India’s disease surveillance system needs a reboot
4 years, 8 months ago

India’s disease surveillance system needs a reboot

The Hindu  

In a recent press briefing, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare reported noticeable trends with respect to COVID-19 cases in India. Interactive map of confirmed coronavirus cases in India | State-wise tracker for coronavirus cases, deaths and testing rates There are many among the poor who are battling various diseases but now have little access to major public hospitals in the wake of the lockdown. Many of the adverse medical conditions prevalent among the vast majority of our country are not even identified due to the lax disease surveillance system. Likewise, Acute Lower Respiratory Tract Infection, which affects mostly children below the age of five years, has been known to infect approximately 3.40 crore people every year worldwide. According to public health experts, one person in every 10 seconds contracts TB, and up to 1,400 people in India die every day of the disease.

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History of this topic

Centre orders screening camps to curb prevalence of TB in Indian prisons
2 days, 3 hours ago

Centre orders screening camps to curb prevalence of TB in Indian prisons

The Hindu  

Amid ongoing efforts by healthcare experts to reassure the public about reports of Human Metapneumovirus and respiratory illnesses, the Union government has directed States to conduct screening camps in prisons to detect and control the prevalence of tuberculosis. In an advisory issued to Home Secretaries and Heads of Prisons, the Ministry of Home Affairs said that the closed and overcrowded …

India poised to be malaria-free by 2030: Health ministry
2 weeks, 2 days ago

India poised to be malaria-free by 2030: Health ministry

Hindustan Times  

The number of malaria cases has seen significant reduction over the past 75 years— from 75 million at the time of independence to 20 lakh in 2023—, highlighting India’s progress towards achieving malaria-free status in next five years, said Union ministry of health and family welfare in a statement on Wednesday. At the time of independence in 1947, malaria was …

Behind India’s success in curbing tuberculosis
3 weeks, 6 days ago

Behind India’s success in curbing tuberculosis

Hindustan Times  

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s clarion call to eliminate tuberculosis from India laid the foundation for a new model of TB care and management. India has a unique universal nutritional support scheme — the Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana for TB patients. The monthly support under Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana was doubled to ₹1,000 per month from November 1, 2024, to reinforce India’s commitment …

Health Minister launches 100-day campaign to reduce TB incidence and mortality
Trending News
1 month ago

Health Minister launches 100-day campaign to reduce TB incidence and mortality

The Hindu  

“The rate of TB decline in India has doubled from 8.3% in 2015 to 17.7% today, much ahead of the global average. Deaths due to TB have also reduced in India by 21.4% in the last 10 years,” Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda said at the launch of the intensified national ‘100 day TB elimination campaign’ on Saturday, in Haryana. …

Health Talk | How eliminating polio has been one of the major successes of India's Universal Immunisation Programme
1 month, 4 weeks ago

Health Talk | How eliminating polio has been one of the major successes of India's Universal Immunisation Programme

Hindustan Times  

The World Immunisation Day is observed every year on November 10th. India is a classic example of what robust immunisation coverage against a disease can achieve in the form of the country's pulse polio programme, of which vaccination was a crucial part. India rolled out the Pulse Polio Immunization Programme on October 2 1994, and according to WHO India statement, …

India to undertake mega study of covid-19 samples to help prepare for future pandemics
2 months, 1 week ago

India to undertake mega study of covid-19 samples to help prepare for future pandemics

Live Mint  

New Delhi: The Department of Biotechnology plans to undertake a study of thousands of samples and clinical material collected during covid-19 to help Indian scientists understand the susceptibility of individuals and changes in metabolic activity that will be useful in fighting future pandemics. The department will give the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium, a consortium of 54 laboratories, the mandate to …

'Kerala has made notable strides in combating tuberculosis', says CM Pinarayi Vijayan
4 months ago

'Kerala has made notable strides in combating tuberculosis', says CM Pinarayi Vijayan

New Indian Express  

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that tuberculosis is seldom discussed in public nowadays, as it’s often thought of as a disease that has been eradicated. However, Kerala has made notable strides in combating tuberculosis, achieving a 40 percent reduction in its prevalence over the past six years, he said. Speaking at the health department’s programme ‘Advancing Kerala’s Fight Against …

