Pregnant
woman given HIV positive blood for carrying girl child
When
the Supreme Court said recently that there was something very wrong with men in
the country they weren’t wrong. A recent case from Andhra Pradesh show the news
depths of cruelty women are made to undergo for giving birth to a girl child.
On Wednesday night, a woman who is seven months’ pregnant approached the
Vedulapalli police station and alleged that her in-laws injected her with
HIV-infected blood when they found out that she was giving birth to a girl.
Though
sex determination remains illegal, doctors revealed that she was carrying a
girl child to the family. The woman alleges that after that the family started
giving her HIV positive blood on the pretext that it was for her treatment for
anaemia. She said that a relative who was a doctor had been helping the family
by getting them HIV positive blood. She said that her marriage hadn’t been a
happy one and she had been continually harassed for additional dowry also.
Y
Ramarao, Bapatla circle inspector of police, said they have registered a case
against her husband M Srinivas Reddy, parents-in-law Venkateswar and
Tirupatamma and the doctor. ‘Investigation is on. The accused are on the run
and efforts are on to arrest them,’ he said. The woman is undergoing medical
tests and the reports are expected within two days, he added.
Since
the investigations are still on, it’s not possible to say with surety that the
family knowingly gave the wife HIV positive blood transfusions – she could’ve
been given them for treatment of a blood disorder like sickle-cell anaemia.
However, if she was indeed given HIV positive blood then we have to question
what really is going on in our country? Did the family not realise how likely
they were to pass on the dreaded HIV to the unborn child or did they want to do
it on purpose? Incidents like this make you wonder where we’re headed as a
country. Will we ever get rid of the patriarchal mind-set and treat girls as
equal?
Source:
http://health.india.com
26.04.2013
‘Need to increase awarness about lung disease’
Prolonged cough and breathlessness should not be taken
lightly, as it can lead to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, say experts.
Over half a million people die every year due to such respiratory issues. ‘We
need to build awareness on chronic lung diseases like chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease (COPD) which is the fourth leading cause of death globally.
The early symptoms of COPD are cough, bringing up sputum and breathlessness,’
Vivek Nangia of Fortis Hospital said.
‘Over 20 percent of the total deaths from COPD, across the
globe, occur in India. Yet there is lack of awareness. There are limited
medications available to treat such a disorder,’ Nangia said. According to
World Health Organisation (WHO), COPD is an under-diagnosed, life-threatening
lung disease and a chronic obstruction of lung airflow that interferes with
normal breathing and is not fully reversible. Smoking remains one of the most important
causes of the disease. Joining hands with Fortis Hospital, Breathe Easy India,
an NGO, will get in touch with the patients suffering from chronic lung disease
like COPD, chronic asthma and pulmonary fibrosis for spreading awareness.
‘We are starting a awareness programme, initially we will
enrol patients who suffer from chronic lung disease. We anticipate to organise
monthly meeting and create a network of respiratory patient support group,
where they get advice from experts and get educated about the disease,’ Aanchal
Bhatia, of Breathe Easy said.
Source:
http://health.india.com
26.04.2013
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