News Analysis India

Tag: ICMR

  • ICMR to map dating apps, internet soliciting to align AIDS campaign with changing sexual behaviour

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and National Aids Research Institute (NARI) are assessing a shift in society’s sexual behaviour because of dating apps and soliciting on the internet to find reasons for the plateauing of decline in HIV cases.

    The HIV cases have been sliding because of a robust anti-AIDS campaign, but the last five years saw a pause in the contraction. The changing sexual habits because of the massive increase in virtual interactions could be one of the reasons.

    The ICMR, NARI and World Health Organisation (WHO) now have developed guidelines for mapping, size estimation and risk behaviour surveys among key population groups in virtual space.

    The document notes that the traditional ways of soliciting through brothels have been taken over by interactions on Whatsapp groups and dating apps. The guideline document says the virtual space brings extra benefits of anonymity and widespread accessibility.

    The guideline document said that Female Sex Workers (FSWs) in some cities in India now predominantly use mobile phones to establish a network for solicitation of sex. Men having Sex with Men (MSM) use dating apps.

    The dating apps will be identified for the mapping exercise as they have both local and global presence, and an estimation of active users will be made. It also involves obtaining a list of active users from the service providers or virtual mapping of active users.

    The survey findings will help devise a strategy for the anti-HIV campaign that has focused on conventional practices till now. Apart from the dating apps, the Whatsapp groups are also being mapped.

    A study by the Delhi State AIDS Control Society (DSACS) found that pimps acted as operators who controlled phone-based sex networks. According to a DSACS estimate, there are 2500 operators, each having 30-40 sex workers. That means around 75000 to 125000 female sex workers in Delhi operate through mobile-based networks.

  • Zika silently spreading across India indicating local transmission: Study

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: Zika is silently spreading across almost all parts of India and in areas where it had never been reported earlier, thus establishing local transmission of the disease, according to scientists at the Indian Institute of Medical Research (ICMR)-National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune. 

    The study, published in Frontiers of Microbiology, said there would be an increase in Zika cases during monsoon when vector-borne diseases like dengue and chikungunya see a hike. 

    According to the lead author, Dr Pragya Yadav, a senior scientist at ICMR-NIV, Pune, from 2017 to 2021, the presence of Zika has been reported in 16 states and union territories of India. 

    The study, like, a vector-borne diseases detected in newer states of India amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, said the virus, spread by daytime-active Aedes mosquitoes and has been found in Delhi, Amritsar (Punjab), Aligarh and Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh), Jaipur and Jodhpur (Rajasthan), Pune (Maharashtra), Ranchi (Jharkhand) Hyderabad (Telangana) and Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala)- places which have a high population density.

    Our study indicates the spread of the Zika virus to several states of India and an urgent need to strengthen its surveillance, a study, which was published recently, he said.

    The study said continuous and enhanced surveillance for Zika along with dengue and chikungunya with emphasis on the ante-natal screening is the need of the hour  as it is associated with microcephaly and congenital disabilities in newborn babies.

    It highlighted that when the whole health system was focused on fighting Covid-19 and its related aspect in a long tiring battle, vector control was a compromise and massive rain in some of these states provided additional opportunities to enhance the breeding sites and mosquito population. 

    Dr Yadav said as, after 2020, public health surveillance of the Zika virus could not be continued with the same vigour due to the Covid-19 outbreak; they stored the samples for Zika testing for the future.  

    As the Zika outbreaks were reported from distant locations over six months in 2021, a retrospective screening of Zika from May to October was done to understand the extent of the spread of the disease in India, she added.

    Around 1,520 patient’s samples, out of which 67 were found positive for Zika, three of which were cases of co-infection. All 67 like-positive patients were symptomatic with fever and rashes. 

    The study said that about 13.43 percent of patients were hospitalised, while 86.56 percent (58) of the cases were managed on an outpatient basis. Four patients faced severe respiratory distress, one patient had seizures, and one case of suspected mild microcephaly at birth was reported from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

    What was worrying was that no history of inter-state travel or contact with a Zika-positive traveller could be found.