Eliminating TB by 2025 looks near impossible
4 months, 2 weeks ago

Eliminating TB by 2025 looks near impossible

Hindustan Times  

Optimism is the madness of insisting that all is well when we are miserable. The latest WHO Global TB Report reveals that India has the world’s largest TB epidemic; at 2.6 million, the country accounts for the highest number of TB cases as well as multi-drug resistant cases. A study from Mumbai highlighted an unacceptably long average delay between a …

Health Talk | Why Hepatitis B elimination in India needs a harder push
5 months ago

Health Talk | Why Hepatitis B elimination in India needs a harder push

Hindustan Times  

On July 28, the world observed Hepatitis B Day, a crucial event dedicated to raising awareness about hepatitis B, an infection of the liver caused by the hepatitis B virus. The country is progressively moving towards the elimination of viral hepatitis B and C, aligning with its global commitment to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 3. India is a signatory to …

India’s hidden COVID deaths: Was the toll in 2020 eight times higher?
5 months, 3 weeks ago

India’s hidden COVID deaths: Was the toll in 2020 eight times higher?

Al Jazeera  

India had nearly 1.2 million excess deaths in 2020, new data shows. New Delhi, India – India’s actual death toll during the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic that ravaged the world’s most populous country could be eight times higher than the government’s official numbers, reveals a new study. The numbers in the research, based on the Indian government’s 2019-21 …

Mumbai has over 27% TB patients of the state
5 months, 4 weeks ago

Mumbai has over 27% TB patients of the state

Hindustan Times  

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government revealed in the state assembly on Thursday that Mumbai has over 27% of the total cases of tuberculosis in the state. HT Image Till June end, the number of patients in the city had reached 30,519, which is 27.52% of the total number of cases in the state, which stands at 110,896. Responding to them, state …

Health Matters newsletter: Hark! Good news on the HIV vaccine front
6 months, 3 weeks ago

Health Matters newsletter: Hark! Good news on the HIV vaccine front

The Hindu  

We could start with the NEET mess again, and there is indeed much to report since our last health newsletter. A collaborative survey 1,482 TB patients across four States conducted by the George Institute for Global Health, New Delhi, along with the Indira Gandhi Government Medical College, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, U.K., highlighted the severe …

India to Screen 100% Population Over 30 For Diabetes, BP by March 2025; New Deadlines Set For Health Projects
6 months, 4 weeks ago

India to Screen 100% Population Over 30 For Diabetes, BP by March 2025; New Deadlines Set For Health Projects

News 18  

India is planning to screen a “100 per cent eligible population” aged over 30 years for diabetes and hypertension by the end of March 2025. He wrote that these “action points” were designed through “collaborative efforts of the Centre and states to ensure ease of living of citizens.” “Now the final action point pertaining to Health and Wellness have been …

Health Ministry reworks protocol as India’s TB elimination drive plateaus
7 months ago

Health Ministry reworks protocol as India’s TB elimination drive plateaus

The Hindu  

India’s goal to achieve rapid decline in the burden of tuberculosis morbidity and mortality, while working towards the elimination of TB in the country by 2025, has plateaued, a senior Health Ministry official said. According to the Health Ministry, India has been engaged in TB control activities for more than 50 years, yet the disease continues to be the country’s …

India highlights commitment to implement proactive actions for women and adolescents’ health at World Health Assembly
7 months, 1 week ago

India highlights commitment to implement proactive actions for women and adolescents’ health at World Health Assembly

The Hindu  

India highlighted its commitment to implement proactive actions for women, children and adolescent health and well-being at the on-going 77th World Health Assembly, at Geneva, while hosting a side event on the topic. Held in collaboration with Norway, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United Nations Population Fund and the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, the event was …

Rise in public health spending due to States, not Centre
7 months, 2 weeks ago

Rise in public health spending due to States, not Centre

The Hindu  

Public spending on health in India has historically remained low. Note: Union government spending includes spending by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Min of AYUSH Furthermore, a significant part of the increase in health investment as a percentage of GDP during the pandemic needs to be attributed to the negative and low growth of GDP, while absolute increase …

Why are cancer cases soaring in India?
8 months ago

Why are cancer cases soaring in India?

