A measles outbreak has killed eight children and afflicting over a dozen in different areas of Bajaur Agency over the last few days.

Locals told Dawn on Thursday that children in far-flung villages of Utmankhel and Barang tehsils were the worst hit by measles. Hazrat Gul, a Uthmankhel resident, said five children died in his village.

A local health official Dr Khursheed Khan confirmed the measles outbreak in the agency. He said there were reports about deaths of children by measles in various localities, where health teams had been sent for verification.

China currently has 260 million patients with chronic diseases, and these illnesses have resulted in some 85 percent of the country's total deaths, figures from the Ministry of Health show.

According to a 2012-2015 blueprint on chronic disease prevention and control released by the ministry on Monday, as a result of fast urbanization and industrialization in an aging society, chronic diseases are becoming more prevalent and have taken up some 70 percent of China's total treatment costs.

Gurdaspur: Hazardous smoke resulting from burning of wheat stubble can be seen billowing out of every other field in the region despite the act being illegal. Fire in fields sometimes goes out of control and leads to fatal incidents. In a recent incident, Sardara Singh, a middle-aged farmer, along with his wife and two children, was going towards Sri Hargobindpur on a motorcycle when fire from a nearby field aided by strong winds trapped the family. The panic-stricken farmer managed to take his family to safety, but not before fire ravaged his motorcycle.

The Health Ministry has identified the importance of establishing a Special Task Force for the prevention of respiratory diseases Deputy Health Minister Lalith Dissanayake said yesterday .

He said that the ministry will implement a mechanism to promote in treating asthma. The deputy minister was speaking at a ceremony organized by the National Chest and Respiratory Diseases Prevention Program to mark the World Asthma Day at the BMICH yesterday.

Till now, doctors in the private sector were free to treat TB patients, and weren't required to keep a record. India has finally declared tuberculosis (TB) a notifiable disease. The announcement signifies that with immediate effect, all private doctors, caregivers and clinics treating a patient suffering from TB will have to report every single case of the air-borne disease to the government.

The notification was sent to all states on May 7. Till now, doctors in the private sector were free to treat TB patients, and weren't required to keep a record.

With cases of MDR and XDR tuberculosis being reported from various parts of the country, the Union Health Ministry has decided to make TB a notifiable disease. This means any institution, government or private, which sees a new tuberculosis patient, will have to mandatorily inform designated health authorities about the case and its treatment.

The proposal was approved by Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad last week and sources say the order will be issued any day now.

MUMBAI: The National Tuberculosis Institute (NTI) in Bangalore has validated Hinduja Hospital's January report about total drug resistance in eight TB patients. A copy of the report was sent to the state TB department on Monday. "The DOTS-plus (Directly Observed Treatment Shortcourse ) team will discuss the re por t on Wednesday," said state TB officer Dr P Gaikwad. The validation will change little for the patients. "We may change some drugs or injections for some patients," said a civic official.

New Delhi: About 40 students of Class XII and some members of the faculty of The Indian School marched along a BRT carriageway in protest against the corridor on Friday morning. As the school is along the corridor, many students are affected by it, said protesters. Focusing primarily on pollution, they said the long wait at signals and constantly running engines, especially in the summer heat, could lead to breathing-related problems.