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.
This is the second Nipah-related death reported in Kerala in recent days.
Police have arrested a doctor for alleged negligence and registered a case against the manufacturer of a 'toxic' cough syrup after the death of 14 children in Chhindwara due to suspected renal failure, officials said on Sunday.
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 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.
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 ICMR's network of laboratories will take care of diagnostics and there is enough capability to step up the supply of diagnostic kits if required, they said.
Authorities have sealed three houses belonging to the affected families and shifted 21 their close relatives to government accommodation to be kept under strict monitoring.
The number of suspected Guillain-Barr Syndrome (GBS) deaths in Pune district, Maharashtra, has reached six after a 63-year-old man died. The outbreak has been linked to water contamination caused by campylobacter jejuni, a common bacterial pathogen that causes gastroenteritis and can trigger GBS. The number of suspected GBS cases has risen to 173, with 140 diagnosed with GBS. 34 patients are in Pune Municipal Corporation limits, 87 from newly added villages in PMC area, 22 from Pimpri Chinchwad civic limits, 22 from rural parts of the district, and eight from other districts. Of the 173, a total of 72 have been discharged, 55 are in ICU and 21 are on ventilator support.
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.
India has reported 59 cases of Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) and two deaths due to co-morbidities between January 6 and 29, according to Union Minister Prataprao Jadhav. The virus primarily affects young children, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals, leading to respiratory illnesses. The government has taken measures to monitor and control the spread of HMPV cases and create public awareness.
The state health department teams are conducting door-to-door surveillance in Badhal village, and the medical teams present in the district are monitoring the situation closely. The Medical experts have advised residents not to panic.
Water samples from different parts of Pune have been sent to the public health laboratory for chemical and biological analysis.
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.
The Indian government has advised states to intensify surveillance for respiratory illnesses, including influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory illnesses (SARI), following the detection of five human metapneumovirus (HMPV) cases in the country. The decision comes amidst reports of a surge in HMPV cases in China. The Union Health Secretary, Punya Salila Srivastava, chaired a virtual meeting with states and union territories to discuss the situation and public health measures. While there is no cause for public concern, the government is emphasizing the importance of preventive measures such as handwashing, covering coughs and sneezes, and avoiding close contact with those showing symptoms.
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, 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.
The Gujarat government has deployed specialist doctors and 50 medical teams in and around seven villages of two talukas in Kutch district after an undiagnosed fever has claimed the lives of 11 persons in a week, a state minister said on Wednesday.
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.
The Indian Council of Medical Research was in talks with the Serum Institute of India for local manufacturing of monoclonal antibodies (MABs). However, it did not take off, as the volume was much less in India.
This will also help test the effectiveness of preventing the entry of Nipah in target cells.
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.
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.
One of those infected with the virus was a nine-year-old boy.
After reports claimed that filings in patent offices in India, the US, and Europe did not mention ICMR or its scientists, but only BBIL and its scientists, the Hyderabad-based biotechnology (biotech) company clarified that in the "rush" to develop vaccines and file appropriate patents, BBIL had missed adding ICMR's name in the original filings.
The man, in his thirties, is not a contact of the first reported case of monkeypox in the national capital, they said, adding that he has a history of foreign travel.
Kerala Health Minister said the person showed symptoms of monkeypox and he was in close contact with a monkeypox patient abroad.
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.
In the wake of 73 confirmed cases of coronavirus in India so far, the Union health ministry has made functional 52 laboratories for testing samples while 57 labs have been designated for helping in sample collection for Covid-19 to enhance capacity for diagnosis and detection of the disease. "Following the increase in load of screening samples from suspected cases with symptoms and travel history to the affected countries, the department of health research/ICMR has commissioned 52 laboratories for COVID-19 testing in India," an official said.
The Centre on Sunday held a high-level review meeting after a 34-year-old man from the national capital with no history of foreign travel tested positive for the monkeypox virus, making it the fourth case of the disease reported in India.
In what appears to be an astonishing revelation, a US-based scientist who worked at a controversial research lab in China's Wuhan, has said that Covid-19 was a "man-made virus" that leaked from the facility.
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.
All these persons have been kept in single room isolation in designated health care facilities by respective state governments.
The diagnostic test kit developed by the Thiruvananthapuram institute can detect coronavirus in 10 minutes, and the sample to result time will be less than two hours, Vardhan tweeted. A total of 30 samples can be tested in a single batch on a single machine, he said.
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.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said Zika has been reported in Kerala and it was not unexpected as it is spread by the Aedes Aegypte mosquitoes, which causes dengue and Chickungunya.
A person who returned to Kerala from abroad and was hospitalised after showing signs of monkeypox tested positive for the disease, state Health Minister Veena George said on Thursday.
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