Indian Health Care Sector

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 01 May 2010 10:30

World Bank approves $118 M for improving healthcare facilities in TN

The State has received approval from the World Bank for a loan of $117.70 million from the International Development Association to “improve the quality of and access to health services” in Tamil Nadu.

The World Bank cited the improvements in “the last decade” found by the National Family Health Survey (2005-2006) as the reason for the loan sanction. These improvements were partly due to a significant increase in overall vaccination coverage of children between 12 and 23 months. The State's maternal mortality ratio decreased from 167 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1999 to 111 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2006,” it said.

Under the project in the last four years, 80 comprehensive emergency obstetrics and neonatal centres were established across the State, thus improving access to quality care for pregnant women and infants.

Mobile outreach services had provided sickle cell anaemia screening intervention and patient counselling services.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 03 May 2010 07:42

Emphasis on making endoscopy totally safe
I can understand this need as my friend and strangely his sister too died while undergoing endoscopic procedures, one in India and the other in the US.

Many gastroenterologists are endoscopists too. But, a mere gastroenterology qualification does not automatically translate into skills in endoscopy. The patients will not know whether the doctor is trained or not. Therefore, it is the moral responsibility of the medical system, the society and the doctors to go in for a formal training programme in the interests of the patients.

A simple, yet pertinent question that we can ask is this: When a driving licence is insisted upon for public safety, should not a recognised certificate of training be insisted upon in endoscopy for patient safety?

There are only 900 members {in Society of Gastro-intestinal Endoscopists of India} though at least 6,000 doctors are practising endoscopy and the country has about 10,000 endoscopic installations

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 09 May 2010 04:58

Plan to make Kolkatta thalassemia-free by 2015

A Kolkata-based cancer research institute announced here on Friday the launch of a campaign that would entail blood testing and counselling of about 2.6 lakh school and college students over the next five years, with a view to spreading awareness about thalassemia among them as part of its attempts to eradicate the disease from the city by 2015 Titled “Zero Thalassemia Growth Rate in Kolkata by year 2015,” the project is supported by the Kolkata Police, the Rotary Club and the Medical Bank and was kicked off on Saturday — World Thalassemia Day.

Ashish Mukhopadhyay, medical director of the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Cancer Research Institute, says about 10 per cent of the city's population are thalassemia carriers and the number can multiply in geometric progression unless marriage between two carriers is prevented.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 11 May 2010 16:31

Treating kidney disease in India.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 22 May 2010 22:16

GE Makes India Lab for Global Markets
Written By: jamal on May 21, 2010 0
During a recent visit to India, John Dineen, president and CEO of GE Healthcare, presented a dual-slice computed tomography imaging system called HiSpeed Dual, which he described as a “giant leap.” ( This Giant must be a Pigmy) It was the first CT system that the health care arm of U.S. conglomerate General Electric had made in India, and the first high-end CT imaging system that anyone had made in the country. “Our dream is to make more such systems in India for Indian customers,” Dineen said.
GE Healthcare had previously imported the system for Indian customers. By manufacturing it in Bangalore, GE Healthcare can cut the price by 10%, reduce an 8- to 10-week waiting period, and boost sales. But this isn’t about increasing market share, Dineen says. “It is about creating new markets. Over time, this product will morph and get more specialized for the unique needs and characteristics of this market. The innovations from here could lead to an entirely new line of products which in turn could create whole new market opportunities for us.”

http://biomedme.com/biomed-company-news ... _8391.html

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 23 May 2010 08:22

IT & Healthcare in Government Hospitals in TN

A unique experiment started four years ago in Tamil Nadu, however, seems to be bearing more fruits than it was initially estimated . . . The Tamil Nadu Health Systems Project's Health Management Information Systems (HMIS) is what has gone beyond its purpose. Initially, it was meant to digitise health information gathered at district and taluk hospitals, and was then, the Hospital Management Systems project (HMS). . . . The HMS is the IT infrastructure that helps to streamline the functioning of the hospital through automation and proper management of data. From registration of a patient to preparation of discharge summary, online entry of diagnosis and prescriptions from the doctor, maintaining the inventory of drugs and other disposables, and maintenance of all hospital-related services happen through the HMS.

