, some threads had retracted from Arbaugh’s brain. What this means is that there were fewer effective electrodes, which inhibited its ability to measure the device’s speed and accuracy.

However, the company did not disclose how many threads retracted from the tissue.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

US presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr says he had a brain parasite; know how it happens

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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US presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr has said that the health scare he faced back in 2010 “was caused by a worm”, which got into his brain and “ate a portion of it and then died”.

His statements were mentioned in a divorce case deposition in 2012 and have been reviewed by The New York Times.

Two years before the deposition, Kennedy experienced “memory loss and mental fogginess” so severe that one of his friends grew concerned he might have a ‘brain tumour,’ the report said.

Back then, neurologists, who earlier treated his uncle — Massachusetts senator Ted Kennedy, before his death from brain cancer in 2009 — told him that he had a dark spot on his brain scans, concluding that he, too, had a tumour.

However, Kennedy later got to know from a doctor at New York-Presbyterian Hospital that the scans had picked up abnormalities which later turned out to be “caused by a worm”.

Further, he stated that the cognitive issues were later resolved. Around the same time, he was also diagnosed with mercury poisoning.

While it sounds strange to many, parasites can affect the human brain.

How parasites enter the brain

As per The New York Times report, Kennedy said he was unaware of the type of parasite that affected him. Experts told the publication that it might have come from the larvae of a tapeworm, which is sometimes found in pork.

Humans can ingest a tapeworm’s eggs by eating contaminated food or water, which later results in the parasitic infection cysticercosis. It is called neurocysticercosis when it affects the brain, TIME reported.

Scott Gardner, curator of the Manter Laboratory of Parasitology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said people usually contract neurocysticercosis through exposure to faecal contamination and not directly from eating pork.

If a person eats undercooked pork carrying a tapeworm, then it may later pass the worm’s eggs through faeces.

Moreover, when an affected person fails to wash his hands properly while using the washroom, then may spread the worm’s tiny eggs onto household surfaces or even to food and water which may potentially lead people to ingest them and get sick, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.

Once the eggs hatch and larvae get into tissues like the brain, they start forming cysts there, it added.

Another common parasite that can affect the human brain is Toxoplasma gondii, which results in the infection toxoplasmosis. This spreads through exposure to feline faeces, besides eating undercooked meat or shellfish or drinking contaminated water, according to CDC.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow