Novavax Coronavirus Vaccine India

New York: People hospitalised during the pandemic both for Covid and other conditions have a higher rate of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections compared to patients hospitalised before the pandemic, according to a study. An estimated 1.2 million people worldwide died in 2019 from antibiotic-resistant infections, and this number is predicted to increase ten-fold by 2050. There have been studies reporting that the pandemic was associated with antimicrobial resistance (AMR) secondary infections, possibly due to the increase in the use of antibiotics to treat Covid-19 patients and disruptions to infection prevention and control practices in overwhelmed health systems. The study, presented at this year's European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) being held in Portugal, evaluated the pandemic's impact on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in 271 hospitals across the US. The researchers assessed AMR rates per 100 hospital admissions before and during the Covid pandemic, and examined whether drug-resistant infections were acquired in the community-onset setting (defined as a culture collected less than two days after admission) or in the hospital-onset setting (more than two days after admission). In total, 1,789,458 patients were admitted to the hospital in the pre-pandemic period and 3,729,208 during the pandemic. The number of patients admitted to the hospital with at least one AMR infection was 63,263 in the pre-pandemic period and 129,410 during the pandemic. Patients who tested positive or negative for Covid had higher levels of AMR than patients before the pandemic, 4.92 per 100 admissions and 4.11 per 100 admissions, respectively. For hospital-associated infections, the AMR rate was 0.77 per 100 admissions before the pandemic and 0.86 per 100 admissions during the pandemic, and highest at 2.19 per 100 admissions in patients with Covid-19. When looking at community-onset infections, the AMR rate was 2.76 per 100 admissions in the pre-pandemic period, and 2.61 per 100 admissions during the pandemic. "These new data highlight the importance of closely monitoring the impact of Covid-19 on antimicrobial resistance rates, said Dr Karri Bauer from the US pharmaceutical company Merck. "It is particularly worrying that antibiotic resistance has been rising during the pandemic in both SARS-CoV-2 positive and negative patients. Hospital-acquired infections are a major concern, with antimicrobial resistance rates significantly higher during the pandemic than before," he added. (Agency) Read More► Omicron Ups Risk of Upper Airway Infections, Cardiac Arrest in Small Kids

Six in 10 people with SARS-CoV-2 still have at least one symptom of long Covid a year later, with fatigue, shortness of breath and irritability being the most common, a new study has shown. The study, being presented at this year's European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Portugal, found that Covid-19 symptoms that don't clear up after 15 weeks are likely to last at least a year. An estimated 25-40 per cent of people with Covid-19 develop long Covid, persisting symptoms that can affect multiple organs and include mental health problems. Most of the data to date, however, is based on patients who were hospitalised with Covid-19 and it isn't clear how it applies to Covid-19 cases more generally. To find out more, Aurelie Fischer and colleagues at the Luxembourg Institute of Health in Luxembourg, surveyed almost 300 people a year after they were diagnosed with Covid. The 289 participants (50.2 per cent women) had an average age of 40.2 years and were divided in three groups, based on the severity of their initial infection: asymptomatic, mild and moderate/severe Covid-19. They were asked to fill in a detailed questionnaire about whether they were experiencing 64 common long Covid-related symptoms. A third (34.3 per cent) were experiencing fatigue a year on, 12.9 per cent said respiratory symptoms were affecting their quality of life and more than half (54.2 per cent) had ongoing sleep problems. Participants who had moderate/severe Covid-19 were twice as likely to still have at least one symptom a year on than those whose initial infection was asymptomatic. Having had moderate/severe Covid-19 was also associated with more sleep problems after a year than being asymptomatic (63.8 per cent vs. 38.6 per cent). "Participants with a mild form of the acute illness were more likely than those who'd been asymptomatic to have at least one symptom at one year, and to have sleep problems, but to a lesser extent than those with a moderate or severe acute illness," Fischer said. One in seven participants (14.2 per cent) said they could not envisage coping with their symptoms long-term. Further, the analysis also revealed that some groups of symptoms tend to occur together, suggesting that there are multiple different types of long Covid. Read More► Covid Not Only Infects Human Retina, But Can Also Replicate in It

