Infectious disease expert Fauci urges Americans to trust medical experts

Anthony Fauci said that those who have a track record of giving recommendations based on scientific evidence and good data are society's best bet.

America's top infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci urged Americans to put their faith in "respected medical authorities" to navigate the pandemic, saying that those who have a track record of giving recommendations based on scientific evidence and good data are society's "best bet".

"So, if I were to give advice to you and your family, I would say that's the safest bet to do. I believe, for the most part, you can trust respected medical authorities. I believe I'm one of them, so I think you can trust me," Fauci said Tuesday afternoon.

Fauci's comments came on a day that marked a major milestone in the search for a COVID-19 vaccine. An experimental vaccine, developed by Fauci's colleagues at the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc., has shown that it activates people's immune systems exactly the way scientists hoped. This vaccine candidate will start on a 30,000-person study by July 27.

Fauci has consistently maintained that he remains "cautiously optimistic" for an effective and safe vaccine latest by early 2021.

Fauci was speaking at a Georgetown University webinar. His comments come amidst a White House smear campaign, spraying into public view a longlist of "mistakes" Fauci has made since the pandemic began.

Leading public health experts across the country have reacted to the politicisation of the coronavirus response, saying no other president has driven a wedge between public health officials and society like Trump has done.

The coronavirus has already killed more than 136,000 Americans and cases are surging to alarming levels across the US south and south west. The US death rate per 100,000 population has ticked up from the high 30s to 41 per 100,000.

With nearly 190,000 new cases, steepest hike seen globally in 24 hours: WHO

The latest rise to the overall case count is a significant increase from the 179,316 new positive tests reported on Saturday by the WHO.

The global COVID-19 case total has surged past 9.8 million after a single-day record of 189,077 cases were registered worldwide over the past 24 hours, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Sunday (local time).

"Today, we report a record number of new cases in the last 24 hours globally (189,077 cases), with several countries reporting their highest number of new cases in a 24-hour period," the WHO said in its daily statistical bulletin.

The latest rise to the overall case count is a significant increase from the 179,316 new positive tests reported on Saturday by the WHO.

ALSO READ: Maharashtra not to lift lockdown on July 1, to ease curbs gradually: Uddhav

The bulk of the new cases were reported in Brazil and the United States, which confirmed 46,860 and 44,458 new positive tests over the past 24 hours, respectively. A further 19,906 new cases were also reported in India over the past day.

The WHO confirmed on Sunday that 4,612 people died from complications related to the coronavirus disease over the past 24 hours, a drop of 2,254 compared to the corresponding rise to the death toll on Saturday.

Earlier in the day, the US-based Johns Hopkins University, whose Coronavirus Response Centre also tallies COVID-19 figures, reported that the global case count has already surpassed 10 million.

Patanjali to launch ayurvedic drug for Covid-19, claims cure within 14 days

Balkrishna had earlier this month claimed that an Ayurvedic medicine developed by the company has been able to cure Covid-19 patients within 5-14 days.

Patanjali will launch the ayurvedic medicine for treating Covid-19 at Patanjali Yogpeeth in Haridwar on Tuesday.

"Proud launch of first and foremost evidence-based ayurvedic medicine for #corona contagion, #SWASARI_VATI, #CORONIL, is scheduled for tomorrow at 12 noon from #Patanjali Yogpeeth Haridwar," Acharya Balkrishna, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Patanjali, tweeted on Monday.

Balkrishna had earlier this month claimed that an Ayurvedic medicine developed by the company has been able to cure Covid-19 patients within 5-14 days.

"We appointed a team of scientists after Covid-19 outbreak. Firstly, the simulation was done and compounds were identified which can fight the virus and stop its spread in the body. Then, we conducted a clinical case study on hundreds of positive patients and we have got 100 per cent favourable results," Balkrishna said.

"After taking our medicine, COVID patients recovered in 5-14 days and then tested negative. So, we can say the cure for COVID is possible through Ayurveda. We are performing controlled clinical trials only. In the next 4-5 days, evidence and data will be released by us," he added.

The Patanjali CEO further said that people should practice Yoga, and keep oneself healthy through proper diet to boost the immune system.

Covid-19: Situation improves in New York, Europe; keep trade open, says IMF

Europe remains the most severely affected continent by the outbreak, with more than 1.1 million cases of the disease.

