Malaria kills twice as many people every year as formerly believed, taking 1.2 million lives and causing the deaths not only of babies but also older children and adults. The findings from the research, which has reanalysed 30 years of data on the disease using new techniques, will force a rethink of the huge global effort that has been under way to eliminate malaria, the guardian newspaper reported on Friday. That ambition now looks highly unlikely by the UN target date of 2015.

Mumbai: Ever heard of a medical iron tablet actually containing free iron particles, that too in a huge quantity? State food and drug administration commissioner Mahesh Zagde initially did not believe it. However, when a Thanebased consumer presented him with the evidence, he was left both stunned and horrified. “The consumer walked into my office, and in the presence of officials showed how the iron tablet was attracted to a magnet,’’ Zagde told TOI.

NewDelhi:India may, in a few weeks, officially acknowledge that malaria kills 40 times the current estimate of 1,023 people a year.
A 16-member committee set up by the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme to gauge India’s actual malaria death burden has arrived at 40,297 as the average deaths per year due to the disease carried by mosquitoes.

The World Cancer Day will be observed in Bangladesh today with no government programmes, while about 1.5 lakh people die of cancer every year in the country.

The government has chalked up no programmes to mark the day demonstrating its negligence in combating the deadly disease, experts said.

According to a study carried out by the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, in 2010, cancer causes 21 per cent of maternal casualty in the country.

Health officials in Kyrgyzstan say they have diagnosed 70 new cases of HIV among children during a widespread check following a scandal over transmission of the virus in hospitals.

Muktsar: Despite the fact that at least 1,100 persons have died of cancer in Muktsar district alone in the past 10 years and the disease is spreading its tentacles at an alarming pace, the health authorities have not planned any awareness camps for the World Cancer Day tomorrow. The poor and rich both have been afflicted by the deadly disease. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal lost his wife Surinder Kaur to cancer last year. Former CM Harcharan Singh Brar’s son Kanwarjit Singh Brar “Sunny”, MLA Muktsar, is also reportedly suffering from the disease.

On eve of World Cancer Day on Friday, there were a number of young men who were battling for life in hospitals because they could not kick the addiction of tobacco.

In Ahmedabad as well as in Gujarat, spread of oral cancer is alarming. “Oral cancer accounts for 40 per cent cancers in men in the state. This is because of high addiction to gutkha,” said noted head and neck cancer surgeon of HCG Medisurge, Dr Kaustubh Patel.

MALDA/BANKURA, 3 FEB: Nine babies at Malda Medical College and Hospital, and 10 babies at Bankura Sammiloni Medical College and Hospital have died in the last 48 hours. In Malda, health officials said the deaths were caused by low birth weights and malnutrition, the same causes they gave for previous deaths. Minister of state for health Chandrima Bhattacharya plans to visit Malda Monday in connection with the recent child deaths, and also attend a government function.

JAIPUR: Jay Naidoo, chair of the GAIN Board, South Africa said 60 million children in India are malnourished, which is higher than the total population of South Africa.

Naidoo was in the city at the launch of fortified wheat flour and fortified edible oil for sale in open market. He said, "Around 60% of India's total population is living below poverty line. These people are dependant on the government. So, government plays important role in the fight against malnutrition as it passes laws, regulations and policies. These people need high quality food rich in folic acid, iron and Vitamin A."

Cancer is often considered a disease of developed nations. In developing countries such as India, the focus has been on curbing communicable diseases. This has resulted in a dramatic improvement in life expectancy in India from 32 to 63 years in the past five decades. However, with the neglect of non-communicable diseases and a rapidly ageing population there has been an unhindered increase in cancer incidence and mortality.