The application process is currently ongoing, and the deadline for submission is February 16.
Eligible candidates who wish to apply can do so by accessing the official website at recruit.icmr.org.in.
Scientist-B: 30 vacancies
Scientist -C (Bioethics): 1
To be eligible to apply, candidates must have Master’s degree in relevant discipline from recognized University or Institute.
The maximum age of the candidates should be 35 years as on crucial date.
Candidates will be selected through a computer-based written test (MCQs), an interview, or a combination of both. In the event of a written test, it will assess the understanding of research methods and serve as a qualifying round, with a minimum qualifying percentile set at 75.
The application fee for candidates is ₹1500. However, candidates falling under the SC/ST/Women/PwBD/EWS categories are exempted from the application fee.
Visit the official website by navigating to https://recruit.icmr.org.in/
Click on the "Apply" link on the homepage
Complete the application form with the necessary details
Upload all the required documents as specified
Process the payment for the application fee
Submit the form and ensure to take a printout for future reference
For more details, check the official notification.
The research, published in the Indian Journal of Medical Research, showed that lifestyle factors such as current smoking status, alcohol use frequency, recent binge drinking, recreational drug/substance use and vigorous-intensity activity were associated with unexplained sudden death.
As compared to never users, the more the frequency of alcohol use, the higher was the odds for unexplained sudden death.
The research body undertook a multicentric matched case–control study in view of anecdotal reports of sudden unexplained deaths in India’s apparently healthy young adults, linking to Covid-19 infection or vaccination.
The researchers determined the factors associated with such deaths in individuals aged 18-45 years from 47 tertiary care hospitals across India.
At least 729 cases and 2,916 controls were included in the analysis.
The cases were apparently healthy individuals without any known co-morbidity, who suddenly (before 24 h of hospitalisation or seen apparently healthy 24 h before death) died of unexplained causes between October 1, 2021 and March 31, 2023.
"Covid-19 vaccination did not increase the risk of unexplained sudden death among young adults in India," revealed the researchers.
Instead "past Covid-19 hospitalisation, family history of sudden death and certain lifestyle behaviours increased the likelihood of unexplained sudden death", they added in the paper.
The study also showed that taking at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine lowered the oddsfor unexplained sudden death.
Patients with unexplained sudden death were four times more likely to have had been hospitalised for Covid.
"Our findings did not indicate any evidence of positive association of unexplained sudden death with Covid-19 vaccination. However, a history of sudden death in the family, Covid-19 hospitalisation and certain high risk behavioural factors were positively associated with unexplained sudden death among young Indians," the researchers said.
"On the contrary, the present study documents that Covid-19 vaccination indeed reduced the risk of unexplained sudden death in this age group."
After AIIMS-Delhi became the victim of a hacking attack where Chinese involvement was suspected in November last year, another top hospital in the national capital, the Safdarjung Hospital, was also hit by a data breach in December.
However, the hacking attack on Safdarjung Hospital was not as severe as the one AIIMS-Delhi faced and the chances of data leak were less as a major part of the hospital work ran on manual mode.
According to Safdarjung Hospital officials, the attack was not of a higher degree, but some sections of the hospital server were impacted. The hospital server was down for one day and was later rectified.
However, months after the cyber attack at AIIMS-Delhi, the government was yet to come up with a satisfactory answer about what happened to the patient data that was encrypted and may have been exfiltrated by the hackers.
Sensitive data of 40 million patients, including political leaders and other VIPs, was potentially compromised in the hacking.
As per sources, the AIIMS server was hacked by the Chinese. The government maintained that the services were restored and the patient data has been repopulated into the system, but the most important question is what happened to the compromised data? Did it make its way to the dark web?
The attack was analysed by the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) and was found to have been caused by improper network segmentation.
According to Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the attack was carried out by unknown threat actors.
"It is time to come up with specific legal provisions to deal with ransomware. In America, they have actually now made it an offence when somebody pays a ransom, because it is said to be aiding the cyber criminal," according to Pavan Duggal, the Founder and Chairman of the International Commission on Cyber Security Law.
"Across the world, countries are roughly in a similar kind of position that India is, except that the challenges for India are far too huge. Most of the cyber criminal activities are being targeted on Indians," he added.
In the latest ICMR breach that allegedly put the personal data of 81.5 crore Indians on sale on the dark web, the government said there is “evidence of leakage and investigation is going on, but the data was not stolen".
Given the grave nature of the incident, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was likely to probe the matter once ICMR files a complaint.
In September, cybersecurity researchers found that the official website of the Ministry of AYUSH in Jharkhand had been breached, exposing over 3.2 lakh patient records on the dark web.
According to the cybersecurity company CloudSEK, the website's database, amounting to 7.3 MB, holds patient records that include PII and medical diagnoses. The compromised data also contains sensitive information about doctors, including their PII, login credentials, usernames, passwords, and phone numbers.
The data breach was initiated by a threat actor named "Tanaka".
It has found three sub clusters among A.2 lineage - first cluster Kerala (n5) and Delhi (n2) aligned with the USA-2022 ON674051.1; while second of Delhi (n3) aligned with USA-2022 ON675438.1 and third cluster consists of the UK, US and Thailand - in the study conducted by ICMR-NIV Pune.
According to the study, all the retrieved MPXV sequences from India covering 90 to 99 per cent of the genome belong to the A.2 lineage of clade IIb.
"All the retrieved MPXV sequences from India covering 90 to 99 per cent genome belong to A.2 lineage of clade IIb. The A.2 MPXV lineage divided in three sub clusters; first cluster Kerala n5, Delhi n2 aligned with the USA-2022 ON674051.1; while second of Delhi n3 aligned with USA-2022 ON675438.1 and third consists of the UK, USA and Thailand. Recent update in MPXV lineage designated all the five sequences from Kerala as A.2.1.", the ICMR study has revealed, emphasizing the need of enhancing genomic surveillance to understand the mutation and its linkage.
During the period of July to August 2022, clinical specimens i.e., oropharyngeal swab (OPS), nasopharyngeal swab (NPS), lesion crust and lesion fluids of 96 suspected Monkeypox cases were referred from 18 states and 3 Union Territories to ICMR-National Institute of Virology, Pune, India for diagnosis of Monkeypox.
The clinical specimens of all the cases were tested using Monkeypox specific real time PCR. Of them, five cases each from Kerala and Delhi were found to be positive for MPXV. All the monkeypox negative cases were also screened for Varicella zoster virus (VZV) and enterovirus (EV) specific real time PCR.
Of 114 cases, the MPXV infection was confirmed in ten cases from India using both Orthopox and Monkeypox specific real time PCR. Further the screening of monkeypox negative cases indicated the presence of VZV and EV by real time PCR. The ten monkeypox confirmed cases were three male and two female from New Delhi with no international travel history; while five males were from Kerala with travel history from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to India.
All the cases were immunocompetent with no comorbidities with their mean age 31 years and presented with short prodromal phase of fever, myalgia, vesiculo-pustular lesions primarily in genital area, face, trunk and extremities.
"Of all, nine cases had non tender firm lymphadenopathy in one or more sites (inguinal, cervical, submental, submandibular, retro-auricular), while one case didn't show lymphadenopathy. All the cases have recovered without complications except a case from Kerala who succumbed to the infection following acute onset encephalitis", the ICMR said.
"The MPXV sequences from India were grouped in two sub clusters; 7 sequences (Kerala n5, Delhi n2) aligned with the USA-2022 strain ON674051.1 and UK-2022 OP331335.1 formed the first cluster. In this sub cluster, five sequences from Kerala were designated as A.2.1 based on the lineage defining mutations in the position C 25072 T, A 140492 C, C 179537 T. Two sequences from Delhi are lacking all three mutations, hence still defined into A.2 lineage", said the ICMR study.
The study further added, "While it was noted that A.2.1 lineage defining mutations are lacking in the 3 sequences from the second sub cluster of Delhi; aligned with USA-2022 strain ON675438.1. The third sub cluster consists of the MPXV sequences obtained from UK-2022 OP331336.1, USA-2021 ON676707.1 and three sequences of Thailand-2022".
It will look prospectively at the incidence of snakebite covering 13 states, including Himachal Pradesh, in five zones of India with a population of 84 million.
The other states are Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Tripura.
An article on the study 'ICMR task force project, survey of the incidence, mortality, morbidity and socio-economic burden of snakebite in India: A study protocol' was published in the international research journal Plos One on August 22.
While the national Principal Investigator for the ICMR study is Jaideep C. Menon from Preventive Cardiology and Population Health Sciences, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Kochi, while Omesh Bharti, state Epidemiologist with Department of Health and Family Welfare, Himachal Pradesh, is the national Principal Co-Investigator.
"This study will generate real data on snakebite incidence, mortality, morbidity and socio-economic burden of snakebite for the first time in the country to help the decision makers in policy framing to prevent and control snakebite in India. The country still doesn't know the real snakebite burden and is hence groping in the dark when it comes to policy," Bharti told IANS on Tuesday.
He said the survey is in progress and it takes into consideration all the geographical areas like hilly, plains, marshy, desert and coastal. "It is the first such study designed for the survey of snakebite incidence in South East Asia. Sri Lanka has done it, but they covered a population of one per cent only, whereas our study would cover a population of 6.12 per cent," explained Bharti.
He said the snakebite incidence study is being carried out in 31 districts in six geographical zones in the country, including West, Central, South, East, North and North-East, in 13 states. Three districts of Himachal -- Kangra, Chamba and Una -- are also included in it.
According to the article on 'study protocol' to know snakebite incidence, snakebite is possibly the most neglected of the NTDs (neglected tropical diseases).
Half of the global deaths due to venomous snakebites, estimated at 100,000 per year, occur in India. The only representative data on snakebite available from India is the mortality data from the Registrar General of India - Million Death Study and another study on mortality from Bihar. The incidence data on snakebite is available for two districts of West Bengal.
It was only in 2017 that snakebite was added back onto the WHO (World Health Organization) list of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), after being struck off the list in 2013.
Geographically, the greatest impact of snakebite is in the tropical and subtropical regions, with the highest occurrence in India.
Global estimates of snakebite range from 4.5 million to 5.4 million bites annually with an estimated two million of them in India with significant physical, mental and socioeconomic consequences.
The ICMR's study protocol for snakebite incidence and burden mentions that the hospital-based data on snakebite admissions and use of anti-snake venom are gross underestimates as most snakebite victims in rural India depend more on alternate treatment methods which do not get represented in national registries.
