Posts Tagged health
HIV-TB co-infection is increasing in the western districts
Posted by ganesh in Coimbatore, Departments, Health, Information, Public, disease, hospital, illegal on August 19th, 2010
The incidence of HIV-TB co-infection is increasing in the western districts of Namakkal, Salem, Coimbatore and Erode and must be addressed immediately, V.K.Subburaj, Principal Secretary, Health, said.
The incidence was over 24 per cent in Karur, while globally, 15 per cent of people with HIV develop tuberculosis, he added. The government was trying to address this by increasing the special attention paid to these districts. The reason Tamil Nadu has not made significant progress in addressing TB-HIV is because it has not been integrated into the public health system. He was speaking at the launch of the Global Fund Round 9 programme for civil society engagement organised in the city by REACH on Wednesday.
The State will also consider a proposal to introduce a multi-sectoral approach within various health departments to address the issues posed by TB, its detection, treatment, cure and resistant strains. At the local level, the health inspectors have been instructed to be involved with and take responsibility for all diseases that occur at the village level.
Another problem is that the TB control units are small and suffer from manpower shortage. The government is trying to address that as well, by posting qualified personnel in the labs and PHCs.
Mr. Subburaj stressed that emphasis must be given on the need to stick through the course of the drug regimen, in order to avoid drug-resistant TB. What would be a six-month treatment period gets extended to two years, with more complications if drug resistance develops, he added.
Rajesh Lakhoni, Chennai Corporation Commissioner, said the tendency among persons detected with TB to go into denial first, leads to delay in taking up treatment. P.Kuganantham, Health Officer, Chennai Corporation, said the civic body intends to mainstream HIV and TB detection and treatment activities.
C.Udayshankar, State TB Officer said, the government is planning to start a 24-hour helpline for TB support in the State.
Nevin Wilson, Director, The Union – South East Asia, said the aim of the Global Fund Round 9 was to engage communities and community-based care providers to improve TB care and control. Sr. Anbarasi, representative of CHAI, and Vijay Edwards of World Vision also spoke.
Summer heat, diseases, and vacation plans
Posted by ganesh in Uncategorized on March 15th, 2010
It is that time of the year when those in the city start talking about something quintessentially Chennai – the summer heat. It is not uncommon to hear residents talk about how “it’s already so hot”.
From students taking examinations and labourers to professionals, almost everyone has to bear the brunt of the summer heat in one way or the other.
According to the data provided by the Meteorological Department, the city saw one of its hottest March days last year, when the maximum temperature rose to 36.2 degree Celsius. In 2006, the maximum temperature recorded in March was 37.1 degree Celsius, the highest since 1953, when the March heat surpassed the 40-degree mark, touching 40.6 degree Celsius.
Officials of the Meteorological Department point to the prevalence of westerly winds, which normally set in during mid-April, and which in February this year led to hot weather and rise in maximum temperature.
However, the city is now experiencing easterly winds after March 8 and the temperature has dropped to close to normal.
Y. E. A. Raj, Deputy Director General of Meteorology, Regional Meteorological Centre, says the maximum temperature was one to four degree Celsius above normal of 30 degree Celsius during the second half of February. On March 1 and March 7, the mercury level rose to 36 degree Celsius against the average of 32 degree Celsius in Meenambakkam. “Chennai had an anomaly pattern of climate during February and early days of March. We cannot predict weather on a long-term basis,” he says.
February and March are relatively dry months in terms of rainfall. While interior parts of the State would have rains during April, the city would get thundershowers only during May,
Policeofficials have a word of caution to offer those going on a holiday. Some simple measures would ensure that the holiday remains a pleasant memory, they say.
P. Sakthivel, Joint Commissioner, South, says persons going on vacation should keep the police station informed. “We have a system called locked house register. Our personnel arrange for concentrated patrolling in the area. They will also check with the neighbours periodically,” he said.
While going away for a long duration, it is important to leave valuable in a safe deposit locker or leave them with relatives. Those who can afford it should post a watchman or have a relative to stay over or at least leave a message to the neighbour for the duration of the holiday. “Alerting the neighbour is important as at least they will call 100 to reach the place and prevent the offence,” Mr. Sakthivel adds. Measures such as focus lighting on the portico will deter prowlers. Installing a CCTV with one-month memory could also help.
Those who will not leave the city are already considering entertainment options in the city. “For parents like us, it is about keeping our child engaged, or we will end up losing all the patience we have,” quips S. Revathy, parent of a kindergarten child. “I am looking at different summer camps in our locality so that there is something interesting to keep my daughter occupied.”
