Bihar sounds Zika virus alert after a student from Siwan, studying in Jaipur, tests positive for Zika

Zika virus alert for Bihar after Siwan youth in Jaipur tests positive: The Centre on Sunday sounded an alert for Bihar after a man from Siwan, studying in Jaipur, tested positive for the extremely rare Zika virus. Pankaj Chourasia, 22, a student of computer science, tested positive for the Zika virus in Jaipur recently. He was in Siwan between August 28 and September 12 to appear for an exam.

“The central surveillance unit of the ministry of health and family welfare notified us today about the Zika-positive patient who had visited Bihar,” said state epidemiologist Dr Ragini Mishra of the State Health Society, Bihar. Based on the Centre’s alert, the Bihar health department immediately dispatched a team to Siwan on Sunday to take all eight family members of Chourasia under surveillance, she added.

“None of Chourasia’s family members showed symptoms of the Zika virus. However, we are careful as one of the family members is pregnant. Zika can be passed from a pregnant woman to her foetus… They will be kept under surveillance for the next 26 days…,” added Dr Mishra. She said it was unlikely that Chourasia would have contacted the virus in Bihar. Not taking any chances, Bihar has sounded an alert and issued advisory to all its 38 districts, said Dr Mishra. (HT, Oct. 7, 2018).

Aadhaar mandatory for 2nd time treatment under PMJAY: The Government has made Aadhaar number mandatory for the patients in case they seek benefits second time under the recently-launched Ayushman Bharat — Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY). In case the Aadhaar number is not available, beneficiaries have to at least provide documents to prove that they have enrolled for the 12-digit unique identity number, according to a senior official in the Union Health Ministry. The move follows Supreme Court order declaring the Aadhaar scheme as constitutionally valid… (The Pioneer, Oct. 8, 2018).

Delhi’s air quality has slipped back to poor category due to change in direction of wind, which is now flowing from stubble burning areas in Punjab and Haryana, authorities said Monday. The air quality Sunday had improved to moderate level with an index of 181 but Monday the air quality slipped to poor category with the Air Quality Index (AQI) at 235, according to data at the Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR). The PM10 level (presence of particles with diameter less than 10mm) was at 230 in Delhi and the PM2.5 level (presence of particles with diameter less than 2.5 mm) in the city was 101, according to a data by SAFAR. An AQI between 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 satisfactory, 101-200 moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor, and 401-500 severe (PTI, Oct. 8 2018)

Australia is set to be the first country to eliminate cervical cancer by 2028. The country is on track to meet the threshold of four or less new cases per 100,000 women each year, effectively eliminating the cancer by 2028. The cancer could be classified as “rare” as early as 2022, meeting a threshold of six new cases per 100,000 and deaths due to the diseases are expected to decline to one new case per 100,000 women by 2034. Australia was one of the first countries to introduce a national HPV vaccination program for girls in 2007 (The Lancet Public Health, Oct. 2, 2018).

Renal resistive index (RRI) is significantly increased in hypertensive children compared to healthy controls, says a study published Oct. 4, 2018 in Clinical and Experimental Hypertension. Increased RRI was detected in 52% of hypertensive patients. Systolic and diastolic BP, pulse pressure, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglyceride levels, RRI, renal pulsatility indexes (RPI), kidney length, septum and posterior wall thickness (IVSd and PWd) and left ventricular mass index (LVMI) were significantly higher in children who had HT. SBP and pulse pressure, PWd, LV ejection fraction, LV fractional shortening, and LVMI were positively correlated with the RRI, while HDL- cholesterol was negatively correlated with the RRI. Of these measurements, RRI values were found to be independently associated with pulse pressure and LVMI.

Diabetes UK said more than 260,000 people with the condition had encountered errors during a hospital stay in 2017, 9,600 of whom suffered a serious and potentially life-threatening episode of hypoglycaemia because of poor insulin management.

An Intermediate student from Nirmal died at Srikara Hospitals in Kompally, Hyderabad, following a hydrocele operation on Saturday.

Dr KK Aggarwal
Padma Shri Awardee
President Elect CMAAO
President Heart Care Foundation of India