Anuradha Mascarenhas
Anuradha Mascarenhas is a senior editor with The Indian Express, Pune. She writes on health, environment, science and related issues.
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After Kashmir to Kanyakumari, 62-year-old Kumar Ajwani gears up for 145-km Kargil Diwas run
Ajwani and eleven others will start the run from Thane on July 24 to reach the National War Memorial in Pune on July 26. As part of the event, the team has donated four air-conditioners to the gym of Army Para Node, where 22 army para athletes are participating in Paralympics in 2024.
Thu, Jul 21, 2022
Pune sees spike in dengue fever, 50 cases confirmed in two weeks
Dengue fever is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected mosquitoes. The primary vectors that transmit the disease are Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and breeding occurs mainly through man-made containers, including buckets and discarded containers, officials said.
Tue, Jul 19, 2022
Is testing fatigue giving a misleading picture of Covid-19 in Maharashtra?
While 13.31 lakh cases were reported between January and June, the number of casualties was 2,900. In 2021, 47 lakh cases were reported with 92,005 deaths. In 2020, there were 19.32 lakh cases with 49,521 deaths, according to a Maharashtra health department analysis.
Tue, Jul 19, 2022
Dementia as big a risk in rural India
For the first time, the Centre for Brain Research, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, is conducting a community-based, cohort study on ageing across villages.
Tue, Jul 19, 2022
Delta strain dominated in children during second Covid wave, genomic surveillance recommended: Study
Experts point out that data is scarce on newly emerging Covid variants affecting the paediatric population. Hence, it is necessary to initiate active genomic surveillance in this category.
Sun, Jul 17, 2022
Covaxin booster dose safe, ensures persistent immunity to minimise breakthrough Covid infections: Study
A third dose of Covaxin increased neutralisation titers against both homologous and heterologous strains of the virus, a new Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) study has found
Fri, Jul 15, 2022
Explained: How much alcohol is unsafe, based on age
Using estimates of alcohol use in 204 countries, researchers calculated that 1.34 billion people (1.03 billion males and 0.312 billion females) consumed harmful amounts in 2020.
Wed, Jul 20, 2022
Weekly Covid positivity rate 28% in Pune, far higher than state avg of 7.4%
While over 1.35 crore adults in Maharashtra are yet to take second dose of Covishield, more than 30.98 lakh need second dose of Covaxin, according to a state health department report submitted to the state Cabinet
Fri, Jul 15, 2022
Explained: What India’s first HPV vaccine could mean for fight against cervical cancer
Cervical cancer is a common sexually transmitted infection. Long-lasting infection with certain types of HPV is the main cause of cervical cancer.
Thu, Jul 14, 2022
Maharashtra: State reports second case of Zika virus infection, 1,365 dengue cases
Maharashtra has lately been affected by heavy rainfall and epidemiological surveillance is being carried out on a war footing, Dr Pradeep Awate, Maharashtra surveillance officer has said.
Thu, Jul 14, 2022
Serum Institute’s Cervavac to prevent cervical cancer gets DCGI nod
CEO of Serum Institute of India (SII), Adar Poonawalla said the vaccine is very important, particularly for all adolescent girls to protect themselves against cervical cancer.
Wed, Jul 13, 2022
Indian Orthodontic Society warns against home dental scans, direct sales of teeth aligners
As part of a nationwide awareness initiative in this regard, the IOS will conduct a smile rally in Pune from July 13-19.
Tue, Jul 12, 2022
World Population Day: India expected to surpass China as most populous country in 2023, says UN report
The World Population Prospects 2022 was released on Monday. A soft launch of the edition was held at the International Institute for Population Sciences in Mumbai.
Mon, Jul 11, 2022
New study to probe machine learning role in treating depression
The machine learning approach will take into consideration various data points like specific genetic factors, family information, medical and clinical history that will predict treatment outcomes in patients with depression.
Mon, Jul 11, 2022
Know Your City: Behind Pune’s renowned eye hospital, the unfulfilled dream of a father
A freak accident altered Dr Bhaskar Kelkar’s plans to go to London and pursue a diploma in ophthalmology. But his son, Dr Shreekant, kept his dream alive by becoming an eye surgeon and setting up the National Institute of Ophthalmology.
Sat, Jul 09, 2022
The three BA.2 sub-variants driving Covid surge and the efficacy of vaccines against them
In addition to the mutation present in BA.2, the BA.2.74, BA.2.75, and BA.2.76, have had additional mutations. These three sub-variants are driving the surge in Covid infections, says Dr Rajesh Karyakarte, head of the department of microbiology at the government-run B J Medical College and Sassoon General Hospital (BJGMC), Pune.
Fri, Jul 08, 2022
BA.2.75 variant in 20 cases from Nagpur division: Study
State health authorities have undertaken a detailed epidemiological investigation of these patients. Presently, the tally of BA.2.75 variant patients in the state stands at 30.
Fri, Jul 08, 2022
Pune Cantonment Board in precarious financial condition, says new CEO
If the Centre does not provide adequate grants in the next two months, giving salaries to the staff would also be difficult, said Subrat Pal, who took charge as the new CEO of the board recently.
Thu, Jul 07, 2022
Maharashtra steps up detection efforts to meet Centre’s target of eradicating TB by 2025
Data shows that in 2020 of the 1.3 lakh people who had been Covid-19 screened for TB, at least 2,163 were detected with the disease.
Wed, Jul 06, 2022
Over 1,100 people died of tuberculosis in Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad in last two years
In Pune, there were 439 deaths due to the infectious disease that affects the lungs in 2020 and 385 in 2021. In 2020, there were 147 TB deaths in Pimpri-Chinchwad while another 162 in 2021.
Wed, Jul 06, 2022
Cutting Edge: Poop therapy can save your gut, and your life
Stool or faecal microbial transplant (FMT) has helped contain infections in bone marrow transplant patients and even restore good gut bacteria, says Dr Parikshit Prayag, infectious disease consultant and in-charge of the Centre of Excellence in Infectious Diseases at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital, Pune.
Thu, Jul 07, 2022
Not many takers in Maharashtra for Covid precaution dose in 18-59 age group
Till date, around 17 crore Covid-19 vaccine shots have been administered in Maharashtra of which over 9 crore were first doses while 7.48 crore were second doses. A total of 38.45 lakh beneficiaries have taken the precaution dose.
Tue, Jul 05, 2022
Scientists probing spike in cases look at Omicron sub-variant
The BA.2.75, belonging to the BA.2 sub-lineage which was the dominant strain in India earlier this year, has been found to have an 18 per cent growth advantage over the other currently circulating Omicron sub-variants.
Tue, Jul 05, 2022
Explained: Two vaccine doses highly effective across people of different body weights, study suggests
A new study published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology has found that body size was not a factor in the effectiveness of vaccines — two doses are highly effective against severe disease for people who are underweight, overweight, or who have obesity.
Sat, Jul 02, 2022
Explained: How India’s first mRNA vaccine for Covid-19 was created
As the Covid-19 pandemic spread, an mRNA vaccine candidate was the first to enter human trials globally. The first two vaccines that were made available for use in the US were based on mRNA technology.
Thu, Jun 30, 2022