The World Health Organisation said on Sunday that a further 81,153 people have tested positive for the coronavirus disease over the preceding 24 hours, taking the overall number of cases confirmed since the start of the outbreak above 2.24 million.
In total, 6,463 people who have tested positive for Covid-19 have died over the preceding 24 hours, raising the total death toll to 152,551. The latest update indicates a decline in the daily increase of case numbers and deaths compared to data released by WHO on Saturday. Almost 4,000 fewer cases and 247 fewer deaths were reported worldwide on Sunday.

Europe remains the most severely affected continent by the outbreak, with more than 1.1 million cases of the disease. The Covid-19 death toll in Europe surpassed 100,000 on Sunday, according to WHO, after 3,737 more deaths were reported.

A further 37,589 cases and 2,516 deaths were reported in the Americas region, the bulk of which were in the United States.

Earlier in the day, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addressed leading health officials during a video conference of G20 health ministers. The director-general called on the world's leading economies to offer urgent support to countries that are struggling to cope with the Covid-19 outbreak.

Ghebreyesus said that lifting lockdown restrictions for Covid-19 is not the end of the epidemic, it's just the beginning of the next phase. Speaking at the Group of 20 (G20) Health Ministers virtual meeting from Geneva, the WHO chief said it's vital in this next phase that countries educate, engage and empower their people to prevent and respond rapidly to any resurgence, Xinhua reported.

Delhi most polluted capital, India has 18 of top 30 worst AQI ranked cities

While Ghaziabad topped the list of most polluted regional cities (110 PM2.5), India ranked sixth on the list of 98 countries in PM2.5 concentration just behind Pakistan.

With an average of 98.6 Particulate Matter (PM 2.5) concentration, Delhi topped the list of most polluted capital cities in the world. 18 of the 30 most polluted cities in 2019 were from India. A recent report released by AirVisual, which monitors international air pollution, revealed the startling fact despite the government’s push to reduce air pollution.

While Ghaziabad topped the list of most polluted regional cities (110 PM2.5), India ranked sixth on the list of 98 countries in PM2.5 concentration behind Pakistan and Bangladesh. The majority of polluted cities and countries in the report are in the South Asia region, which includes 30 of the top 40 most polluted cities and four of the five most polluted countries.

“While pollution sources across the region vary, common contributors include transportation emissions, biomass burning for household cooking, open agricultural burning, industry, and coal combustion,” the report said.

Delhi experienced its longest period of hazardous air pollution during late October and early November 2019. The grim situation had forced the government to declare a public health emergency, temporarily ordering schools to close and construction activities to be stopped during the night.

Commenting on the World Air Quality Report 2019, Avinash Chanchal, Senior Campaigner at Greenpeace India said, “In Delhi, be it bypass roads, shutting down of Badarpur power plant, shifting the industries to PNG and BS-VI mandate have resulted in reduction of pollution levels on an annual average basis, supported by favorable meteorological conditions in 2019, but latest World Air Quality Report is an indication that the steps taken are not sufficient.”

The report highlighted the government’s actions in curbing air pollution with the launch of the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) to reduce PM2.5 and PM10 in 102 cities by 20-30 per cent by 2024 compared to 2017 levels. “While the long-term impacts of these activities are yet to be seen, India saw widespread improvements in PM2.5 levels in 2019, compared to 2018 as a result of economic slowdown, favorable meteorological conditions, as well as more dedicated efforts towards cleaning the air,” the report added.

Despite the efforts, India still leads the ranking of polluted cities with half of the 50 most polluted cities. Meanwhile, none of the Indian cities monitored for the report met the World Health Organisation (WHO) target for annual pollution exposure during 2019.

WHO declares international emergency over novel coronavirus outbreak

Top airlines including Air France, British Airways and Lufthansa have suspended or cut back services to China.

International News : The UN health agency on Thursday declared an international emergency over the deadly novel coronavirus from China -- a rarely used designation that could lead to improved international co-ordination in tackling the disease.

"Our greatest concern is the potential for the virus to spread to countries with weaker health systems," World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said as he declared a "public health emergency of international concern".

"This is not a vote of no confidence in China," he said, emphasising repeatedly that the measure was intended to help other countries less able to cope and praising the Chinese government for taking swift action to tackle the outbreak.

"We must all act together now to limit further spread.... We can only stop it together," said Tedros, who travelled to China this week and met with President Xi Jinping.

