On the occasion of World Blood Cancer Day, Fortis Hospitals, Bangalore has taken the initiative called #LifeDAAN to encourage stem cell donation and give hope to blood cancer patients in association with Stem Cell Registry India (SCRI), a project of BMST and DKMS.
#LifeDAANis aimed at helping people understand the need for stem cell donation and encourage them to pledge to become a potential stem cell donor. Fortis Hospitals along with SCRI will reach out to people to register them as potential blood stem cell donors.
According to SCRI, India needs at least 1 million registered potential stem cell donors to significantly improve the chances of Indian patients to find an unrelated matching donor. Every 6 minutes someone in India is diagnosed with blood cancer (e.g. leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma), thalassemia or aplastic anemia.
Dr Sachin Suresh Jadhav, Consultant, Haematology and Bone Marrow Transplant at Fortis Hospitals, Bangalore Road, said, ‘’Bone Marrow Transplant is a non-surgical procedure in which damaged or diseased bone marrow is replaced with healthy bone marrow stem cells. Anyone between the age of 18-50 years can become a blood stem cell donor. An initiative like stem cell donation will help blood cancer patients and give them hope for a second chance at life. Getting a perfect donor for transplantation is a complex process and very few blood cancer patients manage to get matched donors within their families. In such a scenario, people coming forward to pledge for donation will help us in fighting against blood cancer”.
Dr Manish Mattoo, Zonal Director, Fortis Hospitals, Bangalore, “Stem cell pledging is one of the most effective ways to save and enrich lives of people suffering from blood cancer who are waiting for a matching stem cell donor. It is only lack of awareness that has proved to be an impediment for such a low matching and donation rate in the country. #LifeDAAN is an initiative to fight against blood cancer and raise awareness among the people about the safety of stem cell donation. With the enthusiastic and expert support of SCRI, we are able to deliver our message on stem cell pledging effectively. We have made a start but still have a long way to go.”
India has the 3rd highest number of blood cancer patients in the world, after US and China. Every year, about 120,000 Indians are diagnosed with blood cancer and every day, about 325 patients have diagnosed with blood-related disorders.
About Fortis Healthcare Limited

Fortis Healthcare Limited is a leading integrated healthcare delivery service provider in India. The healthcare verticals of the company primarily comprise hospitals, diagnostics and day care specialty facilities. Currently, the company operates its healthcare delivery services in India, Dubai, Mauritius and Sri Lanka with 45 healthcare facilities (including projects under development), approximately 10,000 potential beds and over 374 diagnostic centres. For more information, please visit www.fortishealthcare.com

A Keralite who travelled to Goa by train on Monday, has been quarantined at an isolation ward of a leading hospital here after developing symptoms similar to those affected by the deadly Nipah virus.

Health Minister Vishwajeet Rane told reporters that it was not clear whether the person in question was suffering from the Nipah virus or not.

The results would be verified only once test results were back from the National Institute of Virology in Pune.

“It is not clear yet whether it is a Nipah case. We will have to wait for test results from Pune. The person admitted himself on his own, after he felt he had some symptoms similar to those affected by Nipah and he has been kept in the isolation ward at the Goa Medical College,” Rane said.

The Nipah virus is transmitted through direct contact with infected bats, pigs or from other infected persons.

The hospital has been the medical partner for event since 8 years

Procam International today announce their readiness to host the 11th edition of the TCS World 10k that will be held in Bengaluru on Sunday, the 27th of May. This year’s registrations crossed a whopping 24000 runners, ranging from Elite Athletes to enthusiastic runners. The announcement this afternoon in a 96-hours-to-go countdown, made by the team at Procam International, including Jt. Managing Director Procam International Race Director, Hugh Jones, and Dr. Vivek Jawali, Chairman, Dept. Of Cardiovascular Science & Chief Cardiothoracic & Vascular Surgeon, Fortis Hospitals,Bangalore highlighted the route for the year, medical care preparedness and logistic measures that have been implemented this year.

Starting and ending at Kanteerava Stadium, the run has five different race categories, with the open 10k kicking things off at 2:30 AM, and concluding with the World 10k for Men at 8:50AM. The sun is expected to rise at 5:52AM, with minimum temperature expected to be 21 degree Celsius.

Fortis Hospital has set up a base camp with 50 beds at the finish line and have placed three medical stations at various points along the routes. In addition, there will be medical personnel equipped with stretchers and wheelchairs at the start and finish line to any medical emergencies. 9 ambulances are present along with five medics and bikes that will be moving along the race route to ensure immediate attention. 25 doctors have also been made available on race day and are going to be spread across the medical stations and the base camp. In the lase 2KM’s of the race, there will be a total of 20 spotters and 200+staff from Fortis will be present to make sure everything goes smoothly.

