Public Health

Srilatha, a resident of Malleshwaram, was busy with her morning chores when she heard a pack of dogs barking outside her home. After a while, she noticed that her cat was missing. They searched for the cat in the neighbourhood, and finally saw her perched in the side railing of a neiighbour's house. On a closer look, they saw that the cat had been badly injured. the dogs had chased and mauled her. Finally they had to rush her to Veterinary Hospital in Hebbal, where she underwent a major surgery. The cat is still recovering. This is the scene in…

Recently there has been quite a flurry of opinions, accusations and threats around the issue of regulation of private medical establishments in Karnataka. Although the Karnataka Private Medical Establishments (KPME) Act has been around since 2007, concerns over the last few years, around patient rights, have brought in the need for Amendments to the Act. Following a prolonged period of discussion under the Justice Vikramjit Sen Committee, the health minister put forward the Amendments to the KPME in the Karnataka Assembly on 20th June 2017. The response to this has been contradictory and volatile. A majority of private hospital doctors…

Bengaluru has many NGOs working on social sectors, and HIV affected community is one of the sectors of focus. Leelavathi, the vice-president of Arunodaya NGO explains what NGOs are doing for HIV communities. She also talks about dealing with tuberculosis in HIV affected people, and the care to be taken, diagnosis, treatment, medication and related issues.

File picture of a slum near HSR Layout. Pic: Akshatha M International Symposium on Health in Slums 2016 was held in Smrithi Auditorium, Bangalore Baptist Hospital, Hebbal on April 30, 2016. This was a first-of-its-kind event provided a platform for health researchers, BBMP Medical Officer and NGOs involved in various aspect of health in slums. The population for study involved migrant and non-migrant populations. This was an opportunity to connect the investigators, with questions pertaining to the health and wellbeing of the slum dwellers, with those willing to offer solutions in the form cost-effective options of fuel, energy, technology and…

Citizen Matters had earlier reported that dengue cases in Bengaluru are severely under-reported, that the official dengue figures are only a fraction of the actual numbers. But when it comes to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like diabetes, heart diseases, respiratory diseases etc., the situation is worse - these diseases are not tracked at all in the city. NCDs are now emerging as the leading cause of deaths in India, since communicable diseases like malaria and TB are under better control. But in Bengaluru, like in the rest of the country, no one is tracking them. Without data on these diseases, policy-making…

KCDC plant located on the banks of Somasundarapalya lake in HSR Layout, is causing pollution much to the discomfort of residents. Pic: Anis Pandela A Facebook page created by a group of HSR Layout residents reads “Right to Breathe - Control KCDC from becoming life threatening.” This page aims at garnering public support for a protest that the residents have planned to stage in front of Karnataka Compost Development Corporation (KCDC) unit at Somasundarapalya on October 31st. Protests are not new for the residents of Somasundarapalya, Mangammanapalya and HSR Layout. They had staged at least three protests last year alone,…

What typically happens when you go to a pharmacy? You show the prescription, buy the medicines that you need, check the MRP, pay for it, collect the bill and leave. Sounds simple enough right? Not always... Here’s an example of why you need to be doubly careful when you purchase medicines. File pic.  When Rajeev Gupta (name changed on request) bought a nasal spray from a pharmacy, little did he know that checking the above mentioned were not the only things he should have done. When he finally opened the bottle a home, to his surprise, he found it empty.…

Patients waiting for their turn at the outpatient department in K C General Hospital. Pic: Shree D N What could be the number of people who suffered from dengue in Bengaluru? Out of 443 people who saw a quick survey conducted by Citizen Matters, 171 people replied positively about dengue cases. As many as 20 of them said they themselves got dengue since January 2015. This makes for a percentage of 4.5 cases of dengue on the readership of the survey. If 4.5% of the population in Bengaluru suffered dengue, what could be the numbers? How many might have died?…

We are trying to understand the incidence of Dengue in Bengaluru, and if and how serious an epidemic it is. Do take our survey to help us gather data. Results will be published on Citizen Matters, along with responses from officials. NO personal information will be shared publicly. Resources You can read some of our previously published articles for information about Dengue. Fever? Make sure it’s not dengue! Chikungunya and dengue: prevention and treatment Tips to prevent dengue and chikungunya in flats Should you panic if a dengue patient needs platelets? Why is the number of reported dengue cases less?…

A two-wheeler collides with another vehicle, spilling its rider onto the pavement. An onlooker reacts immediately, pulling out his or her cellphone to dial the emergency number, 108. What happens next is a series of snap-decisions and hasty phone calls to ensure a medical professional arrives on site as quickly as possible. Depending on the location, the Emergency Disaster Management Unit call centre, being run by GVK-EMRI, sends an emergency vehicle. Since mid-April, a new type of vehicle has been added: the bike ambulance. For these two-wheelers, weaving through Bengaluru’s terrible traffic, is much quicker than their four-wheeled counterparts. If…