The “HMIS is distinct because it is used to analyse all other information systems used in regular activities, and thereby contains HMS within,”

The data will be channelised to the State bureau of health intelligence and from here, health policymakers will derive the evidence needed to draw funds and bolster support for fresh initiatives. For instance, Dr. Vijayakumar says, if data from the dynamic HMIS could be analysed to show an alarming increase in, say, cardio vascular disease in certain districts, action could be initiated immediately.

“We were treading zones where no one had ever gone before. Gujarat had a system, but that was data entry operators putting information into the system. This would be real time online loading of data, and would not be a success unless the staff cooperated.” But they did, and the project helped to activate the HMS and the HMIS in five districts (covering 36 hospitals); the HMIS in 272 hospitals; and for the first time, in the PHCs (five of them) both the HMIS and the HMS.

Phase II of the project, currently on, involves bringing 222 hospitals in 26 districts and 15 PHCs.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 24 May 2010 19:09

Delhi doctors save a Pakistani boy with stem cell treatment

Delhi doctors proved to be saviours for a one-year-old boy from Pakistan who was suffering from a rare immune disorder. Shaheer underwent a successful stem cell transplant at the Sir Gangaram Hospital here.

The infant from Islamabad was brought to Delhi by his parents in March for treating the immune disorder called Familial HLH, which is considered fatal unless treated by a stem cell transplant, doctors said Monday. He was operated upon March 15.

“This was the first case of unrelated blood stem cell transplant in India,” said Anupam Sachdeva, senior consultant in the hospital’s paediatrics department.

“This is the first case in India where stem cells from a mismatched donor has been used for replacement,” Dr. Sachdeva said.

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 31 May 2010 08:52

Reforming the Global Health System: Lessons from Asia
Nigel Crisp

http://www.nbr.org/publications/asia_po ... althQA.pdf

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 10 Jun 2010 03:02

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 030222.cms

Ministers like these have such low opinion on Indian Medical care... what kind of message do such people send out... One wonders !! (It's not like these people line up at the local municipal medical facility)

When it comes to making policy choices of Indian vs. Foreign...the biases of such people is self evident....

Oncosurgeon Dr Sultan Pradhan, who has been treating Pawar for the last few years, confirmed that it was non-cancerous. Wednesday’s surgery went as planned and reports of the biopsy conducted four days ago had established that the inflammatory growth was benign, he added.

Two biopsies were conducted to rule out the growth of any cancerous cell. "There is no cancer and it was only an infection which had to be removed," he said.

The assertion notwithstanding, there are indications that Pawar may like to get a clean bill of health from abroad as well. He is learnt to have sought two weeks leave from the PM Manmohan Singh to go for a thorough check up to quell any doubt whatsoever.

Pawar will be under observation at the ICU from where he is supposed to be moved out by Thursday afternoon. Pradhan added that Pawar’s post-operative reports were good. "He should be fit to go home in a day or two," he said.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 11 Jun 2010 08:12

All primary health Centres in TN to have equipment to detect deafness

All primary health centres (PHCs) in the State will soon be provided with equipment for early detection of deafness, and taluk and district-level government hospitals will have trained ENT doctors to perform surgeries.

As hearing impairment is next only to depression in the maximum number of persons living with disability, the Central government launched the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Deafness (NPPCD) in 25 districts in the country, including three in the State, on a pilot basis.

Under the programme, all PHCs in the selected districts are provided with equipment for detection of deafness at the PHCs and district-level hospitals.

As the State completed the pilot project successfully, the programme was expanded to 19 more districts. The remaining 10 have been included currently to sensitisation, capacity building and service provision.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 11 Jun 2010 08:20

Glycaemic Index of common Indian food to be released

Dr. Mohan's Diabetes Specialities Centre, which has a dedicated Glycaemic Index Testing Centre, will soon be ready with the database that will be a scientific evaluation (based on WHO protocols) of the GI of common Indian foods. GI is defined as the measure of the effect of carbohydrates on blood sugar level.

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 12 Jun 2010 22:36

Will India Suffer Exodus of Doctors to US?

