• In its public notice issued in January, the CDSCO expert committee headed by Dr.M S Bhatia asked the stakeholders to generate data on the following three FDCs within 1 year:

1. Paracetamol 500 mg + phenylephrine hydrochloride 10 mg + Caffeine anhydrous 32 mg

2. Paracetamol 500 mg +phenylephrine hydrochloride 5 mg +caffeine anhydrous 15 mg, chlorpheniramine maleate 2mg

3. Paracetamol 250mg + Propyphenazone 150 mg + Caffeine anhydrous 30 mg

• The committee asked for data regarding the safety and efficacy of these FDCs from Phase IV clinical trials.

• They also emphasized that these FDCs can only be sold to those with a prescription from a registered medical practitioner.

• Lymphatic filariasis is a disease that is a priority for elimination by 2027 in India.

• There are 345 districts in 20 states and union territories in India that are endemic to lymphatic filariasis.

• The Mass Drug Administration (MDA) campaign has been conducted more than 15-20 times to eliminate lymphatic filariasis in India.

• However, only 138 districts have completed the MDA campaign.

• The first phase of the campaign for elimination was launched on February 10, 2024.

• A campaign has been launched to prevent the spread of disease in areas affected by it.

• The campaign will provide free preventive medication to residents in 92 districts across 11 states and will continue for the next two weeks.

• India has taken several measures to accelerate progress towards the goal of eliminating lymphatic filariasis by 2027, three years before the global target.

• In order to achieve thorough sensitization, the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, has advised working in a mission mode approach with social mobilization and active community participation.

• WHO and partners recently completed a high-risk mission to supply fuel to the AL-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza.

• Gaza hospitals are in dire circumstances with a lack of access to patients and supplies.

• The mission was carried out by WHO, alongside the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the United Nations Department of Safety and Security, and Médecins Sans Frontières.

• The Mission delivered 19000 liters of fuel to the hospital

• The mission faced delays due to damaged roads and roadblocks.

• The mission observed a decrease in the number of displaced people, from 40,000 to 10,000.

• Essential services, including 3 operating theatres, basic laboratory and radiological functions, and a dialysis unit, remain functional

• However, there is a lack of maternity and pediatric services.

• Also, the main oxygen plant has been destroyed.

• WHO has again called for an immediate ceasefire to protect civilians and healthcare.

• Since last month, measles outbreaks have been increasing throughout Europe.

• Kazakhstan is one of the countries taking the worst hit.

• Last month, WHO’s European regional office warned about rising measles cases and ensured precautions were in place.

• There has been more than a 30-fold increase in 2023 as compared to 2022.

• Of the total 42,200 cases in Europe, 13,677 have been reported from Kazakhstan.

• In the country, 65% occurred among children younger than 5 years old.

• The country is responding by taking the following measures:

1. Isolation measures

2. Vaccinating the contacts

3. Supplemental vaccination

4. Health Education

• WHO European Regional Office has urged the countries to strengthen their vaccination strategies and stop the outbreak's spread.

• Globally, according to the WHO's Tobacco Trends Report, 1.25 billion adults use tobacco.

• The 2022 trends showed a continued decline in the global rates of tobacco use - 1 in 5 adults worldwide (compared to 1 in 3 in 2000)

• 150 countries have been successfully reducing tobacco usage.

• Brazil and the Netherlands herald success after MPOWER tobacco control measures, making a relative reduction of 35% and 30%, respectively.

• WHO Southeast Asian Region has the highest percentage of tobacco users at 26.5%, while the European Region has around 23%

• However, children 12-15 years old continue to be one of the most common users of tobacco in most countries.

• Hence to ensure emphasis on children, this year’s World No Tobacco Day is dedicated to “protecting children from tobacco industry interference.”

• In a research involving 221 pregnant patients infected with COVID-19, the UCLA Medical Center System found that 34 newborns had respiratory distress syndrome (RD).

• The most common diagnosis among the newborns was respiratory distress syndrome, which was followed by transient tachypnea (abnormally rapid breathing) and various illnesses.

• The group also observed that the study's exposed infants had an exceptionally high incidence of RD—17%—while the overall incidence of RD in unexposed neonates varies from 5.2% to 6.4%.

• When comparing kids born to vaccinated mothers to those born to unvaccinated mothers, the odds ratio of RD was 3.06 (95% confidence interval, 1.08 to 10.21).

• However, there were a few limitations of the study, including that the mothers and their babies were recruited from a large medical center that typically handles the sickest patients, which they said could skew the findings toward more severe illness than those found in the general population

• The key message from the study was that pregnant women should be encouraged to receive mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, regardless of history of prior COVID-19 infection,

• The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced the formation of the GDG for the development of guidelines on contraceptive use.

• The WHO will receive scientific advice and direction from the GDG, an outside panel of specialists.

