Vaccine

Diarrhoea is life threatening for children under 2 years: Dr NK Arora

A landmark study published in 'The Lancet' pinpoints rotavirus as the major cause of diarrhoeal disease among Indian children. The findings can guide prevention, treatment and research on diarrhoeal diseases which globally claim the lives of 800,000 children every year. Dr NK Arora, executive director, The Inclen Trust, joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on how to prevent diarrhoea and what causes it.

Q. Intestinal worms could also be a reason for the problem. Is there a deworming campaign around? Asked by: sundar1950in



A. There have been fragmented efforts to take community wide deworming campaigns but there is no national program to address this issue yet. Only rarely do intestinal worms cause acute diarrhea. They are associated with vague abdominal discomfort and occasionally increased frequency but not much water loss....more    

Human health is not a priority for our government: Dr T Jacob John

The week between April 24 and April 30 is marked as World Immunization Week. India has already weeded out Polio but several other life-threatening diseases remain. What should be the next priorities? Virologist and pediatrician Dr. Jacob John shared his perspective with IBNLive readers for an interaction on the issue. Q. Sir, I am a Physician. Every year in India a number of Patients especially Pediatric die due to viral...  

First vaccine to help control autism symptoms developed

Toronto: Scientists have developed the first-ever vaccine for gut bacteria common in autistic children that may also help control some autism symptoms. Researchers from the University of Guelph in Canada have developed a carbohydrate-based vaccine against the gut bug Clostridium bolteae. C bolteae is known to play a role in gastrointestinal disorders, and it often shows up in higher numbers in the GI tracts of autistic children than in those...  

Dengue vaccine closer to reality, say researchers

Washington: Researchers have inched closer to developing a novel therapy using mutated antibodies to protect people from the dengue virus. Scientists, from Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Koch Institute of Integrative Cancer Research, said that nearly half of the world's population is at risk of infection by the dengue virus, yet there is no specific treatment for the disease. Despite the threat posed by the disease, developing a vaccine against dengue...  

Scientists closer to developing more effective HIV vaccine

Washington: Scientists have tracked the earliest days of a man's robust immune response to HIV which may lead to a potential new vaccine for the deadly virus. The research team, led by Barton F Haynes from Duke Human Vaccine Institute and John Mascola of the NIH Vaccine Research Center, has for the first time described the co-evolution of antibodies and virus in a person with HIV whose immune system mounted...  

People living in crowded environments are more vulnerable to Swine Flu: Dr Monica Mahajan

How to prevent Swine Flu and what to do if one is infected? Dr Monica Mahajan, physician at Max hospital joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on the subject. ...  

World AIDS Day: $ 100 mn spent, no vaccine yet

Mumbai: Thirty years since the first reported case of a person infected with the Human Immuno-deficiency Virus or HIV and 25 million deaths later, there's still no realistic prospect of a vaccine against the disease, AIDS. One of the main reasons is that HIV is such a complex virus. There are two strains - both with three subtypes each. Different continents see different sub-types. So far, scientists have identified 10...  

30 years on, vaccine for HIV still a distant dream

Mumbai: Thirty years since the first case of a person infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus or HIV was reported, there is still no realistic prospect of a vaccine for the disease. Records show that in these 30 years, almost 25 million people died of HIV. In 2011, 25 million children worldwide were orphaned by AIDS. According to UNAIDS, there has been a 21 per cent dip worldwide in AIDS-related...  

Finally, a potential vaccine against kala azar

Kolkata: Scientists at the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (IICB) here claim to have hit the bull's eye with a potential vaccine directed at the dreaded kala azar disease that claims dozens of lives in eastern India every year. "The vaccine formulation is highly potent. We have shown the way and further research will give us a weapon against kala azar," Nahid Ali, scientist at the Infectious Diseases and Immunology...  

Indian vaccine for Japanese encephalitis launched

Hyderabad: Pharma firm Biological E Ltd (BEL) on Thursday launched the country's first indigenous vaccine to tackle Japanese encephalitis (JE), a deadly viral disease. The vaccine, JEEV, is priced at Rs 985. This is a one-time vaccine to be taken in two doses and will be soon available in the domestic market, Mahima Datla, Senior Vice-President of the city-based company, said at the launch in Hyderabad. The vaccine, which will...  

