Japan quarantined a cruise ship and is screening all 3,711 people onboard after a passenger was tested positive for the deadly Wuhan coronavirus.
An 80-year-old man who had been on The Diamond Princess’ first leg tested positive in Hong Kong on January 31, and is deemed to have the virus.
He had disembarked from the ship earlier, but hundreds of other passengers remained.
The ship arrived back in Yokohama, Japan, on Monday. All 2,666 passengers and 1,045 crew members are now being held in quarantine to be screened for the virus.
A passenger has been sharing photos of the quarantine from inside the ship. Scroll down to see some of them.
Japan has quarantined a cruise ship carrying more than 3,700 people after one tested positive for the Wuhan coronavirus last week.
An unnamed 80-year-old man boarded The Diamond Princess in Yokohama on January 20, disembarked in Hong Kong on January 25, and admitted himself to the hospital on January 31. He was deemed to have contracted the virus.
The cruise ship, operated by Carnival Japan, arrived back to Yokohama on Monday. It was placed under quarantine upon arrival, Reuters reported.
Upon arrival in Japan passengers were told to remain in their cabins, and were on Tuesday visited by medical crews, who took their temperatures and gave them a questionnaire to fill out.
Those displaying any signs of the virus, including high temperatures and fevers, would undergo further tests from medical staff, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said, according to The Japan Times.
Guests were allowed to resume their onboard activity after being screened, but the casino, shops, and photo studio have been shut, Reuters reported. It’s not entirely clear what the other activities available are.
A passenger on board has been tweeting images of the ship amid the quarantine. They show heavily-protected medical workers in blue walking up and down the deserted hallways, and once-populated attractions – like the rooftop pool – totally empty.
A deadly new strain of coronavirus has killed over 2oo people in China, and infected thousands more across the world. India’s first case of Coronavirus of a student from Wuhan University has been reported in Kerala. Thousands infected after the outbreak of the deadly Coronavirus. China has sealed off several cities, effectively trapping tens of millions of people, in a bid to contain the spread of the virus. Indian authorities are working to pre-empt the spread of the infectant, known as the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).
Apart from infections raising concern is Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, caused by a type of coronavirus, which emerged in 2012. Infection with the MERS virus can cause fever, cough and shortness of breath, and is particularly deadly in older people or people with weakened immune systems or other illnesses.Jan 30, 2015
To protect yourself
wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.
avoid close contact with people who are sick.
There is no cure, so treatments include taking care of yourself and over-the-counter (OTC) medication:
Rest and avoid overexertion.
Drink enough water.
Avoid smoking and smoky areas.
Take acetaminophen, ibuprofen or naproxen to reduce pain and fever.
Use a clean humidifier or cool mist vaporizer.
Recommended for the vaccination of healthy dogs as an aid in the prevention of disease caused by canine distemper virus, adenovirus type 1 (hepatitis), adenovirus type 2 (respiratory disease), canine parainfluenza virus, canine parvovirus, and coronavirus.
What are the symptoms of coronavirus infections?
Common symptoms of a coronavirus infection include fever, cough
2019-nCoV detected after mysterious pneumonia cases were reported in China
The symptoms of a coronavirus infection depend on the type of infectant, but “common signs include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties,” the World Health Organisation (WHO) says.
Severe infections can cause conditions like pneumonia and can even be deadly, the UN body adds. In fact, 2019-nCoV was detected after Chinese health authorities reported mysterious pneumonia cases in Hubei, a central province (more on that later).
India has asked citizens who feel sick while travelling in China — or within a month of returning from China — to promptly seek medical help and follow standard guidelines, available here. The government has also advised citizens against travelling to China. An earlier advisory advised against “non-essential travel”.
Citizens who’ve come into contact with people infected with 2019-nCoV should monitor their health for a 28-day period and seek medical attention if they develop a fever, cough or breathing difficulties, the Indian health ministry says.
How dangerous is the Wuhan coronavirus?
A still from a real-time visualisation of coronavirus cases in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea by the John Hopkins Centre of System Science and Engineering, accessed at 11.00 am IST on January 28, 2020. The largest red circle shows Hubei province, where most of the deaths have occurred.
Where did the current outbreak begin?
The outbreak of 2019-nCoV has been linked to the Huanan Seafood Market in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where wildlife was being sold illegally (although this theory has now been questioned). Remember, coronaviruses are initially transmitted between animals and humans.
Reports by TIME and the Wall Street Journal say the market sold all kinds of wildlife, from ostriches to porcupines.
“It was no secret to anyone in Wuhan that Huanan Seafood Market sold a lot more than its name suggested. While one side of the low-slung warren of stalls did primarily stock fish and shellfish, the other offered a cornucopia of spices, sundries and, if you knew where to look, beavers, porcupines and snakes.”