Hindustan Times  

The number of people suffering from cancer is expected to rise exponentially over the next two decades, health experts have warned. Experts said low health screening rates in the country pose a significant challenge for the fight against cancer Praful Reddy, 49, an IT professional from the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, has lung cancer and has been undergoing …

In India, all vaccine-related AEFI are routinely monitored and COVID is no exception, says health expert
8 months, 1 week ago

In India, all vaccine-related AEFI are routinely monitored and COVID is no exception, says health expert

The Hindu  

All ‘Adverse Events Following Immunisation’ after COVID-19 vaccinations continue to be monitored, a senior Union Health Ministry official, who did not wish to be named, said on Thursday. According to a study titled ‘Serious adverse event following immunization and thromboembolic events associated with COVID19 vaccination: An analysis of nationwide causality assessment from India’, published in February 2023, the majority of …

COVID-19 in India | What is the current scenario and how are we tackling it?
8 months, 4 weeks ago

COVID-19 in India | What is the current scenario and how are we tackling it?

The Hindu  

Story so far: During this poll season, mentions of the COVID-19 pandemic are still doing the rounds. History of COVID-19 lockdown As COVID-19 cases – which were first reported in China’s Wuhan province – began cropping up across the world, countries employed different approaches to deal with the rise in infections, deaths and threat due to the virus, employing varying …

Gross mismanagement: The Hindu Editorial on TB drug shortages and India’s national TB programme
9 months ago

Gross mismanagement: The Hindu Editorial on TB drug shortages and India’s national TB programme

The Hindu  

April 10, 2024 12:15 am | Updated 01:30 pm IST With less than two years left to achieve the ambitious goal set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018 to “eliminate” TB in India, the pharmacy of the Global South is once again struggling to treat patients with drug-sensitive TB. Just seven months ago, there was an acute shortage of …

Eradication of TB remains a distant goal as systemic challenges persist
9 months, 1 week ago

Eradication of TB remains a distant goal as systemic challenges persist

The Hindu  

March 28, 2024 10:35 pm | Updated March 29, 2024 12:40 pm IST Ahead of World TB Day on March 24, Survivors Against TB, a community advocacy group of TB survivors, wrote a letter to the Prime Minister “on the urgent and pressing need to expand efforts to address India’s Tuberculosis crisis.” The letter mentions that despite the government’s commitment …

TB challenge needs a multi-focal approach
9 months, 2 weeks ago

TB challenge needs a multi-focal approach

Hindustan Times  

An increase in the number of tuberculosis cases notified in India in 2023 over 2022 underscores the rigour of the efforts to shrink the pool escaping the TB control programme’s radar. The better capture of cases can be credited to the private sector’s impressive jump in performance, as well as states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar bettering their record. India’s …

2.55 million cases of TB notified in India last year, most in decades
9 months, 2 weeks ago

2.55 million cases of TB notified in India last year, most in decades

Hindustan Times  

India notified nearly 2.55 million cases of tuberculosis last year according to government data, the highest achieved since the start of the TB control programme in the 60s, indicating the efficacy of a drive to identify individuals afflicted with the disease, and ensure they get treated. Of all the TB cases notified in 2023, nearly 32% of notifications came from …

2.55 million cases of TB notified in India last year, most in decades
9 months, 2 weeks ago

2.55 million cases of TB notified in India last year, most in decades

Hindustan Times  

India notified nearly 2.55 million cases of tuberculosis last year according to government data, the highest achieved since the start of the TB control programme in the 60s, indicating the efficacy of a drive to identify individuals afflicted with the disease, and ensure they get treated. {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} Last year, 2.42 million cases were notified from across the …