K'taka: Hepatitis B vaccination kills 45-day old baby

Sirsi: One more child died on Friday due to suspected complications following administering of Hepatitis B vaccine at a local hospital, taking the toll to four in similar cases in Karnataka in the last two days. According to police, 45-day old baby girl Dhanya Gopal Siddi died of "serious health complications" that arose after being administered the vaccine at a primary health centre in Kalache in Uttara Kannada District. "Samples...  

Scientists close to developing anti-malaria vaccine

Sydney: Australian researchers have made a major breakthrough in the quest for a vaccine against malaria, which snuffs out a million lives every year, particularly of children. The findings show that people who develop immunity to malaria develop antibodies that primarily target a protein known as PfEMP1, which is produced by Plasmodium falciparum, causing most cases of malaria. James Beeson, professor and senior study author at the Burnet Institute, Australia's...  

AIDS: Lack of funds hits ex-sex workers' rehab

Mumbai: Thirty years since the first reported case of a person infected with the HIV virus and 25 million deaths later, an AIDS-free generation still seems an audacious goal. According to the UNAIDS, globally close to 3 million people get infected with HIV every year. So with the common goal of marking the "beginning of the end of the AIDS epidemic", close to 25,000 international HIV scientists will meet in...  

World's first anti-obesity shot promising

Washington: The world's first anti-obesity vaccine has shown promising results in boosting weight loss, according to a study. Keith Haffer from Braasch Biotech LLC, south Dakota, who developed the vaccines in two versions JH17 and JH18, derived from a peptide hormone somatostatin, tested them in two groups of diet induced obese male mice, and compared with a group of mice that received saline injections. Somatostatin inhibits the action of growth...  

India involved in $180 mn joint research projects

Chennai: India has inked pacts with six countries, including the US and Australia, for collaborative research in science and technology area to be undertaken at a joint investment of $ 180 million over the next five years, a senior Department of Science and Technology (DST) official said on Saturday. "We have plenty of them. We have about 83 agreements on research collaboration with various countries. We have committed $ 180...  

7 pc anti-malarial drugs in India fake: Study

Mumbai: In a shocking study published in medical journal, The Lancet, scientists have found that one-third of malaria medicines in South East Asia and Africa are either fake or of poor quality. What is even worse is that a majority of these fake medicines are being manufactured in India and China. According to teh World Health Organisation (WHO), 2,500 people die worldwide every day of malaria. The Lancet study says ...

7 pc anti-malarial drugs in India fake: Study

Mumbai: In a shocking study published in medical journal, The Lancet, scientists have found that one-third of malaria medicines in South East Asia and Africa are either fake or of poor quality. What is even worse is that a majority of these fake medicines are being manufactured in India and China. According to teh World Health Organisation (WHO), 2,500 people die worldwide every day of malaria. The Lancet study says...  

Hyderabad foundation gets grant for polio vaccine

Hyderabad: Ella Foundation has won a $100,000 Grand Challenges Explorations (GCE) grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a virus against polio after the phasing out of the oral poliovirus (OPV) vaccine, the Hyderabad-based scientific research group said on Thursday. "Such a vaccine could carry the beneficial effects of an oral polio vaccine - namely safety, efficacy, ease of manufacture, distribution and administration along with the safety...  

Non-polio paralysis cases going up

New Delhi: The Pulse polio program may be a success, but are experts focusing too much on vaccination? Perhaps even overdosing some children? Shortly after being vaccinated for polio, four-year-old Ansh developed paralysis. Doctors concluded it wasn't related to the vaccine or polio, which often causes paralysis. A few months on, Ansh is better now. But some doctors are sounding a warning note. In a study published in the Indian...  

Petition against pentavelent vaccine

New Delhi: As the five-in-one or pentavalent vaccine is set to roll out in Kerala and Tamil Nadu - chosen because these states have the best immunisation programs in place - CNN-IBN finds another vaccine controversy is brewing. There are several points of criticism - one, that this vaccine isn't cost-effective. Two, that it's not been proved that this combination vaccine is more effective than individual components. Three, critics say...