– Excerpt from TIME magazine report, Janaury 24
SECTION SNAPSHOT
WHO recommendations include good hand and respiratory hygiene
India has advised citizens to avoid non-essential travel to China
The WHO’s standard recommendations for protection from a variety of illnesses apply to the coronavirus outbreak. Check out the infographic above for a brief overview.
India has cautioned its citizens against travelling to China.
Indians who feel sick while in China, or within a month of returning from China have been asked promptly seek medical help and follow standard guidelines.
India is monitoring individuals who may have been exposed to 2019-nCoV andhas an Air India plane on stand by to evacute its nationals from Wuhan, and has made a formal request to Beijing for help.
The World Health Organisation says the new coronavirus epidemic is a high global risk but hasn’t declared it a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, or PHEIC.
The national helpline for information and assistance related to the coronavirus threat is 011-23978046.
This guide contains everything you need to know about coronaviruses, and the 2019-nCoV in particular. It will be updated daily as and when new information becomes available.
SECTION SNAPSHOT
2019-nCoV appears to have lower fatality rate than SARS virus
But it seems to be spreading faster, said to be infectious during incubation period
The World Health Organisation’s global risk assessment for 2019-nCoV is “high”. It is “very high” for China, the source of the outbreak. But the UN body hasn’t declared a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern” — or PHEIC — like the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo last year.
Over 130 people have died so far, all of them in China. Thousands of others have been infected across multiple continents — a number that rose sharply in a very short timespan. (See Reuters graphic below.)
Little is known about 2019-nCoV. China has confirmed human-to-human transmission, and said the virus is infectious during its 1-14 day incubation period — in other words, before the first symptoms appear.
For now, 2019-nCoV appears to have a lower fatality rate than the SARS virus, but it is certainlyappears to be spreading quicker.
Scientists have identified 2019-nCoV’s genetic code,enabling scientists to work on vaccines. There’s currently no vaccine or specific treatment for infections.
What are coronaviruses?
Notice the spike proteins on the surface of the avian infectious bronchitis virus virion on the left. They create an effect resembling the solar corona (see photo of total eclipse on the right) and give the family Coronaviridae its name. (Credits: CDC/Fred Murphy; Sylvia Whitfield (left) and NASA/Aubrey Gemignani. Montage by ITGD Design Team/Vikas Vashisht)
Coronaviruses get their name because of their protein spikes
They’re transmitted between animals, humans; 7 kinds infect people
The Wuhan coronavirus, or 2019-nCoV, is part of a family of viruses named for the effect created by spike proteins on their shells, or capsids. Think of how the outer layer of the sun’s atmosphere, known as the corona (Latin for crown), appears during a total solar eclipse.
“Any vaccine for the Wuhan coronavirus would focus on the antigenic viral spike proteins which look like a halo or crown…of bulbous spikes for which the coronavirus is named. This protein binds to the ACE2 receptor in our lung cells like a forged key to break in.”
– Eugene Gu, MD, Founder-CEO of Cool Quit
Seven kinds of coronavirus can infect people, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). They include 2019-nCoV, and the viruses that cause Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV), both of which have killed hundreds (see microscope images below).
SARS virions, left, and a single MERS-CoV virion. (Credits: CDC/Charles D Humphrey and TG Ksiazek (left), and US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Montage by ITGD Design Team/Vikas Vashisht)
Coronaviruses are initially transmitted from animals to humans. China says 2019-nCoV can be transmitted between people.
The health ministry has published FAQs for citizens and guidlines for healthcare practitioners. (Follow the health ministry on Twitter at @MoHFW_INDIA and visit the Disease Alerts page at https://mohfw.gov.in/media/disease-alerts)
The national helpline for information and assistance related to the coronavirus threat is 011-23978046.
TOKYO: In a first, researchers have created a comprehensive map of how the malaria parasite traffics between human host cells, an advance that sheds more light on the mechanisms behind parasitic infections of the blood.
While malaria affects nearly 200 million people worldwide annually, the researchers, including those from Tohoku University in Japan, said the mechanism by which the disease-causing parasite effectively infiltrates human red blood cells was not thoroughly understood.
The study, published in the journal iScience, assessed how plasmodium falciparum — the parasite which causes the most severe form of malaria — infects red blood cells.
According to the researchers, P. falciparum triggers the production of several proteins within the host cell, transforming the cell’s physical form.
This transformation makes the cells stick in place, out of the body’s immune response, and also helps the parasite travel to the surface of the cell and infect others, they said.
These proteins, the study noted, help the parasite proliferate within the host, leading to the propagation of P. falciparum.
“Our study sheds light on the highly complicated interplay between parasite and host proteins in the host cytoplasm. The work provides a reliable dataset of the interactions connecting dozens of proteins the parasite exports to continue infecting the host cells,” said Kentaro Kato, study co-author from Tohoku University.
