Fire and air: CDC sounds the alarm on rising asthma emergencies after wildfires Fire and air: CDC sounds the alarm on rising asthma emergencies after wildfires Content Editor: Dr Urmimala Maiti September 6, 2023 Public Health Public Health New York endured poor air quality in the early weeks of June due to smoke from Eastern Canadian wildfires making the air quality index unhealthy across the state. Daily mean PM 2.5 values were calculated and compared with the baseline value. The asthma-associated emergency department visits were recorded from the Electronic Syndromic surveillance system. They concluded that increased concentration of PM led to a three-fold increase in asthma-associated ED visits among older children and young adults. This study alerts physicians and public health experts towards low-risk communication and enhanced focus on high-risk individuals, devising effective wildfire smoke response plans.

Health Ministry Advisory on Nutritional Awareness Boards in Workplace Health Ministry Advisory on Nutritional Awareness Boards in Workplace Content Editor: Dr. Anamika August 25, 2025 Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Oil and Sugar Boards, Health Ministry, workplace nutrition, NP-NCD The Union Health Ministry has released an advisory urging workplaces to display informative boards on oil and sugar to spread awareness about hidden fats and excess sugar in foods. These boards, to be placed in canteens, lobbies, and meeting areas, aim to encourage healthier food choices and daily habits. It does not mandate warning labels on traditional snacks like samosa or jalebi and does not target Indian street food. Instead, it promotes general lifestyle changes under the NP-NCD programme, such as eating more fruits and vegetables, choosing low-fat options, walking more, and taking short activity breaks to reduce lifestyle diseases. click here

Challenges to the 3HP TPT regimen. Challenges to the 3HP TPT regimen. Content Editor: Dr Sumana Mukhopadhyay November 28, 2023 Central TB Division TPT, Tuberculosis, Latent TB After the nationwide launch eight months ago by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the 3HP TB preventive treatment rollout is experiencing delays in drug supply to states. Despite the delays, Tamil Nadu and Kerala have taken the initiative to implement 3HP for TB preventive treatment for all recently diagnosed contacts. The 3HP regimen, involving once-weekly isoniazid-rifapentine for 12 weeks, offers a more manageable and economical course with 12 doses compared to the current daily isoniazid treatment requiring 180 pills. This therapy is very beneficial to contacts, as around 20% of TB can be traced back to home exposure. It can also stop the progression of highly prevalent latent TB for a long period of time. Dr. Padmapriyadarsini underscores the benefits of 3HP, such as: Enhanced compliance Reduced adverse effects Higher completion rates Cost-effective TPT is a high-reward project that needs more attention and investment to tackle tuberculosis.

India takes lead in tackling NAFLD: Revised guidelines released Content Editor: Dr Dheena October 5, 2024 at 4:15:00 PM Non Communicable Diseases, Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, National programme The Union Health Ministry unveiled revised operational guidelines and a training module for NAFLD , highlighting India’s commitment to tackling this major non-communicable disease. Union Health Secretary emphasized NAFLD’s link to metabolic disorders like obesity and diabetes, describing it as an emerging public health concern (out of 10 persons 1 to 3 persons will be having Fatty liver or related disease). The updated documents aim to strengthen the capacity of healthcare workers —from community health workers to medical officers—to ensure early detection and comprehensive care . The importance of empowering grassroots workers was underscored. The strong connection between liver health and other NCDs was emphasized. This initiative reflects India’s proactive approach to addressing the silent epidemic of NAFLD through a multidisciplinary and evidence-based framework. Click here to read more. Previous Next

UNICEF’s Innocenti Report Card 19 on child wellbeing Content Editor: Dr. Smruthi May 25, 2025 at 5:43:39 AM Child’s health, Reports, International health There are three dimensions with two components each: Mental wellbeing: Life satisfaction Adolescent suicide Physical health: Child mortality Overweight Skills: Academic proficiency Social skills Report: Child mortality has decreased in most of the countries. Social skills are stable relatively. A mixed trend of adolescent suicide rate. Remaining three indicators—life satisfaction, overweight and academic skills show a declining trend in most of the countries. The top three countries are Netherlands, Denmark and France. The bottom eight countries show declining trend in atleast two of the three dimensions. Japan is the only country where the life satisfaction of children has increased from 2018 to 2022. The rates of overweight and obesity improved only in Italy and Portugal. Way Forward: Prioritising policies and interventions which focus on the child’s overall development through: Specialist services, parenting programmes, and social and emotional learning at schools to improve the mental well-being of children. Promotion of healthier food ecosystems and physical activity and policies on environmental protection to bring improvement in overall physical health. Special focus on learning and enabling environments for skill development. Measures to mitigate future shocks. Placing decisions of children’s wellbeing in their own hands to better understand them and to find solutions. Holistic approach on all the dimensions of a child’s life. Previous Next