The All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) has announced the names of 18 winners of pan-India Ayush Master Chef Competition that was launched on March 31, 2022. The winners have been selected out of 30 contestants, who battled it out in the finale round of the competition held at the Global Ayush Investment & Innovation Summit in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Within a fortnight, over 200 contestants sent their entries for the competition, and 30 names were shortlisted after screening entries under different categories. Under the theme 'Ahara for Poshan', the Master Chef Competition had six entry categories, namely, Cereal-based preparations, millets-based preparations, nuts/pulses-based preparations, fruits/vegetable-based preparations, dairy product-based preparations and Fusion. The contest was aimed at making people aware about the nutritional value of our native ingredients and recipes and the entries were reviewed by an international jury. From the final round, three winners have been selected in each of the six categories. A cash prize of Rs 1 lakh has been given to the winner, while Rs 75,000 and Rs 50,000 have been given to the first runner-up and the second runner-up, respectively. Sharing her views, Prof. (Dr.) Tanuja Manoj Nesari, Director, AIIA, said, "It is heartening to see such an overwhelming response from cooking enthusiasts across the country who sent us their innovative entries that bring out the true essence of India's ancient culinary treasures. "The Ayush Chef Competition, launched by us in association with the National Institute of Naturopathy (NIN), Pune, and the Central Council for Research in Naturopathy, aims to make people aware of the nutritional value of our forgotten native ingredients and recipes by giving them a modern twist, and to assess the nutritional value of our new-age kitchen ingredients. We congratulate all the winners who eagerly participated in the final round and put their best foot forward to woo us all!" Out of 203 entries received in six categories, 28 entries were from cereals, 47 from millets, 26 from nuts/pulses, 26 from fruits/vegetables, 10 from dairy products and 66 from the fusion category. Participation was seen from 15 states of India as well as abroad - Maharashtra (41), Gujarat (30), Karnataka (29), Tamil Nadu (23), Uttar Pradesh (23), Delhi (23), Uttar Pradesh (15), Uttarakhand (11), Madhya Pradesh (9), Kerala (5), Bihar (4), Odisha (2), Rajasthan (2), Goa (1), West Bengal (1) and Haryana (1). Two entries were received from France in French language with English subtitles. Participants came from various professional categories, including Ayurveda practitioners, teaching staff, chefs, Unani practitioners, homemakers, dieticians, agriculturalists, engineers, pharmacists, filmmakers, stress management trainers, entrepreneurs, etc. Some students also participated. Read More► Modi Announces Special Mark for Ayush Products

Liver disease has become a lifestyle disease in India, with the incidence of non-alcoholic and alcoholic fatty liver disease now much higher than hepatitis B virus as the main cause of liver disorders, said experts here ahead of the World Liver Day. World liver day is observed on every April 19, to spread awareness about liver related disease. The liver is the second largest and the most complex organ in the body, after the brain. It is a key player in our body's digestive system. Fatty liver condition occurs when fat builds up in the liver that can cause liver inflammation, and damage your liver and create scarring. In severe cases, the scarring can lead to liver failure. Among people who drink a lot of alcohol, the condition is known as alcoholic fatty liver disease (AFLD), while among those who don't drink a lot, it's metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), earlier known as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). MAFLD is associated with increased all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Lifestyle changes involving obesity, sedentary lifestyle, food rich in sugar, calories and fat, and alcohol are the main reasons behind the poor liver health. According to Dr Bhaskar Nandi, HOD - Liver & Digestive Sciences, Sarvodaya Hospital, Faridabad, till a few decades back, the most common cause of chronic liver disease in India was hepatitis B infection, that led to liver cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver failure. "However, fatty liver, a metabolic disorder, now constitutes the largest burden of liver disease today due to changing lifestyle of people," he said. Nandi added that as many as "80 per cent of people coming for an ultrasound checkup today are found to have fatty liver disease". While about one in three of these will progress to chronic liver disease, liver cancer, cirrhosis, or end-stage liver disease, it is difficult to predict which ones will fall in that one-third bracket. "India is seeing a significant rise in liver problems due to lifestyle changes. To fight liver disease, it is necessary to change our lifestyle - proper and healthy diet, exercise, avoid drinking alcohol or drink in moderation, increasing our screening," Dr. Pankaj Puri, from Fortis Escorts Liver and Digestive Diseases Institute, told IANS. Often liver disease goes undiagnosed for years, as the initial stages generally have no symptoms and people feel well, and routine blood tests may not show liver abnormalities. Globally, liver condition is seen in about 25 per cent or one in four adults that often goes undiagnosed, raising the risk for heart disease, according to a new American Heart Association scientific statement. Nandi said that liver disease is fast becoming a public health problem for India. In 2015, acute and chronic liver diseases accounted for 2 million deaths worldwide, 18 per cent of whom were from India. The burden of liver disease has consistently been increasing in the country since then. While hepatitis B vaccination is commonly given to children for immunisation, it is not popular among adults. "Every year, more than 115,000 people die in India due to hepatitis B related complications. About 4 crore people in the country are carriers of this virus but remain asymptomatic and unaware of the risk they pose to others," Nandi said. "Unlike in the West where main causes of transmission of hepatitis B virus include infected needles and sexual contact, in India, the spread is due to horizontal transmission by staying in proximity with an infected individual, like a family member who is asymptomatic," he noted. Read More► How Exercise Keeps Dementia at Bay