In the current study, the researchers looked at one of these proteins — skeleton-binding protein 1 (SBP1) — which is known to be highly important for malaria to propagate.
They imaged the way the parasite’s proteins interacted with SBP1 throughout the proliferation process, and identified several proteins connected to transforming the host cell.
“In this study, we developed an alternative approach to identify exported proteins involved in the trafficking complex and in the parasite protein exports. The SBP1 interactions established in our study represent a powerful and invaluable platform to identify exported proteins related to severe malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum,” Kato said.
Based on the findings, the researchers developed a comprehensive map of SBP1’s interactions with other proteins, shedding light on the complex interplay between host and parasite proteins.
According to the scientists, the findings may pave the way for discussion on the molecular mechanism of the infections that affect human red blood cells.
The study, published in the journal iScience, assessed how plasmodium falciparum — the parasite which causes the most severe form of malaria — infects red blood cells.
According to the researchers, P. falciparum triggers the production of several proteins within the host cell, transforming the cell’s physical form.
This transformation makes the cells stick in place, out of the body’s immune response, and also helps the parasite travel to the surface of the cell and infect others, they said.
These proteins, the study noted, help the parasite proliferate within the host, leading to the propagation of P. falciparum.
“Our study sheds light on the highly complicated interplay between parasite and host proteins in the host cytoplasm. The work provides a reliable dataset of the interactions connecting dozens of proteins the parasite exports to continue infecting the host cells,” said Kentaro Kato, study co-author from Tohoku University.
In the current study, the researchers looked at one of these proteins — skeleton-binding protein 1 (SBP1) — which is known to be highly important for malaria to propagate.They imaged the way the parasite’s proteins interacted with SBP1 throughout the proliferation process, and identified several proteins connected to transforming the host cell.
“In this study, we developed an alternative approach to identify exported proteins involved in the trafficking complex and in the parasite protein exports. The SBP1 interactions established in our study represent a powerful and invaluable platform to identify exported proteins related to severe malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum,” Kato said.
Based on the findings, the researchers developed a comprehensive map of SBP1’s interactions with other proteins, shedding light on the complex interplay between host and parasite proteins.According to the scientists, the findings may pave the way for discussion on the molecular mechanism of the infections that affect human red blood cells.
Addressing multiple dimensions and various forms of malnutrition requires an integrated policy, coherent action, and total transformation of the country’s food system.
A series of studies and articles published by The Lancet during 2019 establishes that both undernutrition and overweight and obesity co-exist. (Express Photo by Deepak Joshi/Representational Image)
There is now a new nutrition reality, based on fresh scientific evidence in three related areas.
First, there is evidence now that undernutrition (stunting, wasting, underweight) and overweight and obesity co-exist and promote each other. Second, that unsafe food directly or indirectly affects nutrition outcomes. Finally, that poor eating habits adversely impact digestion and hence nutrition.
A series of studies and articles published by The Lancet during 2019 establishes that both undernutrition and overweight and obesity co-exist. Historically, these were seen in two distinct silos and policies and interventions to address them followed different trajectories. Now there is evidence that both build on each other throughout life and across generations. Both can be addressed more effectively together, simultaneously. The Lancet calls it a double burden of nutrition (DBM).
DBM is defined as wasting in more than 15 per cent and stunting in more than 30 per cent of children aged 0–4 years, thinness in women (body-mass index < 18.5 mg/kg2) in more than 20 per cent females aged 15-49 years and adult or child overweight. With overweight prevalence threshold of 20 per cent, it is found in 48 countries including India, with 30 per cent threshold in 35 countries and with 40 per cent threshold in 10 countries. It is no more possible to characterise countries as low-income and undernourished, or high income and only concerned with obesity.
In India, 47 million people are stunted, 25 million people are wasted, and 196 million suffer from chronic hunger. About 500 million suffer from vitamin or mineral deficiencies. At the same time, over 180 million are overweight or obese, including 3 million children under the age of five years.
Increases in the number of overweight are often a result of changes in the food system that make less nutritious food cheaper and more accessible, as well as due to decrease in physical activity due to major technological shifts in the workplace, home, and transportation. Risk of overweight and obesity is greater among the higher-wealth households and urban areas, but in several countries, the risk of the DBM is starting to concentrate among people with low incomes and in rural areas.
Since, the DBM is driven through interconnected biological pathways, along with broader societal and ecological factors within the new nutrition reality, the interventions and programmes that seek to address undernutrition and overweight / obesity must therefore be taken up simultaneously.
The second reality is that food safety impacts nutrition. Unsafe food causes more than 200 diseases, and hence food safety is usually seen as a public health or medical issue. New studies suggest more complex, long-term impact of unsafe food that include child stunting and even obesity. It is now established that unsafe food can affect nutrition and health outcomes both directly and indirectly. Infection by food-borne pathogens can result in poor absorption of nutrients from food, particularly of vitamins and minerals that impact the nutritional status of an individual.
