Outdoor
air pollution – fifth largest killer in India
According
to a Global Burden of Disease (GBD) report, outdoor air pollution has become
the fifth largest killer in India after high blood pressure, indoor air
pollution, tobacco smoking and poor nutrition. The report says that about
620,000 premature deaths occur in India from air pollution-related diseases. It
also highlights that annual premature deaths caused by particulate air
pollution have increased by six times since 2000 and accounts for one fifth of
global deaths.
The
air pollution-induced premature deaths are caused by respiratory and
cardiovascular diseases. These diseases include stroke (25.48 percent), chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease (17.32 percent), ischemic heart disease (48.6 percent),
lower respiratory infections (6.4 percent), and trachea, bronchus and lung
cancer (2.02 percent). Heavy emission of half-burnt gases and fuel is also the
main reason for the heavy winter smog and the bad air. Smog is a serious problem because it is
harmful for health especially for children, elderly, and for people with heart
and lung conditions like asthma and bronchitis. It can cause eye and nose irritation,
dryness of nose and throat, wheezing, coughing, asthma attacks, etc. With
regular long-term exposure, it may cause lung cancer.
India
shows the greatest impacts of outdoor air pollution. ‘This is a shocking and
deeply disturbing news. This calls for urgent and aggressive action to protect
public health,’ said Sunita Narain, director general, CSE.
The
India and South Asia-specific findings were released on Wednesday jointly by
the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), Indian Council of Medical
Research and the US-based Health Effects Institute. The report came out in
December last year.
Globally,
air pollution-related diseases cause 3.2 million deaths every year. This has
increased from 800,000, last estimated by GBD in the year 2000 – a whopping 300
percent increase. About 74 million healthy life years are lost annually. Air
pollution has been ranked as one of the top 10 killers in the world by GBD. It
is the sixth most dangerous killer in South Asia.
14.02.2013
Scanner at Delhi hospital detects cancer quickly
Apollo hospital has set up a state-of-the-art body scanner
which detects cancerous cells quickly, and may go a long way in timely
selection of treatment for cancer patients, officials of the hospital said on
Wednesday. The Positron Emission Tomography-Magnetic Resonance (PET-MR) has
been combined with PET Computerised Tomography (CT) to create the PET Suite
which scans patients quicker, thus reducing discomfort and helping in therapy
selection and treatment.
‘Since they (doctors) can simultaneously acquire data from
the whole body, the scanning takes less time, thus, reducing the discomfort of
the patient,’ Prathap C. Reddy, chairman of the Apollo Hospitals Group, told
reporters in New Delhi. ‘As MR has no radiation, this machine can significantly
reduce the overall radiation dose, making it safer for paediatrics and patients
undergoing repeated studies for therapy monitoring,’ he added. Compared to
hospitals abroad, ‘the cost is 75 percent less and diagnostic accuracy is 100
percent,’ said Uma Ravishankar, head of the department of molecular imaging and
nuclear medicine.
Besides detecting cancer, PET-MR can also play a major role
in understanding cardiology and neurological diseases, doctors said. The PET
Suite will be formally launched Feb 16 by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.
India has approximately three million cancer patients.
14.02.2013
To exist is to
change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself
endlessly
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