India’s fight against TB must focus on women
9 months, 2 weeks ago

India’s fight against TB must focus on women

Hindustan Times  

India has the highest burden of tuberculosis in the world – over 28 lakh people in the country are affected by it every year. In India, just by numbers, more men contract TB of the lung, but women experience the disease differently, and are often affected by extra-pulmonary TB and, therefore, may not even show the typical symptoms of TB …

India's triumphs in the battle against TB
9 months, 2 weeks ago

India's triumphs in the battle against TB

Hindustan Times  

Tuberculosis, one of the oldest and deadliest infectious diseases, has relentlessly challenged humanity throughout history. Every day, TB claims over 3,500 lives and nearly 30,000 people contract this preventable and curable disease, hitting countries like India particularly hard. Before 1997, the battle against TB in India faced significant challenges, with high costs making diagnosis and treatment inaccessible to many, especially …

Making TB among women visible
9 months, 2 weeks ago

Making TB among women visible

Hindustan Times  

Did you know that India has the highest burden of tuberculosis, or TB in the world? As a result, finding and treating extra-pulmonary TB remains a challenge in India and I’m sure this is compounded with the challenges that women generally face in accessing healthcare2. It is the need of the hour to raise awareness about TB in women –symptoms …

India’s fight against rare diseases
10 months, 1 week ago

India’s fight against rare diseases

The Hindu  

The tragic death of 19-year-old child actress Suhani Bhatnagar from dermatomyositis, a rare disorder that causes inflammation in muscles, came in the same month as Rare Disease Day, which is marked today. Rare diseases in India India accounts for one-third of the global rare disease incidence, with over 450 identified diseases. Though our country lacks a standard definition for rare …

Missing TB Cases In India Reduced From 1 Million In 2015 To 0.26 Million In 2023: Mandaviya
11 months ago

Missing TB Cases In India Reduced From 1 Million In 2015 To 0.26 Million In 2023: Mandaviya

News 18  

After two challenging years of the pandemic, India has seen a reduction in tuberculosis incidence by 16 per cent, almost double the pace witnessed globally, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Tuesday. Virtually addressing the 37th Board Meeting of the Stop TB Partnership, he also said the number of missing TB cases in India has reduced from 1 million …

India records 159 new COVID-19 infections, active case tally 1,623
11 months, 2 weeks ago

India records 159 new COVID-19 infections, active case tally 1,623

Deccan Chronicle  

New Delhi: India has registered a single-day rise of 159 new COVID-19 infections and the count of active cases of the disease stands at 1,623 in the country, the Union health ministry said on Saturday. The number of daily cases of COVID-19 in the country had dropped to double-digits by December 5, but it began to climb after the emergence …

Let’s just talk health, shall we?
11 months, 3 weeks ago

Let’s just talk health, shall we?

The Hindu  

Often times, in the post-COVID world, with science/health reporting picking up since the pandemic, health writing becomes all about telling a story in detail, it’s about laying it all bare, explaining the nuances, capturing the latest research and interpreting it for a burgeoning group of readers of science and health articles. “A crippling cost-of-living crisis, burnout and well below inflation …

Chandigarh to start active TB case-finding activity by January end
11 months, 3 weeks ago

Chandigarh to start active TB case-finding activity by January end

Hindustan Times  

To rid the city of tuberculosis by the end of this year, a well-planned and targeted active case finding activity will be started in the last week of January to reach the unreached population so that all symptomatic presumptive TB cases get tested and if diagnosed, they are managed appropriately. Even though there are multiple challenges in achieving this target, …

Covid-19: India reports 441 fresh JN.1 cases; active caseload declines to 3,238
11 months, 4 weeks ago

Covid-19: India reports 441 fresh JN.1 cases; active caseload declines to 3,238

Firstpost  

India has recorded 441 fresh COVID-19 infections while the number of active cases has come down to 3,238, the Union health ministry said on Saturday. The number of daily cases was in double digits till December 5 but it began to rise again amid cold weather conditions and after the emergence of a new COVID-19 variant, JN.1.After December 5, the …