    Zika virus, which was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in January 2016 by the World Health Organisation (WHO), has so far been detected in Gujarat (2017), Tamil Nadu (2017), Rajasthan (2018), Madhya Pradesh (2018). In 2021, Zika was reported in Kerala, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra.

    With the massive upscaling of the Covid-19 RT-PCR testing laboratories in India, this network can also be re-purposed for augmenting Zika testing in the country. Along with these efforts, it is also essential not to lose sight of effective vector control measures and focus on developing a safe and effective vaccine for Zika, which could be administered to pregnant women, the report said.

  • Covaxin booster improves efficacy against Delta, Omicron variants: ICMR study

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: A booster dose of Covaxin enhances vaccine effectiveness against the Delta variant and gives protection against Omicron variants BA.1.1 and BA.2, a study by ICMR and Bharat Biotech said. 

    The protective efficacy of Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin following two and three-dose immunisations against the Delta variant and the efficacy of the Covaxin against Omicron variants were studied in a Syrian hamster model (animal model to study human-associated diseases), the study said.

    The findings of the study have been published on June 14 on bioRxiv, a pre-print server and have not been peer reviewed.

    The anti-Covid vaccine Covaxin is one of two anti-Covid vaccinations used in the national coronavirus immunisation programme, which began in January 2021.

    The antibody response, clinical observations, viral load reduction and lung disease severity after virus challenge were observed, said the study conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research – National Institute of Virology, Pune and the pharma company.

    “In the Delta infection study, where we compared the protective response between the two and three-dose regimens, we could observe the advantage of the booster dose vaccination in the protection. Although the neutralising antibody levels were comparable among the groups, lung disease severity was found more reduced after the three-dose vaccination,” said Dr Pragya Yadav, one of the authors of the study, who was recently awarded for her contribution to developing vaccines against Covid-19 in India.

    “The virus shedding and viral organ load were considerably reduced in both the two dose and three-dose immunised animals indicating the vaccine efficacy against Delta variant,” the study added.

    In the second study in which the protective response was assessed against Omicron variants — BA.1 and BA.2, following three-dose vaccinations, lesser virus shedding, lung viral load and lung disease severity were observed in the immunised groups in comparison to the placebo groups.

    “The evidence from the present study shows that Covaxin booster immunisation tends to broaden the protective immune response and reduces disease severity against the Delta and Omicron variant infection,” it added.

  • National hospital-based registry to identify risks of blood clot in veins

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Monday launched a hospital-based registry to identify risks, treatment and the prevalence of Venous Thromboembolic (VTE) Disorder, also known as blood clots in veins, a potentially life-threatening condition, in the country.

    The exercise will help plan a quick response to VTE and strengthen the healthcare facilities, said Dr Nabendu Chatterjee, head of the Basic Medical Sciences Division and National Coordinator of the registry.

    According to ICMR, without treatment, VTE can restrict or block blood flow and oxygen, which can damage the body’s tissue or organs.  It is quoted as a significant health problem and one of the most common preventable causes of hospital deaths.

    It is the third leading vascular diagnosis after heart attack and stroke. The most common triggers for VTE are surgery, cancer, immobilisation and hospitalisation.

    As VTE has rarely evoked much consideration in India, it continues to be under-diagnosed and undertreated, Chatterjee said.

    “There is no national registry which captures the national data on VTE. If we have to do better management, we need to know the background, the reason a patient suffered from the disease,” he said.

    Chatterjee said the aim is to establish a nationwide surveillance network through selected 16 tertiary government hospitals in the country and collect data for generating evidence on VTE prevalence.

    The data will help in planning responses and help in strengthening healthcare facilities for treating the disease.

    Said Dr Heena Tabassum, Scientist D and Principal Investigator of the project, that apart from identifying the risk factors for VTE disease, the registry will help in guiding policy on the disease.