Undernutrition and associated immune deficiencies increase an individual’s susceptibility to infection. Combination of foodborne illness and undernutrition can spiral into a vicious cycle of worsening health, with particular impact on vulnerable early life stages where poor nutritional outcomes can lead to stunted growth, carrying a lifetime of consequences.
Finally, it is now established that the right eating habits are a key to proper digestion. Our grandparents have always told us about it, and yet with rapidly changing lifestyles, time-tested “right eating habits” are followed more in the breach. These habits include simple things like chewing your food properly, having meals at the right time following the circadian clock, and having enough water–but between the meals, and not with the meals.
There is now robust scientific evidence on how poor eating habits have long term impact on the health of individuals, and cause for obesity and many lifestyle diseases. Many people have benefitted and prevented dreadful diseases and death merely by adopting proper eating habits.
There are many causes for malnutrition and undernutrition in various forms, and thus this cannot be addressed through siloed interventions. The food system is the common denominator of all forms of malnutrition, and addressing these challenges together requires integrated actions to improve food safety and nutrition and develop a food system that provides all people with safe, healthy and affordable diets.
Changes in the food system have to be made so that outputs per unit of water, energy, land and other inputs are optimised and footprint of agriculture and non-farm activities in the food system are managed with the planetary boundaries. The food system should provide people with diets that are sustainable.
Right from the World Declaration on Nutrition in 1992, nutrition plans have focussed only on undernutrition. For the first time, 2014 Rome Declaration on Nutrition laid down dietary-related non-communicable diseases targets. Since then several countries have fixed obesity-related targets along with undernutrition targets, but these targets adopted separate strategies and have different plans.
India’s national nutrition policy (NNP) of 1993 focussed on undernutrition through supplementary nutrition and deficiencies of iron and Vitamin A. The 2018 national nutrition strategy continued the same with interventions around nutrition and healthcare of infants and young children, mothers, adolescents and address deficiencies of iron and Vitamin A.
Even though the strategy recognised that there was a small but increasing percentage of children at greater risk for non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular heart disease, there are no specific interventions in the 2018 strategy, nor does it recognise the interconnection between undernutrition, obesity and overweight.
To implement the 2018 strategy, the national nutrition mission was launched. It focussed on the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, convergence across ministries, real-time monitoring of work and performance incentives for frontline workers and rota-virus vaccination to prevent diarrhoea.
With these interventions, there has been some progress. Comprehensive national nutrition survey (2016-18) has shown that stunting has come down to 34.7 per cent from 38.4 per cent noted in the National Family Health Survey in 2015-16. During the same period, wasting came down to 17.3 per cent from 21.0 per cent and underweight to 33.4 per cent from 35.7 per cent.
This is not good enough. India is still placed at a rank of 102 out of 117 countries in the global hunger index. This is way below China’s rank of 25, or even our south Asia neighbours, Sri Lanka (67), Myanmar (68), Nepal (72), and Bangladesh (86).
Poor progress on undernutrition is possibly due to the double burden of malnutrition which calls for an integrated approach and simultaneous action to address undernutrition and obesity and overweight together.
Unsafe food could be another reason. Our recent national milk survey has shown that over 5 per cent of the milk samples had Aflatoxin M1 above permissible levels. Aflatoxin, a natural food contaminant, may lead to stunting and growth impairment in children, not only reducing their chances of long and productive lives, but perhaps also making them more susceptible to other illnesses. An unhealthy eating is often another factor.
Addressing multiple dimensions and various forms of malnutrition requires an integrated policy, coherent action, and total transformation of the country’s food system.
There is an urgent need to revisit the 2018 national nutrition strategy so that we can move quickly towards achieving the goal of eradicating hunger and preventing malnutrition in all its forms.
The author is Secretary to the Government of India and CEO, FSSAI.
THIMPU- Some of the health facilities in Bhutan were found to have radiation leakage, according to a preliminary finding of the radiation survey carried out in 2018.
The survey, carried out in all the health facilities in the country that provide radiology service, found that the leakage was from windows, console room, dark room, main door and primary wall.
MRI, CT Scan, Mammography, USG and X-ray are some of the radiology services that the health centres in the country currently provide.
A programme officer with the Department of Medical Services, Pema Yangzom, said that radiation leakage happened because most of the health facilities did not have a proper lead lining of the doors.
Ten health facilities—Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital, Deothang, Pemagatshel, Gedu, Paro, Samtse, Wangdicholing, Yebilaptse hospitals, Nganglam and Sipsoo BHU Is—were found without lead lining.
During the survey, the components assessed were the accessories, the X-ray rooms including the dark rooms, if they are as per the standard layout. It was also assessed if the primary walls were as per the requirement, if the human resources allocation was adequate, and caseload, among others.