• The majority of the guidelines will deal with the technical content, structure, distribution, and display of the WHO SPR Fourth Edition and MEC Sixth Edition.

• Experts with broad and varied backgrounds in public health, epidemiology, pharmacology, nursing and midwifery, family planning/contraception, research, etc. will make up the GDG's membership.

• Further, the GDG will convene in July 2024 at WHO headquarters in Geneva with the following goals:

1. Evaluate the evidence on particular PICOs that will guide the MEC and SPR update

2. Develop recommendations through a consensus-building process

3. Identify any unmet research needs in MEC and SPR.

4. Emphasize any implementation-related concerns.

• The new key recommendations by WHO are -

1. Ensuring through policies and regulations that LMMs used in healthcare are ethically correct

2. A new regulatory agency for assigning and approving LMMs is to be made

3. There should be an investment in not-for-profit or public infrastructure that requires users to adhere to ethical principles and values in exchange for access

4. Mandatory post-release impacts and assessments need to be done

5. The guidance also details broader risks to health systems, such as accessibility and affordability of the best-performing LMMs

• Dr Alain Labrique, WHO Director for Digital Health and Innovation in the Science Division, stated that Governments from all countries must cooperatively lead efforts to effectively regulate the development and use of AI technologies, such as LMMs

• February 1-7 every year is observed as World Interfaith Harmony Week (WIHW)

• It was instituted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2010

• Mutual apprehension & interreligious dialogue account for important dimensions of a culture of peace and non-violence.

• The General Assembly established WIHW as a way to encourage harmony between all people, irrespective of faith.

• Religious & spiritual communities are key to fighting against climate change and achieving SDGs.

• The UNEP promotes faith-based organizations to work collectively with them.

• They’re working against erratic climate events by:

1. Spreading the science of climate change through preachers

2. Transforming worship places into renewable infrastructure

3. Advocating for climate justice

4. Promoting tree-growing projects

• The concept was first proposed by King Abdullah II of Jordan at the UN in 2010

• The proposal was adopted by the General Assembly after acknowledging the immediate need to foster better relationships between different religious groups

• This observance offers a platform for people to come together & celebrate their differences in a world frequently divided by religious conflicts & misunderstandings

• The various activities done during this week include:

1. Cultural exchange

2. Interfaith dialogue & discussions

3. Community service projects

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• Radon is the 2nd chief cause of lung cancer deaths, after cigarette smoking, in the US

• Exposure to radon leads to lung cancer in non-smokers & smokers alike.

• According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), radon is the chief cause of lung cancer among non-smokers and is accountable for about 21,000 lung cancer deaths every year

• Radon is an odorless, invisible, radioactive gas naturally released from rocks, soil, and water.

• It gets inside buildings through small fissures and crevices.

• When inhaled, it gets trapped in the lungs and eventually increases the risk of cancer.

• In the US, 1 in 15 homes has high radon levels.

• Studies have shown a conclusive association between residential radon exposure and lung cancer.

• EPA recommends establishing a radon reduction system if levels are equal to or higher than 4pCi/L.

• In 2009, WHO launched an international radon project to help countries promote awareness and encourage actions to reduce risks related to radon

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• A study has been conducted to test whether wastewater testing is a valuable tool for mpox detection.

• The study was conducted as part of the National Wastewater Surveillance System in the US.

• People with mpox are assumed to shed the virus for up to 25 days after symptom onset.

• The sensitivity of wastewater testing for detecting individuals shedding the virus ranged from 32% to 77%.

• The Positive Predictive Value (PPV) and Negative Predictive Value of the same were assessed to be 72.6%(61.8%-81.8%) and 80.3%(76.2%-84.0%)

• The study findings concluded that if the samples were positive for mpox either once a day or once a week, it was likely that there was at least one positive case nearby.

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• A cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted over 15 months in rural Bangladesh, involving 1267 pregnant women.

• 639 participants were randomized into the control group and continued using traditional cookstoves, whereas 628 participants were allotted to the intervention group and were provided with a low-cost kitchen with improved cookstoves.

• The study aimed to assess the impact of a low-smoke environment during pregnancy on birth outcomes.

• The low-cost model kitchen featured the following to reduce biomass fuel exposure during pregnancy:

1. A concrete pillar

2. A cement concrete floor

3. A single door with three windows

4. A wooden roof frame with ample ventilation

• This intervention was initiated during the first trimester, and the follow-up was until 42 days postpartum.

• The results furnished are:

1. The prevalence of LBW among neonates and maternal blood carbon monoxide saturation (SpCO) were assessed.

2. The risk of LBW was reduced by 37% (adjusted risk ratio:0.63) in the group with a better cooking environment as compared to the group with traditional cookstoves.

3. The maternal SPCO levels were significantly reduced between the second and third trimesters in the intervention group.

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