As the US population ages, more doctors from abroad may be attracted to move there, as the lure of this growing market increases.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 20 Jun 2010 08:41

Organ transplants across blood groups now a reality

Three months ago, Rajan Ravichandran, Director, MIOT Institute of Nephrology, and his team, pulled off such a feat as they used a kidney from a donor with ‘B' blood group on a recipient with ‘O' blood group. Normally, that would have killed the patient on the operating table. Not this time though. Using a special procedure called Double Filtration Plasmapheresis (DFPP) evolved by the Japanese, the team had the patient, S, discharged in a week, and back at his software job in three months' time.

Dr. Ravichandran says: “The most essential requirement in transplantation is a blood group match. Ideally, the patient's own blood group, or, in the event it is not available, any group for which his blood does not carry antibodies.” Antibodies are used to detect and neutralise foreign bodies, being the base for both allergy and immunity in the human body.

While ‘O' is a universal donor, it has antibodies to ‘A' and ‘B' groups; similarly, ‘A' has antibodies to ‘B'; and ‘B'group, antibodies to ‘A'. Only the ‘AB' group, a universal recipient, has no antibodies. The Rhesus factor (+ve, –ve) is irrelevant in the transplantation process. Tissue matching is also not done for most ‘cadaver transplants' and the availability of new generation immunosuppressant drugs has helped patients tide over that mismatch, Dr. Ravichandran clarifies.

If the right blood group is not chosen, the moment the recipient's blood begins to flow into the transplanted organ (which will continue to harbour micro red blood corpuscles from the differently matched donor's kidney), it will turn blue and will be rejected by the body. Patient S (with blood group ‘O') had a donor in his father, who was in ‘B' group.

Japanese technology

Thanks to the Japanese technology, the team removed the specific antibody (in this case, ‘B') in the patient's blood through the DFPP process over three sittings.

Meanwhile, titres to measure the presence of antibodies in the blood were done periodically. At the right time, the transplantation surgery was fixed. Post transplantation, the patient received special monoclonal antibody rejection injection to prevent new antibody formation. This process does not compromise the health of the patient in any way, Dr. Ravichandran adds.

In Japan, where the technology was evolved, over 450 successful cross-blood-group transplantations have been perfomed, he explains. The success at a 10-year survival rate is equal to that of any regular kidney transplantation. At the Mayo Clinic in the United States, over 40 such transplants have been performed using a different technique.

Closer home, while several attempts at cross-blood-group transplantation have been made over the years (including by Dr. Ravichandran), success was noted only six months ago at Christian Medical College, Vellore.

This process can be used across various organ transplants, Dr. Ravichandran says, adding that it could also help people who have rejected a transplanted organ many years later because of antibody formation. With lakhs of people with end stage kidney disease in India, there are only 5,000 transplantations that occur in a year. While efforts are being made to increase the donor pool, strategies such as DFPP would increase the chances of saving lives, Dr. Ravichandran states.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 28 Jun 2010 15:37

India & US to setup 4 working groups in Healthcare sector

Mr. [Ghulam Nabi] Azad, on a week-long trip to the U.S., welcomed the proposal and suggested that nursing and paramedical education, quality assurance, health informatics and mental health on non-communicable diseases be included in the mandate of these working groups.

Mr. Azad asked his American counterpart to explore the possibility of a tie between U.S. medical institutes of excellence and the six AIIMS like institutes being set up by the Indian government.

The establishment of the Global Disease Detection Centre also came up for discussion and it was agreed that both sides needed to expedite finalisation of the MoU on this issue.

joshvajohn · Post by **joshvajohn** » 28 Jun 2010 22:20

The rise of 'transplant tourism'
http://www.irishhealth.com/article.html?id=17535

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 30 Jun 2010 20:06

Healthcare sector faces HR crunch: Dr. Prathap Reddy

The sector, estimated at $35 million, has created 100 million skilled jobs but, "We still need to double our doctors to 1.4 million; triple the number of nurses to 2.4 million and quadruple the paramedic number to 10 million," Dr Reddy said at a curtainraiser event for the upcoming Healthex 2010 here [Bangalore] on Tuesday.

