Icmr

Daily Covid-19 tests up 84% in a month, just shy of 140,000 mark: ICMR data

Technicians conducting over 60,000 more tests daily than a month ago; slight drop in number of positive cases at 5,357, though daily and weekly positivity rates are still above 3%

ICMR research linked to heart attacks underway, out in 2 months: Mandaviya

The ICMR team that is conducting this study includes several scientists like Dr Nivedita and Dr Tanveer Kaur

ICMR brings ethical guidelines for AI in biomedical research, healthcare

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has come up with the country's first Ethical Guidelines for the Application of Artificial Intelligence in Biomedical Research and Healthcare to provide an ethical framework for the development of AI-based tools which will benefit all stakeholders. According to a document drafted by the Department of Health Research and ICMR's Artificial Intelligence Cell, AI for health, to a large extent, depends on data obtained from human participants and invokes additional concerns related to potential biases, data handling, interpretation, autonomy, risk minimization, professional competence, data sharing, and confidentiality. "It is therefore imperative to have an ethical framework that addresses issues specific to AI for biomedical research and healthcare," the guidelines stated. The adoption of AI technology in healthcare is growing in India. However, AI as data-driven technology has many potential ethical challenges which include algorithmic ...

Keep close watch on evolving etiologies: Centre issues advisory on Covid

The advisory has also flagged low level of testing by states and UTs and has said that testing levels are insufficient as compared to the standards prescribed by WHO i.e 140 tests per million

ICMR approves new RT-qPCR kit to detect influenza, SARS-CoV-2 and RSV

The approval of the kit marketed as KRIVIDA Trivus comes even as several parts of the country are facing a significant rise in these viruses

Cancer cases may rise from 1.46 mn in 2022 to 1.57 mn in 2025: Govt

The number of cancer cases in the country is projected to go up from 14.6 lakh in 2022 to 15.7 lakh in 2025, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research-National Cancer Registry Programme (ICMR-NCRP), the government informed Parliament on Tuesday. Elaborating on the steps taken by the government in this regard, Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar said a population-based initiative for prevention, control and screening for common non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as diabetes, hypertension and common cancers, has been rolled out in the country under the National Health Mission (NHM) and also as a part of comprehensive primary healthcare. Under the initiative, those aged above 30 years are targeted for screening for three common cancers -- oral, breast and cervical. Screening for these common cancers is an integral part of service delivery under the Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centre scheme, the minister said in a written reply to a question in the ...

With H3N2 as predominant subtype, combination of viruses causing infections

Meanwhile, the Covid infection has also reported a spike after four months as daily Covid cases were reported 524 on Sunday

West Bengal accounts for 38% of adenovirus cases in country: Survey

West Bengal accounts for 38 per cent of the swab samples that have been tested adenovirus-positive throughout the country, according to a recent survey conducted by ICMR-NICED

Influenza outbreak in several cities as patients report prolonged illness

Influenza outbreak: According to doctors, this is due to Influenza A subtype H3N2 virus, and it is causing viral fever, common flu, and influenza-like symptoms, including respiratory illness

Flu cases on rise, experts blame mutated strain, dropping of masks

Current H3N2 strain has its origin in the 1968 pandemic; experts also cite lack of awareness about the influenza vaccine, which must be taken every year

Influenza A subtype causing cough, fever: ICMR; suggest Dos and Don'ts

A persistent cough, sometimes accompanied by fever, running through India for the past two-three months is due to Influenza A subtype H3N2, ICMR experts said. The H3N2, which has been in wide circulation for the past two-three months, causes more hospitalisations than other subtypes, said Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) scientists who keep a close watch on ailments caused by respiratory viruses through the Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratories network. They have also suggested a list of Dos and Don'ts for people to follow to protect themselves from contracting the virus. The Indian Medical Association (IMA), on the other hand, has advised against indiscriminate use of antibiotics amid rising cases of cough, cold and nausea across the country. Seasonal fever will last five to seven days, it said. The fever goes away at the end of three days but the cough can persist for up to three weeks, the IMA's Standing Committee for Anti-Microbial Resistance said. Viral cases h

Front package warning labels can discourage unhealthy food choices: Study

A study by the ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition on acceptability and potential use of different formats of front-of-pack nutrition labels in promoting informed food choices suggests 'warning labels' can deter choice and consumption of even moderately unhealthy foods. It also showed that 'summary ratings' like health star or Nutri-Score can help identify healthier variants among the available foods. Summary labels provide a brief and concise overview of a product's key features and benefits, often including information about positive as well as negative nutrients. Warning labels, on the other hand, provide information about potential hazards associated with a product as they take into consideration the nutrients of concern like sugars, fats and salt. Front-of-package labeling (FOPL) is usually seen as an important tool of public health communication about healthiness. Different formats of FOPNL are in use in different countries, either voluntarily or by mandatory ...

