Health

Dr Rupa Chanda, Professor of Economics, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, has been nominated to the WHO’s International Health Regulations (IHR) 2016 Review Committee, which has been set up by the Director General of the WHO, Geneva. The Committee has been appointed with the task of reviewing the International Health Regulations (2005) with a view towards strengthening global health security. The Committee will provide its inputs and recommendations to the World Health Assembly in May 2016.  About Professor Rupa Chanda Professor Rupa Chanda. Pic courtesy: Apoorva.N, Gutenberg Communications Professor Rupa Chanda has been with IIMB since 1997. Prior to joining…

Deepika, a transgender and PUCL vice-president, presents a flower pot to Health Minister UT Khader as Ravindra, PD, KSAPS (centre white shirt) looks on. On the left is Simran Sheikh, national programme manager, India HIV AIDS Alliance and Manjula, Board President, Sangama is on the extreme right. Pic: B David “Karnataka will soon conduct a transgender survey and the Health Department will take the lead as it will ensure gender minorities’ access social entitlements and will support them to exercise their constitutional rights,” said Health Minister UT Khader. He was addressing over 200 transgenders, who gathered at the 3rd Transgender…

Blood donation camp at SJR Park Vista. Pic: Indira PC  A voluntary blood donation camp was organised at SJR Park Vista, one of the 300+ residential communities on Sarjapur road, on June 27th. Held for the first time, the camp was initiated and organised by a resident, Indira PC, with support from the Residential Welfare Association and club-house management. The NIMHANS blood bank team, under the supervision of coordinator Beena Jayson and Dr Sukanya, conducted the camp. A total of 31 units of blood were collected from 31 donors (including donors from SJR Redwoods), which would go to the NIMHANS Blood Bank. Prior…

Elderly people need security. Pic: Abhishek Angad Our nation is facing a crisis in ageing as we attempt to understand and prepare to meet the needs of millions of older adults, current and future. Public and private sectors are engaged in a dialogue to address the needs of a diverse ageing population; to promote their dignity and independence, and expand opportunities for current and future generations of older persons. In India, over 90 million people are above 60 years of age. This is about 7.4% of the total population. The fear is that by 2021 it is estimated to grow…

B.PAC organised the release of CLPR report on the functioning of Special Fast Track Courts in Bengaluru with respect to sexual abuse of women and children on June 13th. This was followed by a panel discussion on issues and recommendation for effective functioning of these special courts.  B.PAC under its B.SAFE initiative - The Billion Eyes Campaign, in association with Centre for Law and Policy Research (CLPR) organised a panel discussion on the issue of Special Courts for women and children.   Out of the 93 Fast Track Courts set up in Karnataka in the year 2000, only 39 courts were…

44-year-old Seema Rai died in Fortis Hospital on Bannerghatta Road in May 2010, due to complications after a pancreas transplant surgery performed on her. According to latest orders given by the Appropriate Authority and Appellate Authority, the surgery was done without an informed consent of the patient, and without a valid license. Following a five-year-long legal battle over her husband Major Pankaj Rai’s complaint against the hospital to the Appropriate Authority, the Certificate of Registration granted to hospital in March 2010, permitting it to perform transplantation of liver, kidney and homograft, was cancelled.     KMC exonerates the doctors While these…

The police on May 8th 2015, filed a charge sheet against a former senior official of Fortis Hospital, Bannerghatta Road, Bengaluru and a government officer, with reference to a case of organ transplantation, where the patient died after the transplant. P K Davison, the Facility Director of Fortis Hospital on Bannerghatta Road, Bengaluru, and Dr V Raju, former deputy director (Medical) in the Office of Appropriate Authority for Organ Transplantation, Government of Karnataka are the accused in the case as per the charge sheet. The records reveal that the police have charged them with colluding and committing forgery on Fortis…

Public urination is common in Bengaluru. However, some people have no qualms about open defecation too. Pic: Ganga Madappa “What happens in the bathroom stays in the bathroom” was the general consensus at my childhood household. Unless there was a health concern, no one discussed their bowel movements. Ever! It wasn’t until I moved away to college, at 18-years-old, and had to share three bathroom stalls with 40 other girls on my dorm floor that bathroom habits became public knowledge. And then I arrived in Bengaluru. I cannot remember the first time I encountered public urination in India. Perhaps I…

Onus of ensuring accuracy in test reports is on laboratories. File pic. When 31-year-old Shweta, who is expecting her first child in the month of June 2015, went on a routine visit to her doctor, she was asked to undergo the usual tests recommended during pregnancy. When the hemoglobin count in the Complete Blood Count (CBC) test turned out to be lower than normal, the doctor advised her to take the three other tests — B12 test, Ferritin test and hemoglobin electrophoresis test, in order to be able to pinpoint the exact cause for the low hemoglobin count. As suggested…

Swine Flu has resulted in the death of 11 persons in Bengaluru Urban district, as on February 23rd, 2015, according to State Health Department reports. The Department also puts the total number of disease-affected in the district at 207 and critically ill patients at 8. An CNN-IBN report stated that the total death toll in India has crossed 800 since mid-December 2014. In this backdrop, here are some commonly asked questions about Swine Flu and the answers. What are the common symptoms of H1N1? Clinical symptoms of swine influenza include fever and upper respiratory symptoms such as cough, running nose…