Thoothukudi (Tamil Nadu), May 24 (IANS) Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi remained tense for the third day on Thursday as one more person injured in police firing in protests against the Sterlite factory died, taking the toll to 13.

Selvasekar succumbed to his injuries in the district hospital, as the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board issued an order to disconnect power supply to Sterlite and to close the plant with immediate effect.

Normal life was affected in Thoothukudi, with shops closed and people remaining indoors even as the protest against police action spread across the state on Thursday, with demonstrations in districts like Erode, Ramanathapuram and Thiruvarur.

In Thoothukudi, police have stepped up patrolling to stop people from forming groups in public places while internet connection has been shut in the district and neighbouring areas.

On Tuesday, police firing killed 11 people, most of them from nearby villages who were demanding the closure of the Sterlite Copper smelter plant they said was destroying the farm lands and leading to severe health issues in the area.

Another person was killed on Wednesday in fresh firing while hundreds of injured are admitted in hospitals.

Meanwhile, construction work for a proposed second facility near to the existing unit was stopped after an order by the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday.

The company said it will decide on further action after going through the order.

Diabetic Retinopathy – An Overview

Diabetic retinopathy usually starts as a mild disease. It affects light-sensitive tissue blood vessels in the retina that lines the back of the eye. This happens among the working-age adults the common cause of vision loss in diabetics leading to vision impairment and blindness. Diabetic macular edema (DME) causes blurred vision which has no symptoms in the early stages. The disease often progresses unnoticed until it affects vision.
During the initial stages, the blood vessels in the retina become weak and small bulges are developed called microaneurysms. These may burst causing tiny blood hemorrhages on the retina. Normally they do not cause symptoms affecting the vision. Diabetics don’t develop diabetic retinopathy if the disease is less than 10 years however, it is better not to delay an eye test.

Diabetic retinopathy is caused mainly due to high blood sugar levels damaging the network of tiny blood vessels that supply blood to the retina. Abnormal retinal blood vessels bleeding causes the appearance of wavy vision and color changes “floating” spots are the other symptoms of macular edema. When blood vessels leak into the center of your eye it is Proliferative retinopathy. Blurry vision is one of the signs along with spots or floaters, or having trouble with night vision.
Usually, Vision returns to normal with glucose levels streamlined. If blurriness doesn’t go away when glucose levels are close to normal. An ophthalmologist can detect vision loss and other problems by a dilated eye exam and Visual acuity testing.
The lens of the eye swells during High blood sugar which will change the ability to see. People with diabetes may develop three major eye problems like cataracts, glaucoma, and retinopathy. Macula edema is a condition where the macula swells with fluid blurring the vision. Non-proliferative retinopathy does not require treatment, macular edema must be treated, fortunately, treatment is effective sometimes even reverses the loss of vision.
Diabetic retinopathypatients are generally asymptomatic initially, however in advanced stages the patients experience floaters, distortion or blurred vision. The earliest clinical sign of diabetic retinopathy are Micro aneurysms.
Four stages of Diabetic retinopathy:
Mild Nonproliferative Retinopathy – balloon-like swelling in small areas of the retina’s tiny blood vessels called microaneurysms occur.
Moderate Nonproliferative Retinopathy. blood vessels nourishing the retina are blocked.
Severe Nonproliferative Retinopathy. Blockage in the blood vessel increasesthereby depriving parts of the retina with blood supply which further signals the bodya need for nourishment by growth of new blood vessels.
Proliferative Retinopathy. The new abnormal and fragile blood vessels grow along the retina that fills the inside of the eye. they do not cause symptoms or vision loss. However, blood vesselshave thin, fragile walls which could leak blood leading to vision loss and even blindness.
There is no cure for diabetic retinopathy. Laser treatment (photocoagulation) is used largely for preventing vision loss before the retina gets severely damaged. Surgically removing the vitreous gel (vitrectomy) also helps vision improvement, provided the retina is not severely damaged.
It is possible to live a normal life with diabetesif sufferers eat healthily and take exercise and manage medication (if needed) well. … Left untreated, diabetes can cause blindness, heart disease, stroke, nerve damage (sometimes leading to ulcers and even amputation of limbs), and kidney failure.
Diagnosis
In the early stages, diabetic retinopathy does not cause any noticeable symptoms. Therefore, it tends to be diagnosed as a result of a diabetic eye screening test. This would include a comprehensive eye exam including a slit lamp examination, a dilated retinal check,and measure of your intraocular pressure. Thereafter additional tests like a Fundus Fluorescein Angiography (FFA), Ultrasound B-Scan or an Optical Coherence Tomography to study the structure of the eye may be done.
Treatment
• Laser Treatment: Lasers are widely used in treating diabetic retinopathy and is performed as an out-patient procedure. In this treatment, an intense beam of light is focused on the area to be treated with the aid of the slit lamp and a special contact lens. This will reduce the retinal thickening and stops bleeding. Additional treatment may be required depending on the patient’s condition.
• Surgical Treatment: In some patients, the vitreous may pull on the retina reducing vision severely. In such cases, a surgical procedure called vitrectomy is performed. This surgery is done for advanced stage of Diabetic Retinopathy.
• Intravitreal injections: This may be recommended in selected conditions. The drug injected would depend on your condition and your doctor would discuss the same with you.