India achieved record TB notification in 2023
11 months, 4 weeks ago

India achieved record TB notification in 2023

The Hindu  

January 12, 2024 08:55 pm | Updated 09:50 pm IST - CHENNAI With 25,37,235 TB cases notified in 2023, India has bettered the TB notification number achieved in 2022. Besides marking a record total TB notification, 2022 also recorded the highest ever TB case notification from the private sector — 7,33,694, which was 77.1% of the target notification. Despite the …

India Records 514 New COVID-19 Cases, Active Cases Drop
1 year ago

India Records 514 New COVID-19 Cases, Active Cases Drop

Deccan Chronicle  

Hyderabad: India reported 514 new cases of COVID-19, with the number of active cases decreasing to 3,422, as per the health ministry's update on Thursday. The decline in daily cases persisted until December 5, 2023, when a new sub-variant, JN.1, and cold weather conditions contributed to a resurgence in cases. Following December 5, the maximum single-day rise was 841 new …

Covid-19: India Logs 760 Fresh Cases, Active Caseload Stands At 4,423
1 year ago

Covid-19: India Logs 760 Fresh Cases, Active Caseload Stands At 4,423

ABP News  

Covid 19 India: India saw a single-day rise of 760 fresh cases of Covid while two more people succumbed to the viral disease, news agency PTI reported, citing health ministry data on Thursday. On Wednesday, the country had reported 602 new Covid cases and five deaths were reported. Meanwhile, a 63-year-old woman, who had tested positive for Covid, succumbed to …

Missing TB cases in the private sector
1 year ago

Missing TB cases in the private sector

The Hindu  

India made notification of TB patients mandatory in 2012 to address the problem of delayed diagnosis, suboptimal quality of care, incorrect diagnostic and treatment protocols being used, and a high drop-out rate in the private sector. Despite the significant increase in the private sector TB notifications over the years, they fall far short of the targets set by the National …

India sees single-day rise of 529 COVID-19 cases
1 year ago

India sees single-day rise of 529 COVID-19 cases

The Hindu  

India recorded 529 fresh COVID-19 cases in a single day, while the country's active infection count stood at 4,093, the health ministry said on December 27. The number of daily cases had dropped to double-digits till December 5, but infections have again gone up after emergence of a new variant and cold weather conditions. The daily numbers were in lakhs …

Amid JN.1 scare, India logs 656 new Covid-19 cases, active caseload at 3,742
1 year ago

Amid JN.1 scare, India logs 656 new Covid-19 cases, active caseload at 3,742

India Today  

India recorded a single-day rise of 656 fresh Covid-19 infections while the active caseload further increased to 3,742 from 3,420 the previous day, the Union Health Ministry said on Sunday. Kerala, where the Covid sub-variant JN.1 was first detected, recorded the most number of active cases in a single day, the ministry stated. India on Saturday recorded 752 Covid-19 infections, …

COVID-19 Update: India records 260 new cases, total active at 1,828
1 year ago

COVID-19 Update: India records 260 new cases, total active at 1,828

Live Mint  

India reported 260 new cases of COVID-19, with active cases rising to 1,828, as per the latest data from the Union Health Ministry on December 18. Centre Urges States to Heighten Vigilance The central government has written to states and union territories, urging them to maintain "continuous vigilance" in light of the recent surge in COVID-19 cases and the identification …

Should India be worried by the new spike in respiratory illnesses in China? | In Focus podcast
1 year, 1 month ago

Should India be worried by the new spike in respiratory illnesses in China? | In Focus podcast

The Hindu  

Reports of a spike in respiratory illnesses in China have recently caused some amount of panic. On November 26, the Indian government asked State Governments to ensure that the influenza-like illnesses and severe acute respiratory illnesses be closely monitored, particularly in children and adolescents. Several State governments have since then, stepped up their surveillance measures, especially as winter sets in, …

'Not Like Covid But Cocktail of Viruses': India 'Closely Monitoring' China's Pneumonia Outbreak
1 year, 1 month ago

'Not Like Covid But Cocktail of Viruses': India 'Closely Monitoring' China's Pneumonia Outbreak

News 18  

Amid the increase in the incidence of respiratory diseases in China, the Union Health Ministry on Friday said it is closely monitoring the outbreak of H9N2 and clusters of respiratory illness in children in the neighbouring country. “There is a low risk to India from both the avian influenza cases reported from China as well as the clusters of respiratory …

