New Delhi , August 01, 2018
Lok Sabha passes ‘The Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2018’
A bill seeking to replace the Central Council of Homoeopathy (CCH) with a board of governors and aimed at bringing accountability and quality in homoeopathy education system was passed by the Lok Sabha today. The government, will reconstitute the CCH within a year and restore the democratic process. As per the bill, the members of the board of governor will replace the existing functionaries of the CCH and comprise seven eminent homeopathy practitioners and administrators who will be appointed by the government.
Bill: (a) to constitute a Board of Governors by superseding the Central Council of Homoeopathy till a new Central Council is duly reconstituted within a period of one year from the date of supersession of the Central Council; (b) to make provision for obtaining prior permission of the Central Government by all Homoeopathy Medical Colleges.
It amends the Homoeopathy Central Council Act, 1973 which sets up the Central Council of Homoeopathy. The Central Council regulates homoeopathic education and practice. As Parliament was not in session and immediate action was required to be taken, the President promulgated the Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018 on the 18th day of May, 2018.
The Board of Governors will consist of up to seven members including: (i) persons of eminence in the field of homoeopathy education, and (ii) eminent administrators, appointed by the central government. The central government will select one of these members as the Chairperson of the Board. With regard to policy decisions, the directions of the central government will be final.
Permission for existing homoeopathy colleges: The Ordinance states that: (i) if any person has established a homoeopathy medical college, or (ii) if an established homoeopathy medical college has opened new courses or increased its admission capacity before the Ordinance was promulgated, it will have to seek permission from the central government within one year. If the person or homoeopathy medical college fails to seek such permission, then any medical qualification granted to a student from such medical college will not be recognised under the Act.
A new surveillance report released by the CDC analyses causes of foodborne disease outbreaks between 2009 and 2015
The researchers found 5,760 outbreaks that caused 100,939 illnesses, 5,699 hospitalizations, and 145 deaths in the U.S. during that time. All 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico reported outbreaks. (An outbreak is defined as two or more cases of a similar illness that happens after people eat a common food, the CDC says. So if you get sick after leaving your plate of potato salad out in the heat for too long, it doesn’t qualify.)
The foods that were most often implicated in outbreaks were:
- Fish (17 percent of all outbreaks)
- Dairy (11 percent of all outbreaks)
- Chicken (10 percent of all outbreaks)
But some foods were more likely to cause outbreak-related illnesses. Those were:
- Chicken (12 percent of cases)
- Pork (10 percent of cases)
- Seeded vegetables (10 percent of cases)
The researchers also found that norovirus was responsible for 38 percent of the outbreaks, salmonella was responsible for another 30 percent, and shiga toxin-producing escherichia coli (STEC) was implicated in 6 percent. Other causes (including campylobacter, clostridium perfringens, scombroid toxin, ciguatoxin, staphylococcus aureus, vibrio parahaemolyticus, and listeria monocytogenes) were all responsible for 5 percent or fewer outbreaks.