The healthcare sector, which contributes 5.2 per cent of the GDP, is estimated to touch $75 billion by 2012. Dr Reddy suggested that Bangalore can be made a permanent fixture for the medical devices event every year; Chicago, for example, has hosted the premier RSNA (Radiological Society of North America) for decades and Dusseldorf in Germany hosts Medica.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 06 Jul 2010 08:18

Chennai Aiport moots outsourcing paramedic support

Apparently, Bangalore & Hyderabad have already outsourced this facility.

Airport Director E.P. Hareendranathan told The Hindu that discussions were held last week with all concerned. The reason for the proposal, he acknowledges, is the lack of adequate professionally trained paramedics at the airport to aid those flying in with a medical emergency.

This comes particularly at a time when Chennai is emerging into its own as a healthcare destination for patients from across the world. While a comprehensive list is not available, facts show the numbers are growing. For instance, the Chennai branch of Apollo Hospitals receives over 16,000 international patients every year from over 55 countries; at MIOT Hospital 12 per cent of the 1,20,000 patients in 2009-10 were from abroad; and Dr. Cherian's Frontier Lifeline Hospital received 2,166 patients from foreign countries between February 2004 and March 2010. In addition, there is the huge influx of domestic ‘medical tourists' who fly down to Chennai for medical help.

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 07 Jul 2010 06:38

India Expands Role as Drug Producer

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/07/busin ... adrug.html

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 07 Jul 2010 08:58

abhishek_sharma wrote:India Expands Role as Drug Producer

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/07/busin ... adrug.html

Indian companies have “a lot to offer and the cost advantage is huge,” said Swetha Shantikumar, a research analyst in Chennai with Frost & Sullivan, who predicted more buyouts of Indian firms by global giants in the near future. Chinese firms “don’t have the technical capacity to produce sophisticated drugs,” said Ms. Shantikumar.

“If you want to make simpler drugs like aspirin,” she said, “you manufacture them in China.”

You mean, here's an area where India can actually out-manufacture China? Surprising.
Oh, I forgot, the Chinese are well ahead in poaching rhino horns, seal testicles, tiger teeth, bear bladders, etc, for their medicinal needs.

abhischekcc · Post by **abhischekcc** » 07 Jul 2010 10:40

abhishek_sharma wrote:India Expands Role as Drug Producer

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/07/busin ... adrug.html

There are interesting psy-ops in the article:

Below an ancient hilltop temple to Kali, the Hindu goddess associated with destruction and change

I remember a time, not long ago either, when the sentence would have stopped at 'destruction'. The additional descriptor 'and change' indicates that the level of understanding of Hindu philosophy in general (and Goddess Kali in particular) has improved by several degrees. The understanding of Goddess Kali is even more pertinent because her character is so far out of the normally Chistian world view of westerners (even athiestic westerners have a worldview deeply influenced Christianism).

And while the Indian industry has had quality-control problems

While this *might* be true to some extent, India also has the largest number of FDA approved drug manufacturing units outside USA, IIRC. India does have the most reliable pharma industry in the developing world.

And look at this:

While China is the undisputed low-cost maker of a multitude of consumer goods, India may have a rare edge in the drug industry. India’s long tradition of generics has fostered a robust educational system here for pharmaceutical scientists, as well as longer experience dealing with Western regulators.

The F.D.A. has issued about 900 approvals to plants in India to import drugs or raw materials for the industry to the United States, the vast majority in recent years, compared with more than 300 such approvals for China.

Indian companies have “a lot to offer and the cost advantage is huge,” said Swetha Shantikumar, a research analyst in Chennai with Frost & Sullivan, who predicted more buyouts of Indian firms by global giants in the near future. Chinese firms “don’t have the technical capacity to produce sophisticated drugs,” said Ms. Shantikumar.

“
If you want to make simpler drugs like aspirin,” she said, “you manufacture them in China
.”

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 08 Jul 2010 09:40

Automation of Pregnancy Monitoring System, a boon for village health nurses

Automation of Pregnancy and Infancy Cohort Monitoring system would help save time for village health nurses to attend to more patients, nurses at a workshop on a real-time bio-surveillance programme suggested.