Tedros also said there was "no reason" for any of the international travel or trade restrictions announced in recent days, such as flight suspensions, border closures and quarantine for apparently healthy travellers.

Top airlines including Air France, British Airways and Lufthansa have suspended or cut back services to China.

The WHO's Emergency Committee, an advisory body of international experts, said in a statement that evidence had shown that restricting movement of people and goods during public health emergencies "may be ineffective and may divert resources from other interventions".

"Further, restrictions may interrupt needed aid and technical support, may disrupt businesses, and may have negative effects on the economies of countries affected by the emergencies," the committee said.

But it added that "in certain specific circumstances, measures that restrict the movement of people may prove temporarily useful" -- a possible reference to lockdowns within China that have affected millions of people.

WHO stopped short of declaring an emergency last week because its emergency committee was divided over the issue.

More than 7,700 people have been infected with the virus -- almost all of them in China -- and 170 have died.

4 of 5 Indian children do not survive cancer. What led to this sorry state?

India has the highest prevalence of childhood cancer which can be traced to its higher population of young people, 30 per cent of its population is below 14 years, according to 2011 Census.

How long does a cancer diagnosis take?

Six months, according to Bipin Jana, 45, whose eight-year-old son Parmeshwar has stage-4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma. That is how long it took the family, travelling 2,000 km across West Bengal, New Delhi and finally, Mumbai, to get an effective diagnosis and start treatment.

Parmeshwar is currently undergoing chemotherapy at the Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH), Mumbai, India’s foremost cancer treatment centre. Almost half (43.6 per cent) of the children with cancer admitted here had to travel over 1,300 km to reach the hospital, records showed. Up to 10 per cent travelled over 2,200 km and 20 per cent had undergone alternative or incomplete treatments before reaching TMH.

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With timely diagnosis, children with cancer have a high rate of survival. If he lived in a high-income country, Parmeshwar would have had a 90 per cent chance of recovery. Since he is being treated, his odds are still better than India’s national survival rate for juvenile cancers--less than 20 per cent, according to the World Health Organization.

Worldwide, most children with cancer are from low- to middle-income countries and have poor survival rates, showed the study published in The Lancet Oncology, a global journal, in July 2019.

India has the highest prevalence of childhood cancer which can be traced to its higher population of young people, 30 per cent of its population is below 14 years, according to 2011 Census.

In order to understand why most children with cancer in India do not survive five years, IndiaSpend interviewed patients, non-governmental organisations and doctors. Delays in diagnosis, high medical expenses and non-completion of treatment are significant reasons, we found.

Survival rate can be 70 per cent with timely care

About 50,000 Indian children between 0-19 years of age suffer from cancer each year, according to The Lancet study we mentioned. “However we think the actual figure is closer to 75,000,” said Girish Chinnaswamy, head oncologist at the TMH.

Approximately 20,000 children remain undiagnosed and untreated and their survival rate is 0 per cent, he said. “For the 55,000 who are accessing treatment, 15,000 are receiving a good standard of treatment with trained oncologists as well as social, dietary and financial support and this group has a survival rate of 70 per cent,” he said.

Flu-like epidemic could kill 80 mn globally, wipe out 5% global GDP: Report

In such an epidemic, India will lose 2 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP)--that is, Rs 3.8 trillion.

With increased mobility, unprepared health facilities and the possibility of weaponising disease, a viral respiratory disease can travel through the world quickly, turning into an outbreak capable of killing up to 80 million people and wiping out 5 per cent of the world’s economy, a new report has warned.

In such an epidemic, India will lose 2 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP)--that is, Rs 3.8 lakh crore ($53.5 billion) or roughly twice the Centre’s agriculture budget in 2019-20.

This is unless world leaders increase funding for disease control and coordinate their efforts to develop strategies to contain the disease, the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB), convened by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank, said.

Drawing on the recommendations made by experts after the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic and 2014-16 Ebola outbreak along with other reports and data, the 15-member panel of experts, politicians and heads of agencies assessed the preparedness of countries in dealing with pandemics. The panel includes former WHO director-general Gro Harlem Brundtland and International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies secretary-general Elhadj As Sy.

An outbreak of a viral disease such as Ebola, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and influenza will be more difficult to manage at a time when travel times are shorter than ever before, the report, released on September 18, 2019, said. Management is even more difficult in underdeveloped countries with large populations lacking access to healthcare.