The ICMR study is a multi-centric study to determine the incidence, morbidity, mortality and economic burden of snakebites in India covering all five geographical zones of the country.
"The protocol involves community-level surveillance for snakebite covering 31 districts in 13 states of India in order to obtain annual incidence of snakebites from the community. The frontline health workers will be trained to gather information on new cases of snakebite over the study period of one year, from wards (smallest administrative subunit of a village or town) that they represent in the study districts.
"Dedicated field officers would collect data on snakebites, victim characteristics, outcomes, utilization of health facilities on a questionnaire sheet designed for this purpose. The study duration is for 18 months from April 2022 to October 2023," added Bharti.
As per a study, the number of deaths due to venomous snakebite in India is 46,900 per year.
This is considerably high, compared to only 10-12 deaths per year, due to venomous snakebite in the US and Australia, this despite the fact that less populous Australia has probably more venomous species.
Individuals who recovered from Covid also showed significant immunity boost post-vaccination with Covaxin but lower than the breakthrough cases.
However, those who had taken two doses of Covaxin had very low neutralizing titres demonstrating the waning immunity after three months of the second dose of Covaxin, the study showed.
"The study highlights the significance of administering a booster dose or precaution dose of Covid vaccine as it provides better protection against the disease," Dr Pragya Yadav, a senior scientist at NIV Pune and the lead investigator of the study, told PTI.
The findings of the study, conducted in February this year after isolating the Omicron variant, have been published in the Journal of Infection on April 5.
"The impact of the third wave of the pandemic in India, caused by Omicron, triggered us to study the effectiveness of Covaxin against this variant.
"We assessed the sera of na ve, recovered and breakthrough cases vaccinated with Covaxin for its neutralising ability against Omicron and other variants," she stated.
As part of the study, participants were categorised into three groups -- 52 COVID-19 na ve individuals vaccinated with two doses of Covaxin with an average age of 41.7 years, 31 COVID-19 recovered cases vaccinated with two doses of Covaxin with average age of 41.7 years and 40 breakthrough cases after two-dose vaccination with Covaxin with an average age of 43.7 years.
The sera samples of na ve, recovered and breakthrough cases, were collected on average 97, 99 and 110 days, respectively.
The breakthrough infection was found to occur on average 43 days after the second vaccination.
A majority of the breakthrough cases had mild disease (95%) and two were asymptomatic, while 32.5% had co-morbidities like diabetes, hypothyroidism, hypertension, cardiac arrhythmias and allergic asthma.
"Breakthrough cases had the highest neutralising activity against all variants demonstrating a significant increase in the immune response post-infection. Recovered cases also showed significant immunity boost post-vaccination, but were lower than breakthrough cases.
"Apparently, the na ve cases had very low neutralizing titres against all the variants compared to the recovered and breakthrough cases," Dr Yadav stated.
The Omicron variant has shown a pronounced resistance to neutralization with the sera of all the three groups compared to B.1, Beta and Delta variants, she said.
Dr Yadav noted that Omicron was less effectively neutralized with the sera of na ve cases (12.9 fold) than recovered (7.98 fold) and breakthrough (8.84 fold) compared to B.1.
Although the immune response was less against the Omicron, it would still protect individuals from developing severe disease, hospitalization and mortality, she added.
Mandaviya was replying to a question of Congress MP from West Bengal Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury who asked about the predictions made by an ICMR-run medical journal about the pandemic and whether ICMR misguided the Prime Minister.
"The Covid supermodel published in October 2020 in the ICMR-run Indian Journal of Medical Research, predicted that the epidemic in India had passed its peak in September 2020 and that the country would be able to control the virus's spread by the end of February 2021, by following the safety protocols already in place," Chowdhury asked.
He asked further that the top government officials, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, portrayed a rosy projection of the supermodel.
"Modi ji said in February 2021 that India's fight against Covid had inspired the rest of the world but barely two months later, India reported record-high levels of Covid cases amid a devasting second wave which left lakhs dead and many more severely ill," the Congress MP further asked.
"As for the directions given or not given by the Prime Minister, I would like to inform everyone that it is because of the PM's timely and correct directions that India has been able to do the best Covid management and vaccination," said Mandaviya to the house.
In his reply, Health Minister said that because of the research Institute ICMR, India passed the Omicron-led third Covid easily. "The number of deaths in third covid wave in the world was more or less similar to the second wave. But, India passed third Covid wave easily because majority of population was vaccinated and the vaccine was indigenously-made", said Mandaviya. He said that the institute will continue to research not only Covid management but other type of medical research also.
SARS-CoV-2, Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
International data available on booster doses of AstraZeneca and Covishield suggests a three- to four-fold increase in antibody levels after their administration, Pawar said in a written reply.
"A study has been conducted by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to examine the effect of booster dose of Covaxin which shows increase in the levels of neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 after the booster dose," Pawar stated.
As per the recommendation of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI), precaution dose is administered to healthcare workers, frontline workers, and people aged 60 years and above since January 10,2022, she said.
As on March 24, 2022, 2.21 crore precaution doses against COVID-19 have been administered.
The study analysed the IgG and neutralising antibodies (NAbs) against B.1, Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants with the sera of individuals infected with the Omicron variant (B.1.1529 and BA.1). It suggests that the immune response induced by the Omicron could effectively neutralise the Delta variant, making re-infection with Delta variant less likely and displacing this varaint as the dominant strain.
This emphasises the need for an Omicron-specific vaccine strategy, said the study.
"The GMTs of neutralising antibodies of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 breakthrough individuals showed significant fold-reductions compared to B.1 against Alpha (3.23), Beta (2.38), Delta (3.23) and Omicron (4.31) variants respectively. Similarly, BNT162b2 mRNA breakthrough individuals demonstrated significant fold-reduction in GMTs of 1.52 and 7.41 for Delta and Omicron respectively," it said.
However, the study has a limitation of lesser participants in the unvaccinated group and the shorter window period post infection. "This could be the important reason for the low immune response specifically in the unvaccinated individuals against Omicron," it said.
The study was conducted on 39 Omicron-infected individuals, of which 25 had taken both the doses of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, eight people had taken double dose of Pfizer jab, while six were unvaccinated. Of the 39, 28 were foreign returnees and the rest their high-risk contacts.
"Our study demonstrated substantial immune response in the individuals infected with Omicron. The neutralising antibodies could effectively neutralise the Omicron and other variants of concern (VOCs), including the most prevalent Delta variant," the study stated.
The apex body on Sunday released a set of new advisory on purposive testing strategies for COVID19 in the country. The advisory on testing strategy is for early detection of symptomatic cases for quick isolation and care of elderly and individuals with comorbidities.
As per the advisory, individuals with symptoms including cough, fever, sore throat, loss of taste/smell, breathlessness or other respiratory symptoms are required to undergo testing. Apart from that, the at-risk contacts of laboratory-confirmed cases need to get tested. Individuals, who have plans of international travel or international travellers arriving at the airports across the country also need to undergo testing.
The advisory also stated that asymptomatic individuals in community settings and contacts of confirmed cases of Covid-19 need not undergo testing unless the patient is identified as high risk based on age and comorbidities.
Patients discharged as per home isolation guidelines and COVID-19 facilities as per revised discharge policy don't need to get tested. Individuals undertaking inter-state domestic travel are not required to undergo testing.
Stressing on the mode of testing, the advisory stated that testing can be undertaken through RT-PCR, TrueNat, CBNAAT, CRISPR, RT-LAMP, Rapid Molecular Testing Systems or Rapid Antigen Test (RAT).
Advisory on Purposive Testing Strategy for COVID-19 in India (Version VII, dated 10th January 2022) @MoHFW_INDIA @DeptHealthRes @PIB_India @mygovindia @COVIDNewsByMIB #ICMRFIGHTSCOVID19 #IndiaFightsCOVID19 #CoronaUpdatesInIndia #COVID19 #Unite2FightCorona pic.twitter.com/0bFN4R5gZ4
— ICMR (@ICMRDELHI) January 10, 2022
The whole SARS CoV2 virus infects an individual in natural settings, and elicits three kinds of responses - antibody mediated, cell mediated immunity, and immunological memory, he said.
"Based on several global and Indian scientific researches, if you get an infection, you are generally protected for 9 months," he said at press briefing on the Covid situation.
Immunological memory to SARS CoV2 lasted for 8 months in the natural settings as per a study in the US, published in journal Science. Another study from China says that antibody and cellular immune responses persists more than 9 months after infection, while the longitudinal investigation in the US of multiple studies have shown that antibody responses persists for more than 13 months post infection, he added.
About three studies from India - two by the ICMR and one from Bombay conducted on 284, 755 and 244 patients, respectively, Bhargava said that immunity persists for up to 8 months, 7 months, and 6 months respectively.
"Most of the studies have shown that it persists for 8 to 13 months post infection and we have taken it as around 9 months," he added.
The ICMR chief also said that all Covid vaccines do not prevent infection and are primarily disease modifying.
"All Covid vaccines, whether they are from India, Israel, US, Europe, UK or China, are primarily disease-modifying. They do not prevent infection. The precautionary dose is primarily to mitigate the severity of infection, hospitalisation and death," he said.
Meanwhile, approximately 90 per cent of the adult population in India has been vaccinated against Covid-19 with the first dose, while 63.5 per cent of those eligible have been administered both doses of vaccines, Joint Secretary, Health, Lav Agarwal, said at the briefing.
He said that the weekly positivity rate of more than 10 per cent is being noted in 8 districts - six in Mizoram, one in Arunachal Pradesh, and Kolkata.
The ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre, NE, Dibrugarh, one of the institutes of the ICMR, New Delhi, has developed a novel technology -- real-time RT-PCR assay for detection of Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant of SARS-CoV2 and a kit for the same.
"ICMR is the owner of the said technology, including any underlying intellectual property(ies) and commercialisation rights. ICMR is lawfully entitled to enter into any form of non-exclusive license agreements with selected manufacturer/manufacturers, including transfer of technology through suitable agreement to any other interested manufacturers," the invitation of Expression of Interest document said.
"ICMR, New Delhi, invites Expression of Interest (EOI) through email from experienced IVD kit manufacturers for undertaking transfer of technology for development and commercialisation of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron (B.1.1.529) Real time RT-PCR assay (RT-PCR) through a novel diagnostic kit, developed by ICMR," the invitation of EoI said.