Marburg Virus outbreak in Africa - High Case Fatality Marburg Virus outbreak in Africa - High Case Fatality Content Editor: Dr. Siddharth Singh April 6, 2023 The Hindu, Delhi Global Health, Outbreak Marburg Virus outbreak in Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania, the first ever outbreak of the disease in the countries. WHO estimated "very high" risk of spread of disease . The countries are responding to the outbreak through contact tracing and restricting movements. Marburg Virus, first identified in 1967 in Germany during outbreaks in Germany and Serbia. It causes severe and fatal viral hemorrhagic fevers. It is closely related to Ebola and is rated as "High Risk" pathogen by the WHO. It spreads to humans through contact with fruits bats and further human to human transmission through direct contact with bodily fluids of patients or contaminated surface , similar to Ebola. There has been previous outbreaks of the Virus. Notably, 1975, 2021, 2022, and 2023 within African countries being most affected and often with high fatalities. There is no approved vaccines, antiviral or monoclonal antibodies for the Virus. Case detection through contact tracing, molecular diagnosis, and quarantine is central to managing the spread of disease. With recent outbreaks in different parts of the world, the concept of "One Health" is increasingly taking center stage.

Is geographical location a key factor in self-reported health? Content Editor: Shayari Nag May 17, 2024 at 2:30:00 PM Self-reported health, Geographic disparities in health, Social Determinants of Health Individuals were directly asked to assess their health (SRH) in the study, which found a national average of 3.25% reporting ill health, or an estimated 44.4 million people in India experiencing health issues at any given time. The study found a few factors that influenced health, which include the following: Age : A U-shaped curve emerged with young and older populations reporting higher illness rates. Income : Higher income only correlated with better health in 40% of cases, suggesting it's a limited factor. Its impact likely stems from influencing nutrition, housing quality, and access to healthcare. Geographic location : Emerged as the most significant factor , highlighting significant geographical variations in ill-health rates, and pinpointing regions needing further investigation This finding challenges the traditional assumption that higher income always leads to better health in India. It highlights the importance of location-specific factors and suggests a need for further epidemiological studies in these "hotspots" of ill health. A large-scale study in India reveals that while age and income play a role, geographic location is surprisingly the biggest factor affecting self-reported health (SRH) . A few regions stood out as having greater ill-health compared to others, which include: Uttarakhand West Haryana East Uttar Pradesh Bengal Assam Telangana Andhra Pradesh Kerala Click here to read more. Previous Next

High court's judgement on organ donation rules Content Editor: Dr.Urmimala February 8, 2024 at 5:15:00 PM Organ and Tissue Donation In a court ruling, the Delhi High Court directed the Union of India to frame detailed guidelines on what constitutes "exceptional medical ground" in the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Rules, 2014, clause 5(3)(g) . In view of a petition, the Court has decided on 30th January 2024 that the above guidelines shall be framed within 2 months . The petition was about a 17 years 4-month-old girl who was medically fit to donate a part of her liver to her father, a chronic patient of NASH (Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis) requiring a liver transplant for survival Previous Next

To LEAVE or to LIVE is the question among state and local public health staffs Content Editor : Dr. Monk March 9, 2023 at 12:34:34 PM Public Health / Social Security The study, published today in Health Affairs, compared intent to leave or retire in 2017 with actual separations through 2021 among state and local public health staff at agencies that participated in the PH WINS survey in both years. The study found that 46% of state and local employees left their organizations during that time. The number rose to 74% among employees under age 35 and 77% among employees with less than five years of experience. This rate of departure has a great societal impact through the loss of critical public health experience and institutional knowledge during a health crisis. If the trend continues, nearly 130,000 staff will have left their jobs by 2025. We’re losing early-career professionals at the same time that senior leaders are leaving in droves. These two trends are colliding in a perfect storm that leaves us extremely vulnerable to the next public health threat. Stopgap measures : 1. Offer accessible and affordable supervisory training, 2. Create a mentorship program 3. Reduce the burden of student debt Previous Next

Can yogurt help in glycemic control in prediabetics? Can yogurt help in glycemic control in prediabetics? Content Editor: Dr. Shubham Gupta May 4, 2024 Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism Prevention, NCD, Research Findings A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group design conducted at Tokyo, Japan, between May and December 2022 used probiotic yogurt containing Lactiplantibacillus plantarum OLL2712 to test for metabolic parameters in Prediabetics. Its mechanism of action is considered to be anti-inflammatory with high interleukin (IL)-10 inducing activity in immune cells by suppressing chronic inflammation in the intestine and visceral adipose tissue and improving insulin resistance, glucose, and lipid metabolism. The participants were aged between 20 and 64 years and had prediabetes. The participants were instructed to eat the 112-gram test yogurt daily for 12 weeks and continue their regular diet, lifestyle habits, and exercise. The current study confirmed that the levels of HbA1c and glycoalbumin decreased significantly in both groups. In the OLL2712 group, in comparison with the placebo, the HbA1c returned to baseline levels after intake was stopped. The changes in other metabolic parameters, like body weight, tended to increase slightly during the study period, with body mass index increasing significantly. The total cholesterol level values did not change. Serum IL-6 levels decreased significantly, but serum IL-10 levels increased. Also, during the post-observation period (16th and 20th weeks), IL-10 levels decreased significantly in both groups in comparison with those at week 0. The study concluded that the ingestion of yogurt containing OLL2712 can prevent glycemic control deterioration and maintain HbA1c levels within the normal range in adults with prediabetes in cases of long-term intake, as its effect declines with time. Click here to read more.