ICMR Archives - InnoHEALTH magazine

CSIR-CDRI scientists develop RT-PCR kit for Omicron variant

InnoHEALTH magazine digital team — Thu, 27 Jan 2022 04:28:14 +0000

New Delhi, Jan 24 (India Science Wire): As the Coronavirus continues to mutate, it has become challenging to diagnose and treat different variants of concern. Some like the Omicron, though milder in symptoms and fatality, are a super spreader and are propagating like wildfire across the world.

Currently, detection of this variant depends upon tests like the S-gene dropout or by NGS (nextgen sequencing) of the whole viral genome. While the S-gene dropout method is not specific to pinpoint the type of variant, the NGS method has its limitations in terms of expense, turnaround, and the number of centres that can provide such service.

A team of scientists at CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI), Lucknow, have developed an indigenous RT PCR Kit for the specific detection of the Omicron variant in collaboration with their industrial partner, Biotech Desk Pvt. Ltd., Hyderabad. The kit has been named INDICoV-Om^TM.

Dr. Atul Goel, the team leader said that the kit provides for quick and cost-effective detection of the Omicron variant. It can also be aligned for the detection of other emerging variants of COVID infection and other respiratory infections in the future. The kit has been tested and validated by Prof. Amita Jain in several Covid positive patient samples at King George Medical University, Lucknow.

Dr. Shradha Goenka, Managing Director, Biotech Desk Pvt. Ltd., said the kit was likely to be rolled out by mid-February. “We are working on regulatory approvals and the assembly of the kit. We are keeping our fingers crossed for an early release”, said Dr Goenka.

Prof. Tapas K. Kundu, Director CSIR-CDRI, said the Institute is rapidly gaining expertise in antiviral research for therapeutics and diagnostics to combat any kind of viral infections. The team led by Dr Atul Goel is fully prepared for the detection of broad spectrum and specific pathogenic viral infection. This kit for SARS-Cov-2 omicron diagnosis has been submitted to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for validation and should be available for the people of the country soon.

The research team consisted of Dr. Niti Kumar, Dr. Ashish Arora, Ms. Surbhi Mundra, Ms. Varsha Kumari, Mr. Kundan Singh Rawat, and Ms. Priyanka Pandey, besides Dr. Goel.

ISW/SP/CSIR-CDRI/OMICRON/24/01/2022

Credits: India Science Wire

The post CSIR-CDRI scientists develop RT-PCR kit for Omicron variant appeared first on InnoHEALTH magazine.

Chewing Tobacco – Storehouse of Toxic Chemicals

InnoHEALTH Magazine — Fri, 12 Jul 2019 11:09:12 +0000

Smokeless tobacco products like gutka and khaini are known to be cancer-causing. The Indian scientists have recently prepared a database of toxic substances which are found in various chewing tobacco products sold not only in India and South Asia but globally.

As of now, they have identified a staggering 233 unique chemical compounds from 82 types of chewing tobacco products sold in nine countries including US and Sweden. Of the 233 chemical compounds, 69 are known carcinogens as classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Among the chemical compounds, major categories present in smokeless tobacco products include polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), followed by radionucleotides, metals and metalloids as well as additives.The database is called SLTChemDB and is developed at the National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research (NICPR) of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). This is supposed to be the first such comprehensive database of smokeless tobacco products globally, according to scientists.

“It will function as a reliable resource for stakeholders including policymakers, scientists, researchers and tobacco control advocates globally to better understand smokeless tobacco products and the industry manufacturing the products,” explained Dr. Ravi Mehrotra, Director of NICPR, while speaking to India Science Wire.

Over 350 million people consume smokeless tobacco globally and about 0.65 million die every year due to its consumption. “The chemical profiling of these products available in a user- friendly database will help in taking a timely policy action on the prevention and control of smokeless tobacco globally and also address diseases induced by their use,” he added.

The information for the database was sourced from already published scientific literature and was curated from different chemical web servers and databases.One can search for any tobacco product and retrieve information relating to its chemical composition, pH, moisture, nicotine free and tobacco content, besides biological, toxicological and physicochemical information of chemical compounds.

India Science Wire

The post Chewing Tobacco – Storehouse of Toxic Chemicals appeared first on InnoHEALTH magazine.

Alarming! 26.7 Crore Tobacco Users in India

InnoHEALTH Magazine — Wed, 18 Jul 2018 08:11:39 +0000

“As per the Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2017, there are 26.7 crore users of tobacco in India. 5,500 children initiate tobacco use every day. One-third of these tobacco users will die prematurely. Lacs and lacs of Indian families are devastated with tobacco deaths, which are preventable. “Tobacco is the single most preventable cause of death.” Sambandh Health Foundation (SHF) Trustee and Head of Tobacco Control, Sanjay Seth said at a function in Chandigarh recently.
Also Read: Is There A Safe Time To Drink Alcohol While Pregnant?