Organised at the IIT-Madras Research Park on Wednesday, the workshop evaluated the progress of the Real-Time Bio-Surveillance Programme (RTBP) pilot project launched in Sivaganga district to automate data collection at the Health Sub-Centre (HSC) level.

Palaniayee, a Village Health Nurse in Tirupattur block where the pilot project was run, says she spends a significant amount of time maintaining records of her patients.

“We have to enter all the details in eight registers and maintain them over the course of a year or two,” she says.

Already trained in the use of the mobile technology developed by Rural Technology Business Incubator of IIT-M in collaboration with LIRNEasia and Carnegie Mellon University, Ms. Palaniayee now wants more from the system.

“The normal process used by the State government takes 15-30 days before it reaches the Director Public Health and there is lots of manual processing. The new system simplifies and helps both the Village Health Nurse in her everyday work and the Health authorities in their policy-related directions,” said Suma Prashanth, vice-president, Exploratory Initiatives, RTBI, briefing the press on the pilot project.

K. Vijayaraghavan, director, National Centre for Biological Sciences, said the data collected from the present pilot study could be used for biological research.

“This can then be fed back to the health system in the country as doctors can use the new knowledge back on the field,” he said.

The technology can also be used in any other field-level data collection and data processing, said Ashok Jhunjhunwala, professor, IIT-Madras. “We are already looking at using this system in evaluating how well Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme is being implemented. The same can be used in monitoring agriculture and water use. It is a question of using technology to simplify cumbersome processes,” he said.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 09 Jul 2010 18:28

Program to prevent lifestyle diseases cleared by Cabinet

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Thursday approved the ambitious National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS) for implementation during the remaining period of 11th Five-Year Plan, at an estimated outlay of Rs.1,230.90 crore.

Of the sanctioned amount, Rs.499.38 crore would be earmarked for interventions on diabetes and cardiovascular diseases and stroke, and Rs.731.52 crore for cancer control, on a cost-sharing basis between the Centre and the States, on a ratio of 80:20.

The programme will be implemented in 20,000 sub-centres and 700 Community Health Centres (CHCs) in 100 districts across 15 States/UTs by promoting healthy lifestyle through massive health education and mass media efforts at country level, “opportunistic screening” of persons above the age of 30 years, establishment of Non Communicable Disease (NCD) clinics at CHC and district level, development of trained manpower and strengthening of tertiary level health facilities.

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 09 Jul 2010 23:18

I couldn't find a Pharma-Ind thread. Apologies for trespassing -

I heard that many MNCs are outsourcing animal and human tests to India. How true it is and what are the consequences?

Thanks in advance.

James B · Post by **James B** » 09 Jul 2010 23:38

Cross posting from Indian Economy Dhaga

Just today I was talking with a Contract Research Organization (CRO) head based in Switzerland with an experience of 23 years in Pharma field. He was saying that future of Pharma is India. He said that not only India is leader in generic drugs, but Indian Pharma companies have entered in a big way in innovating new drugs and giving good competition to existing MNCs. So, one can expect that there will a lot of takeovers of Indian Pharmas by these MNCs in the near future. He also mentioned that India is in advantageous position to other Asian countries due to its English speaking population. Never did he mentioned about China being a Pharma leader though he mentioned that South Korea is doing well in Asia. Slowly, world is recognizing the importance of India and are betting on it a big time.

James B · Post by **James B** » 09 Jul 2010 23:46

RamaY wrote:I couldn't find a Pharma-Ind thread. Apologies for trespassing -

I heard that many MNCs are outsourcing animal and human tests to India. How true it is and what are the consequences?

Thanks in advance.

Its true that MNCs are outsourcing Animal tests as they are cheaper to do in India. It is good for Indian economy as they produce jobs. As far as human tests concerned, usually they are done all over the world in hospitals. Phase II/ III clinical trials are done with consent of the patient (or patient's family) and usually hospitals are paid for that. (and not the patients themselves if the treatment is for a disease with no known cure). Around 60% of drug development cost goes towards these clinical trials.

I don't see anything wrong in conducting clinical trials in India. In the end it is all done for the quest to find a cure to the disease.

All in all, it is good for economy and health of India.

