Dengue, chikungunia and Health ministry failure

10-02-2006, 07:49 PM

http://www.rediff.com/news/2006/sep/27ark.htm

QUOTEIn India, the first sentinel surveillance of hijras at Mumbai's Sion Hospital in 2005 gave a horrendous 49.5 per cent prevalence, which means one out of every two hijras will be dying if we don't get them medication soon.

10-03-2006, 11:37 PM

FAQ on chikungunia. Its causing havoc in Gujarat also due to continuous rains. Health officials are tackling it on a wartime basis.

http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/oct/03spec2.htm

10-04-2006, 12:08 AM

chikungunia is creating havoc in Kerala and Gujarat. Dengue in Delhi but Health Minister is working how to fire Dr. Venugopal of AIIMS. Its time he should fire himself.

10-04-2006, 12:19 AM

<img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/devilsmiley.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='devilsmiley.gif' /> 'cleanliness is next to godliness'.
Pray this makes the society and authorities sit back to tacle the menace of not only mosquitoes but also hygiene alround.

10-04-2006, 09:02 PM

PM's grandsons in AIIMS with confirmed dengue 
QUOTEPrime Minister Manmohan Singh's two grandsons - Madhav and Rohan - were on Wednesday diagnosed with dengue fever at the AIIMS. They were admitted to a private ward of AIIMS with high fever and other symptoms of the disease. The two of them live at the Prime Minister's official 7 Race Course Residence in New Delhi.
The Prime Minister's son-in-law, who is also suspected of being of affected with dengue, has been admitted at the AIIMS. The result of his medical report is awaited.

Eleven-year-old Rohan and seventeen-year-old Madhav were admitted to a private ward of AIIMS with high fever and other symptoms of the disease. Rohan was admitted last evening.

Doctors confirmed that both had contracted the viral disease caused by Aedes mosquito which breeds in unhygienic conditions

unhygienic conditions in PM residence ??????
I hope this may open eyes.

10-05-2006, 12:41 AM

QUOTERamadoss in denial mode 
Pioneer News Service | New Delhi
Even as he dispatched the Director General of Health Services (DGHS) to Kerala, where over 70 persons reportedly died of the disease, Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Anbumani Ramadoss on Wednesday remained in denial mode, refusing to accept that there were any deaths due to chikungunya in the country.Â

"There are no deaths in the country due to chikungunya. People don't die of the viral. Those who are dying are succumbing to secondary complications," he said. Saying he had spoken to Kerala Health Minister PK Sreemathi, Ramadoss added, "We will be carrying out verbal autopsy in all the deaths to find out the exact cause."

He told mediapersons that DGHS RK Srivastava would visit Kerala for an on-the-spot assessment of the situation, but refused to announce any package to the disease-hit State immediately. After the DGHS submitted his report, the Minister would decide about going to Kerala.

"I have called a meeting of Health Ministers of all chikungunya-affected States on October 11. In the meeting we will decide whether they need more funds to combat the problem," he said.

"The viral has come to the country after 32 years and is due to climatic conditions like more rains and sanitation problem," he said.

The Minister said that as there are no vaccines for chikungunya, patients should consult doctors and take paracetamol and consume more water.

Ramadoss said the Government was planning to start a laboratory in the south since the only two laboratories to detect the cause of the disease were located in Delhi and Pune. "The destination has not been planned and it will take one year to open it," he said, adding that the laboratory would meet all the requirements of BioSafety Level Three.

Ten States, including Delhi, have been affected by the viral transmitted by the Aedes mosquito, which also spreads dengue. Nearly 12,85,000 cases have been reported in the country.

The Health Ministry has also provided fogging machines to those States who were in need of it. "It is not possible for us to provide machinery to the entire country," he contended.

Ramadoss said, the viral first started in Karnataka and then spread to Kerala. "In Karnataka, 10 village panchayats took a lead to create awareness. While the State saw chikungunya, these 10 villages were free of it. Likewise others have to follow such examples and stop mosquito breeding," he said.Â

With same logic, people don't die with gun-bullet but loss of blood. <!--emo& Big Grin

--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' />
Who gave him medical degree?
New lab will fund Ramdoss bank account.
Why Health Ministry was sleeping till now?

10-05-2006, 01:01 AM

87 die from mosquito diseases in India 
QUOTEIndia's health minister, Anbumani Ramadoss, blamed the spike in cases this year on a construction boom in New Delhi, where scores of new malls, high-rise apartment towers and office blocks are going up and a new subway system is being built.

The result of the largely unregulated building boom is a city filled with poorly maintained construction sites where water collects in pits, adding to the already ample mosquito breeding grounds, Ramadoss told reporters.

"There is a lot of stagnant water collecting in places due to construction activity. We are aware of the health risks posed by this and have begun a concerted campaign to make people aware of the need for sanitation," Ramadoss said.