S. Sasi, who is giving her board examinations, wants to join computer and spoken English classes this summer. “It’ll help me when I go to college,” she says.
With each one considering a different plan, this summer is also likely to be as interesting as those earlier.
Child battling nothing less than blood cancer
P. Sivatharini with her mother P. Shanthi.
K. Prasad (38), a bearer in a non-descript hotel at Nagamalai Pudukottai here, serves food to scores of people every day. But he is helpless, unaided and incapable when it comes to providing nourishing meals to his four-year-old daughter P. Sivatharini battling nothing less than blood cancer.
The cute little girl was taken to the Government Rajaji Hospital here in March this year as she was down with fever for two days. After a peripheral blood smear test, doctors recommended bone marrow aspiration to rule out leukaemia. Unfortunately, the examination did not rule out but confirmed the disorder.
The news came as a blow to the parents. They were shattered, yet managed to cope with the adversity in the interest of the child who underwent chemotherapy. The treatment had its own side effects and the beautiful girl lost her hair. She began puking blood and also suffered bruises on her head without receiving any blow or falling down.
Immediately, the therapy was suspended for a few months. It has been revived now and the girl is being administered oral drugs. The parents have been advised to provide her the right amount of calories to maintain a good weight and enough protein to keep up her strength during the course of medication.
Ironically, the family is not in a position to provide such wholesome food. “We are already living hand to mouth. I also have an 11-year-old son studying in a Corporation school. I don’t know how to keep this girl healthy,” says her mother P. Shanthi (29) with tears rolling down her cheeks faster than words from her mouth.
S. Syed Ahmed of Foundation for Human Rights and Democracy, a non-governmental organisation here, says many such impoverished children struggling from deadly health disorders were in need of nourishment. “The Government provides healthcare free of cost. The same way, a corpus should be created for feeding them too.
Chennai Apollo Wellness Plus launches Ayurveda Membership Packages that promise a host of health benefits
Apollo Wellness Plus, a wellness hub located at Nungambakkam, Chennai, has launched specially designed Ayurveda Membership Packages that promise a host of health benefits that help in rehabilitation and rejuvenation of the entire body and soul.
The packages include key Ayurvedhic therapies such as Sarvanga Abhyangam (whole body massage), Head and Neck Massage, Hastha Champi, Back and Spine Massage, Padha Champi, Face Treatment, Hair Treatment, Acu-Yoga and consultation, for stimulating one’s immune system and to rediscover the power within.
Complete Ayurvedhic therapy is a 52-week package that includes 26 Sarvanga Abhyangam sessions and five to six sessions of head and neck, Hasta champi, Back and Spine Message, Padha Champi, Face and Hair Therapies, including Acu-Yoga and consultation, a company release here said.
The entire package can be utilised anytime during the first year of the membership, and is being offered at an unbelievable cost of Rs 500 per week. This membership can also be extended to the members of the family to utilise the therapy sessions that may remain unused by the registrant.
Apollo Wellness Plus is also offering a 15 per cent discount on any other treatment apart from packages. The centre also has membership packages spanning 26, 14, and seven weeks with the same benefits offered on the 52 week package.
”Providing an integrative health approach through a wide array of choices from fitness solutions to ayurvedic therapies, Apollo Wellness Plus has certified therapists who work along with both Indian and alternative medicines to provide world-class treatments at affordable price,
Medical Insurance Scheme would be rewarded with a certificate of excellence
Posted by ganesh in Health, Nagapattinam, Public, government on November 20th, 2009
Collector C.Munianathan appraising Chief Minister’s Medical Insurance Scheme at the district level review meet in Nagapattinam
Members of the civic society prescribing over 100 eligible beneficiaries under the Chief Minister Medical Insurance Scheme would be rewarded with a certificate of excellence, stated Collector C. Munianathan at the district level review meet on the Chief Minister’s Medical Insurance Scheme here recently.
This would include not just medical practitioners and health workers, but also, NGOs, good Samaritans and social service volunteers. People have been urged to convey the message and prescribe the names of the needy in their neighbourhood.
Appraising the performance of the scheme in the district, Mr. Munianathan urged doctors and health workers at government hospitals and primary health centres to screen and facilitate deserving patients to benefit from the treatment provided under the Scheme. Medical practitioners were duty bound to recommend patients for treatment, he said.
The Chief Minister’s Medical Insurance Scheme provides for treatment of over 51 diseases. This includes treatment of heart ailments, valve replacement, kidney and other organ transplants, treatment of the liver, gall bladder and neurological disorders, treatment for burns, plastic surgery, and of those in coma; oncological treatment for blood cancer and cancer of the uterus.