James B · Post by **James B** » 10 Jul 2010 01:52

ramana wrote:JamesB, The future field is pharmaco-genomics. The coming together of molecular modelling with gene sequences i.e. lots of computing power.

An UYT was yapping non stop last weekend.

Ramana saar, they have been saying about this Pharmaco-genomics (personalized medicine) for over a decade now but it is not feasible as of now and there is not much happening in that direction either (may be with few exceptions). Usually vast majority of drugs are good enough to act against all kinds of people from the world over but some drugs (very few) seem to act against people from specific race/region but not against people from other race/regions due to variations in target protein sequence and this is where pharmaco-genomics come into picture where the drug is personalized to hit the target. But if there are too many variations (tens to hundreds) in the target protein in the population, it is not feasible for companies to make drugs with so many modifications/personalization as the scale of economics doesn't permit it.

Right now the main problem with coming up with new drugs is time and money. Usually it takes, on an average, 12 years and 1 billion dollars to come up with a new drug. Over the time, the success rate to come up with a block-buster drug is going down steeply. The field where drugs are very urgently needed is Cancer field but there are only handful of drugs with a below average performance. Who over comes up with an effective cancer drug will literally make billions of dollars a la the blue pill (vigra).

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 10 Jul 2010 02:03

Some Indian docs are working on understanding how drugs interact at cell level. One MD from AIIMS was at the Cancer Research center in LA a few years back.

Murugan · Post by **Murugan** » 13 Jul 2010 11:36

Sushrut Samhita, English Translation

biswas · Post by **biswas** » 13 Jul 2010 16:20

x posted from Nation on the March thread

A diabetes breakthrough from India

New Delhi: A team of Indian scientists has discovered a novel form of insulin that could drastically reduce the suffering diabetics face in controlling their blood sugar.

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/sci-tech/a- ... a-37130?cp

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 15 Jul 2010 23:26

Indians barred from taking test for US practice

MUMBAI: Tens of thousands of Indians who went to the United States to cash in on the health industry boom have been served a blow as the federal government has decided against allowing Indians to sit for the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE), a licentiate test without which students cannot practice in the US.

The decision was taken by the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy, a national body, reasoning that it found "systematic and methodical sharing and distribution of recalled questions by significant numbers of graduates of programmes in the affected countries as well as several exam preparation companies specifically targeted to these graduates". Apart from Indians, students from Pakistan, the Philippines and Egypt have also been barred from taking the exam.

"The federation recognizes the significant consequences of this policy decision but feels that it needs to be made clear to all candidates that the federation will not tolerate security breaches," it stated in a notice sent out to all the candidates who had registered to take the NPTE. Candidates will now have to wait for a year, which is when the federation is likely to introduce a more secured version of the test.

Looks like another protectionist action to give jobs to unemployed doctor of American nativity due to economic slow down??

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 30 Jul 2010 07:35

Scheme to check BP & Sugar among rural folks in TN

The project, to be implemented as part of the National Rural Health Mission, has been pegged at a total cost Rs.5.76 crore. A BP apparatus and glucometer will be supplied to the Village Health Nurses and to each sub-centre.This will be in addition to the Varummun Kappom Scheme in which 1.48 crore people were tested. Of them, over 5.08 lakh persons had tested positive for diabetes and were referred for treatment.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 08 Aug 2010 08:54

Indian Medical Textiles Sector Will Grow Very Fast

The medical treatment and facilities in India are second to none. The Indian textile industry has to produce products to protect, treat and heal.

“Medical textiles in India will grow very fast, may be at the rate of 10 per cent year-on-year during the next five years.” The medical textile products made in the country now are mainly the traditional items such as cotton gauze, bandages, and plaster.

In medical textiles, there are products that are essentials (sanitary products, diapers, etc), textile casts and bandages, barrier fabrics and special products.

In the United Kingdom, about 5,000 deaths occur annually of those who go for routine treatment, but catch an infection and fall ill. In India too there will be such deaths. Hospitals need anti-microbial, anti-allergic and anti-bacterial textiles that will protect people from infections. This is a sector with huge potential even in India.

