Even as most of the world rises to a slowly receding COVID wave, North Korea on Sunday reported 15 additional deaths from “fever” after the country recently announced its first-ever cases of COVID-19 and ordered nationwide lockdowns, television channel NDTV citing AFP reports said. www.ndtv.com/world-news/north-korea-coronavirus-north-korea-covid-north-korea-coronavirus-cases-north-koreas-explosive-covid-outbreak-820-620-cases-in-3-days-2977028 State media KCNA said a total of 42 people had […]
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Heatwaves may be lethal for those with hypertension
With the India Meteorological Department (IMD) reporting highs of almost fifty degrees Celsius over the weekend tensions are looming regarding heat related deaths. One key concern is the increased risk of complications in those living with hypertension. Heatwaves have seen highs of 49 degrees in Delhi, with neighbouring Gurugram in Haryana recorded 48.1 degrees Celsius, […]
Bipolar disease remains unaddressed in India
Roughly one in every 150 Indians suffer from bipolar disorder, according to senior consultant psychiatrist Dr Bhaskar Mukherjee from Kolkata. However, of these individuals, less than thirty percent are currently receiving any degree of treatment. Mayoclinic characterises bipolar disorder as a “mental health condition that causes extreme mood swings that include emotional highs (mania or […]
Global Elite are Bored with Health, Just When It’s Getting Really Exciting
For the first time since 2019, the glitterati of geopolitics gathered recently at the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi. Why, I asked a senior Indian diplomat, did most of them fail to even mention health. Had they learned nothing from the pandemic? The pandemic, he thought, was the problem. “They’ve had over two years of being forced […]
No mixing vaccines for COVID-19 boosters
A new study by Christian Medical College (CMC) Vellore has suggested that mixing vaccines for COVID-19 shows a mixed result depending on the initial vaccination schedule, presenting programmatic challenges moving forward. The government, in light of this newfound data, has suggested that they may not allow booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines other than the one […]
“Tomato flu” reported in Kerala
An unidentified fever caused by an as of yet unknown virus has been circulating in the Indian state of Kerala. Locals and doctors alike have been referring to the condition as “tomato flu” or “tomato fever” due to the tomato shaped blisters caused by the condition. The condition has been reported in around eighty children […]
WHO estimates 15 million death toll due to COVID-19; The latest health stories from around the world
The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that nearly 15 million people—about one in every 500 globally—died from causes related to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and 2021 (the first two years of the pandemic), putting the toll from COVID-19 at nearly three times the number that had been officially recorded by countries. India suffered […]
India and WHO clash over COVID-19 death figures
Following a visit from Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), the WHO and the Indian Government have been at odds over the official death toll of COVID-19. India’s official death toll places the figure at 520,000, however, the WHO has cited studies that suggest the figure could be as high […]
India may be a hotspot for future zoonotic disease
The State of the World’s Forests 2022 report has cited India and China as the two most likely hotspots for the emergence of future zoonotic diseases. Zoonotic diseases are defined as those that spread from animals to humans. The most prominent example of this in recent years is COVID-19, thought to have potentially originated from […]
Could climate change aid the spread of viruses? The latest health stories from around the world
Earth’s warming climate is expected to change the habitat of many animal species, which a new modelling study predicts may spell trouble: Species on the move will mingle with many others they have never encountered before, allowing the various animals to exchange viruses. That could spark new disease outbreaks in many wildlife populations—and in humans […]