Punjab governor Gulab Chand Kataria, wife rushed to IGMC Shimla after experiencing ‘discomfort', discharged later
While Governor Kataria was discharged after preliminary medical treatment, Anita was kept under observation overnight and discharged on Friday morning. The couple subsequently returned to Chandigarh.
Himachal Pradesh Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla visited IGMC on Friday morning to enquire about their health.
Dr Rahul Rao, Medical Superintendent at IGMC, told The Indian Express, 'The Punjab governor and his wife were brought in after experiencing discomfort. A detailed examination indicated symptoms of high-altitude sickness. They had travelled directly from the plains, where the temperature exceeded 40 degrees Celsius, to a much cooler location—over 10 degrees lower than Chandigarh. The Punjab Governor was discharged last night, while his wife was kept under observation as a precaution and discharged this morning. Their medical reports were normal.'
Chharabra is a suburb situated approximately 8,250 feet (2514 m) above sea level in Shimla district. Meanwhile, Chandigarh is situated on an average elevation of 1,053 ft (321 m). Sources said the couple experienced difficulty in breathing and general discomfort, following which they were brought to IGMC around 9 pm.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
10 hours ago
- Indian Express
15 ventilators at neurosurgery dept of Delhi's Lok Nayak, but only 1 working
Only one out of 15 ventilators is currently functional in the neurosurgery department of the Delhi government's 2,153-bed Lok Nayak Hospital, the largest such facility in the National Capital, official records reviewed by The Indian Express show. Weekly status reports maintained by the hospital show there were 14 ventilators in the department till Tuesday — none of them was functional. One functional ventilator was added on Wednesday. According to records, ten of these ventilators have been non-functional for eight months, two for about a year and two more for over two years. In 12 of these ventilators, 'multiple spares are defective' and need to be 'replaced as per service report'. The two ventilators that have been non-functional for over two years were procured during Covid from the PM CARES Fund. Delhi Health Minister Pankaj Kumar Singh and Lok Nayak Hospital Director B L Chaudhary did not respond to queries from The Indian Express regarding the ventilators. Ventilators are crucial during post-operative care, and in trauma and accident cases, to provide respiratory support to critical patients. Lok Nayak Hospital is among the three Delhi government hospitals that provide 24×7 emergency neurosurgery services. Its neurosurgery department has 86 in-patient beds and provides acute-level care to patients with trauma and pathology of the brain, spine, spinal cord and peripheral neuro injuries. Sources in the department said the lack of ventilators has also led to a drop in the number of surgeries performed each month. Before the ventilators stopped working, an average of 30-35 elective surgeries and 20-25 emergency neurosurgeries were conducted in two operation theatres every month, the sources said. 'The number has come down to 20 elective and 10 emergency surgeries on average per month… Cases are being prioritised and shortlisted, and those cases where ventilator is not required are preferred,' said a senior doctor. Sources also said that patients who are operated upon in the neurosurgery department and require ventilator support are being shifted to the general surgery department's ICU, which has 15 ventilator beds. This ICU also accommodates patients who have undergone surgeries in the orthopaedic and medicine departments. Doctors said that in cases where surgeries are conducted, patients are being provided with ambu bags — respiratory devices that have to be compressed manually and are used for short-term respiratory support in emergencies. In January last year, a man died after he was not given a ventilator bed and ICU care at Lok Nayak Hospital. The 47-year-old, who was an accused in a police case, was taken by Delhi Police to two other government hospitals in an ambulance. As CT scan was unavailable in those facilities, he was referred to Lok Nayak Hospital, police said. 'However, because of the unavailability of ICU ventilator beds, he could not be admitted there either,' the then DCP (Northeast) Joy Tirkey had said at the time.
Indian Express
a day ago
- Indian Express
Wastewater surveillance, key tool to spy on diseases, will now cover 50 cities: How will this help prevent outbreaks?