One more person has been reported to have been infected with Nipah virus infection in Gadag district in Mumbai Karnataka region of North Karnataka and is being treated in the special care unit of the district hospital.

The person from Ron taluk was admitted following complaints of severe fever and since then is undergoing treatment in the specially formed care unit for the purpose.His blood sample has been sent to Pune research laboratory to ascertain the virus infection he’s been suffering from.

It’s said that the person was working as a laborer in Kerala and had returned to his native village a few days back and developed high fever following which he was admitted to the district government hospital.

Dr AB Patil,Gadag district health officer has stated:It has been suspected that the person now being treated may be suffering from Nipah virus related infections.However the doubt can only be cleared after the report from the Pune based laboratory.

One 74 years old person who was being treated in Mangaluru suspecting to be infected with Nipah virus related infections has been now confirmed to be suffering from Pneumonia.While another 20 year old lady from Kasargodu from Kerala continues to be treated in Mangaluru hospital on suspicion of being infected with Nipah virus.

The health department officials have appealed to the people of the state not to visit four districts of North Kerala in view of the Nipah virus scare.These districts are Kannur,Vyanad,Kallikote and Mallapuram.

Hindusthan Samachar/Manohar Yadavatti

The Nipah virus has so far claimed three lives in Kerala while one person is undergoing treatment and 8 others are under observation in Kozhikode district, Health minister K K Shylaja today said.

The three deaths, which occurred over the past fortnight, were from the same family, including two siblings in their early twenties. The man who is undergoing treatment for ‘Nipah’ is the father of the two brothers who died.

Nipah virus (NiV) infection is a newly emerging zoonosis that causes severe disease in both animals and humans. The natural host of the virus are fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family, Pteropus genus. A bat was found in the well of their house which has now been closed, the minister said.

A nursing assistant, Lini, who had treated three infected persons, died this morning. However, it is yet to be confirmed if she had contracted the virus, which spreads through bats. Five more people have died due to high fever and similar symptoms of the virus here and in neighbouring Malappuram district.

However, it is yet to be confirmed if their deaths was caused by the virus, health department sources said. Health minister Shylaja and Labour minister, T P Ramakrishnan, who hails from Kozhikode, held discussions with officials and assured that the government had taken all necessary steps to prevent the spread of the virus, which has affected the state for the first time.

A high level team from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has already arrived in Kozhikode district to take stock of the situation. The state has been put on high alert and two control rooms have also been opened here.

The minister said there was no need to panic as the virus spreads only through direct contact with the infected person. “We have listed the persons who have got in touch with the patients. They have been isolated as precautionary measure,” she said.

The minister said peripheral hospitals in the vicinity of Medical college have been asked to set up isolation wards and if they have patients with symptoms of the virus, they should be directed to the medical college.

NiV was first identified during an outbreak of disease that took place in Kampung Sungai Nipah in Malaysia during 1998. Then, pigs were the intermediate hosts. However, in subsequent NiV outbreaks, there were no intermediate hosts.

A new study suggests that being confined in a car or airplane for long hours may increase the risk of developing a condition called venous thromboembolisms (VTE), a blood clot that forms most often in the deep veins of the leg, groin or arm.

In order to assess the impact of remaining seated in cars for extended periods of time, the investigators gathered data from the aftermath of the Kumamoto earthquakes that struck Japan in April 2016.

They found an “epidemic” of blood clots developing in the legs, and in numerous cases going to the lungs, in many of the people forced to evacuate, according to the study published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology.

Analysis of questionnaires from 21 local medical institutions established that 51 patients were hospitalised following the earthquakes due to VTE.