As the adage goes, “Prevention is better than cure”, tobacco is the single most preventable cause of death. With the aim of having a tobacco-free society, doctors of PGIMER, Chandigarh got together for a meeting to address the tobacco epidemic.
Organizing and leading the doctors to meet in PGI Chandigarh, Dr. Anand Mishra, Additional Professor, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery said, “tobacco is an epidemic killing 10 lac Indians every year. It is the need of the hour that this issue is addressed at all levels in the Government as well as the community.”
An official statement after the meet said, “If we talk about the healthcare costs, the estimated economic cost of tobacco has been estimated at Rs. 1,04,500 crores (US$ 22.4 billion) which is 1.16 percent of the GDP and 12 percent more than the combined State and Central Government expenditures on health (2011- 12). The financial burden due to direct and indirect costs of tobacco-attributable diseases will continue to push families of millions of tobacco users towards poverty and stealthily decelerate the economic growth of the country.”
The Indian Council Medical Research (ICMR) estimates India will have more than 17.3 lakh new cancer cases and more than 8.8 lakh deaths due to cancer by 2020. 90% of oral cancers and 50% of all cancers are caused due to tobacco. This will not only affect the individual’s health and the families of the cancer patients but also adversely affect the economy of the country as a whole, the statement informed.
Dr. Vedant Kabra, Head of Department Surgical Oncology, Manipal Hospitals, and Voice of Tobacco Victims (VoTV) patron, said, “tobacco not only destroys physical health but also is a cause of extreme emotional trauma for the cancer patient as well as the family apart from draining them financially.”

The post Alarming! 26.7 Crore Tobacco Users in India appeared first on InnoHEALTH magazine.

India aims to eliminate TB by 2025

InnoHEALTH Magazine — Thu, 29 Mar 2018 10:37:01 +0000

[vc_single_image image=”3594″ img_size=”200×200″ alignment=”center” onclick=”link_image”]

Dr. Soumya Swaminanthan needs no introduction. The 58-year-old pediatrician and clinical scientist has been recently nominated as Deputy Director General of the World Health Organisation. Ms. Swaminanthan, the pioneer in Tuberculosis research, advocates the role of research to root out the disease as the country has the highest number of cases in the world.

India’s National Health Policy recognizes the key role that research plays in the development of a nation’s health. The India TB Research Consortium brings together diverse stakeholders to develop new tools – diagnostics, vaccines and drugs – to enable the country to take a leadership role in fast tracking translational TB research and find solutions for the world.

Dr. Soumya Swaminathan (Secretary, Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and Director General, ICMR) recently at the second International Scientific Advisory Group (ISAG) meeting, states India has the highest number of TB cases in the world. It is widely recognised that the field needs new tools to make a greater impact on this disease, including more sensitive diagnosis, preventive vaccines and new drugs to treat MDR-TB.

The India Tuberculosis Research Consortium (ITRC), formed by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Delhi convened its second International Scientific Advisory Group (ISAG) meeting.

The ISAG comprises global experts in the areas of TB research and has been formed to advise the ITRC on developing and translating, research & development leads across four key thematic areas – diagnostics, vaccines, therapeutics and implementation research – taking into account the research leads in each area, available both nationally and internationally.

Dr. Barry R. Bloom (Distinguished Service Professor, Harvard University and Chair, ISAG) addressing the meeting states, “TB is now the largest single cause of death in the world from an infectious disease.

Hence, the Government of India has made a significant commitment to support research to prevent and control the disease in India.” India’s National Strategic Plan 2017 for TB elimination aims to achieve and maintain a cure rate of >85% in new sputum positive patients for TB and reduce incidence of new cases, to reach elimination status by the year 2025.

Want to write for InnoHEALTH? send us your article at magazine@innovatiocuris.com

Read all the issues of InnoHEALTH magazine:
InnoHEALTH Volume 1 Issue 1 (July to September 2016) – https://goo.gl/iWAwN2
InnoHEALTH Volume 1 Issue 2 (October to December 2016) – https://goo.gl/4GGMJz
InnoHEALTH Volume 2 Issue 1 (January to March 2017) – https://goo.gl/DEyKnw
InnoHEALTH Volume 2 Issue 2 (April to June 2017) – https://goo.gl/Nv3eev
InnoHEALTH Volume 2 Issue 3 (July to September 2017) – https://goo.gl/MCVjd6
InnoHEALTH Volume 2 Issue 4 (October to December 2017) – http://amzn.to/2B2UMLw
InnoHEALTH Volume 3 Issue 1 (January to March 2018) – https://goo.gl/fksdQx

Connect with InnovatioCuris on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/innovatiocuris
Twitter: https://twitter.com/innovatiocuris
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7043791
Stay updated about IC, visit: www.innovatiocuris.com

The post India aims to eliminate TB by 2025 appeared first on InnoHEALTH magazine.

INDIA'S NUTRITION ATLAS GOES LIVE

InnoHEALTH Magazine — Mon, 22 Jan 2018 05:23:24 +0000

The Hyderabad-based National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) has developed the country’s first Nutrition Atlas to provide all the relevant data and information about nutrition.

The Nutrition Atlas provides information and data on nutritional status of population groups at national and state levels, along with an overview of nutrition-related deficiencies, disorders and prevalence levels in various parts of the country along-with information on nutrients, nutrient rich foods, nutritional deficiency disorders and a host of other topics.

The portal also includes information on nutrition rich foods and nutri-guide for various nutrients, minerals, essential amino-acids, fatty acids, dietary fibers and proteins, along with their biochemical cutoffs, recommended dietary allowances, signs and symptoms and dietary sources.

The Atlas is interactive and displays information in the form a user may select and has been developed through a long drawn, cohesive and technical exercise by a multidisciplinary team in the bioinformatics division of NIN. It makes use of publicly available data sources like reports of National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau, National Family Health Survey, World Health Organisation and other public databases. The Dashboard acts like an information management tool, helping the user track data on under nutrition, over nutrition, overweight, obesity and communicable and noncommunicable diseases. It can also provide different time trends on each of these parameters. The development conducted the research under ICMR.

ARTICLE SHARED FROM ‘INDIA SCIENCE WIRE’

Want to write for InnoHEALTH? send us your article at magazine@innovatiocuris.com

The post INDIA'S NUTRITION ATLAS GOES LIVE appeared first on InnoHEALTH magazine.