A key public health tool that is crucial to monitor infectious diseases, and identify outbreak trends early, is being strengthened to cover more areas and identify more infections. Wastewater surveillance, which is currently used for polio and Covid-19, is now being deployed to monitor more commonly reported symptoms caused by several pathogens, such as fever, diarrhoea, acute encephalitis syndrome (inflammation of the brain), and respiratory distress. 'We have been doing wastewater surveillance for polio for years. After the pandemic, similar surveillance for Covid-19 was also started in five cities. This will be expanded to ten pathogens across 50 cities over the next six months,' Dr Rajiv Bahl, Director-General of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), told The Indian Express. Why is this coverage arc significant? Such an expansion has significant public health implications since it is being done with the aim of detecting potential outbreaks early, as well as identifying unusual patterns that may indicate a public health concern. The surveillance will also study patterns of antimicrobial resistance — a global public health threat — that results in the drugs becoming less effective, making it difficult to treat infections. At present, tracking changes in the susceptibility of different pathogens to available antimicrobials is being done through a network of 60 hospitals across the country. 'Now, rather than conducting culture studies only on patients coming to these hospitals, these will also be studied in wastewater,' said Dr Bahl. While antimicrobial resistance surveillance through a hospital network can provide important trends on which drug continues to work for which disease, it cannot track resistance patterns in the community. Wastewater surveillance, on the other hand, can capture these patterns — even in those who might not go to a hospital for treatment. How will the surveillance be carried out? The enhanced surveillance will be carried out through the ICMR's (Indian Council of Medical Research) flagship national network of Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratories: specialised facilities that focus on the diagnosis, research and surveillance of viral diseases. In the next few months, these laboratories will supplement the findings from patient samples with surveillance of pathogens discharged in wastewater. What's the current surveillance status in India? There is already strong syndromic surveillance for respiratory infections and influenza-like illnesses — instituted after the 2009 swine flu pandemic and strengthened during Covid-19. Around 1,500 samples from patients, who go to hospitals with respiratory symptoms, are tested every week through this national network of laboratories, according to Dr Bahl. Earlier, the network passively monitored whatever samples were sent by the hospitals but now the labs actively seek out the samples needed to maintain surveillance. This helps keep an eye on which respiratory diseases — viral infections such as Covid-19, H1N1, or RSV — are in circulation. It also helps pre-empt outbreaks, allowing the public health system, hospitals, and clinics to prepare for them. Similar syndromic surveillance for fevers, diarrhoea and encephalitis has been initiated recently through the laboratory network. Now, the surveillance will be expanded to wastewater in the coming months. Such surveillance also helps in quickly identifying the pathogen that might be causing an infection by checking the samples for common pathogens that can cause a disease — instead of testing for them one by one. 'And, if we cannot detect the pathogen, then genomic sequencing can be done to find what is causing an outbreak,' said Dr Bahl. Wastewater surveillance proved to be an effective tool in tracking Covid-19. A study from Mumbai shows that the pathogen was detected in wastewater up to three weeks before clinical diagnosis of cases. Another study from Pune showed that silent waves of Covid-19 after the Omicron wave could be detected in wastewater. The XBB variant was detected 130–253 days before it was clinically identified in patients.
News18
2 days ago
- News18
Himachal CM meets representatives of State Computer Teachers Association
Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], August 12 (ANI): Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu met the representatives of the State Computer Teachers Association on Monday and was apprised about the various demands of the association. Suman Thakur, President, State Computer Teachers Association, said that 1,302 computer teachers have been rendering their services in various government schools for about 25 years and urged CM Sukhu to regularise the services of computer Chief Minister assured that the government would sympathetically consider their genuine demands, an official release Pradesh Chief Minister had on Monday inaugurated the state's first robotic-assisted surgery at Indira Gandhi Medical College & Hospital (IGMC), Chamiyana and announced that the state government plans to invest Rs 3,000 crore by 2030 towards upgrading medical technology in hospitals also assured that all vacant posts at IGMC would be filled promptly.'We are going to provide AIIMS-level medical technology in super-specialist hospitals. By 2030, 3000 crore rupees will be spent on medical technology…If we provide good technology, patients living in villages can receive better treatment… We have decided that the vacant posts at IGMC will be filled," he has become the first government health institution in the State to perform high-end procedures of robotic surgery, an official release said. (ANI)