Female Aedes mosquitoes transmit the disease, and symptoms include high fever, joint pain, headache and vomiting. It is fatal in rare cases. India's annual outbreak normally dies off with the end of the mosquito breeding period in November.

10-05-2006, 10:17 AM

QUOTEWHO team to visit Alappuzha to inspect Chikungunya outbreakÂ 
link
Alappuzha, Oct 05: A World Health Organisation (WHO) team will visit Cherthala and other areas of the district on Thursday, which are in the grip of a suspected Chikungunya outbreak, Kerala Health Minister P K Sreemathy said.

Addressing a press conference here yesterday, Sreemathy admitted that the State Health Department had failed to assess the seriousness of the situation and said the disease was spreading from Alappuzha to other districts.

She said the state government was seeking the Centre's help to incorporate Chikungunya in the list of epidemic diseases.

The Central Health Secretary would also visit the affected areas soon, Sreemathy said.

Sreemathy said there will be no aerial spraying of insecticides as there were strict who instructions against it.

The Minister refused to answer questions about demands for her resignation.
Meanwhile, the death toll due to suspected Chikungunya outbreak in Cherthala went up to 64 with two more women died in the area on Tuesday.

More than 600 suspected Chikungunya patients are admitted to Cherthala Taluk hospital.Â

10-05-2006, 11:23 PM

QUOTERamadoss says dengue media hype 
Pioneer News Service | New Delhi
Even as the day saw reports pouring in from across the country about the spread of dengue in new regions, the Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss told the Cabinet meeting on Thursday, "No need to panic...the issue has been blow out of proportion by the media."

Obviously the Health Ministry is not even willing to concede the gravity of the situation. Ramadoss has shown the same brazenness in denying chikungunya deaths in Kerala and Andhra Pradesh even as both States have reported scores of casualty.

Raising the issue in the Cabinet on Thursday, Railway Minister Lalu Yadav said that an impression was gathering that the Government is unable to contain the outbreak.

The Railway Minister expressed concern after reports confirmed that even members of the Prime Minister's family were among those afflicted with the disease and admitted in All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

But instead of heeding the concerns of his senior colleague, Ramadoss retorted that the outbreak was a sanitation issue. In any case, he said, it was not an epidemic and the media had created a scare.

Ramadoss' response did not satisfy the Railway Minister and the two indulged in a heated exchange. Later, Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh told reporters that the issue was raised in the Cabinet and Ramadoss had assured everyone that there was no need to panic.

But before blaming the media, Ramadoss should have got his facts right. As many as 3,000 people have reported dengue-like symptoms across the country, out of which 700 cases are in the Capital alone. About 38 people have died from the disease.
..........
The Prime Minister's grandsons Rohan (11) and Madhav (17), and son-in-law Vijay Tankha have been admitted to AIIMS with high fever and other dengue-like symptoms, including body ache and rashes.
Yesterday, media was saying it was his son-in-law Ashok Patnaik (from orrisa) and today Tankha (Kashmiri Pandit)

10-07-2006, 06:55 PM

<img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/omg.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='omg.gif' /> Mr. Clean PM; Cleanse The Dengue
If Dengue can take it's foothold in PM house, it's the time to clean all the unhygienic messes before it's too late. When you looked down at Harijan for doing the most important task of keeping Hygiene (and Physiology), you literally cut the hands that keep you clean. When you call him Class IV, you insult his love of labor. And now with the warning that mosquito need not bite Dengue infested person and can transmit thru eggs also, it's the time to keep year round cleanliness. In the true spirit of Gandhigiri, PM may well start from his own house to clean the Dengue. Methods of fogging prevent the infected mosquito to go to neighbour's house; so, cleanliness begins at home.

As a PM, you are in charge of your Ministers who are the minions and not safai karamcharis. Do or Die Mr. PM.

10-08-2006, 06:14 AM

Delhiâs dengue toll so far: 21 deaths, 795 casesQUOTEThe MCD confirmed 52 new cases in the past 24 hours. With this, the number of dengue cases in Delhi and the national capital region (NCR) has mounted to 795.

Usman Ghani, 42, and Najma, 45, died at AIIMS. At Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, a patient died when Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit was visiting the hospital to take stock of the situation. The hospital denied allegations that Shivanand, 62, died because the doctors were busy making arrangements for her. Medical Superintendent of GTB Hospital, Dr LC Thakur, said, "Shivanand was critical and it is incidental that he died on Saturday afternoon. The CM's visit and his death should not be linked."

The situation in most of the hospitals, meanwhile, continued to be chaotic with patients complaining of lack of facilities and the doctors saying that the huge rush was affecting patients who needed immediate treatment.

