New Delhi , January 20,2021: Lakshadweep reported its first case of COVID-19 on January 18, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).
The person had come to Lakshadweep from Kochi on January 4 and initially, 31 primary contacts of the case were traced and quarantined of which 14 tested positive and were isolated.
As many as 56 contacts of positive cases were traced and quarantined.
A Central multi-disciplinary team has been sent to Lakshadweep.
“A Central multi-disciplinary team comprising of experts from Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Puducherry; National Institute of Virology, Pune and Regional Office of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare sent to Lakshadweep,” Health Ministry stated in an official release.
The UT Administration has initiated disinfection procedures and intensive risk-communication activity has been operationalised.
Washington , January 14,2021: An Australian randomised controlled trial of vitamin D supplements, led by QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute has found they do not protect most people from developing colds, flu and other acute respiratory infections.
The trial, which is the largest of its kind to study the relationship between vitamin D and respiratory infection to date did show, however, that the supplements may shorten the length of infection slightly and help ease the severity of those illnesses.
The study results have been published this week in the scientific journal The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology.
The researchers analysed self-reported health data from 16,000 Australians aged between 60 and 84, who participated in the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute-led D-Health Trial.
Lead researcher and head of QIMR Berghofer’s Cancer Aetiology and Prevention group, Professor Rachel Neale, said participants who received vitamin D supplements reported they had cold and flu symptoms for slightly less time than participants who did not take the vitamin. They also had severe symptoms for less time and needed less medication to manage their symptoms.
Professor Neale said the trial results are timely as people around the globe try to understand how best to improve their immunity in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The D-Health Trial was completed before the Covid-19 pandemic began so does not provide specific answers about this. However, our findings about reduced length and severity of respiratory tract infection suggests there could be some benefit to the immune system of taking a vitamin D supplement, particularly in people who are deficient.”
Moscow [Russia], January 11,2021: Brazil will begin manufacturing the Russian-developed Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus disease on January 15, according to the vaccine’s Twitter account.
“Brazil will start production of Sputnik V on January 15th,” the account said.
Sputnik V, developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, was registered by the Russian Health Ministry on August 11, becoming the first registered vaccine against COVID-19 in the world.
Buenos Aires [Argentina], January 4,2021: EU nations and the United States have refused Venezuela’s request to unfreeze its assets, so that the sanctions-hit country could purchase a coronavirus vaccine, President Nicolas Maduro has said.
“The governments of Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom and the US and their financial institutions have frozen and blocked funds for access to a vaccine. We demanded via the WTO that they provide us with access to funds, and we were refused,” Maduro told a meeting on health care on Sunday.
He added that Vice President Delcy Rodriguez had held talks with these countries’ foreign ministers, but they had refused the request.
As part of attempts to oust Maduro, the US and other Western countries that endorsed opposition leader Juan Guaido have slapped sanctions on Venezuela and frozen its assets abroad.
Washington, Jan 4 ,2021: The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the world has surpassed 85 million, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
Over 1.8 million people have died, and almost 48 million have recovered.
The World Health Organization, in turn, reported late on Sunday that the global COVID-19 tally had topped 83 million, with 740,221 new infections recorded in the past 24 hours.
As many as 1,831,412 people have died from COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic, the global health agency said.
Over 12,500 fatalities have been registered only in the past day.
Cardiff [Wales], January 2,2021: The findings of a novel study suggests that more than half of individuals with one of four genetic conditions had significant autistic symptoms, despite not qualifying for a formal diagnosis.
People with certain genetic conditions are likely to have significant symptoms of autism, even if they do not meet all diagnostic criteria, the study concludes. Researchers at Cardiff University say their findings show clinical services need to adapt so that people diagnosed with autism-linked genetic conditions are not denied access to vital support and interventions.
Published in The American Journal of Psychiatry, the international study analysed data from 547 people who had been diagnosed with one of four genetic conditions, also known as copy number variants (CNVs), associated with a high chance of autism – 22q11.2 deletion, 22q11.2 duplication, 16p11.2 deletion and 16p11.2 duplication.
CNVs happen when a small section of a person’s DNA is missing or duplicated. Certain CNVs have been linked to a range of health and developmental issues. They can be inherited but can also occur at random.
The results showed a high prevalence of autism in individuals with these four genetic conditions, ranging from 23% to 58%. The prevalence of autism in the general population is 1%. Using clinical cut-offs, the team also found 54% of people with these genetic conditions who did not meet full autism diagnostic criteria nonetheless had elevated levels of autistic symptoms. There was also considerable variability in symptoms of autism between those who had the same genetic condition.