Subject to the terms and conditions of an agreement, more particularly a license agreement, ICMR shall grant a non-exclusive license to the manufacturer, a royalty bearing right and license to use and practice the technology and process ("licensed technology") to manufacture, sell and commercialise the product, including a non-exclusive right to manufacture, sell and market products worldwide and the right to use licensed technology for manufacturing products worldwide.
The agreement, following EoI, is proposed to be executed on "non-exclusive" basis with multiple manufacturers due to the extensive demand of SARS-CoV2 Omicron (B.1.1.529) real- time RT-PCR assay that is being envisaged, the document said.
The kit has been designed by a team of ICMR scientists from the Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC) for the Northeast region led by scientist Dr Biswajyoti Borkakoty.
"ICMR-RMRC, Dibrugarh, has designed and developed a hydrolysis probe-based real-time RT-PCR assay for detection of the new Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) SARS-CoV-2 that can detect the new variant within two hours. This is important because as of now a minimum of 36 hours is required for targeted sequencing and 4 to 5 days for whole-genome sequencing to detect the variant," said Dr Borkakoty.
Generally, it takes three to four days to detect the Omicron variant in infected people.
The kit is now being produced on a bulk basis by the WEst Bengal-based GCC Biotech on a public-private partnership (PPP) model.
With the latest Omicron case detected in Delhi on Saturday, overall tally of persons infected by the variant has climbed to 33 in India.
Delhi reported its second case of Omicron on Saturday after a fully vaccinated individual with a travel history to Zimbabwe and South Africa tested positive.
Maharastra is on top of the list of states which have reported Omicron cases, followed by Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Karnataka.
"We are hopeful that India's vaccine will prove effective against the new variant, but it will take time to be sure about how much it will provide protection against the new variant," Dr. Panda told IANS.
Asked about the challenges the new variant poses to India, the ICMR scientist said "it poses equal challenges across the globe but we need to take extra precautions in view of this variant".
He said that scientists have so far observed the structural changes. "But more studies are required to confirm that the variant is deadlier than the other variants of Covid."
He added that it would require more time to examine whether the variant is getting transmitted 'really fast' or causing clusters of infection.
At the same time, he emphasised that those who have not taken the second dose of the vaccine should take the jab, and follow the Covid appropriate behaviour.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified the new Covid variant detected in South Africa this week as the 'Variant of Concern' -- VOC, following the Technical Advisory Group meetings.
"Based on the evidence presented indicative of a detrimental change in Covid-19 epidemiology, the TAG-VE has advised WHO that this variant should be designated as a Variant of Concern and the WHO has designated B.1.1.529 as a VOC, named Omicron," the global health body said.
The WHO said that this variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning. Preliminary evidence suggests an increased risk of re-infection with this variant, compared to other VOCs.
According to sources, the booster dose issue is likely to be discussed in the next meeting of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation in India (NTAGI).
"Administering the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine to all adult population and ensuring that not only India but the entire world gets vaccinated is the priority of the government for now.
"More so, there is no scientific evidence so far to support the need for a booster vaccine dose against COVID-19," Bhargava told PTI.
On the probability of administering a booster dose, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya recently said that adequate stocks are available and the aim is to complete the vaccination of the target population with two doses. After that, a decision on booster dose would be taken based on expert recommendation, he had said.
"The government cannot take a direct decision in such a matter. When the Indian Council of Medical Research and expert team will say that a booster dose should be given, we will consider it then," he had said, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always depended on expert opinion, be it vaccine research, manufacturing or approval.
According to officials, around 82 per cent of the eligible population in India have received the first dose of the vaccine while around 43 per cent have been fully inoculated.
The total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has exceeded 116.87 crore, according to provisional reports till 7 am.
The government has launched a month-long 'Har Ghar Dastak' campaign for house-to-house COVID-19 vaccination of those who are yet to take a dose and for people whose second dose is overdue.
According to officials, over 12 crore beneficiaries are overdue for their second dose of COVID-19 vaccine after the expiry of the prescribed interval between the two doses.
This is just an example and does not actually portray the alarming situation the people of Odisha, and the residents of Cuttack in particular, are in.
A latest study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) revealed that Cuttack reports the maximum instances of brain stroke cases among cities in India.
As per the study, Cuttack district registers 187 brain stroke cases per 1 lakh population in a year. Similarly, 217 males out of every 1 lakh male population suffer the disease in a year. And as far as the females are concerned, the number stands at 156.
The study ‘Stroke Incidence and Mortality: A Report of the Population based Stroke Registries, India, which was released on Wednesday, was conducted by the National Centre for Disease Informatics & Research (NCDIR) in ICMR’s Bengaluru unit.
It was conducted to address the nationwide gap in data on stroke instances among adults in India. A population based stroke registry was set up in five different regions of the country, such as North-Varanasi, West-Kota, East-Cuttack, South-Tirunelveli.
SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack district of Odisha, Silchar Medical College and Hospital in Cachar district of Assam, Tirunelveli Medical College in Tamil Nadu, Government Medical College in Kota of Rajasthan and Institute of Medical Sciences along with Banaras Hindu University (BHU) from Varanasi district of Uttar Pradesh were part of the study.
The only relief for Cuttack is that while the number of cases are high, the mortality rate is on the lower side. Varanasi tops the chart with 46 brain stroke deaths out of every 1 lakh population. Cachar comes second with 39.9 deaths while Cuttack remains at third position with 31 deaths per 1 lakh population.
The gravity of the situation is evident after the experts raised an alarm. “If the data is correct, then the situation in Cuttack is definitely not good. The stroke patients are continuously rising in Cuttack, which is worrisome,” said Dr Ashok Mallick, HOD of Neurology in SCB Medical College and Hospital.
Similarly Dr Ashok Mohapatra, former Director of AIIMS Bhubaneswar said, “We should make a strategy to go to the root of this disease and prevent it there. Obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and tobacco are some of the major causes of brain stoke. There are people who do not adhere to treatment even after diagnosis of diabetes.
This is particularly alarming given the fact that brain stroke is the second largest killer in the world after heart attack.
In an opinion piece published in The Indian Journal of Medical Research, the experts cited a UNESCO report which stated that school closures in India for more than 500 days have affected over 320 million children. It has hit hard children from the relatively deprived hamlets and slums with many not being able to read more than a few words.
A survey has found that students missed out on social interactions, lacked physical activity and had a sense of loosening the bonds of friendship due to prolonged school closures, mentioned the piece 'Reopening of schools during COVID-19 pandemic: A persistent dilemma'.
In the opinion piece that has synthesized scientific evidence from within India and abroad on the justification for reopening of schools, experts said knowing that COVID-19 transmission is an "over-dispersed" phenomenon, testing strategies in schools could serve as key interventions to check the potential spread of the virus.
It must also be acknowledged that Covid testing strategies in schools should act as an adjunct and not substitute to other organizational and behavioural interventions, stated the perspective by Tanu Anand, Balram Bhargava and Samiran Panda.
Evidence indicates that restoration of functioning of the education system as it was in pre-COVID times, as early as possible appears prudent in the current Indian context, they said.
"However, it would be necessary to examine state-specific as well as district-specific data on earlier waves of infection and the status of adult vaccination coverage to project any plausible third wave and its potential intensity to inform decisions related to schools reopening."
"It is recommended that schools should have access to on-site testing facilities according to existing country-specific guidelines. Temporary or localised closures of a class or school may occur depending upon the local community transmission levels or if COVID-19 indicators worsen."
School teachers, staff and those involved in the transportation of children should be vaccinated on an emergent basis and continue to use a mask even after receiving the jabs, the experts underlined.
This combination intervention is critical as vaccination against COVID-19 does not prevent acquisition or transmission of infection, and it is true for adults and children.
"Opening of schools under this combination-intervention will ensure not only continuity of in-person learning but also instil confidence among parents that schools are safe for their children," they said.
COVID-19 vaccine trials for children and adolescents are still ongoing in India. Available evidence suggests that those aged 12 years and above are at a high risk of contracting the infection. Therefore, they must be prioritised for vaccination compared to the younger children, the experts said.
To get the maximum benefits of reopening schools, the opinion piece highlighted the need for devising proactive multi-layered mitigation strategies to create an optimal learning environment for the children with a reduced risk of transmission.
Consistent and appropriate use of masks, implementation of a standard protocol for sanitization and hand washing are the key pillars of Covid-appropriate behaviour and must be practised by students and school staff alike.
Ensuring the provision for such behaviour change practices requires planning and resource allocation by school authorities, the experts highlighted.
While masks are not recommended for children under five years, six to 11-year old children may wear a mask depending on their ability to use them safely and appropriately. Those aged 12 years and above should wear masks under the same conditions as adults, they said.
Schools should ensure that the indoors are well ventilated and air conditioners should be avoided. Exhaust fans should be installed in classrooms to curtail the potential spread of infection.
Also, children should be advised against sharing meals, spending long hours in canteens or dining halls.
Referring to the open-air classes propagated by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore at Santiniketan, Anand, Bhargava and Panda said, "COVID-19 has forced us to explore and discover innovative learning methods, particularly in nature's lap."
They said that there is ample evidence to suggest that children aged 1-17 years have similar susceptibility to a mild form of COVID-19 as in adults.
"However, the risk of severe disease and mortality in children when compared to adults is much less," the experts said.
Anecdotal evidence from India also points towards a sporadic rise in Covid cases in states that initiated the reopening of schools after the first wave. All these points towards over-dispersed phenomenon in COVID-19 transmission in various settings, they said.
It should also be noted that global evidence suggests schools as "non-drivers" of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the community, the experts underlined.
Bijay Mohapatra revealed these facts while speaking about the sero-survey conducted in the state recently by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Mohapatra stated that the sero-survey report provided positive information regarding the presence of antibodies among people of Odisha.
The Health Services Director also asserted that the condition of vaccinated people has also improved as compared to earlier, which is a positive sign.
Video Editor: Surendra Pradhan
Producer: Diptyranjita Patra
The senior official informed that a recent serological survey was conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in 12 districts of Odisha to estimate and compare the age-specific, region-specific and gender-specific prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among people.
For the first time, children below 18 years were included in the state-level serological survey. During the survey, the ICMR found that 93 per cent of health workers have developed antibodies against Covid-19, while 70 per cent of children have also developed antibodies against the virus.