Anirudha Kaushal, a Janakpuri resident, had to ferry his three-year-old daughter Isha, who was running high fever, from one hospital to another as he suspected it was dengue. No beds were available at Mata Chanan Devi and Sir Gangaram Hospital sent them home after some treatment.
................
The hospital is treating 184 patients for dengue.

Doctors at AIIMS complained that other hospitals were responsible for the huge rush they have every day. AIIMS spokesman Dr Shakti Gupta said, "We are doing our best but it is difficult to handle 1,000 patients a day. Other hospitals are sending the patients to us." In the past 24 hours, 950 patients were screened at AIIMS and 44 were admitted.

But Health Secretary PK Hota said everything was fine at the hospitals. "The situation is serious. But it is not out of hand. All major hospitals are equipped to handle the rush of patients. There are enough beds, medical supplies, blood and platelets," he said.

10-08-2006, 09:07 AM

Dengue claims 49 lives, affects 3,300 in 14 states

10-09-2006, 03:20 AM

QUOTEDengue rages, toll 23, PM visits AIIMS 
Staff Reporter | New Delhi
Even as two more deaths due to dengue were reported on Sunday in the Capital taking the toll up to 23, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

Singh, for the first time after the outbreak of the deadly disease, took stock of the prevailing situation and simultaneously visited his kin who were admitted at AIIMS after being infected by Aedes Aeygpti last Wednesday.Â Â

According to AIIMS authorities, the PM visited the general ward, D-2 and AB-3 wards and also spoke to some patients inquiring about their condition. He also went to the private ward where his grandsons Rohan (11) and Madhav (17) and son-in-law Vijay Tankha are recuperating from symptoms of dengue.

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has also been regularly visiting the hospitals to monitor the situation. On Sunday, during her visit to Deen Dayal Upadhaya Hospital, she appealed to citizens not to panic and stated that enough facilities beside blood and platelets would be provided to the dengue patients free of cost at about 30 Government hospitals.

10-10-2006, 02:56 AM

I dont know whether it is true or not but I was told that chikungunya by itself is not fatal. Can somebody please confirm ?

http://ia.rediff.com/news/2006/oct/09dengu...?q=np&file=.htm

QUOTEMaking a U-turn on the issue of Chikungunya, the Cental government on Monday said the deaths in Kerala and other places might have happened due to the East African virus even as they put the suspected case figure at 1.3 million in the country.

"We are not ruling out Chikungunya behind these deaths but we cannot give the actual death figures as we are still conducting investigations into the matter. We are investigating the autopsy reports," Indian Council for Medical Research head N K Ganguly told reporters in New Delhi.

Earlier, Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss had refused to confirm the deaths due to Chikungunya in Kerala even as the state govenment had categorically held the deadly viral responsible for the 86 deaths in the state.

Ganguly said only 33 Chikungunya cases have been confirmed in Kerala, out of the 22,235 suspected cases while there were 1.3 million suspected overall.

"There could be some deaths due to the disease. We will be able to confirm it in a week's time. The World Health Organisation is yet to submit their report," said Ganguly, adding that the team, consisting of members of National Institute of Communicable Diseases and the National Institute of Virology, who had visited Kerala last week, will also be submitting its report in a week's time.

He said according to their findings, older people were the victims of the disease in most cases and it was also found that they were suffering from multiple problems such as influenza.

The Chikungunya strain is of East African origin, which has been seen in India after 32 years. On being asked how long it takes to confirm a suspected Chikungunya case, Ganguly said it could be anywhere from few hours to one day, depending on what kind of test is being carried out.

These tests are conducted in NICD, NIV and AIIMS.

He said WHO's special surveillance system was not able to predict Chikungunya outbreak in the country. "Our current concern is diagnosing people who are affected with the viral," he said.

He said they have received information about some deaths in Ahmedabad due to Chikungunya and they will be investigating it too. "In Ahmedabad too deaths have been attibuted to Chikungunya. The profile of the victims has shown that elderly people have died. In one case there was report that the person suffered from kidney problem," he added.

10-10-2006, 03:01 AM

Informative resource (PDF)

http://chppm-www.apgea.army.mil/news/Chiku...ts_Feb_2006.pdf

10-10-2006, 05:58 AM

QUOTEI dont know whether it is true or not but I was told that chikungunya by itself is not fatal. Can somebody please confirm ?
High fever can cause death, especially to elderly and kids. Why medication is not working?

In 70s, I myself suffered paralysis of legs and face due to combination of contaminated mustard oil and viral fever in Delhi . No awareness and dumbness of government caused lot of death. Not sure what they named to that viral fever. Only I remember my fever shot up to 106.8 and I became unconscious. It took two years to recover after long treatment and physiotherapy.

