New Delhi, April 24 (IANS) As the second Covid wave ravages India with a vengeance, the death rate is alarmingly growing and thousands of asymptomatic patients are fast transmitting the highly infectious strains which could put the entire nation to a halt sooner than expected if not controlled, experts warned on Saturday. The threat of double and now a triple-mutant Indian strain, along with the deadly UK variant, are believed to be behind the latest surge across the country. Acc

New York, April 23 (IANS) Covid-19 survivors -- including those not sick enough to be hospitalised -- have an increased risk of death in the six months following diagnosis with the virus, a large study claimed. The study, led by researchers at Washington University's School of Medicine in St. Louis,A involved more than 87,000 Covid-19 patients and nearly five million control patients. The team found that after surviving the initial infection (beyond the first 30 days of illne

New York, April 23 (IANS) It is not herd immunity that is causing fresh peaks in Covid caseloads in several countries, including India, but a time-dependent social activity and changing people behaviours due to pandemic fatigue that is causing the lethal second wave of infection and deaths, novel research has revealed. For instance, individuals who self-isolated during the first wave -- staying home, not having visitors over, ordering groceries online -- subsequently started relaxin

Hyderabad, April 23 (IANS) Covishield vaccine offers protection from double mutant variant of novel coronavirus, shows a study by the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB). CCMB Director Rakesh K. Mishra termed this as a very preliminary but encouraging result. "Early results using in vitro neutralisation assay show that both convalescent (prior infection) sera and Covishield vaccinated sera offer protection against the B.1.617 variant, aka double mutant," he

New Delhi, April 23 (IANSlife): Liver disease is a serious concern in India with more than 10 lakh cases being reported every year. Late diagnosis often leads to detection of the condition when it is at end-stage or liver cirrhosis has occurred, during which time it is difficult to treat and it could lead to death, says Rajiv Lochan, Lead Consultant -- HPB and Transplant Surgery, Aster RV Hospital. The World Health Organisation has reported that liver disease is the tenth most commo

New Delhi, April 22 (IANS) As India faces the daunting task to make life-saving oxygen cylinders and key Covid drugs available amid the raging second wave of the pandemic, top health experts said on Thursday that the country needs to prepare itself for a long haul -- at least for the next 2-3 years -- unless oral drugs that can effectively kill the virus are available over the counter. The Centre and the state governments need a well chalked-out plan for the next couple of years --

New York, April 22 (IANS) Pregnant and postpartum women reported high levels of depression, anxiety, loneliness, and post-traumatic stress during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a worldwide survey. Such high levels of distress may have potential implications for women and for foetal and child health and development, said researchers from Harvard University's T.H. Chan School of Public Health in the US. "We expected to see an increase in the proportion of pregnant and

New Delhi, April 22 (IANSlife) Starting a fitness routine is a tough and overwhelming choice. Especially if you are a beginner and can barely differentiate between a bench press and a cross trainer, let alone know what goals you can achieve with either. Staying motivated to work out may very well be hard, but not impossible. A personal trainer may be able to help you on this journey, yet the motivation comes from no one but yourself. If you want to see the change in your body and ar

JERUSALEM, APRIL 21 (IANS): Does your kid love to eat ultra-processed junk foods like packaged chips, soups, hot dogs and fries? Besides the increasing risk of obesity, eating junk foods can also affect your bones, warn researchers. A team of researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel proved the linkages between ultra-processed foods and reduced bone quality, unveiling the damage of these foods particularly for younger children in their developing years in a roden

NEW DELHI, APRIL 21 (IANS): Respiratory droplets are the most prominent source of transmission for Covid-19. However, flushing a toilet can generate large quantities of microbe-containing aerosols depending on the design, water pressure or flushing power of the toilet at public restrooms, an Indian-origin researchers-led study has warned. Public restrooms are especially cause for concern for transmitting Covid-19 because they are relatively confined, experience heavy foot traffic an