The sero-prevalence was around 70 per cent in the 6-10 years age group, while it was 74% for the 11-18 years age group. The survey also found that sero-prevalence was highest in Khordha district with 81 per cent, and lowest in Jajpur, Mayurbhanj and Jharsuguda with 68 per cent.
It was also found that there were no differences between urban-rural regions or male-female with respect to sero-prevalence or vaccine coverage.
Video Editor: Surendra Pradhan
Producer: Diptyranjita Patra
"Clinicopathological Profile of Cancers in India: A Report of the Hospital-Based Cancer Registries, 2021", consolidates data collected during the period across 96 hospital-based cancer registries under the National Cancer Registry Programme (NCRP). The data pertains to all diagnosed and treated cases of confirmed malignancies reported to these centres across the country
The country registered 13,32,207 cases of cancer during 2012-19. Of these, 6,10,084 were included for analysis, based on the completeness and quality of data.
Childhood cancers rank ninth as a leading cause of childhood diseases at the global level, accounting for 11.5 million of the Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs).
In India, according to a recent NCRP report, the proportion of childhood cancers (0-19 years), relative to cancers in all age groups, was found to range from 1 per cent to 4.9 per cent.
Delhi reported the highest age-adjusted incidence rate (AAR) of 203.1 per million in boys and 125.4 per million in girls. Leukaemia accounted for nearly half of all the childhood cancers in both genders in the 0-14 years age group (46.4 per cent in boys and 44.3 per cent in girls). The other common childhood cancer in boys was lymphoma (16.4 per cent), while in girls, it was malignant bone tumour (8.9 per cent).
Childhood cancers are presented for two age groups: 0-14 years and 0-19 years to enable national and international comparison, and classified according to the International Classification of Childhood Cancer.
Apart from childhood cancer, the ICMR report says that cancers in sites associated with tobacco use comprised 48.7 per cent of cancers among males and 16.5 per cent among females.
The relative proportion of site-specific cancers was higher in males than females except for thyroid cancer (2.5 per cent in females versus 1 per cent in males) and gall bladder cancer (3.7 per cent in females versus 2.2 per cent in males).
Among all the cancers, the highest proportion of distant metastasis at presentation was seen in patients with lung cancer (49.2 per cent males and 55.5 per cent females), followed by gall bladder cancer (40.9 per cent males and 45.7 per cent females) and prostate cancer (42.9 per cent).
The ICMR reports suggested that chemotherapy was still the most typical treatment modality for many cancers, regardless of the clinical extent of disease at presentation, including cancers of the liver, gall bladder, stomach, lung, and childhood cancers.
The ICMR has got permission for conducting an experimental Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) vaccine delivery in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Manipur, and Nagaland upto a height of 3000 meters using drones. The IIT-B has received permission for research, development and testing of drones in its own premises.
This exemption to the ICMR shall be subject to the terms and conditions of the said airspace clearance and shall be valid for a period of one year from the date of approval of the said airspace clearance or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
Earlier, Union Minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia had launched the first of its kind ‘Medicines from the Sky' project at Vikarabad in Telangana under which drugs and vaccines were to be delivered using drones on September 11.
"The ministry's new drone rules have unlocked the drone industry and the innovation therein on the principles of trust, self-certification, and non-intrusive monitoring. Drone is a frontier technology that can be used to access otherwise inaccessible areas, and thus allow equitable access to basic services like healthcare for even the farthest and remotest of areas. India is all set to become the drone hub of the world by 2030, and the potential of our innovators is only infinite," said Scindia while launching the ‘Medicines from the Sky' project.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation notified the liberalised Drone Rules, 2021 to usher in an era of super-normal growth while balancing safety and security considerations in drone operations on August 25, 2021.
Talking about the third Covid wave, he said that the intensity of any wave in near future would be lesser than what the country witnessed a couple of months ago during the second peak in April-May 2021 and it may not affect the entire country.
Here are the excerpts of the interview.
Q. Have states started showing signs of third Covid wave amid rising Covid cases?
A. Surges of infections of SARS-CoV-2 are being observed now in a few states; these should be examined by the respective states as such surges could serve as early warning sign. With a viral pandemic of this magnitude, there is always a possibility for future waves. But I feel that the intensity of any wave in near future would be lesser than what the country witnessed a couple of months back during the second peak in April-May 2021 and it may not affect the entire country.
If there is an increase in the symptomatic cases, it could burden the healthcare system. Therefore, it is important to study the possibility of future wave with respect to the last waves. The second wave in India hit Delhi, Maharashtra and a few other states hard. Eighty per cent of the recorded infections during the second wave came from about 10 states. But there were some states which were not affected to any great extent at that time, which makes their population more vulnerable to catching infections during the next viral wave. But this time, good coverage of vaccination in these districts or states could prevent severe illness. In states, where we already had a devastating second wave, the population has had exposure to such an extent that the chance of getting symptomatic disease in large number is quite low. We should also remember that vaccination in these states has also gained momentum.
Another point, which is worth appreciating, is that within a state, there could be districts experiencing different spread and intensity of infection. Therefore, analysis of local data - at state level and even at district level - should guide local action.
Q. Does the Covid variant C.1.2 detected in South Africa and other countries pose any threat to India?
A. In India, the genomic surveillance initiative is named INSACOG, which is a consortium of 30 laboratories across the country including ICMR's to keep an eye on any new variant that could possibly lead to a surge in cases. These laboratories also track the new variants of concerns reported internationally. Any mutation that could lead to an increase in virulence, that could contribute to the greater or stronger attachment to the host cell, or could escape immunity developed through natural infection or post-vaccination, concerns us.
Q. Can the recently-detected MU variant evade the immunity?
A. As far as the two new variants -- C.1.2 and MU are concerned, it is too early to call them a variant of concern. We need to keep an eye at the community level infections for any indication of clustering, or severity of the disease among hospitalized cases or increased reporting of deaths from an area due to SARS-CoV-2 infections. All these observations per se indicate events of concern, requiring epidemiological investigation as well as genomic surveillance.
Q. Health Ministry has confirmed 300 cases of Delta plus variant. How do you see it ahead of looming third Covid wave?
A. Delta plus cases are increasing in number in the country but at a slower pace. There was a rapid spread of Delta variant during the second wave in a few states and in dense population area. What we need to be watchful about now is who is getting infected by Delta plus -- are they getting infected after receiving the vaccine and if yes, what is the severity of the disease in the vaccinated population. Importantly, what we are seeing in different states of India now is that most of the vaccine recipients, even after getting infected with SARS-CoV-2, are not progressing to the serious stage of the disease, neither do they require hospitalization. That is the advantage of Covid vaccine - they do not prevent transmission of infection but they do protect one from getting to a severe stage.
Q. How do you see the reopening of schools ahead of the third wave?
A. The fourth national serological survey has clearly shown that a substantial proportion, about 55 per cent, of the children have already been exposed to the disease and developed antibodies. Besides, we have seen that the chances of children developing severe disease or those requiring hospitalization are rare. So, I feel that we can safely reopen the schools. If the parents get vaccinated, and the teachers of the schools get vaccinated, other support staff of the school get vaccinated, the children will be safe. Besides, we need to reduce the crowding in the school-buses, and in the classrooms and also ensure hand hygiene and mask-use.
Schools may also think of including Covid Appropriate Behaviour, creating peer groups to promote the same and visible display boards with 'Dos' and 'Don'ts' within the school campus could be of help. It is very important for the children to be able to go to school now because that contributes greatly to their growth and future life opportunities. The more we keep the children away from school we are creating hindrances in the path of their long term development. States should therefore have their respective plans for opening of schools in calibrated fashion where state specific epidemiologic data as well as examples from other countries could guide pragmatic public health action.
The survey planned in the districts of Sambalpur, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Keonjhar, Khordha, Puri, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Jajpur, Kandhamal, Kalahandi, and Nabarangpur, will continue till September 15.
Additional chief secretary (Health) PK Mohapatra, has issued a letter to senior officials of these districts requesting the district administration to extend necessary support to RMRC teams. Through this survey which would cost around Rs 60 lakh, ICMR-RMRC is planning sample and data collection from various districts.
Mohapatra cited that the findings from this survey will help strengthen the state’s COVID management and reinforce vaccination strategy. The government has said that the survey team would collect 6680 samples from 12 districts from the general population and 100 samples from the healthcare workers in each of these districts.
The district administration would support with the accommodation of the team members in the district and facilitate collection of blood samples. Further, Mohapatra has sought appointment of nodal officer at the district level who will coordinate and carry out field work in consultation with RMRC.
The ICMR in its recent study has found that the people already infected with Covid-19 while taking a dose of Covaxin have the same or increased antibody response as unaffected people taking two doses of Covaxin.
The pilot study was undertaken to examine SARS-CoV-2 specific antibody responses after day 0 (baseline before vaccination), day 28A2 days post-first dose (month 1) and day 56A2 days post-first dose (month 2) of BBV152 in a group of healthcare professionals as well as frontline workers.
The antibody responses of individuals with confirmed pre-vaccination SARS-CoV-2 infection were compared with those individuals without prior evidence of infection.
The blood specimens were collected from healthcare professionals and frontline workers who received BBV152 vaccine at vaccination centres in Chennai, India, during February to May 2021.
Blood samples were collected before receiving the first dose of BBV152. Prior infection with SARS-CoV-2 was determined by SARS-CoV-2 IgG positivity at baseline. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of ICMR-NIRT.
Antibody levels were measured at three time points: on the day of vaccination (baseline), at month one following the first dose and at month two following the first dose.
The results were determined via a calibration curve, which is an instrument specifically generated by two-point calibration and a master curve provided via the reagent QR code.
Almost all participants with prior Covid-19 infection except two had detectable antibodies at the time of vaccination. This study offers evidence in support of public health-oriented and immunologically sustained vaccine strategies.
Lokesh Sharma, Scientist and Media Coordinator, ICMR, says, "This is a pilot study. If such findings are confirmed in large population studies, a single dose of BBV152 vaccine may be recommended to previously confirmed Covid patients so that the naA-ve individuals could attain the larger benefit of a limited vaccine supply."
With an average daily testing of more than 17 lakh in August, India has tested 50 crore samples across the country till date, achieving the milestone of last 10 crore tests in just 55 days.
On July 21, India had tested 45 crore Covid samples, which touched the 50-crore mark on August 18.