Countries and donor agencies need to increase expenditure on building systems that detect health emergencies to ensure timely and adequate response and share data and resources like vaccines to minimise the spread of the pandemic, the board recommended.

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Indians in white-collar jobs more prone to obesity, chronic health risks

The average BMI of men in white-collar jobs was 1.17 kg/m2 higher than those in blue-collar occupations.

Indians in white-collar jobs, with low levels of activity in their workday, have a higher average body mass index (BMI)--an indicator of obesity--than those in blue-collar occupations, according to a new study.

Engineers, technicians, mathematicians, scientists and teachers, for example, had higher BMIs than farm workers, fisherpeople and housekeepers, concluded the study published in the journal Economics and Human Biology.

BMI is derived by dividing an individual’s body mass by the square of the body height and is expressed in units of kg/m2. The average BMI of men in white-collar jobs was 1.17 kg/m2 higher than those in blue-collar occupations; among women, the difference was 1.51kg/m2, the study showed. A lower BMI is better than higher.

Individuals are categorised as underweight if their BMI is under 18.5 kg/m2, normal if it is in the range of 18.5 to 25 kg/m2, overweight if it is somewhere between 25 and 30 kg/m2 and obese if the index surpasses 30 kg/m2, according to the standards prescribed by the World Health Organization (WHO).

India has experienced high rates of economic growth in the last two decades, and the resultant increase in income is related to a rise in the proportion of those who are obese, according to this study.

India currently has the third highest number of overweight or obese individuals among all countries--20% of its adults and 11% of adolescents can be categorised as obese, according to this September 2014 paper, that has been cited in this study.

Higher levels of BMI have been associated with higher levels of energy intake and lower levels of energy expenditure. But there has been a long-term, persistent decline in the average energy intake in India, studies have shown. Given this, the rise in BMI can be traced to the rise in sedentary occupations--a natural consequence of economic development.

“Lower physical activity level at work is possibly one of the factors of rising BMI, given the backdrop that, on an average India has witnessed a decline in energy intake as shown by studies such as Deaton and Drèze, 2009 and Ramachandran, 2014,” Archana Dang, co-author to the study, told IndiaSpend.

Unhealthy levels of BMI are directly related to chronic health risks such as hypertension and diabetes, diseases that can have substantial impacts on household budgets, according to the study.

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World Malaria Report 2018: Led by Odisha, India reduces cases by 3 million

With about 9.5 million malaria cases in 2017, down 3 million cases since 2016, India is no longer among the top three countries with the highest malaria burden.

Among the 11 nations with 70% of the world’s burden of malaria, only India has managed to reduce its disease burden, registering a 24% decrease between 2016 and 2017, according to the World Malaria Report 2018.

With about 9.5 million malaria cases in 2017, down 3 million cases since 2016, India is no longer among the top three countries with the highest malaria burden. However, 1.25 billion Indians--94% of its population--are still at risk of malaria, the report noted.

Globally, the progress made against malaria has stalled for the second consecutive year: The annual report produced by the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed a plateauing. In 2017, there were an estimated 219 million cases of malaria, compared to 217 million the year before. Previously, people contracting malaria globally had been steadily falling, from 239 million in 2010 to 214 million in 2015.

India has set 2030 as the target year for eliminating malaria. It currently accounts for 4% of global malaria cases and 52% of malaria deaths outside the African region.

India’s success is “largely due to substantial declines of the disease in the highly malarious state of Odisha, home to approximately 40% of all malaria cases in the country”, said the WHO spokesperson in an emailed interview.

Odisha reported an 80% decline in malaria cases and deaths in 2017. Reported malaria cases in the state also declined from 347,860 in 2017 to 55,365 in 2018 (January to September) and deaths dropped from 24 to four during the same period, according to government data.

IndiaSpend spoke to experts on how Odisha succeeded in fighting the disease and what can the rest of the country learn from its example.

Odisha took the battle against malaria to remote forests

As we said, Odisha accounted for 40% of India’s malaria burden, and its remote, heavily-forested regions with scattered tribal populations were the most vulnerable.

The state had seen early success in malaria reduction between 2010 and 2013 but cases started increasing again and the state recorded the highest number of cases--444,843--in 2016... Read More

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