A recent research found that flavanol deficiency is a key driver of aging memory loss. Researchers have found that flavanols improved memory by acting selectively on dentate gyrus- an area within brain’s hippocampus, which is vital for memory. Flavonols are a major class of flavonoids, molecules that have interesting biological activity such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, and vasodilatation effect. They have also been considered as potential anticancer agents. Foods that contain a high amount of flavonols include apples, blackberries, peaches, tomatoes, onions and dark chocolate. Flavonols can also lower the chances of frailty. Frailty is a geriatric syndrome that....Read More

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has recently confirmed that dengue’s infection geography has expanded from eight States in 2001 to across the country in the last two decades, with an 11-fold increase and repeated outbreaks. Dengue has now breached the country’s last bastion, Ladakh. It is now endemic in more than 100 countries, and according to the World Health Organization half of the world population now at risk. Reasons-The enhanced risk of dengue has been propelled by several factors, including climate change, urbanised environments that are temperature controlled, and increased travel. ABOUT DENGUE Dengue is a mosquito-borne tropical disease....Read More

India's pilot studies on rice fortification showed that nutritional anaemia could be reduced, with a significant drop in the prevalence of anaemia among schoolchildren, according to a United Nations report. ABOUT RICE FORTIFICATION Fortification of rice is the process of adding Fortified Rice Kernels (FRK), containing FSSAI prescribed micronutrients (Iron, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12) to normal Rice in the ratio of 1:100 (Mixing 1 Kg of FRK with 100 Kg custom milled rice). According to the FSSAI norms, 1 kg fortified rice shall contain iron (28mg-42.5mg), folic acid (75-125 microgram) and Vitamin B-12 (0.75-1.25 microgram). Rice may also be fortified....Read More

Rising cases of lumpy skin disease (LSD) in livestock of Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts of West Bengal were reported recently. ABOUT LUMPY SKIN DISEASE It is an acute to chronic, highly infectious viral disease that affects cattle. It is caused by the lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV), which belongs to the genus capripoxvirus, a part of the poxviridae family (smallpox and monkeypox viruses are also a part of the same family). The first reported outbreak of LSD occurred in Zambia in 1929. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that its mortality rate is less than 10%. Symptoms include -fever,....Read More

The Union government is looking to formally launch the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) this year to “democratise e-commerce” and “to provide alternatives to proprietary e-commerce sites”. ABOUT ONDC Background- The government wants to change the fundamental structure of the e-commerce market from the current “platform-centric model to an open-network model”. The ONDC is an open source network set up modelled after the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) project that is seen as a success by many. The UPI project allows people to send or receive money irrespective of the payments platforms on which they are registered. Similarly, the government....Read More

US Food and Drug Administration has approved GSK’s Arexvy, world’s first RSV vaccine for older adults. RSV belongs to the genus Orthopneumovirus within the family Pneumoviridae and order Mononegavirales. It is a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms. It is characterized by its highly contagious naturee., it has a high potential to infect people. Most people recover in a week or two, but RSV can be serious, especially for infants and older adults. It is the most common cause of bronchiolitis (inflammation of the small airways in the lung) and pneumonia (infection of the lungs) in children....Read More

China recorded the world’s first human death caused by H3N8. H3N8 is a subtype of the influenza A virus. It primarily affects birds, particularly wild waterfowl and shorebirds. It can also infect other mammals. It is not commonly found in humans, but rare cases of human infections have been reported. There is no evidence of easy human-to-human transmission of H3N8 bird flu. Symptoms in humans are similar to other types of flu, including fever, cough, sore throat, muscle aches, and fatigue.Read More

Ministry of Health & Family Welfare included six rare diseases under NPRD, 2021. Group 1- Laron’s Syndrome, a rare disease in which the body is unable to utilise the growth hormones resulting in short stature. Group 2- Wilson’s disease, a rare disorder in which copper is accumulated in vital organs like liver, brain and others; Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), a group of genetic disorders that affect the adrenal glands; and Neonatal onset multisystem inflammatory disease (NOMID) that causes continuous inflammation and tissue damage Group 3- Hypophosphatemic rickets, caused due to the defects in the renal handling of phosphorus; and Atypical....Read More

Indian scientists have identified better drug treatment for severe Scrub typhus. Combination therapy using both doxycycline and azithromycin is far more effective in treating severe scrub typhus than monotherapies of either drug by itself. ABOUT SCRUB TYPHUS Scrub typhus, a life-threatening infection caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi bacteria — is a major public health threat in South and Southeast Asia. Nearly one million cases are reported from South and Southeast Asia with 10% mortality. India is one of the hotspots with at least 25% of the disease burden. Scrub typhus is a major public health threat because of the high mortality....Read More

Recently the Government of India and World Bank signed two complimentary loans worth $1 billion to support and enhance India’s healthcare infrastructure. The World Bank is lending two complementary loans of $500 million to help India with preparedness for future pandemics as well as to strengthen its health infrastructure. The $500-million Public Health Systems for Pandemic Preparedness Program (PHSPP) will support efforts to prepare India’s surveillance system to detect and report epidemics of concern. Another $500 million Enhanced Health Service Delivery Program (EHSDP) will support government’s efforts to strengthen service delivery through a redesigned primary healthcare model. Both these loans....Read More