Mysterious pneumonia outbreak: India prepared for any kind of exigency, says govt | Key points
1 year, 1 month ago

Mysterious pneumonia outbreak: India prepared for any kind of exigency, says govt | Key points

India TV News  

In the wake mysterious pneumonia outbreak in China, the Union Health Ministry on Friday said that it is actively monitoring the outbreak of H9N2 and the emergence of respiratory illness clusters in children in the neighboring country. “There is a low risk to India from both the avian influenza cases reported from China as well as the clusters of respiratory …

COVID-19 vaccination did not increase the risk of unexplained sudden death among young adults in India: ICMR study
1 year, 1 month ago

COVID-19 vaccination did not increase the risk of unexplained sudden death among young adults in India: ICMR study

Live Mint  

COVID-19 vaccination did not increase the risk of unexplained sudden death among young adults in India, says ICMR study. COVID-19 vaccination did not increase the risk of sudden deaths among young adults in India, according to a study conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research. {{^adFree}} {{/adFree}} "COVID-19 vaccination did not increase the risk of sudden deaths among young …

Accelerating Routine Immunization in India: Insights from Covid-19 Drive
1 year, 1 month ago

Accelerating Routine Immunization in India: Insights from Covid-19 Drive

The Quint  

In the aftermath of Covid-19 pandemic and ensuing vaccination drive in India, the country's healthcare system gained invaluable insights into strengthening routine immunization programs. Learnings for Health Sector: The drive provided crucial insights into routine immunization systems, leveraging existing infrastructure and expertise effectively. Role of MOMENTUM Routine Immunization Transformation & Equity Project: National Roll-Out Support: Initiated in August 2021, the …

Tuberculosis: First time infections rise to 30-year high
1 year, 2 months ago

Tuberculosis: First time infections rise to 30-year high

Hindustan Times  

An estimated 10.6 million people developed tuberculosis in 2022. The World Health Organization said this was the highest annual record of new cases of TB since it started monitoring the disease in 1995. Due to isolation and quarantine measures during the pandemic, many people failed to get tested for TB, said Ananthakrishnan: "A large number of people who had extra …

WHO hailed India’s success in managing TB: Union Health Ministry
1 year, 2 months ago

WHO hailed India’s success in managing TB: Union Health Ministry

The Hindu  

India has made tremendous progress in improving case detection and reversed the impact of COVID-19 on the tuberculosis programme, noted the World Health Organization’s ‘Global TB Report 2023’ released earlier this week, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday. “The WHO has made a downward revision of TB mortality rates from 4.94 lakh in 2021 to 3.31 lakh in 2022, …

Quality of active TB case finding suboptimal nationally: study
1 year, 3 months ago

Quality of active TB case finding suboptimal nationally: study

The Hindu  

Since 2017, India’s Tuberculosis programme has been undertaking active case finding outside the healthcare settings among high-risk populations. Of the three ACF cycles recommended among the high-risk populations each year, 642 districts undertook just one cycle. Based on the available data, the quality of ACF was measured using three indicators — screening at least 10% of the district population for …

Is India ready for Controlled Human Infection Studies? | In Focus podcast
1 year, 4 months ago

Is India ready for Controlled Human Infection Studies? | In Focus podcast

The Hindu  

How do we understand how an infection affects the human body? One way scientists do this is through Controlled Human Infection Studies or CHIS, also known as human challenge studies. India has so far stayed away from such studies, because of the many ethical issues involved: the deliberate harm caused and the potential risk of exploitation since volunteers are paid …

Data | India’s health research is not aligned with its disease burden
1 year, 4 months ago

Data | India’s health research is not aligned with its disease burden

The Hindu  

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the significance of tailoring health research to the specific needs of individual countries. Chart 2A | The chart plots the relative disease burden against research efforts for neonatal conditions for the world, high-income countries, upper-middle income countries, India and lower income countries. Chart 2B | The chart plots the relative disease burden against research efforts …

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