Of these, 42 patients (82.4 per cent) had spent the night in a vehicle.

“Preventive awareness activities by professional medical teams, supported by education in the media about the risk of VTEs after spending the night in a vehicle, and raising awareness of evacuation centers, could lead to a reduced number of victims of VTE,” noted lead investigator Seiji Hokimoto from Kumamoto University in Japan.

“This is a dramatic example of the risks inherent in spending prolonged periods immobilized in a cramped position,” commented Stanley Nattel, Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Journal of Cardiology.

“It is an important reminder of a public health point and reinforces the need to get up and walk around regularly when on an airplane or when forced to stay in a car for a long time,” Nattel said.

Air pollution levels remain dangerously high in many parts of the world. New data from World Health Organisation (WHO) shows that 9 out of 10 people breathe air containing high levels of pollutants. Updated estimations reveal an alarming death toll of 7 million people every year caused by ambient (outdoor) and household air pollution.

“Air pollution threatens us all, but the poorest and most marginalized people bear the brunt of the burden,” says Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO. “It is unacceptable that over 3 billion people – most of them women and children – are still breathing deadly smoke every day from using polluting stoves and fuels in their homes. If we don’t take urgent action on air pollution, we will never come close to achieving sustainable development.”

WHO estimates that around 7 million people die every year from exposure to fine particles in polluted air that penetrate deep into the lungs and cardiovascular system, causing diseases including stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases and respiratory infections, including pneumonia.

Ambient air pollution alone caused some 4.2 million deaths in 2016, while household air pollution from cooking with polluting fuels and technologies caused an estimated 3.8 million deaths in the same period.

More than 90% of air pollution-related deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, mainly in Asia and Africa, followed by low- and middle-income countries of the Eastern Mediterranean region, Europe and the Americas.

Around 3 billion people – more than 40% of the world’s population – still do not have access to clean cooking fuels and technologies in their homes, the main source of household air pollution. WHO has been monitoring household air pollution for more than a decade and,while the rate of access to clean fuels and technologies is increasing everywhere, improvements are not even keeping pace with population growth in many parts of the world, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.

WHO recognizes that air pollution is a critical risk factor for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), causing an estimated one-quarter (24%) of all adult deaths from heart disease, 25% from stroke, 43% from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and 29% from lung cancer.

More than 4300 cities in 108 countries are now included in WHO’s ambient air quality database, making this the world’s most comprehensive database on ambient air pollution. Since 2016, more than 1000 additional cities have been added to WHO’s database which shows that more countries are measuring and taking action to reduce air pollution than ever before.

The database collects annual mean concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5). PM2.5 includes pollutants, such as sulfate, nitrates and black carbon, which pose the greatest risks to human health. WHO air quality recommendations call for countries to reduce their air pollution to annual mean values of 20 μg/m3 (for PM10) and 10 μg/m3 (for PM25).

“Many of the world’s megacities exceed WHO’s guideline levels for air quality by more than 5 times, representing a major risk to people’s health,” says Dr Maria Neira, Director of the Department of Public Health, Social and Environmental Determinants of Health, at WHO.

“We are seeing an acceleration of political interest in this global public health challenge. The increase in cities recording air pollution data reflects a commitment to air quality assessment and monitoring. Most of this increase has occurred in high-income countries, but we hope to see a similar scale-up of monitoring efforts worldwide.”

While the latest data show ambient air pollution levels are still dangerously high in most parts of the world, they also show some positive progress. Countries are taking measures to tackle and reduce air pollution from particulate matter.

Narendra Modi’s Ujjwala Yojana only silver lining: WHO

For example, in just two years, India’s Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana Scheme has provided some 37 million women living below the poverty line with free LPG connections to support them to switch to clean household energy use. Mexico City has committed to cleaner vehicle standards, including a move to soot-free buses and a ban on private diesel cars by 2025.

Major sources of air pollution from particulate matter include the inefficient use of energy by households, industry, the agriculture and transport sectors, and coal-fired power plants. In some regions, sand and desert dust, waste burning and deforestation are additional sources of air pollution. Air quality can also be influenced by natural elements such as geographic, meteorological and seasonal factors.

Air pollution does not recognize borders. Improving air quality demands sustained and coordinated government action at all levels. Countries need to work together on solutions for sustainable transport, more efficient and renewable energy production and use and waste management. WHO works with many sectors including transport and energy, urban planning and rural development to support countries to tackle this problem.

Hindusthan Samachar/Lalit/Shri Ram Shaw