Agartala, July 10 (IANS) Tripura government on Wednesday said that 1790 persons were infected by HIV/AIDS with a positivity rate of 0.92 per cent during 2023-24.

The officials said as part of the National AIDS Control Programme, the government has taken a series of measures to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS in the state.

Tripura State AIDS Control Society Project Director Samarpita Dutta said that in 2022-23, sixty seven people including two students died and in 2023-24, forty four people died after being infected by HIV/AIDS.

During 2022-23, new HIV/AIDS infection was detected among 1847 people with a positivity rate of infection was 0.89 per cent.

Dutta said that the National AIDS Control Programme has been implemented in Tripura since April, 1999.

Between April 2007 and May 2024, 828 students registered as PLHIV (People Living With HIV/AIDS) and 47 of them died during the period of 17 years.

“Tripura State AIDS Control Society has taken all initiatives to control the menace as per specific guidelines and action plan designed by National AIDS Control Organization,” Dutta told the media.

She said that 828 students registered over the last many years in ART centres are all getting free Anti Retroviral Treatment as per NACO guidelines.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha, who himself is an oral and maxillofacial surgeon and served in a key position at a medical college here before becoming Chief Minister, said that the state government has taken various measures to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS in the state.

“It has come to our notice that some recent media reports have led to misgivings on the number of infected students and fatalities. It has been clarified by the department concerned that a total of 828 students in Tripura have tested HIV positive and 47 have lost lives over a period of 17 years (from April, 2007 to May, 2024).

“All affected students have received or have been receiving free Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART) as per the NACO guidelines,” Saha, who also holds the Health and Family Welfare portfolio, said in a post on the X.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 10 (IANS) In a first, the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday prequalified the hepatitis C virus (HCV) self-test that will help expand access to testing and diagnosis and accelerate global efforts to eliminate the disease.

Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver caused by a variety of infectious viruses and non-infectious agents leading to a range of health problems.

An estimated 354 million people worldwide live with hepatitis B or C, and for most, testing and treatment remain beyond reach.

The new product, called OraQuick HCV self-test, manufactured by US-based OraSure Technologies is designed for use by anyone, without any expertise.

The WHO had, in 2021, recommended HCV self-testing (HCVST) to complement existing HCV testing services in countries, and may help increase access to and uptake of services, particularly among people who may not otherwise test.

“Every day 3,500 lives are lost to viral hepatitis. Of the 50 million people living with hepatitis C, only 36 per cent had been diagnosed, and 20 per cent have received curative treatment by the end of 2022,” said Dr Meg Doherty, WHO Director for the Department of Global HIV, Hepatitis and STI Programmes.

“The addition of this product to the WHO prequalification list provides a safe and effective way to expand HCV testing and treatment services, ensuring more people receive the diagnosis and treatment they need, and ultimately contributing to the global goal of HCV elimination,” she added.

Importantly, the WHO prequalified HCV self-test will help “low- and middle-income countries have access to safe and affordable self-testing options — essential to achieving the goal of 90 per cent of all people with HCV to be diagnosed”, said Dr Rogerio Gaspar, WHO Director for the Department of Regulation and Prequalification.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 10 (IANS) The Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD) on Wednesday urged the government to make a strategic hike in customs duty on medical devices “to a nominal 10-15 per cent.”

In its pre-budget memorandum, submitted to the Ministry of Finance, Union Health and Family Welfare Minister JP Nadda, Secretary Apurva Chandra; and Arunish Chawla, Secretary, Department of Pharmacy, the industry body urged to increase the customs duty from the current 7.5 per cent.

“This will foster a more balanced trade environment, encouraging domestic manufacturing and reducing reliance on imports, which currently still constitutes a staggering 70 per cent of the sector,” said Rajiv Nath, Forum Coordinator, AiMeD.

“The imports of medical devices are consistently over Rs 61,000 crore for the last three years and regretfully this year, increased by 13 per cent to Rs 69,000 crore,” he added.

A significant concern flagged by AiMeD in the memorandum is the prevailing inverted duty structure. To address this, AiMeD proposed the implementation of a 5 per cent health cess on custom duty for the remaining medical devices as this was earlier applied to a limonite’s medical devices, and this health cess was used to fund resources for Ayushman Bharat.

“This correction is expected to harmonise the duty structure, making it more conducive for local manufacturers to thrive and be competitive globally and locally,” Nath said.

Another pivotal aspect highlighted by AiMeD is the necessity for trade margin capping.

“By monitoring the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) of imports, the government will curb the excessive mark-ups often seen in the market. This measure will make medical devices more affordable and accessible to the Indian populace, ultimately benefiting public health as consumers are affected not by import duty protection as much as by artificially inflated MRP of medical devices,” he said.