About 58 percent of the 31 health facilities were found satisfactory; 13 were found not satisfactory.
It was found that only a few health facilities used the standard room layout for the X-ray room equipment. X-ray rooms in Deothang, Wangdicholing, Trongsa hospitals, and Nganglam and Dorokha BHU I were found to have inadequate room size.
In terms of the darkroom, nine health facilities did not fulfil the standard. “There was a presence of light and we could see radiation leakage in the darkroom,” she said.
One good practice was that all the health facilities have initiated putting radiation safety signs and indications.
However, it was noticed that the staff were not using PPE (personal protective equipment) when carrying out X-ray.
In terms of providing radiology services, the national referral hospital in Thimphu has the highest workload, followed by Phuentsholing hospital, and the regional referral hospitals in Gelephu and Mongar.
During the survey, ultrasonography (USG) requirements in terms of equipment, infrastructure, human resources and caseload were also assessed.
It was found that the ultrasound rooms were small and congested, the rooms did not have attached toilets and washbasins. There was no ventilation in the USG room, which the health officials claim are unhygienic to the patient and the staff.
The rooms did not have air conditioners. Pema Yangzom said that AC is a must in the ultrasound room to maintain the equipment temperature.
In 2015, Blood Safety and Diagnostic programme with the health ministry, in collaboration with Department of Radiology initiated radiation survey in all health facilities having radiology services to assess, detect and indicate the radiation leakage or hazard presence.
“It is also to ensure the safety of the health workers, patients and those working in the facility,” she said.
Radiation survey is carried out every two years.
Of the two impacts of radiation hazards to health, somatic damage happens when the whole body is exposed to radiation. Genetic damage causes genetic diseases due to radiation hazard.
Some of the health impacts due to radiation exposures include cancers, cataract and some kind of skin diseases. It can also be harmful to the fetus at various stages of pregnancies.
Some of the health facilities have very old X-ray machines which frequently breakdown and hampers the services. This is one of the issues highlighted.
Recommendation
The survey recommends that there is a need for the hospital or dzongkhag administration to prioritise radiation safety requirements in the respective hospital or BHU I.
During the planning of new X-ray infrastructure in the health facilities, it is recommended that the radiology programme should be consulted as they have standard X-ray room layout.
Additional staff requirement in hospitals or BHU Is with higher workload needs to be considered.
Except for the referral hospitals, she said that most of the health facilities had only one HR where the person had to handle both ultrasound and X-ray.
The country today has a total of 119 radiology staff, of which 48 are Radio-Sonographer and 39 X-ray Technician. “Even with this we are facing a severe shortage in our country,” she said.
Hospital and dzongkhag administration need to support computers and printers for the ultrasound unit to enable easy reporting and also support the requirements for the ultrasound service in the health facilities.
Currently, most of the ultrasound reports are prepared manually and it was found that in doing so, there is an issue of not being able to read the reports. (Kuenel)
The popular English breakfast tea is a blend of various black teas
Most start with a base of Assam CTC to which complementary black teas are added
Like any good classic, the origins of the popular English Breakfast tea include dubious legends. The story goes that in 1843, an American dealer concocted a blend with a few Chinese black teas and dubbed it the English Breakfast tea, in a clever if far-fetched juxtaposition to the strong and sweet tea drunk in England at the time. According to a second—likelier—story, the tea’s origins are Scottish, dating back to the 1890s, when a Scotsman added the newer Assam and Ceylons to the standard Chinese Keemun. Chinese tea may have been in short supply, so this must have been a case of necessity being the mother of invention. And what set it off on the path to ubiquity was Queen Victoria’s stamp of approval.
Variations of the English Breakfast followed quickly. The Irish Breakfast tea takes the base of the English Breakfast but uses more Assam tea and needs milk and sugar to make it enjoyable. The Scottish Breakfast is a far stronger blend, made with a variety of black teas.
As these teas became popular, every tea brand worth its name began to produce its own blend, each protecting the recipe for it. Breakfast teas are now a genre unto themselves, and connote bold, strong, malty cups, pairing happily with a hearty breakfast, even a full English one, and more accommodating of milk and sugar than most teas.
Breakfast teas have some fundamental attributes: Most start with a base of Assam CTC (abbreviated from crush, tear, curl) tea, to which complementary black teas are added. The choice of tea depends on what the blender wishes to deliver—a rich colour, strong flavours, a marked aroma, some smokiness, a little lightness. The Assam, with its notes of dates and honey, brings the characteristic malty flavour to the cup. The Chinese Keemun is a classic addition and accentuates this maltiness while adding smokiness. On the other hand, the Ceylon black is bold, lending richness, while the Kenyan black tea is chosen because it resembles the Assam, offering body and briskness, a trait that tea connoisseurs seek and appreciate.