This has been enabled by rapidly increasing the testing infrastructure and capacity across the country.
Balram Bhargava, Director General, ICMR, said, "We have seen that exponential increase in testing leads to early identification, prompt isolation and effective treatment of Covid-19 cases. This testing milestone is testimony to the fact that India has been successful in implementing the strategy of 5T approach -- Test, Track, Trace, Treat and use of Technology -- efficiently, which will enable us to contain the spread of the pandemic.
"Further, enhanced production of diagnostic kits has made India 'Aatmanirbhar' (self-reliant), which has resulted in reduction of cost and improved availability of testing kits."
According to a statement issued by the apex Covid body, "ICMR's concerted efforts towards augmenting and diversifying testing prepared the infrastructure which made it possible to deliver on India's increased testing requirements in the wake of the second wave of Covid-19.
"Even now, mass testing is on in areas showing high positivity rates. Several advancements have been made towards reducing the turnaround time of tests. ICMR has been further enhancing the Covid testing capability across the country by leveraging technology and facilitating innovation in affordable diagnostic kits."
The total number of testing laboratories has reached 2,876, including 1,322 dedicated government facilities and 1,554 private labs.
B.1.617.2, or the Delta variant of covid causing Sars Cov2 was the dominant circulating strain and one of the primary drivers for the country's covid second wave, the study, approved by the ICMR-National Institute of Epidemiology, Chennai, said.
Those involved in the study include researchers from the National Institute of Epidemiology, here.
Covid-infected persons, both vaccinated and unvaccinated ones, who visited the Greater Chennai Corporation's triage centers between May 3 and 7, were enrolled in the study.
"The study findings indicate that the prevalence of B.1.617.2 was not different between the vaccinated and unvaccinated groups. Delta variant was the dominant circulating strain and one of the primary drivers for the second wave ofRS-CoV-2 in India." "Studies have documented reduction in neutralization titres among Covishield and Covaxin recipients after infection with delta variant. This might be the reason for the breakthrough infections observed in the fully vaccinated individuals," it said.
However, the proportion of patients progressing to severe illness and mortality was lower in the vaccinated groups, it added.
While B.1.617.2 has the potential to infect both the vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals, however, the progression of illness seems to be prevented by vaccination. "Therefore, non-pharmaceutical interventions must continue to slow down the transmission. Additionally, the pace and scale of vaccination has to be increased to mitigate the further waves of the pandemic," it said.
The fourth round of sero survey was conducted in Ganjam, Rayagada and Koraput districts between June 16 and June 20 2021.
While antibodies were found in 85.53 percent healthcare workers, the overall sero prevalance in those districts is 65.12 percent. The sample size for this survey was 1230 from the community level and 311 from the healthcare workers.
As per the report, Ganjam topped the chart with 70.9 percent sero prevalance, Rayagada and Koraput came at second and third place with 63 percent and 61.3 percent, respectively.
The second wave of Covid19 has hit Odisha hard with the State registering its highest, 12852 positive cases on May 22, 2021.
However, the daily cases are on a declining trend since the beginning of July, down to 1864 on July 23, 2021. Khordha, Cuttack, Balasore and Jajpur continue to raise concern for the State health authorities as the daily positive cases in these districts remain in triple digits.
As per the Odisha Information and Public Relations department, Khordha reported the highest 496 positive cases on July 23, Cuttack reported 221 cases, Balasore 114 and Jajpur registered 107 positive cases on the same day.
With this, the active cases in Odisha reached 19013.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Central government released a study of ICMR stating that around 67.6% surveyed Indians have developed antibodies against Covid-19, while 40 crore people are still vulnerable.
According to ICMR’s latest national Sero survey, the sero-prevalence found among those aged six to nine was 57.2% which is very similar to adults. The highest sero-prevalence was found in the age-group 45-60 years (77.6%), followed by those above 60 years (76.7%) and those in the age group 18-44 (66.7%), ICMR informed.
ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) DG Dr Balram Bhargava pointed this during a press meet on Tuesday (July 20). While talking about reopening of schools, the ICMR official suggested that the country should consider reopening primary classes first as opposed to older classes. He said the secondary schools can be opened in the later phase.
Citing example of several European countries, Bhargava stated that many countries had not shut schools for primary classes throughout the pandemic. He clarified that through research it has been established that children have a better immune response and can fight viruses like Covid19 much easier as compared to adults.
Findings of the ICMR's 4th national Covid sero survey show there is a ray of hope, but there is no room for complacency and Covid-appropriate behaviour has to be followed, the government said.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) conducted the latest survey in June-July.
Addressing a press conference, a senior official said two-thirds or 67.6 per cent of India's population aged above 6 years were found to have SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the latest national sero survey.
A third of the population did not have SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, which means about 40 crore people are still vulnerable to COVID-19 infection, the official said.
According to the government, 85 per cent of the surveyed healthcare workers had antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 and one-tenth of HCWs were still unvaccinated.
The survey covered 28,975 general population and 7,252 healthcare workers.
The fourth round of the survey was conducted in the 70 districts across 21 states where the previous three rounds had been carried out.
Stressing observance of COVID-19-appropriate behaviour, the government said social, religious and political congregations should be avoided and non-essential travels should be discouraged.
"Travel only if fully vaccinated," it said.
The ICMR also suggested that it would be wise to consider reopening primary schools first as children can handle viral infection much better.
"Children can handle viral infection much better as they have lower number of ace receptors. So once the decision is taken and all the staff vaccinated, it would be wise to open primary schools first," it said.
India recorded 30,093 new coronavirus infections, the lowest in 125 days, taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 3,11,74,322, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday.
The death toll climbed to 4,14,482 with 374 daily fatalities, the lowest in 111 days, while the active cases have declined to 4,06,130, the lowest in 117 days.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who was elected this year to head the Geneva-based organisation, announced her appointment on Tuesday morning.
A leading medical researcher and health policy expert, Swaminathan will be incharge of WHO programmes.
Besides being the director-general of the ICMR, she is concurrently the secretary of the Department of Health Research in India's Health Ministry.
The WHO announcement described her as "a globally recognized researcher on tuberculosis and HIV, she brings with her 30 years of experience in clinical care and research and has worked throughout her career to translate research into impactful programmes".
A paediatrician, Swaminathan graduated from the Armed Forces Medical College in Pune, got her MD degree from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and did a fellowship at the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles.
She is the daughter of M.S. Swaminathan, the agricultural scientist acclaimed as the father of India's Green Revolution.
She has been the director of the National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis in Chennai and was the coordinator of a special programme for research and training in tropical diseases jointly sponsored by several international organisations in Geneva.
It has been over two-and-a-half years since a draft directive from the Union Health Ministry sought to replace plastic and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles with glass for storing pharmaceutical preparations.
Leaching is a process by which water-soluble substances are washed out from soil, waste or containers (in this case).
Last year, a government study detected toxic materials, including lead, in plastic bottles of cough syrups and other liquid medicines. It concluded harmful substances are released from such bottles and suggested banning the use of such containers to keep drugs.
A ministry source said the finding was endorsed by the country's top statutory authority on standards for medicines - the Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB).
"The DTAB also recommended that plastic and PET bottles should not be used for bottling medicines, especially meant for children and elderly people," the source said.
These findings, which came out in May 2016, were contrary to the findings of another expert panel led by former biotechnology secretary MK Bhan.
The MK Bhan panel had in March that year told the National Green Tribunal there is no conclusive evidence to suggest that use of PET or additive like antimony for pharmaceutical packaging may leach out substances beyond limits that pose a threat to human health.
The study, reported in May 2016, was conducted by the government's All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health (AIIH&PH).
It had found that four heavy metals - lead, antimony, Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (known as DEHP) and chromium - had leached into the five pharmaceutical formulations that were tested.
The degree of leaching with antimony, chromium, lead and DEHP from PET bottles grew as temperature increased.
The ICMR has now asked the National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, to plan and conduct the study.
It is a part of the fourth round of nation-wide Sero survey for Covid-19 wherein 70 districts across the country with three from Odisha have been included for the survey.
As many as 10 clusters have been selected from 11 blocks in Rayagada district from where 40 blood samples of different age groups would be collected for examination to assess the presence of antibodies in their bodies.
Similarly, the expert team will collect samples from 10 clusters in seven blocks of Koraput while eight villages of Ganjam and two wards of Berhampur Municipal Corporation in the district have been included in the survey.
The district authorities have been asked to provide all logistic supports to the survey team.
Sero survey is a kind of blood test, wherein blood samples are collected randomly from selected people and are tested to determine the presence of IgG (Immunoglobulin G) antibodies that determine a past infection due to the virus.
Earlier, the State government had decided to include those above six years in the survey anticipating a possible third wave of COVID-19 to affect children.
“For the first time, children above six years will be brought under the ambit of this survey,” Director of RMRC Sanghamitra Pati said. The survey will be completed in four days, she added.
Official sources said as many as 43,573 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported among children in the age group of 0-14 years in Odisha so far.
Health experts said the outcome of the sero-survey will help the state government prepare strategies to face a possible third wave of the pandemic.
CoviFind is highly effective in individuals with mid to high viral load, especially in detecting infection in the case of individuals more likely to transmit the disease to others.
"This indigenously researched and developed test can detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus reliably in infectious individuals and can, therefore, be used for testing symptomatic individuals and immediate contacts of confirmed coronavirus cases as specified by recent ICMR guidelines," the company said in a statement.
CoviFind test is priced at Rs 250 and will be made available as an affordable single-pack, with additional purchase options including a pack of 3, 5, and 25 tests. Each test kit is equipped with testing materials including a test device, one sterile nasal swab and a pre-filled buffer tube with a cap.
The test does not have any specific storage or refrigeration requirements. The kit also contains an instructions manual, detailing step-by-step procedure on administration, handling and post-use disposal of the test, along with a disposable bag.
Further, Meril's nasal swab also reduces discomfort, improving testing compliance. The CoviFind nasal swabs have to be inserted only 2 to 4 centimetres (cms) into a patient's nose, as compared to the commonly-used nasopharyngeal swab that needs to be inserted 8 to 10 cms into the nose.
The self-use test is to be used alongside the company's official home testing mobile application, 'CoviFind App,' which will be available on Google Play Store and Apple App Store after the commercial rollout of CoviFind.
The test will be available in two weeks at retail pharmacies, e-pharmacies and through e-commerce platforms including Amazon and Flipkart.