    “There is no uniform strategy of diagnosis and treatment available for VTE. We have come up with this data portal,” she said, adding, “We will then be able to come out with a uniform guideline on management of this condition.”

    “There is no data at the moment, but VTE is happening significantly. So it will help us understand what steps can be taken at the hospital level to minimise it.”

  • Maharashtra, Manipur and Uttar Pradesh record highest number of COVID-19 deaths in 2020

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Maharashtra, followed by Manipur and Uttar Pradesh, have recorded the highest number of COVID-19 deaths in 2020, when 1.6 lakh people succumbed to the virus in the country. In 2020, the total number of registered deaths in the country was 81,15,882 of which 18,11,688 were medically certified deaths.

    According to the ‘Report on Medical Certification of Cause of Death 2020’, the highest deaths (29.4 per cent) due to the COVID-19 was reported for the age group 70 years or above followed by 55-64 years (23.9 per cent).

    As per recommendation of Indian Council of Medical Research, codes for covering deaths due to COVID-19 has first time recorded as a separate major cause group. Deaths reported due to COVID-19 has contribution of 8.9 per cent in total medically certified deaths.

    There were 1,60,618 COVID-19 deaths in 2020 of which 1,14,217 were male and 46,401 were female. As per the registered medically certified deaths in 2020, Maharashtra has recorded the highest percentage of medically certified covid deaths with 17.7 per cent followed by Manipur (15.7 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (15.0 per cent), Himachal Pradesh (13.5 per cent), Uttarakhand (12.8 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (12.0 per cent), Punjab (11.9 per cent) and Delhi (10.8 per cent).

    The report did not provide the actual number of COVID-19 deaths, state and Union Territory-wise. No medically certified COVID-19 death has been registered in Arunachal Pradesh and Lakshadweep during 2020.

    According to the Union Health Ministry, as on Thursday, a total of 5,24,525 covid deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 1,47,857 from Maharashtra, 69,643 from Kerala, 40,106 from Karnataka, 38,025 from Tamil Nadu, 26,207 from Delhi, 23,519 from Uttar Pradesh and 21,203 from West Bengal.

    The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities. As shown in the RGI data, the highest deaths (29.4 per cent) was reported for the age group 70 years or above followed by 55-64 years (23.9 per cent).

    The age group 65-69, having class interval of only 5 years have also reported significant number of deaths (14.5 per cent). The percentage of female deaths aged 34 years and below as well as for 55-64 years and 65-69 years, to total female deaths are on a higher side compared to corresponding figures for male.

    So far, 4,31,44,820 people were infected by coronavirus in India.

  • Vaccine effectiveness of 99.3 per cent seen in fully vaccinated: Mandaviya

    By IANS

    NEW DELHI: Vaccine effectiveness of 99.3 per cent has been seen in individuals fully inoculated against Covid as per the data uploaded on India Covid-19 Tracker till January 2, the Parliament was told on Friday.

    The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has developed the India Covid-19 Vaccine Tracker, by merging mainly three national databases — CoWIN, National Covid-19 Testing database and Covid-19 India portal, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.

    “The latest data analysed and uploaded till January 2, 2022 depicts vaccine effectiveness of 99.3 per cent in fully vaccinated individuals against Covid-19,” he said, adding that the tracker is updated periodically and displays the effectiveness of partial and full vaccination against Covid-19.

    He said that the Omicron variant is the dominant variant in the country presently. Whole genome sequencing for Omicron variant is done for all RTPCR positive samples from international travellers arriving since November 28, 2021.

    Stressing that the Centre is supporting states in their endeavour to manage Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, Mandaviya said that given the emergence of mutated variants with variable impact on transmissibility, virulence and effectiveness of vaccines, the likelihood of resurgence of Covid-19 trajectory in the country is monitored by various expert committees under ICMR, DGHS and other departments.