Budget focus on medical research, aims to eliminate sickle cell anaemia

Facilities of state-run ICMR labs will be made available for private sector research, says Finance Minister

No need for fourth dose of Covid-19 vaccine given current evidence: Expert

Dr Raman Gangakhedkar, former head of epidemiology and communicable diseases at the Indian Council of Medical Research, has discounted the need for the fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine given the current evidence about the coronavirus and its variants. If a person has taken a third dose of the anti-COVID-19 vaccine, it means his T-cell immune response has been trained thrice, Dr Gangakhedkar said on the sidelines of a function on Tuesday. "The core virus (of COVID-19) has not been changed so much that a new vaccine would be needed, so try and have trust in our T-cell immune response," he said. "Looking at the current evidence (of variants of the virus), it is not that big that there is any need for the fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. There are many reasons for that. Currently, whatever vaccines are there, the virus makes the escape mutants over them which causes infections," he said. According to Dr Gangakhedkar, old people and those suffering from chronic morbidities should ...

Covid testing jumps 57% in a fortnight, still lower than November level

Among metros, Pune has highest positivity rate of 1.05%; 7 of Kerala's 14 districts have positivity rate of over 1%

Cancer cases, deaths have increased in country between 2020 and 2022: Govt

Estimated cancer cases and mortality due to it have increased in the country between 2020 and 2022, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, citing official data. The Department of Health and Family Welfare provides technical and financial support to states and Union territories under the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS) as part of the National Health Mission (NHM), based on the proposals received from the states and subject to the resource envelope, he said in reply to a question. According to the National Cancer Registry Programme of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), an estimated incidence of cancer cases in India by different states and Union territories in 2020 was 13,92,179 and it increased to 14,26,447 in 2021 and 14,61,427 in 2022. Estimated mortality due to cancer in India was 7,70,230 in 2020 and it increased to 7,89,202 in 2021 and 8,08,558 in 2022, ..

PM Modi to inaugurate ICMR facility for research on haemoglobinopathies

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay foundation stone for National Institute for One Health and inaugurate Centre for Research, Management and Control of Haemoglobinopathies in Nagpur on December 11. These institutes will help expedite the country's efforts in enhancing health research to serve vulnerable populations, a health ministry said in a statement. With increased interaction between humans and animals domestic and wild and influenced by climate change, human health can no longer be seen in isolation. More than half of all infections that people get can be spread by animals. In this context, the National Institute for One Health is an important infrastructural milestone, the statement said. The institute will focus on increasing preparedness and laboratory capabilities for identification of novel and unknown zoonotic agents, it said. The institute will be equipped with the Bio Safety Level (BSL-IV) laboratory. It will help in investigation of outbreaks of emerging zoonoti

After AIIMS, top medical body ICMR's servers under cyber attack: Report

On November 30, hackers made 6,000 attempts in 24 hours to breach the ICMR server firewall, according to a NIC official

ICMR recommends avoiding antibiotics for low-grade fever, issues guidelines

ICMR found in a survey that a large number of patients were no longer benefitting from the use of certain antibiotics as they have developed anti-microbial resistance to them

ICMR new guidelines warn against use of antibiotics for low-grade fever

The Indian Council of Medical Research has issued guidelines warning against the use of antibiotics for conditions such as low-grade fever and viral bronchitis while advising doctors to follow a timeline while prescribing them. The ICMR guidelines stated that antibiotics should be prescribed for a duration of five days for skin and soft tissue infections, five days in case of community-acquired pneumonia and eight days for hospital-acquired pneumonia. "A clinical diagnosis most often helps us predict causative pathogens fitting into a clinical syndrome which would tailor the correct antibiotic rather than blindly relying on fever, procalcitonin levels, WBC counts, cultures or radiology to make a diagnosis of infection," the guidelines said. It stated limiting empiric antibiotic therapy to seriously ill patients. Generally, empiric antibiotic therapy is only recommended for a select group of patients suffering from severe sepsis and septic shock, community-acquired pneumonia, ...