8 died of H1N1 in Pune

Eight people died of the H1N1 influenza here on Tuesday and Wednesday, taking the toll in the city due to the contagion up to 331 since August last year.

As many as 46 people tested positive on Wednesday. Twenty-five patients are in a critical condition and have been put on the ventilator in various hospitals, the district information officer said.

A ten-month-old baby, Raj Narayan Aadmani, of Satavnagar, died of swine flu at Sassoon hospital on Wednesday. The boy was suffering from cold and cough for five days and was admitted to hospital on Tuesday.

Surekha Dhumal (21) of Purandar taluka in Pune district also died at the Sassoon hospital on Wednesday. She was suffering from a cold and breathlessness for three days and was admitted to hospital on Monday.

Atul Sobti quits Ranbaxy labs

Just over a year after taking over the helm of Ranbaxy Laboratories, Atul Sobti on Thursday said he will quit as CEO and Managing Director of the Gurgaon-based drug-maker, citing “substantial and basic” differences with the management of parent Daiichi Sankyo.

“There are opinions to run a company. When you believe you don’t have a consensus, you move out. The differences were substantial and basic, but there was no immediate trigger,” Mr. Sobti told reporters here.

Daiichi Sankyo did not comment, but Ranbaxy Chairman Tsutomu Une said the company realised various opportunities to repeat strong operating performance while continuing to manage key challenges under Mr. Sobti’s leadership.

Apollo Health care to recruit 23,000

The country's leading healthcare firm, Apollo Hospital, today said it plans to hire nearly 23,000 employees in the next 3-4 years to support its Rs 1,800 crore expansion plans.

Apollo will also increase its bed-capacity to 12,000 from the current 9,000 beds by 2015, for which it plans to have a total workforce of 85,000 employees, Group Executive Director (Operations) Sangita Reddy told reporters here.

"Our workforce is growing. We are employing at a rate of 15 per cent per year and currently we have 62,000 team members," Reddy said on the sidelines of a CII event here.

"In the next 3-4 years, we will have 12,000 beds and our workforce will be close to 85,000 employees," Reddy said.

The proposed expansion plan, estimated to entail a total investment of Rs 1,800 crore, will lead to an increase of about 23,000 people in the company's workforce.

The company operates one of the largest hospital chains in the country and currently has 9,000 beds at its hospitals.

Reddy said that the investment on the planned expansion will be around Rs 60 lakh per bed.

Women smokers on the rise in India's 'working' community

As the globe gears up to celebrate ‘World no tobacco day’ on May 31st, 2010 there is a sad contribution from India. The country witnesses a growing number of women smokers and the case is specifically relevant to females working in BPOs and media. The picture looks sad especially in a culturally rich nation like ours where there is still a social stigma attached to women smoking. A recent study revealed that nearly 8% of female BPO workers smoke and the percentage is much larger (5-35%) in media.

According to the survey the majority of women smokers are still unaware of the health hazards of smoking. The only health hazards they are aware of is cancer and heart disease related to smoking. Women smokers did not know that smoking is also known to cause infertility and many other problems related to child birth. Lead researcher Dr. Ravikant Singh from Non-government organization ‘Doctors for You’ said, “Smoking can cause infertility, miscarriages and still births. It is worrying that women don’t know about this.”

Some Call centres in India sell Banned Drugs

Online pharmacies, mushrooming across the country and cashing in on the increasing demand for controlled psychotropic drugs in countries like the US and Canada, have found competition. The Narcotics Control Bureau has stumbled upon a major call centre in Hyderabad doing illegal business in selling psychotropic substances. The NCB cracked down on this call centre, Limra IT Solutions, and arrested its MD Imran Khan.

NCB sources in Chennai said many such call centres are active in Hyderabad and Bangalore and a few in Chennai are under its scanner. They said spurious drug manufacturers, along with agents and call centres, have turned the sale of controlled psychotropic drugs into a hugely profitable business model. The Drug Enforcement Administration, the US agency for regulation of sales and licencing of pharmacies in that country, has been providing information regarding this in India.

Change in working style for Traffic policemen in North Indian cities

The summer has forced the men in white to change shifts and style of working. Personnel of city police's traffic branch will soon get parasols (large umbrella) at junctions and protective gear to beat the heat.

According to senior traffic branch officials, the summer is taking a toll on personnel deployed on the road due to prolonged exposure to heat. After several reported incidents of fainting and dehydration, the officials have relaxed working hours.

