Terming this as an
historic moment and
an exemplary step in
India’s immunization
programme, the Union
Health Minister added
that the Government is
committed to reducing
morbidity and mortality in
children. “Strengthening
routine immunization is
an essential investment in
India’s children and will
ensure a healthy future of
the country,” he noted.
PCV protects children
against severe forms of
pneumococcal disease,
such as pneumonia and
meningitis. Currently, the
vaccine is being rolled
out to approximately 21
lakh children in Himachal
Pradesh and parts of Bihar
and Uttar Pradesh in the
first phase. This will be
followed by introduction
Hypertension high in
rural areas, linked to
kidney disease as well
Hypertension or high
blood pressure is an
important risk indicator
for chronic kidney disease,
a study done in three
villages of Karnataka has
revealed.
Most of the people
included in the study
were in age group 18-90
years and had agriculture
as their primary
occupation. About 30
per cent were found to
have hypertension and
more than half of them
were defined as pre-
hypertension. This finding
is disturbing as people in
the villages were unaware
of the risk they faced.
The study has also found
that hypertension adds to
the risk of kidney disease.
Three indicators of kidney
disease were studied
—presence of excess
proteins (Proteinuria)
and small amounts of
albumin in the urine and
the estimated glomerular
filtration rate (eGFR) – a
kidney function test. It
was noted that adults
with hypertension had a
high chance of developing
chronic kidney disease
as indicated by the
presence of proteins
and albumin in urine
and a low GFR as
compared to adults
without hypertension.
Scientists develop
software to predict
ailing heart
the introduction of
pneumococcal conjugate
vaccine (PCV) in the
Universal Immunization
Programme (UIP) of the
country in a function at
Mandi on May 13th.
in Madhya Pradesh and
Rajasthan next year, and
eventually be expanded
to the country in a phased
manner.
Scientists have developed
a computer programme
that can monitor irregular
heartbeats of a patient
and can predict if the
patient is suffering from
heart disease.
The programme is
designed to analyse data
from an electrocardiogram
which is used to monitor
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