Members of all 26 Welfare Boards, and families with an annual income not exceeding 72,000 are entitled to free treatment of various diseases under the medical insurance scheme.
Polio drops to children of migrant labourers, all in the age group of five
A total of 1,181 children including 522 children living in Sri Lankan refugee camps and 651 children of migrant labourers, all in the age group of five, were given polio drops in Salem district.
According to health officials, Tamil Nadu has been in the forefront in polio eradication through the intensive and sustained Pulse Polio campaign.
The State has not recorded any incidence of polio for the past one decade.
But the incidents of polio were reported in the States of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh from where migrant population had come to Salem for labour and livelihood.
These migrant labourers including doll makers, gypsies, construction workers, sugarcane cutters, quarry workers and others used to stay put in Salem and its neighbourhood.
Eradication
Hence to make the eradication drive a fool-proof one, the State had decided to cover the children of migrant labourers and also the children residing at refugee camps in the district. A team of doctors and para medical staff on Sunday identified 36 families in the city as ‘migrant families’ from other States and administered polio drops to as many as 651 children.
Later, another team visited the refugee camps in the district and gave drops to 522 children. A senior health official said that the second phase of polio immunisation would take place on December 13 beside the routine, two-phase mass immunisation programme, which falls on January 10, 2010 and February 7, 2010.
exposed to serious health risks as the area lacks a proper drainage system
Stagnated rainwater on Manipuram street in Ward 25 in Salem poses health hazard to the residents
People living in Manipuram and a few other residential colonies in Ward 25 here are exposed to serious health risks as the area lacks a proper drainage system.
Slippery
Rainwater mixed with sewage gets stagnated on the streets, which are yet to be tar topped. People are finding it very difficult to walk on the streets, which turn extremely slippery due to continuous stagnation of water.
Children in the area often walk on the streets barefoot, risking their health.
The civic authorities have not paid any attention to the problem even after repeated representations, the residents say. The sanitary staff from the Salem Corporation rarely visit the area, they point out.
The stench emanating from the stagnated water has become unbearable these days and the mosquito menace has increased to alarming proportions, the residents complain. Their pleas to construct proper drainage system in the area fell on deaf ears. “Civic officials are not even ready to listen to our grievances,” the residents say.
The colony also lacks adequate street lighting and public toilets.
The residents urged the civic body to initiate immediate steps to create necessary basic amenities in Manipuram and the nearby colonies in the ward.
The speard of A(H1N1) virus had been contained to a large extent: Azad
The spread of swine flu has been contained in India following the massive precautionary measures taken by the Centre and state governments, Union Health Minister Gulam Nabi Azad said today.
Talking to newspersons at the Airport, Mr Azad, who is here to review the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) operations in four southern states, said thanks to these strict measures, the speard of A(H1N1) virus had been contained to a large extent.
Continuous efforts, both by the Centre and state governments were being taken to abolish the pandemic from the country, he said, adding more than 200 countries in the world had fallen victim to the virus. But by taking quick measures, India could contain the spread of the disease.
After learning that the virus started spreading through people coming to India from the US and other European countries, the Centre with the help of state governments, opened health counters at all airports and important railway stations to screen all passengers, who entered the country.
This helped contain the spread of swine flu to a large extent, Mr Azad added.
More than 500 people had succumbed to swine flu since August and over 14,000 people tested positive across the country.
Maharashtra, which claimed 207 deaths, was the worst hit.
Coimbatore-based Foggers India Limited has designed a LOC Handy Fogging Machine to control mosquitoes
The Coimbatore-based Foggers India Limited has designed a LOC Handy Fogging Machine to control mosquitoes at places of public congregations, according to Companies representative N Rajmohan.
After demonstrating the unit to the public in the presence of Director of Public Health ahd Preventive Medicine Dr S Elango here yesterday, Mr Rajmohan said an eco-friendly pyrethrum extract of a plant species was sprayed through the machine.
He said effctive mosquito management was need of the hour and fogging was considered to be highly effective.
”Thermal fogging distrubts the life cycle of the insect and thus destroys mosquitoes which have the potential to multiply. Best results are achieved when such fogging is done in places where mosquitoes breed,” he said.
Claiming that the new unit was easy to maintain, ideal for poultry farms, bungalows, party lawns, housing societies, farm houses, schools, industries and gram panchayats, he said the Directorate of Public Health, Government of Tamil Nadu had approved and recommended the new fogging unit.
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