"We have asked all personnel to consume as much liquid as possible on duty. They have also been asked to stay in shade during lean hours or take rounds in nearby areas to reduce chances of a heat stroke," said Mohan Jha, joint commissioner of police (traffic).

29 deaths in last four days b'coz of heat in Ahmedabad

As the mercury continued to hover around 45 degrees celsius in city, many more fell prey to the heat. The rising mercury killed two more persons on Sunday, taking the total death toll due to heat in the city in last four days to 29.

The flow of patients suffering from heat-related ailments kept pouring in at Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation-run VS Hospital, LG Hospital and Shardaben Hospital and at Civil Hospital. A senior AMC official said, "There has been a decrease in number of heat-related patients in comparison to last three days, we have received 19 cases in which two persons died."

The soaring temperatures coupled with prolonged dry spells for last few weeks with no humidity in air has made life difficult for people across the state and the coming days may not be any better.

Though it was a Sunday, people chose to stay indoors and most of the roads wore a deserted look while city malls recorded a decrease in footfalls.

MGR medical university is like a Post office - TN Health Minister MRKP

In what was perhaps the biggest indictment of the MGR Medical University, Health Minister MRK Panneerselvam on Friday likened it to a post office where people go just to collect certificates.

He urged Vice Chancellor Dr Mayil Vahanan Natrajan to turn it into a vibrant university, taking inspiration from the Anna University and Madras University.

Speaking at the inauguration of the new entrance arch, new lift and remolded Senate Hall in the University, he said, " This university is now like a post office. People come here to collect certificates and other paperrelated work. I hope it soon becomes a fully functional university with classrooms full of students like the Anna University and the Madras University."

Abbott Labs acquired Piramal Healthcare for 3.7 Billion Dollars

US drug major Abbott Laboratories has acquired the domestic business of India-based Piramal Healthcare for about 3.7 billion dollars.

Fending off fight from other drug biggies such as Britain's GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi Aventis and Pfizer, Abbott bagged the auction bid for Piramal Healthcare.

The deal reflects the heightened interest Western firms have displayed in the speedily growing Indian drug market.

Miles White, CEO of Abbott, stated, "It's a race. These markets are so significant in the future growth sources for our industry that it's important for us to be there early and in a meaningful, strong way."

Piramal will keep hold of its manufacturing business thatsupplies other drug makers all over the world, as well as other operations including consumer products and bulk drugs manufacturing. (With Inputs from Agencies)

Expired medicines distributed in Govt hospitals in TN & Kerala

The CBI has seized time-barred medicines from Central government hospitals in Chennai, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram.

During a surprise check between May 15 and 18 in seven hospitals/dispensaries, it found expired drugs being supplied to patients. Disclosing this at a press conference here on Thursday, CBI Joint Director Ashok Kumar said: “Some were found expired and being issued to patients posing health hazards to them.” On a tip-off, special teams conducted checks at four pharmaceutical companies in Puducherry and a distributing firm in Chennai and took samples for investigation. It was found that the companies were manufacturing/distributing sub-standard drugs not permitted by the Drug Controller General of India. Some of these drugs were antibiotics and anaesthetics, Mr. Kumar said.

Oil racket unearthed

Mr. Kumar said on information that petroleum products were being pilfered, adulterated and sold to public, a CBI team went to Konerikuppam in Villuppuram and seized 45 keys of oil tankers from suspects. Four persons have been arrested.

Referring to cases against a Regional Passport Officer and the Protector of Emigrants in Chennai, Mr. Kumar said the investigation was nearing completion.

Artificial blood vessels from Jatropha

Artificial Blood vessels from Jatropha? After bio-diesel, this humble tropical weed could now help Indian researchers to indigenously develop blood vessels.

A biodegradable polymer recently developed from Jatropha has attracted researchers from IIT-Madras to work towards a project in this direction. The IITians are not alone. A Thiruvananthapuram-based medical institute Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences & Technology (SCTIMST) and a Belgium-based multi-national company have also evinced interest in the polymer developed by a Gujarat-based national research institute.

Sanitation Vs Communication in India

People in India, the world's second most populous country, have more access to a mobile telephone than to a toilet, according to a new UN report.

"It is a tragic irony to think that in India, a country now wealthy enough that roughly half of the people own phones, about half cannot afford the basic necessity and dignity of a toilet," Zafar Adeel, director of United Nations University's Canada-based think-tank for water, the Institute for Water, Environment and Health, said.