To make your own signature Breakfast blend, begin with two teas; it takes practice to add more layers of flavour. Choose a high-grade Assam CTC as a base. Now, choose your second tea: A Nilgiri black tea may bring brightness and aroma, a Darjeeling black balances the strength with lightness (most suited to those who prefer tea without milk), another Assam may emphasize the maltiness or the honey-caramel notes. If you can get your hands on a Keemun or a Kenyan or a Sri Lankan black tea, they come with their own characteristic attributes. Try the ratios to arrive at a balance that works for you—you will then have your signature Breakfast blend.
TEA PICKS
Blended Breakfast teas available from Assamica Agro (Assam+Darjeeling) or estates like Halmari (Assam+Assam) or Teamonk (Assam+Nilgiri).
The vaccination for rotavirus is set to be introduced in the state of Mizoram by July 2019.
Rotavirus, which according to the WHO, is the most common cause of severe diarrhoeal disease in young children throughout the world.
An introductory workshop was held at the Directorate of Health Services, Conference Hall on Monday.
Dr Tushar Rane, chief of Field Office and representative of UNICEF Northeast gave an introduction of the rotavirus vaccine and spoke on how this vaccine has been introduced in other states of India.
The mission director, NHM,Dr Eric Zomawia gave a keynote address where he spoke on the various endeavours and future plans of the Health department while the State Immunization Officer Dr Lalzawmi gave a power-point presentation on the ‘Overview of Universal Immunization programme’.
The rotavirus vaccine is expected to be introduced in the State by June or July 2019 after the completion of state and district level training.
The vaccine will be given in three doses to six week, 10 week and 14 week old infants.
The administration of the vaccine can only be carried out by trained medical experts.
While two states in the Northeast, Assam and Tripura have administered the vaccine, instruction has been received from the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India to administer the vaccine in the rest of the north-eastern states.
Rotavirus vaccine will be included in the Routine Immunisation vaccines under the health department of Mizoram.
The virus which is the most common cause of severe diarrhoea is believed to claim the lives of more than 200,000 children each year. More than 80 per cent of children get infected by 5 years of age.
A new milestone towards expanding full immunisation coverage
Diarrhoea caused by Rotavirus is one of the leading causes of severe diarrhoea and death among children less than five years of age. In India, between 80,000 to one lakh children die due to Rotavirus diarrhoea annually while nearly 9 lakh children are admitted to hospital with severe diarrhoea. Another 32.7 lakh children visit the hospital as out patients due to the disease.
The vaccine was being introduced initially in four States — Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Odisha — and would be expanded to the entire country in a phased manner, Mr. Nadda said. “Adding this life-saving vaccine to our immunisation programme will not only improve the health of our children but also reduce hospitalisation and other conditions associated with diarrhoea due to Rotavirus such as malnutrition, delayed physical and mental development among children. Reduced hospitalisation lower the economic burden on the family and the health cost burden on the country,” the Minister added. The Rotavirus vaccine was developed indigenously, under a public-private partnership between the Ministry of Science Technology and the Health Ministry.
The Rotavac is in addition to three new vaccines that have been introduced in India’s Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP) including Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV), Measles, Rubella (MR) vaccine, and Adult Japanese Encephalitis (JE) vaccine.
With these new vaccines, India’s UIP will provide free vaccines against 12 life threatening diseases, to 27 million children annually, the largest birth cohort in the world.
You may have heard Kush being mentioned in many popular hip-hop songs. Time for an education on everything there is to know about the strain.
Hindu Kush—historically grown only in the mountain range of the same name, which mostly runs along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan—is one of the most potent landrace strainsavailable. The Himalayan slopes gave birth to the strain, which over time, brought about many other strains that inherited part of its name—Kush.
What does the slang Kush mean?
In the last decade or so, the word “Kush” has become synonymous with premium cannabis strains; high-quality street cannabis is often called Kush among users. Kush became the go-to term for high-quality cannabis in the U.S., quickly replacing its contemporaries.
What is Kush?
Kush is primarily a cannabis indica strain, which has risen in popularity in the last decade, and played a pivotal role in creating dozens of modern-day hybrid strains. One will rarely see a Kush strain that is a purebred sativa, although this can occur with proper growing conditions, combined with relentless cross-breeding.
Macro view of the Black Lotus Kush bud. ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS
When Kush is grown under specific conditions, its unique phenotypes come out in a different light. Kush plants are known to evolve and acclimate in order to survive. Nowadays, Kush is grown all around the world, but its tough Himalayan genetics endured and continue to follow the strain, giving it both durability and potency.
It is most likely true that Kush is a lost strain and that its precise genetics are unknown. That said, the next best thing is available, namely OG Kush, also known as Ocean Grown Kush.