  • India witnessing exponential rise in number of Covid cases; R naught value higher than 2nd wave peak: Centre

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: India is seeing an exponential rise in the number of coronavirus cases, which is believed to be driven by its Omicron variant, the Centre said on Wednesday, while highlighting that the country’s R naught value, which indicates the spread of the infection, is 2.69, higher than the 1.69 recorded during the peak of the pandemic’s second wave.

    Addressing a press conference here, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Director General Dr Balram Bhargava said the spike in the number of Covid cases is being witnessed in cities and “the Omicron variant is the predominant circulating strain”.

    Mass gatherings need to be avoided to lower the speed of the infection spread, he stressed.

    “We are now facing an exponential rise in (the number of) COVID-19 cases and we believe that largely, it is being driven by Omicron, particularly so in the western parts of our country and even particularly so in larger cities from where we have more data,” NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr V K Paul said.

    On December 30, the case positivity rate was 1.1 per cent and the next day, it was 1.3 per cent and now, the country is reporting a positivity rate of five per cent, he said, adding that similarly, there were 13,000 Covid cases on December 30 and the number went up to 58,000 on Tuesday.

    “Clearly, this is an expanding pandemic. The R nought value is 2. 69. This is higher than the 1. 69 we saw when the second wave of the pandemic was at its peak. The acceleration of cases is steeper than ever,” Paul said.

    He, however, added that the hospitalisation rates are relatively low.

    It is close to 3.7 per cent in Delhi and five per cent in Mumbai.

    “That is the early input we have. Compared to this, last year and even in 2020, the hospitalisation rate was close to 20 per cent,” Paul said.

    He said though there is no need to panic, people must be alert, disciplined and prepared, adding that the country will face this phase of the pandemic as well.

    On whether India is witnessing a third Covid wave, Paul said in other countries, it has been seen that just like a steep rise, there was also a steep decline in the number of cases.

    “In Denmark, the UK and South Africa, cases started declining within a month or a month and a half. We cannot say this clearly for our population. How it behaves will depend on past infections, the vaccination status and our own characteristics and population density. It cannot be extrapolated that just like the cases behaved there within a month, it will happen here also.

    “Saying it at this stage that it will go on till which point and for how long will be premature. If any scientific data comes, we will share. I would not venture into that except to say that like the previous waves, different parts of our nation will be in different stages. It starts in some states and then goes on and on. We are watching the dynamics of the pandemic carefully,” the NITI Aayog member added.

    As regards Omicron, officials said while there has been a sharp rise in the number of cases across the country, the hospitalisation rates have remained relatively low as compared to the previous waves of the pandemic.

    Bhargava informed that an Omicron-detecting RT-PCR kit has been developed in a partnership between Tata MD and the ICMR, and it has been approved by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI).

    It will produce the results in four hours and augment the country’s genome-sequencing efforts, he said.

    The number of Covid cases is increasing exponentially and a quick home testing and rapid-antigen tests will play a major role, Bhargava added.

    Joint Secretary in the Union Health Ministry Lav Agarwal said there has been a surge in the number of Covid cases globally, adding that 25.2 lakh cases of the infection were recorded all over the world on January 4, “the highest ever since the onset of the pandemic”.

    “India has reported an increase of more than 6.3 times in the number of cases in the last eight days and a sharp increase in the case positivity rate from 0.79 per cent on December 29 to 5.03 per cent on January 5,” he said.

    Agarwal said six states — Maharashtra, West Bengal, Kerala, Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu — have over 10,000 active Covid cases each.

    He further stated that Maharashtra, West Bengal, Delhi, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Gujarat are emerging as the states of concern.

    Also, 28 districts in the country are reporting a weekly Covid positivity rate of more than 10 per cent, while 43 districts are reporting a weekly positivity rate between five per cent and 10 per cent, Agarwal said.

    The Centre said 1.06 crore or 14.3 per cent of the beneficiaries in the age group of 15-18 years have been administered the first dose of a Covid vaccine.