The Gujarat-based company will also run a dedicated website for direct orders of the test kit by individuals and institutions. A special 25-test kit option is available for institutions, corporations, schools and other large orders.
"By making reliable rapid antigen testing available to all through a convenient format, Meril's CoviFind test will facilitate early detection, isolation, treatment and contact tracing. This will limit the spread of infections, contributing to the nation's ongoing efforts to quell the second wave of the pandemic. We are committed to producing our indigenously developed self-use test in high volumes to support India's testing needs," Merill's Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy, Sanjeev Bhatt, said in the statement.
Meril has supplied a large number of tests across its Covid-19 diagnostics offerings pan-India, which span a multiplex RT-PCR test, KAVACH antibody tests in partnership with the ICMR.
The medical council expressed anguish over continuing attempts of certain people to propagate disbelief and misinformation in relation to the vaccines and the evidence based scientific protocols of modern medicine released from time to time by the Ministry of Heath along with the guidance of ICMR and the Covid-19 Task Force.
Raising increasing incidents of physical violence against the doctors and the health care professionals, the IMA said the brutal assault on a young doctor in Assam and the assault on lady doctors and even on veteran practitioners across the country are causing mental trauma among the practitioners.
It said that many young doctors have also lost their lives on account of their dedicated service to thousands of people -- which has affected not only the Doctors but also many of their close family members.
There are cases where both husband and wife being doctors have lost their lives, leaving behind their children as orphans.
With the continuous and ongoing physical and mental assault on our doctors as well as purposeful spread of misinformation against modern medicine and vaccination by certain people with vested interests, the IMA said, it is "constrained to once again appeal to you (the Prime Minister) to personally intervene and resolve our long pending pleas".
The IMA noted that the entire medical fraternity has been battling at the frontlines in the war against Covid-19 and has been able to save millions of people, and also lost lives of 1,400 of its "proactive veterans and dynamic younger ones in this war against the pandemic".
The IMA appealed to the Prime Minister to book and punish in accordance with the law persons who spread misinformation against the vaccination drive which is meant to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
"All such acts of omission and commission on behalf of any person raising doubts in the minds of the common public against the protocol guidance issued by Ministry of Health for treatment of Covid-19 infected patients ought to be suitable punished and simultaneously, any attempt of any person to fool the gullible public and promote so-called "magic remedies" or "wonder drugs" without the approval of the Ministry of Health ought to be immediately curtailed."
The Health Services Personnel and Clinical Establishments (Prohibition of Violence and Damage to Property) BilI, 2019, which seeks to punish people who assault on-duty doctors and other healthcare professionals by imposing a jail term of up to 10 years which, apparently, was dismissed by the Home Ministry during an inter-ministerial consultation over the draft law, ought to be promulgated immediately along with the incorporation of provisions from the IPC/ CrPC and with stipulations for a fixed time schedule for speedy conclusion of trials.
All those involved in such heinous crimes ought to be punished so as to also create an effective deterrent for other anti-social elements who may indulge in attacking any Health care professionals.
The doctors who have lost their lives in the war against the Covid-19 pandemic ought to be recognised as Covid martyrs with due acknowledgment of their sacrifice and their families ought to be duly supported by the government.
The IMA thanked Modi for the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana scheme under which insurance benefits are being extended to such families but mentioned that there are various obstacles in the procedural implementation of the scheme. "Out of 754 doctors who had lost their lives in the first wave, families of only 168 doctors have been able to apply under this scheme."
The IMA also requested the Prime Minister to create an effective mechanism for identifying and verifying all these victims.
While there are plans to significantly ramp up production of the Covaxin and Covishield vaccines, the target to vaccinate around one billion people may still not be reached this year, the experts said in a commentary published in the online journal BMJ Global Health.
Only around 3 percent of the population has been inoculated till now.
The experts urged the government to expedite the approval of foreign vaccines already deployed elsewhere around the globe.
"As any protection conferred by Covid-19 vaccine is expected to take at least two weeks after both doses, and with large demands, India will require many more sources of vaccines in the coming days and weeks to stem the current uptick in infections," it said.
Further, to expand coverage, the government has allowed private hospitals to vaccinate, which charge anything from $3 to $15 (roughly Rs 220 to Rs 1,098), meaning very few people can afford it.
They urged the government to make vaccines against Coronavirus free for everyone in India, which will not only boost uptake but also curb the death toll from the infection.
On differential pricing of vaccines between Centre and states, the experts said it "is likely to be detrimental to public health at this time of grave crisis in India", creating inequitable distribution and potentially sparking public mistrust.
"For India to stem Covid-19, the nation cannot allow any differential approach for its residents."
The government-mandated pre-registration via a mobile app to create a vaccination records infrastructure for adults is also not feasible as only around a third of people in rural areas have an internet connection, the experts said.
Instead, a simple vaccination card may be a better option, they suggest.
Moreover, "the funding pledged by the government is far from adequate," the experts lamented, saying "this will be concerning in scenarios where a 3rd booster shot is required. Hence, India needs a corpus of funds for the above that covers all future eventualities of vaccine deployment," it said.
"India may need to reset its vaccine strategies, enhance the competence level of pandemic management and spur the bureaucratic machinery so that vaccine equity can be achieved in a very short span of time," it noted.
The Health and Family Welfare Department took the decision following removal of the plasma therapy from COVID management guidelines of ICMR and Union Health Ministry.
A notification in this regard was issued by the department to all the Medical Colleges and Capital Hospital in Bhubaneswar and IGH in Rourkela where Plasma banks were established to treat COVID patients by plasma therapy.
The Technical Committee comprising of DPH(O), DHS(O) and DMET(O) reported the following points which the Health Department mentioned in the notification:
1)AIIMS ICMR- COVID-19 National Task Force / Joint Monitoring Group (Dte.GHS), MoHFW. Government of India has issued new clinical guidelines for management of Covid-19 patients from which they have deleted Convalescent Plasma Therapy Included as 'off-label' therapy.
2)Following the results of the Recovery clinical trial published in The Lancet on May 14, researchers who conducted the trial reported that transfusions of high-titre plasma (i.e. plasma with a higher quantity of antibodies) didn't improve the recipient's chances of survival after 28 days.
3)Until May 17, ICMR had included the use of convalescent plasma for "off-label", or unapproved use, despite the findings of its own trial (Some doctors had also expressed dissatisfaction with parts of this trial, including poor patient selection and lack of plasma standardization.)”
4)In the absence of other treatment guidelines, its inclusion in IOM's protocols allowed doctors and hospitals following varying treatment regimes around the country, drawn from their own experiences, to prescribe the use of convalescent plasma as well, despite zero supporting evidence.
5)The Committee has pointed out that international guideline such as those from the US National Institutes of Health and the IDSA guidelines also recommend against general use of plasma therapy for COVID-19.
6)It is therefore, instructed to all concerned to adhere to the guideline of MoHFW, GOI and discontinue convalescent plasma therapy for the management of COVID-19 infection in the State until further orders.
New Delhi: India is conducting 18-20 lakh tests for detection of COVID-19 per day, the ICMR chief said on Tuesday underlining that despite infection among laboratory staff, the test performance is still being maintained.
At a press conference, ICMR director general Dr Balram Bhargava said that the national COVID-19 positivity rate is around 21 per cent and about 42 per cent (310/734) of the districts are reporting a positivity rate more than the national average.
Stressing that early testing, isolation and home-based care is the key to control transmission, Bhargava said, "The RT-PCR testing capacity is about 16 lakh per day in our laboratories and RAT capacity is also around 17 lakh per day."
"Laboratories are working 24X7 to meet the increased testing demand. Despite infection among laboratory staff, test performance is still being maintained," he said.
Giving an example, Bhargava said that in the month of April and May, they were doing, on an average, 16-20 lakh RTPCR and RAT tests combined per day.
On April 30, India conducted 19,45,299 tests for detection of COVID-19 that is the highest number of tests by any country ever, he said, stressing even the US has never reached this number. On May 5, 19,23,131 tests were conducted.
"So, we are hovering around 18-20 lakh per day except for on Sundays when we find a dip of one or two lakh," he said.
There are at present 2,520 COVID-19 government and private molecular testing labs, over 7,000 RT-PCR machines and over 3,800 TrueNat and CBNAAT machines.
A total 30,04,10,043 samples have been tested up to May 7 in India.
In the second wave, Bhargava said three initiatives were taken -- rationalising RT-PCR tests, increasing RAT testing for early detection, isolation and home care and third COVID-19 tests approved by reputed global agencies have been accorded marketing permission by DCGI.
In terms of rationalisation of RT-PCR tests, he said RT-PCR must not be repeated in individuals tested positive once either by RAT or RT-PCR. No testing is required for recovered individuals at the time of hospital discharge and there is no need for RT-PCR tests in healthy individuals undertaking inter-state domestic travel .
Non-essential travel and interstate travel of symptomatic individuals should be essentially avoided. All asymptomatic individuals undertaking essential travel must follow COVID appropriate behaviour, he said, adding that mobile testing laboratories are also being deployed.
With the second wave of coronavirus raging, Bhargava stressed on aggressively increasing the usage of Rapid Antigen Tests in rural and hard to reach areas to ensure faster isolation.
He recommended setting up multiple 24X7 RAT booths in cities, towns and villages. He said RATs are to be allowed at all government and private healthcare facilities and no accreditation is required.
RAT booths are to be set up with the community in schools, colleges, community centers, RWA offices etc. Public-private partnership models must be encouraged to establish innovative and convenient testing centers. He said RATs must be conducted in accordance with RAT algorithm defined by ICMR and all RT-PCR and RAT test results should be uploaded on ICMR portal, he added.
Social distancing norms are to be ensured at all RAT and RT-PCR testing centers.
"COVID-19 tests approved by reputed global agencies have been accorded marketing permission by the DCGI and home-based testing solutions are also being explored," he added.
In response to a question on whether children are getting more affected, Bhargava said the comparison of data during the first and second wave of COVID has shown that there is not much age difference and people above age of 40 are more vulnerable for adverse outcomes.
"We have found that younger people are getting slightly more involved because suddenly they have gone out and there are variants also prevalent in the nation which may be affecting them as well," he said.
Bhargava further said that if one has fever with or without cough, headache, sore throat, breathlessness, bodyache, recent loss of taste or smell, fatigue, diarrhea, then they should be tested immediately, and while awaiting test results, they should be isolated.