Cotton is a natural fibre. When it is treated with special finishing, bugs cannot grow on it. Such textiles are almost non-existent in India. Infection control is a major world-wide phenomenon. There are technologies for these. Even in Coimbatore there are companies that are seriously looking at providing these. The United States, Europe and Japan have technologies even for mass production of these products.

Barrier fabrics include bed linen, gowns, and caps, and these are required in large volumes in the hospitals.

Apart from these, there are implantable materials – special areas where artificial devices replace human body parts. Arteries and ligaments can be replaced with textile products. These are high value-added, highly engineered products that are not for mass production. These will probably come to India gradually.

“I suggest that the Indian manufacturers initially go in for the mass products.” The margins are high and world is the market. India does not lack in technical skill. It is a matter of getting knowledge of the products and how to manufacture them. What should be available is knowledge and understanding of medical textiles and about non-woven technology.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 08 Aug 2010 15:09

Shortage of trained radiologists forces TN Govt. hospitals to go in for digital x-ray machines

Thanks to the shortage of trained radiologists in the state, Tamil Nadu district hospitals are all set to go hi-tech with digital X-ray machines which can be used to conduct tele-radiology, said S Vijayakumar, Project Director, Tamil Nadu Health Systems Project

. . . he said these machines will be procured at a cost of Rs 20-25 crore and are expected to be in place within six months.

“We will issue orders for procurement of these machines soon. The problem is that the trained radiologists are snapped up by the private sector. No one wants to work in government hospitals. So we have decided to upgrade technology"

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 12 Aug 2010 07:10

New NDM-1 gene emerges in India, making bacteria resistant to anti-biotics

vish_mulay · Post by **vish_mulay** » 12 Aug 2010 08:11

I am not surprised that NDM-1 super-bugs (both Klebsiella and E. coli) originating from South Asia. Unfortunately being hakim and working in Govt. Hospitals as M.O., I was expose to the massive misuse of pharmaceuticals (esp antibiotics and pain killers which are schedule drugs but available freely in any pharmacy). NDM-1 is not the first incident where super-bug has originated from India. Almost all MDRS tuberculosis infections originate in South Asia. Many scientists believe that Vancomycin resistant MRCA originated in India due to abuse of broad range antibiotics. What worries me most about NDM-1 is that it’s a multi-locus resistance on a relatively small plasmid with its own promoter; i.e. it can very easily jump between different species. This is ominous as it will spread fast and we might have to shelf most of 3rd generation cephalosporins since they will be rendered useless against the gram-negative infections.
Moving overseas and getting upper hand degree in the molecular genetics field made me aware to the sorry state of antibiotics development. We are going to face massive problems when all currently existing antibiotics will fail (and they will as these bugs are evolutionary factories and have earned respect from me). To my knowledge no pharmaceutical company is investing major R&D in development of new class of antibiotics. Medical care as we are used to for last 60 years has to be massively revised if we don’t have new antibiotics. Hope and Pray there is some positive development.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 13 Aug 2010 06:40

Linking India to superbug is unfair: GoI

India has reacted strongly to a study linking a multiple drug-resistant superbug detected in Britain to India and said the bacteria are not a public health threat.

It said Indian hospitals were safe as a number of such bacteria survive in nature and were reported from several other countries.

The conclusions of the study are “loaded with inference'' that the antibiotic-resistant organism possibly originated in India, an official statement issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said here on Thursday.

“While such organisms may be circulating more commonly in the world due to international travel, to link it with the safety of surgery hospitals in India and citing isolated examples to show that due to the presence of such organism in Indian environment India is not a safe place to visit is wrong,'' V.M. Katoch, Director-General of the Indian Council of Medical Research, said here.

Several authors had declared conflict of interest in the publication. The study was funded by European Union and two pharmaceutical companies — Wellcome Trust and Wyeth — that produce antibiotics for treatment of such cases, the official statement said.

The government also strongly objected to the naming of this enzyme New Delhi metallo beta lactamase -1 (NDM-1) and refuted the conclusion that hospitals in India were not safe for treatment.