    There are an estimated 7,40,57,000 beneficiaries in the said age group in the country.

    Besides, 90.8 per cent of the adults have been administered the first dose of the vaccine, while 65.9 per cent are fully vaccinated.

  • COVID vaccines are disease-modifying, don’t prevent infection, says Centre as cases surge

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: All COVID vaccines do not prevent infection and are primarily disease-modifying, said Dr Balram Bhargava, Director General, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Thursday.

    Briefing media persons, DG, ICMR said, “All COVID vaccines, whether they are from India, Israel, US, Europe, UK or China, are primarily disease-modifying. They do not prevent infection. The precautionary dose is primarily to mitigate the severity of infection, hospitalization and death.”

    “Use of masks before and after vaccination is a must and mass gatherings should be avoided… The treatment guidelines for the earlier and the currently circulating strains of coronavirus remain the same. Home isolation remains an important pillar,” added Dr Bhargava.

    With the administration of 63,91,282 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India’s COVID-19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 143.83 crore (1,43,83,22,742) as per provisional reports till 7 am today, informed the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Thursday.

    As per the ministry, this has been achieved through 1,53,47,226 sessions.

    Within the age group of 18 to 44 years, 49,76,01,405 1st doses have been administered along with the administration of 32,67,56,163 2nd doses to the people in the category.

    Within the age group of 45 to 59 years, as many as 19,40,91,039 people have been vaccinated with the 1st dose while 14,90,18,597 people have been administered with the 2nd dose.

    As many as 12,11,54,096 elderly people, (above the age of 60 years) have been administered with the 1st dose of the vaccine while 9,43,50,863 doses of the 2nd dose have been administered.

    Meanwhile, India reported 13,154 new COVID-19 cases and 268 deaths in the last 24 hours, the Union Health Ministry said on Thursday.

    The tally of Omicron COVID-19 variant cases in the country has gone up to 961 with maximum cases reported from Delhi (263) and Maharashtra (252).

    With this, the country’s COVID-19 tally has risen to 34,822,040 while the death toll has mounted to 4,80,860.

    The ministry informed that the active caseload in the country stands at 82,402 constituting 0.24 per cent of the total cases.

    As many as 7,486 patients recovered in the last 24 hours taking the total number of recoveries to 3,42,58,778.

  • PM Modi to inaugurate three mega projects in Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath’s home turf Gorakhpur

    By PTI

    GORAKHPUR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Tuesday inaugurate three megaprojects, including an AIIMS and a major fertiliser plant, in Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s home turf Gorakhpur.

    The three ambitious projects, set to give further impetus to the growth of underdeveloped eastern Uttar Pradesh, also include ICMR’s regional unit Regional Medical Research Centre here. Yogi Adityanath reached Gorakhpur on Monday evening and took stock of the preparations for Prime Minister Modi’s visit here on Tuesday.

    The Prime Minister will inaugurate on Tuesday the three ambitious projects worth over Rs 9,600 crore. The projects include the newly built fertilizer plant of Hindustan Urvarak Rasayan Limited (HURL), AIIMS building and ICMR’s regional unit Regional Medical Research Centre here.

    During the inspection of the fertilizer plant, Adityanath said Prime Minister PM Modi’s regime has been historic for the growth of Uttar Pradesh and, accordingly, the inaugural program of the plant and the AIIMS should be a grand one.

    Adityanath reached the fertilizer plant at around 5 pm and asked officials to take full care of the PM’s safety and security besides that of the common man.

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    The fertiliser plant worth Rs 8,603 crore will produce 12.7 lakh metric tons of neem-coated urea per year, said officials, adding the project will not only bring prosperity to farmers’ lives but also create 20,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities for youths.

    The Gorakhpur AIIMS, built for Rs 1,011 crore, will benefit not only the people of eastern UP but also a huge population of Bihar, Jharkhand and Nepal with its world-class health facilities, they added.