Some people make the mistake of monitoring pulse rate, he said, adding that those in home isolation should not confuse pulse rate as oxygen saturation.
"Antibiotic resistance is one of the most important global health issues of our times. Global cooperation to tackle antimicrobial resistance is essential and is a key area for US India collaboration for me and for my health team across the US mission in India," US Ambassador to India Kenneth I. Juster said at a programme here.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) joined hands with the US Consulate here in establishing India's first National Antimicrobial Resistance Hub in Kolkata on Monday.
"An estimated 7,00,000 people die each year globally due to drug-resistant diseases. We must come together to collect all the data, put it together and study it to prevent these deaths," said Henk Jan Bekedam, Country Representative to India, World Health Organisation.
According to a survey conducted by the WHO in 2015 in India, 75 per cent of respondents suffer from the wrong notions that cold and flu can be treated with antibiotics and only 58 per cent know they should stop taking antibiotics only when they have finished the course.
ICMR Director General Balram Bhargava said the Kolkata facility will be the hub where all research on antibiotic resistance will be carried out not only for the country but also for South Asia.
In a statement, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said that the Ministry and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have granted conditional exemption to the ICMR for conducting feasibility study of Covid-19 vaccine delivery using drones in collaboration with IIT Kanpur.
“The permission exemption is valid for a period of one year or until further orders,” the Ministry said. The conditional drone use exemption has been granted to Nagar Nigam of Dehradun, Haldwani, Haridwar and Rudrapur for preparation of GIS based property database and electronic tax registeR for a period of one year or until further orders.
The permission to use drones was also granted to the West Central Railway (WCR) Kota and Katini for train accident site and maintaining safety and security of the railway assets for a period of one year from the date of issue of the letter.
In addition to these, Vedanta Limited (Cairn Oil and Gas) also received the conditional drone usage exemption for data acquisition for asset inspecting and mapping till April 8, 2022. “These exemptions shall be valid only if all conditions and limitations as stated for the respective entities are strictly adhered to. In case of violation of any condition, the exemption shall become null and void and action may be initiated by MoCA and DGCA,” the Ministry said.
The B1617 variant, first detected in Maharashtra, contains mutations from two separate virus variants — E484Q and L452R. The third mutation evolved from the double mutation where three different Covid strains combined to form a new variant.
Two of these triple-mutant varieties have been found in samples collected from Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh.
The RNA virus has the potential to acquire mutations as it replicates and spreads. These mutations can, sometimes, result in virus variants with better adaptability to its environment.
“As the virus spreads, it gets more opportunities to acquire mutations and evolve at a faster rate. This is a natural aspect of virus life-cycle but it is very important that we track these changes (virus surveillance) and follow the important viral characteristics associated with these mutations,” Dr Veena P. Menon, Faculty-In-Charge, Clinical Virology Laboratory, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi, told IANS.
While the SARS-CoV2, causing the Covid-19 infections, has evolved at a much slower rate compared to Influenza or HIV viruses but as the number of infections rises, we are observing a rapid emergence of numerous viral variants.
With the increase in the number of infections and spread, there are more opportunities for the virus to mutate.
“As the infections are increasing at an alarming rate, there is a very high likelihood that we will encounter more virus variants in our population. Some of these variants get selected for faster transmissibility (spread) or ‘increased severity’ (more pathogenic) and also “immune (vaccine) escape”, Menon explained.
The evidence so far suggests that none of the important virus variants are associated with increased severity. However, an increased transmissibility is associated with the UK variant (lineage B1.1.7) while the Brazilian and South African variants exhibit ability to escape vaccine-induced immunity.
“Mutation in the respiratory virus is a natural process. This process is augmented in situations of high spread and presence of vaccinated people in the community. We will see more variants in India in future too,” Dr Harshal R. Salve, Associate Professor at Centre for Community Medicine, AIIMS New Delhi, told IANS.
Stricter implementation of public health infection control measures like usage of masks, social distancing and vaccinations are all key to prevent the spread. Besides, the need is to continue monitoring the virus evolution, the experts said.
“Combining genetic surveillance methods with evaluation of the biological and clinical characteristics of these virus variants will aid in better understanding virus variants and its clinical and public health impact,” Menon added.
Vaccinations can play a great role in curbing the spread of Covid.
Covaxin, developed by Bharat Biotech, is able to “effectively neutralise” the double mutant strains, including the UK variant and the Brazil variant of the coronavirus, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said in a report.
Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin has received Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs) for COVID-19 treatment in India and in several countries across the globe with another 60 in the process.
“ICMR study shows Covaxin neutralises against multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2 and effectively neutralises the double mutant strain as well,” the ICMR tweeted.
ICMR-National Institute of Virology has successfully isolated and cultured multiple variants of concern of SARS-CoV-2 virus: B.1.1.7 (the UK variant), B.1.1.28 (Brazil variant ) and B.1.351 (South Africa variant).
ICMR-NIV has demonstrated the neutralisation potential of Covaxin against the UK variant and Brazil variant, the apex health research body said.
ICMR-NIV recently has been successful in isolating and culturing the double mutant strain B.1.617 SARS-CoV-2 identified in certain regions of India and several other countries, the ICMR stated.
“Covaxin has been found to effectively neutralise the double mutant strain as well,” it said.
Speaking to the media at a press conference, Raman Gangakhedkar (scientist) said, "Do not go for COVID-19 test just on suspicion or consume hydroxychloroquine medicine without a doctor's prescription because the medicine has its side effects. Observe social distancing even at home with your family members."
Gangakhedkar also said that although the ICMR approved to give hydroxychloroquine in some cases, but it was still at an experimental level.
"The empiric use of hydroxychloroquine for prophylaxis of SARS-Cov-2 infection is recommended only for asymptomatic healthcare workers involved in the care of suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 and asymptomatic household contacts of laboratory-confirmed cases," he said.
Read: COVID-19 Treatment: ICMR Recommends Hydroxychloroquine For Patient Carers, Healthcare Workers
Gangakhedkar added that the ICMR would not recommend medicine for children below 15 years and elderly people above 60 years of age as it had many side effects on kidney and heart.
"There is sufficient access to testing so there is no need to panic. It is not just the government's responsibility to keep you healthy but you will have to be responsible for your own health. Therefore, follow all the instructions of social distancing given by the government," said the doctor.
There are now 118 government laboratories included in the ICMR network for COVID19 testing. The network has the capacity to test 12,000 samples a day.
"On an average, we have been testing at least 1,350 samples per day," Gangakhedkar informed the media.
Besides this, 22 private laboratory chains with about 15,500 collection centres have been registered with the ICMR till today for conducting tests for novel coronavirus, Gangakhedkar said.
According to the mathematical model of transmission of COVID-19, if social distancing is followed sincerely, the threat of coronavirus transmission could be reduced by 62 to 90 per cent in a week, Gangakhedkar said.
Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, was also present at the press conference. He said the ministry has asked states to make dedicated COVID-19 hospitals.
"As per the information we've received so far, work has started at the state level in Gujarat, Assam, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Goa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir,"- Agarwal said.
Also Read: Coronavirus Outbreak: PM Modi Announces 21-Day Nationwide Lockdown From Tonight
The exercise slated to begin on April 1 this year has been "postponed until further orders", the office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner announced.
The department under the Ministry of Home Affairs said that the decision was taken to break the transmission of the deadly novel coronavirus.
The announcement comes a day after the Prime Minister announced a complete lockdown across the country for 21 days from Tuesday midnight.
The Census 2021 was scheduled to be conducted in two phases. The Phase I related to house listing and housing census was to be taken up during April-September 2020 while the Phase II was for population enumeration from February 9 to 28, 2021.
The updation of NPR was also proposed to be done along with the Phase I of Census 2021 in all the states and Union Territories, except Assam.
Due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, the Home Ministry had earlier declared high alert and it was followed by the states and UTs.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued guidelines for strict implementation of the measures to be taken by the ministries and departments of government of India and state and UT governments for the containment of coronavirus.
Lockdown has also been declared by many states and UT governments. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued advisories for various precautionary measures, including social distancing.
There are at least 606 confirmed coronavirus cases in India as of Wednesday, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Ministry said. Of this, 553 are active cases, 42 patients have recovered and been discharged from the hospital and 10 people have lost their lives.
The active cases include 563 Indian nationals and 43 foreign nationals.
Addressing a press conference, Joint Secretary, Health, Lav Agarwal said: "There are 29 private laboratory chains, accredited by the Indian Council of Medical Research for conducting tests for novel Coronavirus.
"These labs have 16,000 collection centres across the country, where at least 12,000 tests can be conducted per day."
Agarwal also said that the private labs will have to follow ICMR norms while testing for COVID-19.
Besides private labs, there are 119 government laboratories approved by the ICMR, of which 104 are operational for testing Covid-19 and 15 are in the process of being functional according to ICMR data.
On the situation of protective gear, Agarwal said: "PPEs and masks have certain imported materials. We are trying the best sothat the gap is filled as soon as possible..."
He also clarified on one death that was reported in Delhi on Tuesday, saying "the sample of the deceased was under testing and later was found to be negative".
Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, at a digital press conference, said that five new cases of coronavirus infection had been reported in the city in the last 24 hours, taking the total to 35.
Tamil Nadu also reported five new novel coronavirus positive cases today, taking the total number of such patients in the southern state to 23. With three new positive cases of coronavirus in Gujarat, the total count of COVID-19 patients in the state has surged to 38. Five more COVID-19 positive cases were detected overnight in Maharashtra taking the total to 116. Madhya Pradesh also reported five new cases taking the total number upto 14. Casualties, so far, have been reported from Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Punjab, and West Bengal.
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, on the other hand informed that around 64,000 people have arrived from other countries in India since March 21, out of which about 8,000 have been placed in various quarantine facilities and the remaining 56,000 are in home isolation.
"We are fighting an infectious disease. In order to protect ourselves and others, it is highly important that we follow all the protocols, guidelines and directions issued by the government, failing which may lead to legal actions under section 188 of IPC," Vardhan asserted.
He also reiterated his appeal to everyone not to ostracise doctors and other medical staff who are on the forefront of this health emergency and serving to save people from COVID-19.
He was speaking after a high-level meeting of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on COVID-19 was held at Nirman Bhawan. It was held under his chairmanship. It was also attended by Hardeep Puri, Minister of Civil Aviation, S. Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs, Nityananda Rai, Minister of State for Home, Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of State for Shipping, & Chemical and Fertilisers and Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State, Health & Family Welfare. Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat was also present.