Though not disputing the validity of the study, Dr. Katoch said the conclusions were “unfair'' and “scary.'' The conclusions and interpretations of the study were wrong, scientifically invalid and aimed at creating a scare.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 13 Aug 2010 06:44

India to tackle superbug menace

Even as the newly-found superbug NDM-1 (New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase) has raised fresh concerns about multidrug-resistant microbes, the government is shortly launching a pilot project in Gandhi Hospital here {Hyderabad} to set the benchmark for controlling hospital infections across the State.

Disclosing this to The Hindu here on Thursday, Health Secretary P. Ramesh said the project would be launched in collaboration with Northwick Park Hospital, U.K., and the Indian Institute of Public Health. A leading Indian microbiologist, who achieved zero control in hospital infections in Northwick Park Hospital, would lend his expertise in implementing the project at Gandhi.

Meanwhile, medical experts have slammed the attempt to associate India with NDM-1. Chairman of Asian Institute of Gastroenterology, Dr. D. Nageshwar Reddy, said the claim needed to be verified as it could have been acquired elsewhere.

Dr. M. Ratna Rao, senior consultant, Apollo Hospitals and Dr. Palepu Gopal, a critical care specialist and secretary, Indian Society of Critical Care, said such multi-drug resistant bacteria were found in many Western countries in spite of vigilant antibiotic policies.

However, they called upon the government to step in with a regulation to curb indiscriminate use of antibiotics by doctors and prevent the emergence of newer drug-resistant bacteria.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 13 Aug 2010 06:48

Kudos for researcher, yet a bit of worry

On the day his research article (co-authored with Timothy Walsh) in The Lancet on the New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase created a stir in the medical community in two continents, Karthikeyan Kumarasamy was honoured at home.

Madras University Vice-Chancellor G. Thiruvasagam feted Mr. Karthikeyan, a research student at the A.L. Mudaliar Post-Graduate Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, for his work on the NDM-1 bacteria gene.

The VC said he congratulated Mr. Karthikeyan, who met him Thursday morning along with Microbiology department head Thangam Menon.

While much of his work was completed in the United Kingdom, working at Cardiff University, the strain was initially characterised at the lab in Chennai.

The fatherless lad from Erode had his elation set back slightly at the interpretation the media had given his article. “That it was transmitted from India is hypothetical. Unless we analyse samples from across the world to confirm its presence, we can only speculate,” he said. {Then, why did he allow the bug to be named NDM implying India ? Or, was the naming beyond his control ? Did he become an unwitting accomplice in a larger scheme ? I am not saying that there is no possibility of such a bug emanating from India due to various reasons. But, having known the duplicitous behaviour of interested parties, we need to investigate this matter carefully.}

vish_mulay · Post by **vish_mulay** » 13 Aug 2010 07:01

Funny, where is Indian govt. when it comes to implementing policies prohibiting abuse of the schedule drugs? Needless to say I am against the whole India bashing by western world as everyone is naked in this development. Abuse of antibiotics by the live stock industry is a big concern and no one is talking about it since western countries are the main culprit. My concern is that in India, even doctors (know quite a few of them who do not follow any guidelines for antibiotic prescriptions). I was shocked to know that 3rd generation antibiotics are routinely prescribed without any though (many time wrong dosage or duration). This has to change. Last time I checked none of the major hospitals treat their medical waste properly (can contribute towards development of resistance) or maintain surveys for Nosocomial infections (important to identify source of resistance development). I am very concern about Indian citizens who will be paying hedge prize in both morbidity and mortality. Difficult times ahead.

vish_mulay · Post by **vish_mulay** » 13 Aug 2010 07:12

Just read the original paper published in 2009. It is named NDM-1 because it was isolated from a Swedish national of Indian origin who was treated for peri-anal abscesses as a complication of uncontrolled DM. He was treated with battery of antibiotics both in India and in Sweden without success (patient did recover eventually). The culture from abscess identified Klebsiella with this multi drug resistance plasmid. Since patient was treated both in Punjab and then in Delhi, had no repose to antibiotic treatment, it is ASSUMED that he/she acquired infection in India and hence the name. NO DIRECT PROOF THAT NDM-1 ORIGINATED IN INDIA. It is quite possible that the patient was harboring this bacterium as commensal even before coming to India. Having said so, I will not be surprised if it did originate in India as we are really negligent about our antibiotics use and we are and will pay prize for it.