The rise of OG Kush
OG Kush first appeared in California during the 1990s, right around the time Dr. Dre dropped his The Chronic album, which took the cannabis community by storm.
There are two stories that explain the strain’s mysterious genetics. The first is that a breeder claimed to have gotten the seed from a bag of Chemdawg 91 strain, in the Lake Tahoe area in 1996; the second goes that it was brought to California from Florida, by a grower who now operates a company known as Imperial Genetics. He reports the parents of this strain were a male cross of Lemon Thai and Old World Paki Kush, and a female Chemdawg plant.
Unfortunately, OG Kush is a clone-only strain and, at that time, one couldn’t simply plant a seed of this strain. Rather, a cutting from an existing plant is needed.
There is a lot of confusion about the origin of the name, and what OG exactly stands for. Given that it was bred in California, many users thought it meant Original Gangster, or just Original Kush. However, the truth is the grower who first bred OG Kush in California was asked by a consumer if it was mountain-grown, complimenting the quality of his buds. The grower responded with a simple, “This Kush is ocean-grown, bro.” The rest is history.
Quickly after that, cuttings of various OG Kush plants began making the rounds around Los Angeles and the rest of California. Those cuttings made way for new, closely-related strains.
Hindu Kush—historically grown only in the mountain range of the same name, which mostly runs along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan—is one of the most potent landrace strains available. ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS
The strains that came from these plants all gained popularity, and developed into Cannabis Cupwinners themselves, including Bubba Kush, West Coast Dog, Larry OG, Tahoe OG Kush, Triple OG, Ghost OG, Diablo OG and so forth.
What does the Kush high feel like?
Kush strains are known to have the utmost relaxing effect, all while making the user giggly and joyous. These traits aren’t common among the different cannabis strains that came from Kush.
Kush strains with strong ties to their indica roots are very hard to come by these days, as the cannabis community moved towards growing highly resistant hybrids. However, those who still grow Kush with a higher indica presence are known to produce flowers with potent cerebral effects that “tranquilize” the user, and these buds are frequently recommended as a way to battle insomnia.
Popular Kush strains
There are 100-plus strains containing the word Kush in their names, and many more that came about by cross-breeding Kush strains with other strains. As previously mentioned, landrace Hindu Kush is known for its resilience and the ability to grow just about anywhere, a useful trait that made Hindu Kush one of the most sought-after strains by growers and breeders.
As it now stands, there are overwhelmingly more hybrid and indica Kush strains than sativa Kush strains. Additionally, most of the Kush strains aren’t pure indicas and sativas, but rather hybrids whose one trait is more dominant than the other.
With that in mind, here are picks of some of the best Kush strains by three separate categories. The most popular indica-dominant Kush strains include Kosher Kush, Bubba Kush, Critical Kush, Afghan Kush, Platinum Kush, Hindu Kush, Super Kush, Sin City Kush, Alien Kush, Purple Kush, Purple OG Kush and Master Kush; the most popular hybrid Kush strains include OG Kush, Pink Kush, Lemon OG Kush, Cali Kush, Royal Kush, Mango Kush, Pineapple Kush, Holy Grail Kush and Big Kush; and the most popular sativa-dominant Kush strains include Mickey Kush, Silver Kush, Quantum Kush and Heisenberg Kush.
What is the best Kush strain?
OG Kush is widely viewed as the best Kush strain because of its legacy. That said, it’s somewhat difficult to classify one strain as the absolute best, mostly because each crop varies in quality and cannabinoid and terpene levels. There are also many variations of a more or less same strain.
Given that OG Kush was originally a clone-only strain, growers named clones of different potency different names. This has produced confusion since, at one point, a person might have smoked the exact same weed from two different growers marketed under two different names.
If the best strain is characterized as “the one with the highest level of THC,” then the Oscar goes to Ghost OG. This strain is, without a doubt, the strongest Kush variety, at least so indicates Washington State I-502 data.
In that testing sample, Ghost OG, which is a cutting from the original OG Kush mother stock, consistently came in at a colossal 28.7 percent THC content. On the same test, OG Kush results came in significantly lower, averaging around 19.4 percent THC content.
In a study conducted by scientists Nick Jikomes and Michael Zoorob, they found OG Kush isn’t topping its competitors, at least as far as THC levels go. In their study, Gorilla Glue #4—now usually known as Original Glue—came in first place with an average of 21 percent THC. The researchers concluded that there’s still a lot of test result manipulation going on and that retailers often display cannabinoid levels much higher than they actually are.
With that in mind, THC levels should not determine which Kush strain is “best”, because the delicate balance of minor cannabinoids and terpenes also plays an important role in the effects of each particular strain. There is much more to a strain than just numbers on a piece of paper.
Greencamp.com is an educational website dedicated to shedding the light on many unexplored sides of medical and recreational cannabis. Aside from informing people of safe cannabis use, Greencamp also provides technology for finding optimal cannabis treatment. You can download their app from Itunes or the Google Play store.