"The Group of Ministers (GoM) had detailed deliberation on prevention and management of COVID-19 in the meeting. The GOM also discussed the actions taken so far, current status of social distancing measures as a preventive strategy and the stringent actions to contain the spread of COVID-19 by the states so far," said a government release.
The GOM discussed about strengthening capacity of states, which need to devote adequate resources for creating dedicated COVID-19 hospitals, equipping the medical institutes with PPEs, ventilators and other essential equipment etc.
Meanwhile, states have been asked to ensure that essential services and supplies remain open. These include hospitals, medical shops and establishments engaged in manufacturing of medicines, vaccines, sanitisers, masks and medical devices.
The GoM was informed that Gujarat, Assam, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Goa, Karnataka, MP and J&K are setting up hospitals dedicated for the management of COVID-19. A total of 118 laboratories have been included in the ICMR network of COVID-19 testing. Group of Ministers (GoM) was also apprised that Cabinet Secretary has also written letters and conducted Video Conference with Chief Secretaries, Health Secretaries and DGs of Police and instructed them to enforce implementation of lockdown measures.
Also Read: COVID-19 Lockdown: Railways Extends Suspension Of Passenger Trains Till April 14
Harsh Vardhan reiterated his appeal to all those who are in home and facility quarantine about observing it according to the protocol laid down by the Health Ministry.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a 21-day lockdown across India starting Wednesday.
(IANS)
1. Are patients with heart disease, diabetes or hypertension at increased risk to get coronavirus infection?
No, people with hypertension, diabetes or heart diseases are at no greater risk of getting the infection than anyone else.
2. Among people with above diseases is there an increased risk of severe illness or complications once infected?
The majority, which is 80 per cent of people diagnosed with COVID-19 will have mild symptoms of a respiratory infection (fever, sore throat, cough) and make a full recovery. Some of the people with diabetes, hypertension and heart diseases including Heart Failure may develop more severe symptoms and complications. Therefore, they require extra care.
Also Read: COVID-19 Outbreak: Govt Bans Export Of Hydroxychloroquine
3. Are people with diabetes more prone to Covid-19?
In general, you know that people with uncontrolled diabetes are at increased risk of all infections. People with diabetes are not at higher risk for acquiring the infection, but some individuals are prone to more severe disease and poorer outcomes once infected.
Hence, follow your diet and exercise routine (to the extent possible), take your medications regularly and test your sugar levels frequently so as to keep your diabetes under control. When diabetic patients become sick, they may require frequent monitoring of blood glucose and adjustment of drugs including insulin, small frequent meals and adequate fluids.
4. What about reports about BP medications increasing severity of COVID-19?
After review of the available information, the consensus of various scientific societies and expert group of cardiologists is that currently there is no evidence that the two group of drugs- ACE inhibitors (For instance, Ramipril, Enalapril and so on) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) (Namely, Losartan, Telmisartan and so on) increase the susceptibility or severity of COVID-19.
These drugs are very effective for heart failure by supporting your heart function and controlling high blood pressure. It may be harmful to stop these medications by yourself. This can worsen your heart condition.
5. What can I take pain or fever?
Some type of painkillers like Ibuprofen is found to worsen the COVID-19. Such drugs are known to be harmful to heart failure patients and may increase your risk of kidney damage. Avoid NSAIDs or take them only when prescribed by your doctor. Paracetamol is one of the safest pain killers to use if needed.
6. What should I do if I get symptoms suggestive of COVID-19?
In case you get fever, cough, muscle pain without shortness of breath, call your doctor and seek advice on phone. You need to stay at home (at least for 14 days) and avoid close contact with other family members and maintain hand hygiene and correctly wear a medical mask. If there is shortness of breath or worsening symptoms like excessive fatigue call or visit a doctor.
But, at the end of the end, it's all about prevention rather than cure. That leads to the final question.
Also Read: Coronavirus Lockdown In Odisha: FAQs Answered Here
7. What should you do to prevent COVID- 19?
Covid-19 is spread by coughs and sneezes, through what are called droplets ( tiny amount saliva or other secretions expressed through cough/sneezing or even after a hearty laugh) and through touch. When you touch an object that has the virus particles on it, the virus may get onto hands and when one touches his or her face, they may get infected.
Virus particles can persist up to 3 days and therefore it is important to maintain the hygiene of one's surroundings. "Wash the rooms, tables and other surfaces with floor cleaners or even simple soap solution and sanitize your hands with hand sanitizers or by washing when you touch unknown or suspicious surfaces," instructs the ICMR.
There are at least 606 confirmed coronavirus cases in India as of Wednesday, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said. Of this, 553 are active COVID19 cases, 42 patients have recovered and discharged from the hospital and 10 people have lost their lives. The active cases include 563 Indian nationals and 43 foreign nationals.
India has already issued 21 days nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of the virus.
(IANS)
The images of Sars-Cov-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, are from the throat swab of the first laboratory confirmed case in India reported on January 30. The woman, among three students studying medicine in Wuhan in China, was diagnosed with Covid-19 after returning to India.
The gene sequencing of the samples from Kerala done at the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune found that the virus was a 99.98 per cent match with the virus in Wuhan.
A total of seven negative-stained virus particles having morphodiagnostic features of a coronavirus-like particle could be imaged in the fields scanned. These included the round shape of the virus and a cobbled surface structure having envelope projections.
The image revealed the presence of stalk-like projections ending in round peplomeric structures typical of a coronavirus particle.
Read: COVID-19: Global Cases Top 500,000, Death Toll Crosses 22,000
"In summary, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first report from India detecting the SARS-CoV-2 virus using TEM directly in a throat swab specimen confirmed by PCR. Although TEM imaging was limited by particle load in the specimen, we could still detect morphologically identifiable intact particles in stored clinical sample without initial fixation," the study said.
The article titled "Transmission electron microscopy imaging of SARS-CoV-2" has been authored by the ICMR-NIV National Influenza Center Team. The authors include Atanu Basu, deputy director and head of electron microscopy and pathology at NIV Pune.
According to the article, one particular virus particle was very well preserved, showing features very typical of coronaviruses. This particle was 75 nm in size and showed patchy stain pooling on the surface and a distinct envelope projection ending in round peplomeric (glycoprotein spike on the viral surface). These bind only to certain receptors on the host cell.
According to the study, the description of a novel human coronavirus, initially referred to as the Wuhan coronavirus (CoV), is currently designated as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV-2 as per the latest International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) classification. It is probably the most recent human pneumonia virus with high outbreak potential.
This novel virus was initially identified through next-generation sequencing (NGS) and was suggested to have a possible zoonotic origin. Till date, detailed morphology and ultrastructure of this virus remains incompletely understood.
(With Agency Inputs)
Also Read: COVID-19 Outbreak: G20 Announces $5 Trillion To Deal With Coronavirus Crisis
The decision came as the country reported 2,547 cases of the coronavirus infection, including 62 deaths so far.
"ICMR will collaborate with the World Health Organization (WHO) for public health emergency 'SOLIDARITY TRIAL- An international randomised trial of additional treatments for COVID-19 in hospitalised patients'," the ICMR said in a statement.
The trial will be coordinated in India by scientist at ICMR-National AIDS Research Institute, Pune, Dr Sheela Godbole, the research body's officials said.
Earlier Head of Epidemiology and Communicable diseases at ICMR Raman R Gangakhedkar had said, "Earlier we did not do it because our numbers were so small and our contribution would have looked minuscule."
Also Read: ICMR Warns Against COVID-19 Tests On Suspicion, Hydroxychloroquine Sans Prescription
He had said the initial priority of the ICMR in developing drugs was more towards re-purposed molecules than new molecules. Thus was because new molecule research tends to take longer time, Gangakhedkar.
"And, we don't have so much time when we are facing this infection," he had said.
The ICMR is also working with the department of biotechnology, department of science and technology and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to develop a vaccine for COVID-19 and diagnostic kits.
"At the same time, we are watching the efforts of some of the scientific groups that are working on vaccines. Currently, there are altogether 30 different groups which are working on developing vaccines out of which at least five are already going for animal toxicity studies," Gangakhedkar had said.
"We have indicated our willingness to go for vaccine trials if they pass out on animal study for our own Indian population," he had said.
Meanwhile, the International Council of Jurists (ICJ) and All India Bar Association have moved the United Nations Human Rights Council seeking compensation from China for "surreptitiously developing a biological weapon capable of mass destruction."
The complaint was penned by senior advocate Adish C. Aggarwala, the Chairperson of All India Bar Association and President of International Council of Jurists, in the backdrop of the spread of deadly coronavirus, which has claimed thousands of lives across the world.
"It is humbly prayed that the UNHRC may be pleased to enquire and direct China and to adequately compensate international community and member states, particularly India, for surreptitiously developing a biological weapon capable of mass destruction of mankind," Aggarwala stated in the complaint.
The advocate demanded remuneration from China for inflicting serious physical, psychological, economic and social harm on the world.
Aggarwala also pointed out the effects of the pandemic on the Indian economy, the imbalance in demand and supply of commodities and migration of marginalized people.
"The economic activity of the country is put on hold, in turn causing a huge dent on the local economy of the country as well as in general, the global economy," the complaint added.
The complaint further claimed that China meticulously hatched a conspiracy to spread the coronavirus in the world and violated provisions of International Health Regulations (IHR), International Human Rights and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Laws and UDHR clauses.
"It remains a mystery as to how the virus has not spread to all provinces of China but at the same time, has spread to all countries in the world. The speculation only increases the likelihood of the COIVD-19 being a carefully assembled biological weapon, aimed at crippling major countries in the world leaving only China as the beneficiary," the complaint pointed out.
The complainant further claimed that the virus was developed in the Wuhan Virology Lab from where it was carefully deployed to affect a minuscule 0.001% of the Chinese population.
He said that the neighboring country deployed the coronavirus virus in a bid to control the economy of the world by buying up stocks from countries that are on the brink of economic collapse.
Also Read: COVID-19: Around 50 Doctors, Medics Test Positive In India
The Chinese government had deliberately censored information and hid the early warnings given by Dr. Li Wenliang, who was, in fact, reprimanded and initially punished by local authorities in China, he said.
"The government also did not sufficiently contain and curb the travel of infected persons from further contaminating the world."
(With agency inputs)