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Category: Discussions
January 01, 2000
The national immunisation schedule includes BCG, DPT, oral polio and measles vaccines, besides DT and TT. Many more vaccines are now freely available in the country. The immunisation committee of the Indian Academy of Paediatrics has considered most of these vaccines 'optional' and not included t...
January 01, 2000
The current claims of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) carrier rate in India are highly exaggerated, unscientific and misleading. A series of errors is being made in estimating the burden of HBV disease and its significance. These errrors must be corrected, and we must scientifically assess the burden of ...
January 01, 2000
For more than eight years, we have been involved in a massive field-based comparative leprosy vaccine trial in Tamil Nadu, covering some 300,000 people. The study is supported by the Indian Council of Medical Research. The trial was launched in January 1991, and the study protocol was approved sh...
January 01, 2000
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimated at the end of 1998 that around 33.4 million people were living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection all over the world, over 90% of them in developing countries. However, in developing countries, promising newer therap...
January 01, 2000
Rabies continues to be a major problem in India even as we enter the 21st century without clear national policies for its control, in contrast to the progress made by most other countries in Asia. It is believed that more than 50 per cent of all rabies cases worldwide occur in India. Our neglect ...
January 01, 2000
Vaccines are commonly invoked in discussions of public health policies since prevention is always felt to be better than cure, and since recent success stories of disease eradication or control such as smallpox are ascribed to vaccine use. New vaccine research is therefore a major component of ma...
October 01, 1999
The recent decision of the government of Maharashtra to allow doctors trained in homeopathy to prescribe allopathic medicines has created an intense controversy. This issue has been raised a number of times in the last few years because of various government decisions and court judgements. Howeve...
October 01, 1999
The Homeopathic Integrated Medical Practitioners Association, Maharashtra (HIMPAM) has praised the government's decision to allow homeopaths to prescribe allopathic medicines.
October 01, 1999
It may be understood that suturing ounds and giving intravenous fluids in emergencies could be allowed to be done by homeopaths in rural areas, with no allopath around. However, that does not mean that every homeopath who attends a six-month crash course in pharmacology should prescribe allopathi...
October 01, 1999
Complementary or alternate systems of medicine are being practiced all over the world. In our country, we have a long tradition of alternate systems of medicine, such as ayurveda, unani, homeopathy, etc., which are recognised by law and the government. In addition, we also have newer, novel thera...