Want to keep up to date on what’s happening in the world of cannabis? Subscribe to the Cannabis Post newsletter for weekly insights into the industry, what insiders will be talking about and content from across the Postmedia Network.
Whenever dust particles hang thick in the air in South Korea, sales of pork rise.
This quirky correlation in Asia’s fourth-largest economy, where air pollution outstrips industralised peers, stems from an old belief attributed to coal miners, that the slippery pork oil helped cleanse dirt from their throats.
For middle school student Han Dong-jae, eating greasy barbecued pork belly on a smoggy day is a life lesson imbibed from his mother.
“I eat more pork when fine dust is dense like today,” said the 15-year-old as he dug in over a sizzling grill at a barbecue restaurant in Seoul with his mother after school.
“I think it’s somewhat helpful, because pork meat has oil and the oil soothes my throat.”
Scientists say there is no rationale for the belief, but pork sales jumped about a fifth on the year from Feb. 28 to March 5, when pollutants blanketed most areas, data from major retailers E-Mart and Lotte Mart showed.
SOCIAL DISASTER
South Korea faces a battle against unhealthy air, a combination of domestic emissions from coal-fired power plants and cars, and pollutants wafted in from China and North Korea.
Its air quality was the worst among its industrialised peers in 2017, data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) grouping of wealthy nations showed.
South Korea registers 25.1 micrograms per cubic metre of fine particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometres on average each year, just over double the OECD figure of 12.5, but far lower than the world average of 44.2.
The pollution has affected South Korean policy and businesses, driving up shares of companies that make air purifiers and masks.
Legislation this month included a measure designating the problem a “social disaster”, which could unlock emergency funds.
Cho Seog-yeon, an environmental engineering professor at Inha University, called for more study of the exact damage wrought by high levels of concentrated pollutants, adding, “We don’t know now where the damage is done (by air pollution).”
People battle the air pollution by wearing masks and staying indoors. But in a country where 28 percent of all households have a pet, furry companions are a priority too.
Sales of pet masks surged more than five times in early March, said Suh Hyuk-jin, director of pet products maker Dear Dog.
Cho Eun-hye, who lives in the northwestern city of Incheon, bought a mask for her 18-month-old brown Korean Jindo dog, Hari, who needs to be walked two times a day.
“It’s inconvenient, but I think we have to keep living with that,” said the 36-year-old office worker.
SEOUL (Reuters) – Whenever dust particles hang thick in the air in South Korea, sales of pork rise.
This quirky correlation in Asia’s fourth-largest economy, where air pollution outstrips industralised peers, stems from an old belief attributed to coal miners, that the slippery pork oil helped cleanse dirt from their throats.
For middle school student Han Dong-jae, eating greasy barbecued pork belly on a smoggy day is a life lesson imbibed from his mother.
“I eat more pork when fine dust is dense like today,” said the 15-year-old as he dug in over a sizzling grill at a barbecue restaurant in Seoul with his mother after school.
“I think it’s somewhat helpful, because pork meat has oil and the oil soothes my throat.”
Scientists say there is no rationale for the belief, but pork sales jumped about a fifth on the year from Feb. 28 to March 5, when pollutants blanketed most areas, data from major retailers E-Mart and Lotte Mart showed.Cho Eun-hye (R) and her one-and-a-half-year-old Korean Jindo dog Hari, both wearing masks, go for a walk on a poor air quality day in Incheon, South Korea, March 15, 2019. REUTERS/Hyun Young Yi
SOCIAL DISASTER
South Korea faces a battle against unhealthy air, a combination of domestic emissions from coal-fired power plants and cars, and pollutants wafted in from China and North Korea.
Its air quality was the worst among its industrialised peers in 2017, data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) grouping of wealthy nations showed.
South Korea registers 25.1 micrograms per cubic metre of fine particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometres on average each year, just over double the OECD figure of 12.5, but far lower than the world average of 44.2.
The pollution has affected South Korean policy and businesses, driving up shares of companies that make air purifiers and masks.
Legislation this month included a measure designating the problem a “social disaster”, which could unlock emergency funds.
Cho Seog-yeon, an environmental engineering professor at Inha University, called for more study of the exact damage wrought by high levels of concentrated pollutants, adding, “We don’t know now where the damage is done (by air pollution).”
People battle the air pollution by wearing masks and staying indoors. But in a country where 28 percent of all households have a pet, furry companions are a priority too.Slideshow (8 Images)
Sales of pet masks surged more than five times in early March, said Suh Hyuk-jin, director of pet products maker Dear Dog.
Cho Eun-hye, who lives in the northwestern city of Incheon, bought a mask for her 18-month-old brown Korean Jindo dog, Hari, who needs to be
