Canadian program targets diarrhea-related child deaths in India

A new Canadian program aims to save the lives of about 150 000 children in three states in India by scaling up the use of zinc supplementation and oral rehydration salts. The Zinc Alliance for Child Health (ZACH) is a movement of Canadian organizations led by UNICEF Canada and Teck Resources Limited, one of the world´s largest producers of zinc.

About 30% of under-five child deaths globally occur in India, according to United Nations estimates in 2011.

Read the full article by Dr. Soumyadeep B at Canadian Medical Association Journal. (OPEN ACESSS)

Campaign group claims that the Indian Premier League is breaching the rules on alcohol advertising

The Indian Premier League, the world’s wealthiest cricketing event, has landed itself in a public health controversy with the Bangalore team being accused of indulging in advertising alcohol brands, in contravention of national laws.

The Health Related Information Dissemination Amongst Youth (HRIDAY), a pressure group consisting of public health scientists, health professionals, and lawyers, has complained of the alleged breach to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

In its complaint to the ministry, the group alleged that the Bangalore team, the Royal Challengers, had indulged in direct advertising of alcohol brands—because of players and team members wearing jerseys that prominently displayed names of alcohol brands on the front, back, and right arm.

Read full article by Dr. Soumyadeep B at British Medical Journal

Aggressive Asian tiger mosquito invades Europe

The Asian tiger mosquito, or Aedes albopictus, is an invasive species native to Southeast Asia. It  has spread rapidly to other parts of the world via shipments of goods such as used tires infested with mosquito eggs or through vegetation or water containers transported in aircraft, boats and vehicles that unknowingly harbour larvae or eggs, according to a report by the European Environmental Agency.

Read the full article by Dr. Soumyadeep B at : Canadian Medical Association Journal

India has world’s highest number of cervical cancer deaths

More women die from cervical cancer in India than in any other country in the world, including China, shows an analysis of data from 50 countries.

The data appear on a crisis card developed by the US based research and advocacy group Cervical Cancer-Free Coalition, which shows that most deaths from cervical cancer occur in the two most populous nations in the world: India and China. Zambia has the highest proportion of deaths from cervical cancer.1

Currently India ranks highest in terms of …

Read full article by Dr. Soumyadeep B at British Medical Journal

India tops world table for number of babies who die on day of birth

More babies die in India on the day that they are born than in any other country in the world, says the 14th annual State of the World’s Mothers report from the charity Save the Children.1

The report found that 29% of babies who died on the day of their birth were born in India and that the next highest numbers were in Nigeria, Pakistan, and China.

The annual report assesses the health status of women and newborns and children’s life chances in 176 countries by looking at five indicators: lifetime risk of maternal death, death rate in the under 5s, expected years of formal schooling, gross national income per capita, and participation of …

 

Read the full article by Dr. Soumyadeep B at British Medical Journal

How Rigorous Is the Post-publication Review Process at F1000 Research?

Reblogged from The Scholarly Kitchen:

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F1000 Research is a new initiative on the science publishing landscape – something like an article-hosting service with post-publication comments. Papers that not approved by enough commenters are rejected, in that they are no longer publicly visible. The article processing charges (APCs) vary between $250 and $1000 dollars per article, with the price depending on article length.

PubMed is sufficiently impressed that they include approved F1000 Research articles in their searches, but just how thoroughly are their papers being vetted?

Read more… 1,265 more words

Committee condemns Indian government for failing to withdraw 33 drugs that lack evidence

A parliamentary committee on health has severely criticised India’s government for its “evasive” response to recommendations it made in May last year on tightening the regulation of drugs.

It accused the government of “dillydallying and procrastination” in failing to enforce proper procedures for approving drugs, for not following global bans on harmful drugs, and for failing to withdraw 33 drugs that were approved without clinical trials.

Read the full article by Dr. Soumyadeep B at British Medical Journal