No Govt or Private agency to monitor disposal of radioactive waste

Rules to govern medical waste largely ignore radioactive matter; agencies pass the buck

Before the radiation leak at a Mayapuri junk market stirred the authorities into action, the dangers posed by radioactive material seems to have been mostly ignored. While several hospitals use machines that include radioactive material — the substance found at Mayapuri is also suspected to have come from medical equipment — it finds no mention in the list of things state authorities on the ground level need to keep a tab on.

The Bio Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998, list out a number of hospital-generated waste, but the exhaustive rules do not include radioactive waste. While the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has a mandate for monitoring hazardous substances, it does not include radioactive waste or material either.

Changes in Drugs law ,the need of the hour

 Medical shop-owners and Tamil Nadu Pharmacy Council members say amendment to the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules 1945 is the need of the hour.

The rules stipulate that a stockist/wholesaler, who applies for licences should have passed class XII, have 160 sq.ft of space and should have 5 years experience in selling drugs.

Delhi HC asks Govt to file report on its stand in rural health care

 The Delhi High Court Wednesday asked the government to make its stand clear on a plea that a short-term course on primary health was required to allow non-MBBS persons to practise medicine in rural areas.

A division bench of acting Chief Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Mukta Gupta directed the government to file a detailed affidavit specifying whether it has accepted the recommendations given by the Central Council for Health and the Task Force which recommended a three-year course for practitioners.

The Medical Council of India (MCI) informed the court that it has not accepted all the recommendations of the Task Force and will file an affidavit in this regard by April 7.

IKDRC creates method for less pain Kidney transplantation

Sanjay Sharma, 32, and Ramesh Dabhi, 48, recently underwent a second kidney transplant surgery. This time, they endured less pain, had a faster recovery and the surgery cost less compared to the earlier one.

Sharma and Dabhi have got to thank the experts at the Institute of Kidney Disease and Research Centre (IKDRC) and the Dr HL Trivedi Institute of Transplantation Science (ITS) who used a new surgical technique on the patients. IKDRC and ITS successfully performed the first laparoscopic kidney transplantations on the two patients on March 4.

The laparoscopic kidney transplantation is a minimally invasive complex surgery and the entire operation is carried out without making a large incision.The major advantages are less post-operative pain, rapid recovery, and shorter hospital stay.

Govt has taken measures to provide Healthy Mid Day Meals

Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal on Wednesday in a written reply in the Lok Sabha said the government has made elaborate arrangements through the guidelines for Mid Day Meal Scheme (MDMS) to ensure that children get good quality meals.

Sibal added that two to three adults, including at least one teacher, taste the mid-day meal before it is served to the children.

Under the scheme, the government has fixed 450 calories and 12 grams of protein intake for primary and 700 calories and 20 grams of protein intake for upper primary children, claimed Sibal.

"The energy and protein requirement is met through food cooked," he added.

Glaucoma & the 12 million affected Indians

In World Glaucoma Week, know how to guard yourself against the disease that has affected an estimated 12 million Indians

So how often do you go for an eye check? With most of us leading a lifestyle that strains our eyes on a daily basis (like long hours in front of computers), a routine eye check up every three months, doctors suggest, is a good idea to keep track of your eyesight. This week, ending March 13, the world is observing Glaucoma Week, highlighting, among other things, the fact that regular eye examination, particularly by those above 40, helps early detection of the disease and, in turn, would help in preserving one's vision. Glaucoma is a hereditary disease but there are other factors that can make you a potential glaucoma patient.

Thane court orders imprisonment sentence for 4 officers ..

Erin Brockovich may not quite be here, but a Thane court order has got greens grinning from ear to ear. Four officials of the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation have been sentenced to two years’ simple imprisonment for their apathy in checking the flow of pollutants into the Vasai Creek.

In perhaps the first time that the new anti-pollution law has been used for prosecution, Thane chief judicial magistrate S M Bhosale found VVMC deputy municipal commissioners Govind Pawar, Vilas Dhage, Devidas Tekhale and Maruti Kodke guilty of dereliction of duty. He also held them responsible for the civic agency’s failure to set up a sewage treatment plant in the taluka.

Kerala Govt requests MCI to increase MBBS seats in 2 of its renowed Colleges

The State Government has decided to approach the Medical Council of India and the Union Health Ministry to increase the MBBS seats in the Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode Medical Colleges.

The Government has already written to the Medical Council of India in this regard.

In a letter sent to the MCI, the Government has requested to increase 50 more MBBS seats each in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode Medical Colleges.

At present, both the colleges are having 200 MBBS seats each.