Four test positive for Covid-19
With these additions, the total number of Covid-positive patients reported in the district reached 66, of which 35 are currently active.
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Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Doctor warns against excessive use of hand sanitiser, explains why 'soap and water are often more effective'
After the Covid-19 scare, hand sanitisers became a part of our daily lives. Many of us reach for them almost subconsciously, without a second thought. But have you ever wondered, how healthy is this habit really? In an Instagram post he shared on August 15, Dr Kunal Sood, an anesthesiology and interventional pain medicine physician, explained how too much of hand sanitiser use is not healthy. Also read | Hand hygiene dos and don'ts: 8 expert tips to clean and hygienic hands Too much of hand sanitiser is not healthy. (Unsplash) 'When you find out overusing hand sanitiser can disrupt your good skin bacteria which actually protect against bad bacteria. Can lead to dryness, cracking, and irritation. Plain soap and water in moderation can be more effective,' the doctor wrote. Why is excessive sanitiser use unhealthy? Dr Kunal Sood added, 'Frequent application, especially with alcohol-based products, can strip away natural oils and beneficial bacteria. This can lead to dryness, cracking, and conditions such as eczema or dermatitis, which may compromise the skin's protective barrier.' Is soap and water the healthier alternative? 'Soap and water are often more effective. Washing your hands thoroughly for 20 seconds removes dirt, grease, and microbes without causing as much damage to the skin. When available, opt for this approach to maintain both hygiene and skin health,' he also said. Commenting on Dr Kunal Sood's post, nutrition coach Dr. Dan Khaytman added, 'It's more effective to apply soap on wet hands, rather than dry, to really get all those germs removed.' Also read | Hand hygiene to manage childhood infections: Doctor shares tips to follow When to use hand sanitiser? Dr Sood suggested using hand sanitisers only when soap and water are not available. 'Hand sanitisers are ideal for situations where soap and water are unavailable, such as in public spaces or while traveling. However, they should be used in moderation,' he wrote. Tips to use hand sanitisers: Dr Sood further shared hand sanitisation tips to avoid overuse. Apply moisturisers regularly to protect the skin from dryness. Consider sanitisers with humectants like glycerin to minimise irritation. Follow hygiene guidelines to avoid overuse. Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.
Time of India
5 hours ago
- Time of India
How Goa managed to tame rabies: Inside state's drive that vaccinated 63,000 dogs in 30 days
PANAJI: Since Sept 2017, Goa has largely eliminated human rabies cases, earning a 'rabies-controlled' status in 2021 after three consecutive years without a single death from the virus. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The streak was broken by one case in 2023, but there were no fatalities in 2024 and none so far this year. 'Even if a single stray dog misses vaccination and sterilisation, it can lead to a litter of eight or nine puppies that are at risk,' said Nilkanth Harlankar, the state's minister for animal husbandry and veterinary services. The story began in 2014 when the threat of rabies in Goa was all too real: 17 people succumbed to the virus that year. There was no reliable data on the dog population — stray or pet — nor any formal record of dog mortality. Then came Mission Rabies, a fledgling NGO with a pilot surveillance project that uncovered a grim truth: of the 45 suspected animal cases they investigated, 39 tested positive for rabies. Instead of being daunted, they doubled down, aiming to vaccinate 50,000 dogs in just 30 days. By the end of the month, over 500 vets from 16 different countries joined forces with local teams and managed to exceed the target: they vaccinated 63,000 dogs. This momentum translated into policy the very next year. In 2015, the thenCM Manohar Parrikar signed an MoU with Mission Rabies, launching a full-fledged vaccination and sterilisation drive across the state. Following this, Goa had 24-hour rabies surveillance, an emergency hotline, rapid response teams, and field volunteers fanning out to every taluka, vaccinating and sterilising dogs, and assisting bite victims. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now From Sept 2017, human rabies cases in Goa virtually disappeared. But the Covid-19 lockdown brought fresh challenges. As tourism halted and markets closed, hungry stray dogs from neighbouring states wandered into Goa. Mission Rabies suspects this migration led to a spike in animal cases in border talukas. Goa's borders with Maharashtra and Karnataka remain points of vulnerability, with rabies cases still detected in talukas like Bicholim, Pernem, Sattari, and Canacona. 'We are vaccinating stray dogs in border talukas on a warfooting,' said Harlankar. In June 2021, it was made mandatory for visitors bringing pets into Goa to declare their animals and share vaccination records via the anti-rabies hotline to prevent cross-border transmission.
