Findings of the first in-depth analysis of clinical and genomic characteristics of the Clade Ib strain, published in the journal Virology, showed seven of the 10 individuals had a history of travel to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Two suspected cases of Nipah virus have been detected in West Bengal, prompting a national outbreak response team to be deployed. The central government is providing full support to the state.
Health ministry advisory urges rational use of cough syrups in children after 11 deaths in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
The recent death of six people from bites by an unidentified animal in Madhya Pradesh's Barwani district prompted a massive search operation by the forest department after villagers reported sightings of a hyena in the area, officials said on Wednesday.
The Union health ministry has deputed a high-level multi-disciplinary team to Pune to aid state authorities in instituting interventions and managing the spurt in suspected and confirmed cases of Guillain Barre Syndrome (GBS) in the city.
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has detected 22 suspected cases of Guillain-Barr syndrome (GBS), an immunological nerve disorder, in the city. Samples from the affected patients have been sent to ICMR-NIV for testing. Most of the cases were detected in the Sinhgad Road area. According to doctors, GBS is a rare condition that causes sudden numbness and muscle weakness. While the condition is prevalent in both pediatric and young age groups, it does not lead to an epidemic or pandemic. The PMC has constituted a committee of experts to investigate the outbreak and conduct detailed surveillance of the patients. The civic health department has assured that there is no need for panic as of now.
Water samples from different parts of Pune have been sent to the public health laboratory for chemical and biological analysis.
A woman is suspected to have died of Guillain-Barr syndrome (GBS) in Maharashtra on Wednesday, while 16 new cases of the rare nerve disorder were reported in the state, health officials said.
A man suspected to have contracted Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) has died in Maharashtra's Solapur district, while the number of cases of the immunological nerve disorder in Pune rose to 110, health officials said on Monday.
Pune, India, has reported 59 suspected cases of Guillain-Barr syndrome (GBS), an immunological nerve disorder. The sudden rise in cases has prompted the state health department to form a team to investigate. GBS is a rare condition that causes sudden numbness and muscle weakness. Most suspected patients are within the age group of 30 years. Authorities are investigating the cause of the outbreak and have collected samples for testing. Doctors have assured the public that GBS is not contagious and most patients recover fully with treatment.
The National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune under the ICMR has isolated the monkeypox virus from the clinical specimen of a patient, which can pave the way for development of diagnostic kits and vaccines against the disease, officials said on Wednesday.
George, who met the media in Malappuram, said the Pune NIV (National Institute of Virology) had confirmed the infection in the boy, who is currently under treatment at a private hospital.
Maharashtra Health Minister Prakash Abitkar has linked 80% of suspected Guillain-Barr Syndrome (GBS) cases in Pune to water contamination around a well in Nanded village. The state health department and the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) are taking measures to address the issue. The well is a source of water for surrounding villages, and officials suspect contamination is leading to the spike in GBS cases. The minister emphasized that GBS affects individuals with weak immunity, and campylobacter jejuni bacteria, usually causing stomach infection, can trigger the disease. The PMC has conducted water sample tests, with some showing evidence of norovirus and campylobacter jejuni. Clean drinking water is being provided through tankers to affected areas.
George said the boy from Pandikkad suffered a massive cardiac arrest at 10.50 am on Sunday and efforts to revive him failed.
The health department said two of the persons on the contact list are from Palakkad, while four are from Thiruvananthapuram.
The scare of communicable diseases seems to be gripping the country with Maharashtra reporting 28 Zika cases this year, the highest since 2021.
The virus was detected in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes after samples from six water bodies in Chikkaballapura were collected and sent for examination.
Shailaja, who had won accolades for containing the Nipah infection effectively in 2018, said the southern state has a protocol and standard operating procedure (SOP) to effectively fight the infection and prevent its spread.
One of those infected with the virus was a nine-year-old boy.
Deaths due to Nipah virus infection were reported in Kozhikode district in 2018 and 2021.
A 39-year-old man tested positive for the Nipah virus, which was transmitted to him through direct contact with an infected person who died on August 30, State Health Minister Veena George said in Kozhikode on Friday.
The test kit has the advantage of testing 90 samples together in a single run of 2.5 hours, so that healthcare professionals can proceed quickly with necessary next steps.
The government has ordered monoclonal antibody from Indian Council of Medical Research to treat the child. It is the only available anti-viral treatment for Nipah virus infection, though it has not been clinically proven yet.
The Nipah virus has killed two people and infected two others in Kerala's Kozhikode district, the state government said on Tuesday.
A 31-year-old man from Kannur in Kerala tested positive for monkeypox on Monday, making it the second confirmed case of the disease in India, a Union health ministry official said.
After identifying the man who was the patient zero or index case of the Nipah virus outbreak in Kerala, the state government on Saturday began looking for the source and place from where he got infected by seeking details of his mobile tower locations.
The US is planning to resume the process of domestic visa revalidation in certain categories, like H-1B and L1 visas, on a pilot basis later this year, a move that will benefit tens of thousands of foreign tech workers, particularly from India. Until 2004, certain categories of non-immigrant visas, particularly the H-1B, could be renewed or stamped inside the US. After that, for the renewal of these visas, in particular, those on H-1B, the foreign tech workers have to go out of the country, mostly to their own country to get the H-1B extension stamped on their passport.
State health minister Veena George said a meeting was held between the principal secretary of the health department and the Union health ministry earlier in the day and now the monoclonal antibody has arrived.
A 35-year-old Nigerian man, living in Delhi and having no recent history of foreign travel, has tested positive for monkeypox, taking the total number of infected people in the country to six, official sources said on Monday.
The patient is being shifted to Government Fever Hospital in Hyderabad, they said.
Kerala health minister said of the 251 contacts, 54 are high risk contacts out of which 30 are healthcare workers.
According to respective company sources, Biological E is holding 200 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine Corbevax while Bharat Biotech is sitting on a stockpile of 50 million doses of Covaxin.
According to sources, so far only one traveller from Canada having symptoms of monkeypox infection had been isolated.
The Rhesus macaque monkeys, used worldwide in medical research, are believed to be the best non-human primates for such studies.
The hospital where the boy was being treated since September 1 is on alert and the situation there was being closely monitored, sources said.
"The blood test result of the first patient from Thrissur, from the National Institute of Virology (NIV) testing centre at Alappuzha, shows a negative result. But we need confirmation from the NIV at Pune," a senior medical officer said.
The ICMR has validated 'TruenatTM beta CoV test on TruelabTM workstation' and has recommended it as a screening test,the apex health research body said on Friday.
As Kerala reeled under a daily increase of nearly 30,000 cases of COVID-19, the deadly Nipah virus has come as another thorn in its side, prompting the state to further heighten the alertness of its health machinery to prevent an outbreak of a different infection.
The Jharkhand government has asked health officials to remain on alert and arrange isolation beds in all district hospitals after a seven-year-old girl was detected with symptoms similar to monkeypox in Garhwa, an official said on Wednesday.
Anti-inflammatory or immunomodulatory therapy, such as steroids, can have the risk of secondary infection like invasive mucormycosis, when used too early, at higher dose or for longer than required, they highlighted.
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