London, April 20 (IANS) Our guts may not provide long-lasting systemic immunity from Covid-19, which is where immune cells circulate through the body to provide protection to other organs, finds a new study that may have implications for oral coronavirus vaccines. A team of researchers from the University Hospital Erlangen, Germany, studied the role of the gut in providing systemic immunity to this virus. An analysis of blood samples from patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 reveale

New York, April 20 (IANS) Severe allergic reactions to Covid-19 vaccines remain exceedingly rare, thus people with high-risk allergy histories can safely take the jabs, according to a study of 65,000 people. Individuals with severe allergies to foods, oral drugs, latex, bee stings or venom can safely receive the Covid-19 vaccines, stated the experts led by allergists at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in the US. "Our main goal is to enable as many individuals as possibl

Hyderabad, April 20 (IANS) Leading vaccine maker Bharat Biotech on Tuesday announced scaling up of manufacturing capacity to produce about 700 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin annually. The Hyderabad-based company stated that capacity expansion has been implemented across multiple facilities here and in Bengaluru, to reach 700 million doses a year, one of the largest production capacities for inactivated viral vaccines worldwide. Inactivated vaccines, while highly sa

London, April 19 (IANS): Inhaled budesonide -- primarily an asthma drug -- can shorten recovery time among Covid patients aged over 50, according to a study. Early treatment with inhaled budesonide cut recovery time by a median of three days in Covid-19 patients at higher risk of more severe illness, said researchers from the University of Oxford. The findings, from the preliminary trial, showed 32 per cent of those taking budesonide recovered within the first 14 days of treatmen

New Delhi, April 19 (IANS) With alarms sounded about the declining diversity of plants and animals, a related concern with equally profound implications is posed: Is the variety of microbial life, including viruses, changing too -- and if so, in which direction and how fast? In a paper published on Monday, David S. Thaler of the University of Basel, Switzerland, and Guest Investigator at The Rockefeller University's Programme for the Human Environment (PHE), notes "clearly

New Delhi, April 18 (IANS) Are you a Covid-19 survivor, but still feel fatigued and not having fully recovered? You may be experiencing what is known as "Long Covid". The symptoms may not be life-threatening, but can persist for months and impact daily life, experts say. While most patients who were affected with SARS-CoV -- the virus behind the deadly coronavirus -- and recovered, may do fine, but some are likely to face symptoms, including fatigue, shortness of breath, &

New York, April 18 (IANS) Scientists have revealed how a highly infectious variant of SARS-CoV-2 virus binds to host but succumbs to antibodies later, a discovery that could help in the development of more potent Covid vaccines. Large-scale supercomputer simulations at the atomic level showed that the dominant "G form" variant of the Covid-19 causing virus is more infectious partly because of its greater ability to readily bind to its target host receptor in the body, comp

New York, April 17 (IANS) Scientists now report that wearing two face coverings can nearly double the effectiveness of filtering out SARS-CoV-2-sized particles, preventing them from reaching the wearer's nose and mouth and causing Covid-19. The reason for the enhanced filtration isn't so much adding layers of cloth but eliminating any gaps or poor-fitting areas of a mask, according to the study published in JAMA Internal Medicine. "The medical procedure masks are des

Mumbai, April 17 (IANS) Spelling huge relief for lakhs of Covid-19 patients, the government has slashed the prices of the 'life-saver' Remdesivir injection by nearly 50 per cent, to MRP Rs 2,450 per injection now, according to official sources. In a missive late on Friday, the Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilisers, Department of Pharmaceuticals, NPPA - Advisor (Costs) N.I. Chowdhury has ordered all pharma companies to comply with the revised norms with immediate and retros

New Delhi, April 17 (IANS) Covid cases are now rising again on a global basis which was not the case as recently as late February and this pick up is mainly due to India, Turkey and Brazil, according to Christopher Wood of Jefferies. In his Greed and Fear financial commentary, Wood noted that the 7-day average daily Covid case count globally bottomed at 358,583 on 20 February and has since risen by 378,035 or 105% to 736,618, or only 0.4% below the peak reached in mid-January. Th