    Similarly, the regional medical research centre worth Rs 36 crore will facilitate the test and research of vector-borne diseases, they said, adding the high-tech lab will decrease the dependency of the area on big cities for tests related to vector-borne diseases.

    Electric buses too will start operating in Gorakhpur from Tuesday, they said, adding that they had been waiting in the Nausad bus station premises for their inaugural run since October 28. Chief Minister Adityanath had flagged off electric buses in Lucknow on October 5 and 15 such buses had reached Gorakhpur on October 28.

  • Efficacy of COVID vaccines satisfactory, finds ICMR study as over 115 crore inoculated in India so far

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: The first nationwide measurement of the real-world effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines Covishield and Covaxin have shown 80% and 69% efficacy against severe disease, respectively. Although lower than the protection reported in clinical trials, the figures are still considered to be good.

    The findings are a result of an analysis by ICMR in 11 hospitals across 10 cities between May and July, which studied severely ill and hospitalised Covid-19 patients. In all, 1,143 cases of severe infection and 2,541 negative cases were studied.

    The study, submitted to The Lancet for publication, showed effectiveness was the highest with a gap of 6-8 weeks between two shots of Covishield and Covaxin. Importantly, efficacy estimates were similar against Delta strain and sub-lineages.

    In Phase 3 trials, Covishield had shown nearly 100% protection from severe illness and it was nearly 93% for Covaxin — India’s first indigenously developed Covid vaccine. Tarun Bhatnagar, scientist with the National Institute of Epidemiology, ICMR, and principal investigator for the study, explained that real-world effectiveness estimates will always be lower than trial-based efficacy estimates.

    “This is the largest study on real-world effectiveness (of vaccines) and findings indicate that two doses of Covaxin and Covishield have good effectiveness against the Delta strain which is the dominant circulating strain in India,” Bhatnagar said.

    He pointed out that as a majority had taken Covishield, the numbers for Covaxin are smaller in the study and hence the lower precision of the effectiveness estimates for Covaxin.

    Bhatnagar stressed that considering that effectiveness against severe infection is not close to 100%, masking and social distancing cannot be totally done away with, more so among those not vaccinated, and those who may be more vulnerable to get severe infection such as the elderly, immune-compromised and people with comorbidities

    In the pre-print of the study, scientists said these findings highlight significant real-world protection with two vaccine doses against severe Covid-19 and specifically against the Delta variant in India.

    “Substantial effectiveness of only one dose, more so for Covishield, supports the policy decision from a public health perspective to initially maximise coverage with single dose in the country,” they said. In India, most studies are limited to healthcare and frontline workers with small sample size, and none are population-representative.

    Meanwhile, the total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 115 crore on Thursday, the Union Health Ministry said.

    According to officials, around 82 per cent of the eligible population in India has received the first dose of the vaccine while more than 41 per cent has been fully inoculated.

    In a tweet, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said, “The country is getting protected through vaccination every day.

    As India’s vaccination coverage crosses the 115 crore mark, PM Narendra Modi ji’s words ring true — once Indians decide to do something, nothing is impossible! Har Ghar Dastak strengthening the world’s largest vaccination drive!” On Thursday, more than 65 lakh (65,45,982) vaccine doses have been administered till 7 pm.

    The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late night, the ministry said.

    The ministry had on Wednesday declared that the number of individuals fully vaccinated against COVID-19 surpassed the partially vaccinated population.

    The government has recently launched a month-long ‘Har Ghar Dastak’ campaign for house-to-house COVID-19 vaccination of those who are yet to take a dose and those whose second dose is overdue.

    Mandaviya had recently said that over 12 crore beneficiaries are due for their second dose of COVID-19 vaccine and urged the state health ministers to ensure that all adult population is covered with the first dose during the ongoing ‘Har Ghar Dastak’ campaign, while those who are due for the second dose are also motivated to take the jab.

    (With PTI Inputs)