Adolescents need vaccination to bring down premature
births
There is a
need for the government to concentrate on providing adolescent immunisation and
healthcare if it wants to bring down the child mortality rate in the country,
child specialists said on Saturday. Adolescents are teenagers between 13
to 19 years old.
According
to a paediatrician, adolescent immunisation should pertain not only to at the
time of pregnancy, but be carried out on a regular basis. ’As per the
National Health Family Survey (NHFS), 53 percent of girls in our country get
married before they turn 18 years, and with it comes various delivery-related
problems. Pre-mature and low weight child being born are the major
ones, so it is important that government concentrate on adolescent healthcare
and immunisation,’ C.P. Bansal, national president of the Indian Academy of
Paediatrics (IAP) told IANS.
‘Human
papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, which prevents the development of cervical
cancer, the tetatnus and pertussis vaccine and second boosters of vaccines that
prevent diseases like measles and chicken pox need to be made a part of the
national immunisation schedule for the adolescent,’ Bansal said.
To address
the issue and as a part of the golden jubilee celebrations, the academy has
launched the ‘Mission Kishore Uday’ programme in 50 cities across the country.
‘It is a
unique adolescent health programme for paediatricians, parents, teachers and
adolescents themselves. The paediatrician will deal with health issues, parents
and teachers will learn about handling adolescents with empathy and care,’
Ashok Rai, vice president, IAP told IANS.
The IAP
has also launched programmes like Mission Uday to bring down the child
mortality rate in the country through extensive training of birth attendants
and untrained paramedical staff.
‘As child
mortality rates are higher in rural areas, where the people do not have access
to new technology, we have trained around two lakh birth attendants and
untrained paramedics,’ Rai said. IAP is also holding a conference with the
paediatric association of SAARC nations Sunday to discuss interventions to
prevent child mortality. IAP was established in 1963 and is an association
with over 23,000 members across the country, and a presence in 26 states and
303 districts, with city-level branches.
Source: http://health.india.com
18.11.2013
Donor age not a factor in most
corneal transplants
A
donor’s age may have no impact on the outcome of corneal transplants, a study
in the US journal Ophthalmology said on Friday. Corneas from 71-year-old donors
are likely to remain as healthy as those from donors half that age 10 years
after their transplant, Xinhua cited from the study, funded by the US National
Institute of Health (NIH). The study of 663 participants found that the
transplant success rates for corneas from donors aged 12 to 65 and aged 66 to
75 after 10 years was similar at 77 percent and 71 percent respectively.
However,
when the investigators separated the donors into smaller age groups they found
some differences. The success rate remained steady at 75 percent for the vast
majority of donors aged 34 to 71. But it increased to 96 percent for donors
aged 12 to 33 and decreased to 62 percent for donors aged 72 to 75.
Surgeons
often seek the youngest corneal tissue available regardless of patient age.
Historically, some surgeons set extremely restrictive upper age limits, the NIH
said in a statement, adding that when the study began in 2000 many surgeons
would not accept corneas from donors over 65. ‘Our study supports continued
expansion of the corneal donor pool beyond age 65,’ said study co-chair Edward
Holland, professor of ophthalmology at the University of Cincinnati.
‘We found
that transplant success rates were similar across a broad range of donor ages,’
said Holland, who is the director of the Cornea Service at the Cincinnati Eye
Institute.
The cornea
is the clear window that allows light into the eye and helps focus it.
Scarring, swelling or other damage to the cornea can lead to blurred vision.
Such damage can occur after injuries or infections, from inherited conditions,
or as a complication of cataract surgery.
A corneal
transplant is performed when decreased vision or discomfort from corneal damage
cannot be corrected with lenses or medication. It involves removing a portion
of the damaged cornea and grafting corneal tissue from a deceased donor in its
place.
More than
46,000 corneal transplants were performed in the US last year, the NIH said.
In
addition, eye banks in the US exported about 20,000 corneas to other countries
in 2012, an increase of 7 percent over 2011.
Source: http://health.india.com
18.11.2013
It is no good
to try to stop knowledge from going forward. Ignorance is never better than
knowledge
No comments:
Post a Comment