10-10-2006, 11:02 PM

QUOTEVoodoo doctor 
The Pioneer Edit Desk
Ramadoss is worrying India sick 
Every summer, India adds to its medical lexicon by discovering - or often rediscovering - long lost ailments. This year, the extended heat wave that has poured into October has brought with it the chikungunya and dengue viral fevers. It is an illustration of how seriously Indian politicians take health issues that, during a recent parliamentary discussion on the raging epidemic, the Union Agriculture Minister publicly asked: "But why is it called chicken?" His colleague from the Health Ministry replied: "No, no, it is 'chikun' ... It has nothing to do with bird flu." Â <!--emo& Big Grin

--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' />Â Unfortunately, public confidence in the Union Health Minister is not much higher than in the epidemiological knowledge of his Cabinet colleagues. Being a doctor, Mr Anbumani Ramadoss is expected to speak on medical issues with authority and gravity. Yet, in the past weeks, he has repeatedly misled the nation. He began by insisting chikungunya was a "non-fatal" disease, and even after close to 100 people had died in Kerala insisted the deaths had not been caused by the virus but by "wrong diagnosis or false mode of treatment". Now the Health Ministry has been forced to admit that its Minister either lied or spoke through his hat; chikungunya, the Indian Council of Medical Research has conceded, can probably kill. Mr Ramadoss's quizzical pronouncements led to the Kerala Assembly uniting to condemn him, and Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan requesting the Prime Minister to ask his Health Minister to keep mum. In the case of dengue, with cases being reported every day in Delhi, Mr Ramadoss is too busy telling the press that there is "no reason to panic" and, taking recourse to semantics and nit-picking, insisting that the outbreak is not an epidemic, not yet at any rate. Can India take this man seriously? Can it trust it with national well-being?

True, the Union Health Minister cannot be held responsible for every virulent mosquito in the country. Yet, consider Mr Ramadoss's priorities since he took office two years ago. He sought to impose a bizarre ban on smoking scenes in films, apparently to spite a Tamil filmstar-politician. His cronies have now floated the balloon of a ban on soft drink advertising. He has fought a war with the director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, allegedly because his office wants to control the equipment order books at India's premier medical centre. Now he has set his eyes on another medical-educational showpiece - the Jawaharlal Institute of Post-graduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Pondicherry. He seems to react only to high-profile and high-cost medical emergencies, such as avian influenza, for which he got public health authorities to build a gigantic if wasteful stockpile of the Tamiflu anti-viral drug. If the money had been spent on cleaning up mosquito-breeding sources, India may have been spared the dengue and chikungunya scare.

10-11-2006, 12:41 AM

rajesh_g Yesterday, 02:56 AM Post #14
I dont know whether it is true or not but I was told that chikungunya by itself is not fatal. Can somebody please confirm ?

Yes, it's true but death seems to result when there is haemorrahage ?in joints.
1 thing more, there is overlap between Dengue and CHIK which might be happening over here.

10-11-2006, 01:25 AM

From the above link

QUOTEWhat are the symptoms of chikungunya?

Chikungunya usually starts suddenly with fever, chills, headache, nausea, vomiting, joint pain, and rash. In Swahili, âchikungunyaâ means âthat which contorts or bends up.â This refers to the contorted (or stooped) posture of patients who are afflicted with the severe joint pain (arthritis) which is the most common feature of the disease. Frequently, the infection causes no symptoms, especially in children. While recovery from chikungunya is the expected outcome, convalescence can be prolonged (up to a year or more), and persistent joint pain may require analgesic (pain medication) and long-term anti-inflammatory therapy. Infection appears to confer lasting immunity.

How soon after exposure do symptoms appear?

The time between the bite of a mosquito carrying chikungunya virus and the start of symptoms ranges from 1 to 12 days.

How is chikungunya diagnosed?

Chikungunya is diagnosed by blood tests. Since the clinical appearance of both chikungunya and dengue are similar, laboratory confirmation is important, especially in areas where dengue is present.

In Gujarat Dengue was pretty common last year, this year is Chikungunya. A few years ago it was Leptospirosis. Worst thing is every year these microorgs mutate and bring with them new symptoms and there is no mechanism for information delivery to all the general physicians across the country.

Some kind of process needs to be created for tackling this sort of thing.

10-11-2006, 01:40 AM

QUOTESome kind of process needs to be created for tackling this sort of thing.
There is a whole department under Ministry of Health. Major problem is Minister Ramadoss, babus and Politics.
I can bet they have done test etc, all reports must be on Minister's table, but current minister is too busy in his new personal venture "Health tourismâ and was sitting in Chennai.

Like US, in India cities should do own test and educate public timely. They should work independently. Currently, Indians expects government to do everything because of limited funds. City should raise own funds or start taking cut from sale tax or income tax.

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