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WHO adopted a resolution moved by India on mental health
NEW DELHI, January 24, 2012: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has adopted a resolution moved by
India that focuses on the global burden of mental disorders and the need
for a comprehensive, coordinated response from health and social sectors
at the country level. The just-concluded 130th executive board meeting of the WHO
adopted the resolution, moved by India and supported by the United States of America
and Switzerland. This marks the first time in over a decade that WHO
has, at its highest levels, taken note of this very major public health
concern.
Mental disorders account for 13 per cent of the global burden of the
diseases and, in keeping with latest thinking, the resolution recognizes
the importance of early identification, care and recovery, the problems
of stigma, poverty and homelessness and the need for community based
intervention including de-institutionalized care. It is clearly recognized that all countries must take steps to promote mental health
and empower persons with mental disorders to lead a full and productive
life in the community. India had played a key role in getting mental disorders included in the
non-communicable diseases (NCDs) list at the first Ministerial Conference on Healthy
Lifestyles and Non- communicable Disease Control in Moscow last year. Pleading for its case, India had argued that “like all
non-communicable diseases, mental disorders required long term treatment
and affected the quality of life.”
Indian TB cases can't be cured
Mumbai, January 17, 2012: Tuberculosis which appears to be totally resistant to
antibiotic treatment has been reported for the first time by Indian doctors.
Concern over drug-resistant strains of TB is growing, with similar 'incurable' TB emerging in Italy and Iran.
Doctors in Mumbai said 12 patients had a "totally drug resistant" form
of the infection, and three have died. The Indian Health Ministry is investigating the cases and has sent a
team of doctors to Mumbai.
TB is one of the world's biggest killers, second only to HIV among
infectious diseases. Normally a patient with TB is given a six to nine month course of
antibiotics to eradicate it. However, new strains of the bacterium have developed which are
increasingly resistant to the antibiotics most commonly used to treat it.
Partially drug-resistant TB can now found in countries across the world,
and "multi-drug resistant" strains affect countries such as Russia and China.
The doctors at the Hinduja National Hospital in Mumbai who discovered it
said they had treated patients for up to two years with a battery of
drugs, to no avail. The patients came from slum areas of the city, they said, where close
contact between people meant further spread was likely. The American Centers for Disease Control (CDC) confirmed that the Indian
strain did appear to be completely resistant.
Dr Kenneth Castro, director of its Division of Tuberculosis Elimination,
said: "Anytime we see something like this, we better get on top of it
before it becomes a more widespread problem." Patients who do not finish their lengthy course of treatment also
present the bacterium with the perfect environment for developing further resistance.
However, there have been repeated calls for the pharmaceutical industry
to make more efforts to develop fresh antibiotics. |
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