Further, Nath said that the Union Budget for FY 2024-25 must also announce income tax benefits specifically tailored for capital expenditure (CAPEX) and research and development (R&D) investments within the medical devices sector.

“Such fiscal incentives are crucial for fostering innovation, enhancing production capabilities, and propelling India towards self-reliance in medical technology,” he said.

Nath also urged the government to raise basic customs duty from 0-7.5 per cent to 15-20 per cent for non-Information Technology Agreement-1 devices, encourage quality production and exports, and should also remove input tax credit for Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) on items with zero import duty to prevent unfair advantages over domestic producers.

He said that the Centre must halt the import of used or old medical devices, ensuring safety, environmental protection, and domestic industry growth, and should introduce a Performance Linked Incentive scheme to promote value-added production for high-import products.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 10 (IANS) Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda on Wednesday chaired a high-level meeting to review the dengue situation across the country and the preparedness of the public health system.

The meeting aimed “for prevention, containment, and management of dengue in view of the onset of monsoon and the rise in dengue cases,” the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.

The Union Health Minister was briefed on the nationwide dengue situation and preparedness of the ministry. He was also informed that focused, timely and collaborative activities reduced the dengue case fatality rate to 0.1 per cent in 2024 from 3.3 per cent in 1996.

Underlining the challenge posed by the onset of monsoon and the threat of an increasing number of dengue cases during the rainy season, Nadda emphasised the importance of being prepared against dengue.

The Union Minister urged officials “to primarily focus on high burden states and regions where outbreaks are frequently reported” and “to proactively work with States to bring tangible results on dengue prevention”.

He suggested collaborating between the ministries of housing, rural development, education, municipal corporations, and local self-governments for increased sensitisation, and prevention and control of dengue.

“Centre has been proactively communicating with the States on timely action for prevention and control of dengue activities. Various inter-sectoral meetings have been conducted to sensitise the stakeholders and ministries on their role and responsibilities,” Nadda said, adding that the Union government has also been providing technical and budgetary support.

The Health Minister stressed the need to “sensitise communities regarding the Aedes mosquito which generally bites in the daytime, awareness campaigns among school-going children and others to wear clothes that keep the body fully covered, and keeping various water containers, pots, etc, free of stagnant water”.

He directed the officials to create a 24/7 central and state helpline number for dengue prevention and awareness, and support for queries on the symptoms, treatment protocols, and help during emergencies.

“AIIMS and all central government hospitals must have dedicated dengue wards fully equipped with trained manpower, drugs, and other logistics,” said Nadda while also instructing the officials to “create a referral system to optimally utilise their clinical facilities”.

Meanwhile, Dr Atul Goel, Director General of Health Services (DGHS), highlighted the need for sensitising municipal bodies in States to prevent dengue outbreaks. He also suggested improving coolers and tanks in buildings to make them immune from mosquito breeding.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 10 (IANS) Doctors here removed a giant 32cm sized abdominal tumour, bigger than a football, weighing 7.5 kgs from a 58-year-old man, giving him a new lease of life.

The Delhi-based man suffered from heaviness and distension (swelling) on the right side of his abdomen, which he noticed only two weeks back.

He was surprisingly fit and had no pain or discomfort in the abdomen, loss of appetite, body weight loss, or weakness.

An investigation by doctors at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital revealed a very large abdominal mass on the right side of the abdomen.

They also reported a large predominantly fat-containing mass with multiple enhancing soft tissue components and septations displacing the right kidney and liver upwards and pancreas and adjacent small intestinal loops towards the extreme left side of the abdomen.

The large intestine was splayed over the mass at its full length. His right ureter was also pushed upwards and towards the left side of the abdomen leading to swelling of the right kidney. This mass was also in very close proximity to the inferior vena cava — the largest vein that returns the deoxygenated blood from the lower half of the body and abdomen to the heart.

The findings were suggestive of retroperitoneal liposarcoma (a malignant tumour), said the doctors, which the doctors removed in a surgery that lasted for 8 hours.

“The successful surgery lasted for 8 hours. It was a humongous task, we were able to preserve all the vital organs like the right kidney and large intestine by doing meticulous dissection and separating the tumour from the vital structures like duodenum, pancreas, and ureter,” Dr Manish K Gupta, Vice Chairman & Senior Laparoscopic & General Surgeon, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

“The vascular surgery team played the pivotal role in separating the tumour mass from the inferior vena cava which was densely adherent to it, and further handed over to the surgical team for the complete removal of tumour mass,” he added.

“A large retroperitoneal mass of size 37 X 23 X 16 cm weighing 7.5 kgs was taken out and sent for biopsy. Any tumour of more than 30 cm in size comes into the category of giant retroperitoneal mass and is quite rare,” the doctor explained.

The patient was discharged after seven days of surgery and is doing well now, he said.

–IANS

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