Dr Samuel Chawner, based at Cardiff University’s MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics said: “Our study shows that an individualised approach is needed when assessing the needs of people with genetic conditions. Although many of those who were included in this study would not have met all of the criteria which define someone as having autism, more than half of those with these genetic conditions had significant symptoms associated with it – such as social and communication difficulties or repetitive behaviours.
“There is a danger that being too prescriptive with how autism is diagnosed will result in these individuals slipping through the net and being denied important services. Sadly, many families we have met through doing this research describe longstanding struggles in accessing autism support for their child. This is often due to a lack of integration between genetic testing services and autism diagnosis services.
“Low awareness of genetic conditions can also be a barrier. It is important that clinicians are aware of the risk of autism associated with certain genetic conditions in order to improve opportunities for early diagnosis and support.”
Data for the study was pooled from eight clinical research centres around the world, which had used the “Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R)” and IQ tests on study participants.
The ADI-R is used internationally in research as well as in clinical settings for making autism diagnoses. It involves an interview with the parent or guardian and asks about the child’s developmental history across areas of social skills, communication skills and repetitive behaviours.
It is estimated that 15% of autistic people and 60% of people with developmental delay have a genetic condition.
Helen Hyde’s 16-year-old daughter, Hermione, was diagnosed with 22q.11.2 Deletion when she was four. Her genetic diagnosis first came to light after it was found she had a cleft palate, which affects her speech. She has Developmental Verbal Dyspraxia (DVD), which causes difficulties with how she processes and communicates language. As a consequence Mini attends a school for pupils with language disorders where she is fully supported in her education. She has also been diagnosed with comorbid anxiety.
Mini, as she’s known to her family, wasn’t formally diagnosed with autism until last year, even though researchers at Cardiff University and her school had previously flagged that she had autistic traits. The family have been involved in studies with Cardiff University’s Copy Number Variant research group for eight years.
“In many ways, the physical diagnosis of Mini’s cleft palate has been easier to deal with than the autism and mental health issues,” said Helen, also mum to Olivia, 19 and Edward, 23.
“People have less of an understanding of Mini’s autistic traits and it’s been much harder to get the right support for her.
“That’s why Cardiff University’s research in this area is so vital. It’s giving us the tools to be able to fight Mini’s corner so that she fulfils her potential.”
Mini said: “At first I did not know what 22q was but now I understand more. My main problem is my speech. Sometimes people don’t understand me and that can make me cross. Sometimes I find lessons difficult and I need a lot of help at school. I know they can learn lots of things from these studies and this will help people with 22q in the future.”
Tracy Elliot, Head of Research and Information at charity Cerebra, said: “We know many children and families frequently have problems in accessing autism support services or face very long delays. We welcome the findings of this research that indicate that individuals with different genetic conditions could benefit from the same autism support. This reinforces the case for improved support and should ease the path for parents and children with rare conditions.”
New Delhi, Dec 31,2020: The Centre on Thursday asked all states and Union Territories (UTs) to ensure effective preparedness for the vaccine roll out.
Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan chaired a high-level meeting today to review the preparedness at session sites for COVID-19 vaccination with Pr. Secretaries (Health), NHM MDs and other health administrators of all States/UTs through video conference.
The dry run will be conducted by all the State and UT governments on January 2, 2021 (Saturday), the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said in a statement here.
The activity is proposed to be conducted in all state capitals in at least 3 session sites; some states will also include districts that are situated in difficult terrain/have poor logistical support; Maharashtra and Kerala are likely to schedule the dry run in major cities other than their capital.
The objective of the dry run for COVID-19 vaccine introduction is to assess operational feasibility in the use of Co-WIN application in field environment, to test the linkages between planning and implementation and to identify the challenges and guide way forward prior to actual implementation. This is also expected to give confidence to programme managers at various levels.
The planning for the vaccine introduction will be as per the Operational Guidelines issued by the Ministry on December 20.
For each of the three session sites, the concerned Medical Officer In-charge will identify 25 test beneficiaries (healthcare workers). The states/UTs have been asked to ensure that the data of these beneficiaries is uploaded in Co-WIN.
These beneficiaries will also be available at the session site for the dry run. The states and UTs will prepare the facilities and users to be created on CoWIN application including uploading the data of Health Care Worker (HCW) beneficiaries.