Time of India
5 hours ago
- Time of India
Why US budget cuts could derail future mRNA vaccine progress
mRNA vaccines are credited with helping to end the COVID-19 pandemic and save millions of lives. Since then, researchers have been developing the technology to prevent a variety of infectious diseases and cancer. But experts warn this progress has been severely impacted after US health secretary Robert F Kennedy announced cuts to mRNA technology research. In total, the US health department will cancel contracts and withdraw $500 million (€427 million) of research funding, it announced on August 8. The announcement was the latest in a series of anti-science policies brought in by President Trump's second term in office, including a political take-over of federal research grants and withdrawing from the World Health Organization. What does this mean for the future of mRNA vaccine development? We take a look. mRNA vaccines have a long history of safety and efficacy mRNA vaccines were first tested in mice to vaccinate against flu in the 1990s, then first tested in humans in 2013 to vaccinate against rabies . It was thanks to these decades of research and testing that mRNA vaccine technology was ready and safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kennedy has been a longtime critic of the technology, saying in a video posted to social media platforms that mRNA programs are "troubled'. "We're prioritizing the development of safer, broader vaccine strategies, like whole-virus vaccines and novel platforms that don't collapse when viruses mutate," Kennedy said in the video. What other types of vaccine are in development? There are many types of vaccines in development that have different methods of helping the body to fight a virus. Each technology has advantages and limitations which depend on the disease, the target population, and practical considerations like production speed and costs. Vaccine technology platforms include live (but weakened) and deactivated "whole" pathogen vaccines. The polio vaccine is available in both forms, for example. There are also toxoid-based vaccines, which use inactivated bacterial toxins. Then there are viral vector vaccines, which train the immune system by introducing tiny viral pathogenic fragments into the body. DNA-based therapies are also being considered as another way to provide an accurate target for a human immune response. Luka Cicin-Sain, a viral immunologist at Germany's Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, is leading the development of a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine. The RSV vaccine is a viral vector product, which uses a low-risk mouse virus to deliver the RSV spike protein to the human immune system. Though still being tested, Cicin-Sain is hopeful that his platform will provide long-lasting immunity against RSV with a single immunization dose. Are other types of vaccines as good as mRNA vaccines? Despite the promise these other vaccine technologies have shown, they haven't had the same impact as their mRNA cousin. That's because the benefit of using mRNA technology as vaccines is the ability to quickly adapt their use for new pathogens. "Once you know the structure of the virus, the genetics of the virus, then you can produce a vaccine extremely rapidly," said Penny Ward, a pharmaceutical physician at Kings College London, UK. In some cases, mRNA vaccines can be more effective at training the body's immune response to a pathogen. "We don't seem to produce the same immune response to a DNA vaccine as we have to a [m]RNA vaccine," said Ward. Will a loss for mRNA research be a gain for other vaccines? There is no guarantee the $500 million funding will flow to other vaccine research. Kennedy is a longtime vaccine critic — he has fired the panel that makes vaccine recommendations and shared anti-vax sentiment, including during a measles outbreak in the US in May. Cicin-Sain worries that defunding one branch of vaccine science hinders overall progress in the research field. "I'm not saying that mRNA vaccines can solve everything, but why deny yourself a tool in your toolkit?" Cicin-Sain said. Kennedy's funding cuts will slow down RNA technology development, Cicin-Sain said, and drive American scientists to compete for funding outside the US, diminishing ongoing vaccine science. Will others step in to fund mRNA vaccine research ? While other private and philanthropical research funds do exist to fund mRNA vaccine technologies, it's unlikely they can fill the $500 million gap left by the Trump administration's cuts. There's also no guarantee other national governments will step in to fill the US void. "The funding in Europe has been stagnant," said Cicin-Sain. "And there are not so many [private] investors out there who think that vaccines are the best way to put their VC [venture capital] at work," he added. Ward highlighted another problem with cuts to publicly funded vaccine research — governments who fund vaccine research get first access to successful products, which is why Brits were among the first to get the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. "Government funding secures access for countries that are part funders for those products," Ward told DW. If private funders step in to fund mRNA vaccine research, it could reduce people's access to those vaccines at an affordable price. "If progress is to be made, and there's no source of government funding, the industry will fund [research] if they believe there's a market, but that will be reflected in the price of the eventual product,' Ward said. "No matter how you slice or dice, the net effects are going to be negative," Cicin-Sain said.
