SCRUB TYPHUS DEATHS RISE IN HIMACHAL, STATE GOVT SENDS REPORT TO HEALTH MINISTRY
In view of the rising number of cases and reported deaths due to of Scrub Typhus in Himachal Pradesh, Mr J P Nadda, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare had sought a detailed report from the State Government. Having received the detailed report, the Union Health Minister has assured all support to the Himachal Pradesh Government in managing the endemic disease observed in this region.
Scrub Typhus is an acute illness caused by a bacterium Orintia Tsutsugamushi, which is transmitted by the bite of an infected mite larva present in the soil having scrub vegetation. Himachal is an endemic region as it has a large scrub vegetation.
GOVT REFUTES REPORTS OVER 10 % PRICE HIKE ON 100 NON-ESSENTIAL DRUGS
The Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers that controls the pricing of medicines, has denied the reports published in a section of media over the price hike on few non-essential drugs. These reports had stated increased prices of 100 drugs by 10 percent as due to their recent deletion from the essentials list.
Ministry has clarified that the ceiling prices of 464 formulation( amounting to nearly 7000 different stock keeping units) have been fixed by the government after the announcement of National List of Essential Medicines( NLEM), 2015 and Revised Schedule-I. " This has resulted in effective savings to the consumers of the country Rs 2288 Crore by way of reduced prices," mentioned Ministry ' s circular issued in this regard.
Calling the news item as misleading, Ministry has said that it is not in tune with the factual position. The correct factual position as claimed by it in notification mentioned, " It is that consequent to notification of National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Policy-2012( NPPP-2012) on December 7, 2012 and notification of Drugs( Price Control) Order, 2013( DPCO, 2013), all the medicines as specified in the NLEM-2011 were brought under price control. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare constituted a Core- Committee to revise the NLEM under the Chairmanship of Secretary, Department of Health Research and Dr Y K Gupta, Professor and Head, Department of Pharmacology, AIIMS as the Vice Chairman. This Committee evaluated the medicines on the objective criteria for inclusion and deletion."
CLEANLINESS SHOULD BE A SOCIAL MOVEMENT, SAYS HEALTH MINISTER
The union health minister, Mr J P Nadda honored the winners of Kayakalp award for the setting up standards for public health facility on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi ' s birthday on October 2nd, 2016.
This year ' s Kayakalp awards have been given to the Central Government Hospitals and District Hospitals from 26 big states. Under the Central Government Hospitals category, the first prize of was given to the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research( PGIMER), Chandigarh, the second prize was given to the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences( AIIMS), Delhi and the third prize was given to North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences( NEIGRIHMS), Shillong.
The information was revealed by Mr J P Nadda, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare who offered“ Shramdaan” on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti as part of“ Swachch Bharat Abhiyaan” at Safdarjung Hospital on October 2, 2016. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Nadda said that“ Kayakalp” initiative will encourage every public health facility in the country to work towards standards of excellence to help the facilities stay clean and hygienic.
WHO FOR STRONGER MEASURES AGAINST ZIKA AS THAILAND CONFIRMS TWO CASES
The World Health Organization has urged countries across the WHO South-East Asia Region to continue to take decisive action to prevent, detect and respond to Zika virus as Thailand confirmed two cases of Zika-related microcephaly.
“ Zika virus infection is a serious threat to the health and wellbeing of a pregnant woman and her unborn child. Countries across the Region must continue to strengthen measures aimed at preventing, detecting and responding to Zika virus transmission,” Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia, said.
Thailand has confirmed two cases of Zika-related microcephaly, which, along with other neurological disorders, can occur when a neonate has been exposed to Zika virus in utero. The presence of Zika virus in the WHO South-East Asia Region has been documented in recent years, including from Thailand, Indonesia, Maldives and Bangladesh.
TOP EXPERTS DISCUSS PHARMACOVIGILANT ENVIRONMENT IN INDIA
The Indian Society for Clinical Research( ISCR) recently held its 3rd National Pharmacovigilance( PV) Symposium on the theme“ Evolving a Pharmacovigilant Environment in India- Collaborations, Opportunities and Challenges”. The symposium brought together pharmacovigilance stakeholders across biopharma industry, Clinical Research Organizations( CROs), service providers, medical professionals, academia and regulators on a common platform to deliberate on the evolution of a pharmacovigilant environment in India by facilitating collaborative efforts to aid the emerging regulatory initiatives.
Dr G N Singh, DCGI, delivered the inaugural address during which he spoke about the Government of India’ s initiatives to promote pharmacovigilance through the PvPI and invited stakeholders to share their knowledge with PvPI for furthering the cause of pharmacovigilance in India. health
While delivering the Guest of Honour’ s address, Prof Dr N K Ganguly, Former Director General of ICMR, reiterated that more efforts have to go into building structured long-term collaborative ventures involving all stakeholders in order to benefit patients in India. Sessions covered during the symposium included the role of stakeholders in the evolving Indian pharmacovigilance environment, quality management in pharmacovigilance, pharmacovigilance in clinical trials and advances in pharmacovigilance.
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