Health

India: Drug to treat dengue has been developed, claims CDRI

Kanpur: Central Drug Research Institute (CSIR-CDRI) scientists have claimed to have developed a medicine to treat dengue.

Produced from plants, the medicine, called AQCH, is anti-viral in nature. It was tested successfully in labs and on mice.

City's Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial (GSVM) Medical College, and the medical Colleges in Lucknow and Agra will conduct the trial of this drug.

A total of 100 patients at each centre will receive treatment with this new drug.

India: COVID-19: Antibodies found in 76.3 pc people in Haryana

Chandigarh, Oct 18 (PTI) Antibodies against the COVID-19 infection were found in 76.3 per cent of people in the third round of sero-survey in Haryana, Health Minister Anil Vij said on Monday.

He also released a report of the third survey, which was conducted in September, and that found the sero-positivity rate to be 78.1 per cent in urban areas and 75.1 per cent in rural areas.

In the first round of the sero-survey, the positivity rate was found to be eight per cent and in the second round, it was 14.8 per cent.

Nine Israeli hospitals subjected to major cyberattacks

18 Oct 2021; MEMO: Nine Israeli hospitals and medical centres were subjected to major cyberattacks on Friday and Saturday, recording a 72 per cent increase of attacks compared to recent weeks, Arab48 reported on Sunday.

According to the National Cybersecurity Directorate in Israel, Kan public broadcaster reported that the Israeli hospitals and medical centres were subjected to hundreds of cyberattacks on Friday and Saturday.

UAE's daily COVID-19 cases fall below 100

17 Oct 2021; MEMO: The United Arab Emirates on Sunday recorded a drop in daily COVID-19 cases to below 100 for the first time since the start of the outbreak last year as it hosts a huge world fair to which it hopes to attract millions of visits, Reuters reports.

The Health Ministry reported 99 new cases, down from a peak of nearly 4,000 a day in January. The UAE's cumulative death toll stands at 2,120.

Egypt number one Middle East country in undercounting COVID-19 deaths

12 Oct 2021; MEMO: Egypt ranks fifth worldwide in underreporting coronavirus and first in the Middle East, according to a report published by the World Bank.

According to the report, Egypt's ratio of reported deaths to excess mortality was 13.1 in the first year of the pandemic.

Analysts and doctors in Egypt have, since the start of the pandemic, accused Egypt of undercounting the real figures of deaths and infection rate, but in response have faced punitive action including jail sentences.

Russia, EU work on mutual vaccines recognition goes positively

10 Oct 2021; MEMO: Russia and the EU had misunderstandings on mutual recognition of vaccines, but now work is going on positively, Kremlin spokesman said on Friday.

Moscow considers the negotiations on vaccines recognition "extremely important" as the freedom of movement depends on it, Dmitry Peskov said at a press briefing in Moscow.

India: 35 school students found Covid positive in HP

Hamirpur (HP), Oct 8 (PTI) Sixty-seven persons, including 35 students at a school, were tested positive for COVID-19 here on Friday, an official said.

This took the number of active cases to 317 in the district, he said.

According to the official, 35 students of the Navodaya Vidyalaya at Doongri in Hamirpur were found to be Covid positive Friday, while 11 were earlier tested positive for the virus, he added.

The district has recorded 281 Covid-related deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic last year.

India: Findings to lead in fight against inflammatory infections: Prof Abhay

Kanpur: Both IIT Kanpur and the University of Queensland (UQ) have worked together on path-breaking global research in chronic inflammatory disease.

A protein receptor, C5aR2, plays a vital role in the moderation of many immune and inflammatory processes and explores its use as a potential therapeutic target for treating multiple chronic inflammatory diseases. 

Prof Arun Shukla, IIT Kanpur, India with researchers Asuka Inoue, Tohoku University, Japan and Stéphane A Laporte, McGill University, Canada worked on the research.

Israel: 2,600 medical interns resign over long working hours

08 Oct 2021; MEMO: As many as 2,590 medical interns resigned in Israel yesterday in protest of the 26-hour shifts they are forced to work.

The doctors-in-training signed off on a letter that was delivered to the Tel Aviv District Health office by Dr. Ray Bitton, head of the Mirsham organisation of medical interns.

The resignation came a day after the interns rejected a government proposal to gradually reduce shifts to 18 hours by 2026, but only in ten hospitals in outlying areas.

Subscribe to Health