“A healthy mind breeds a healthy body” – Zig Ziglar

When my friend recalled how her family reacted to the news of her anxious and depressive state of mind, it lead me to think that among many other things, Depression is still considered a taboo among many middle class Indian families. Coming from one, I could relate how and why her parents were more concerned about “what people will say?” rather than how to help their child. They further aggravated the situation by questioning how could she “get” such a thing when no one else did? It was a slap in the face for me as well, when on asking my family as to what their view were on depression, they responded by saying-” It’s all nonsense, you kids suffer from a little stress, and you name it as depression. We’ve seen tougher times than you, yet we never faced such an issue. You need to learn to be strong”. What my parents, and several other people fail to realize is that those suffering from depression, anxiety or stress, are not the victims, but fighters, who try to reason out with themselves that today is not the day to Quit.

World Health Organization defines depression as a common illness related to severe mental health issues, affecting approximately 264 million people, and resulting in the deaths of roughly 8,00,000 people every year due to suicide. Despite the presence of several effective treatments, most people in middle and low income countries do not receive or seek help for their disorders. The root cause of this problem has been linked to multiple factors, psychological, social or biological- surrounding the individual. The recent being the Covid-19 pandemic and its resultant effects on people from across the world. Millions lost their jobs while helplessly watching their savings dwindling away while being isolated from any social interaction. Those who lost their loved ones to this disease, lost their peace of mind as well. The result? – rise in cases of problems related to mental health.

In one of the surveys conducted by Sangath – an NGO dedicated to mental well being, surge in levels of stress and depression due to Corona virus were reported. This pandemic has caused a mayhem not only in terms of physical health issues, but also increased psychological trauma in many. Though it is understandable as to why anxiety levels are escalating, the growing cases are still of concern. Nearly half of American citizens complained of increased mental health related problems, with 43% Indians suffering from similar issues. The mere fact that people are losing interests in hobbies and are experiencing continuous drop in energy levels, indicate that work load or our fast paced lives, are not always responsible for depression.

The current scenario has forced the medical facilities to prepare themselves for not only the Covid pandemic,but also the behavioral issues associated with the mind. Instead of regarding it as a stigma, the need of the hour is to focus on solutions for this major problem. A mental disorder leaves a deep gash in the mind of the sufferers, leading to life long a impact. If we fail to do anything about this now, we will fail to control it in the future.

There has been good news in the area of coral conservation as a newly developed genotyping chip has been launched which is the first in its kind and has the potential to save corals by identifying them genetically.

The chip can differentiate between corals and the symbiotic algae which lives in corals, thus providing researchers in stepping towards restoration of genetic diversity of coral reefs. It will further help in extracting DNA and analysing the data from the corals. A paper which describes all about the chip in the Journal Scientific Reports.

It is also known as micro-array uses more than 30,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms which are locations present in a coral genome. A single letter in the DNA alphabet can vary among distinct corals. It was designed using Caribbean corals which can also be used to analyse Pacific species. The scientists are very enthusiastic with the arrival of the chip and are looking towards it as a game changer in the field of coral restoration. 

We all know that donating blood is one of the most noble causes on this earth and it helps in saving lives. According to American Red Cross, a single donation can save three lives. But blood donation also has some cons, which include:

Bruising, continued bleeding, dizziness, light- headedness, nausea, pain and physical weakness has been noticed in some of the cases. Though it is a safe process, there are some points which should be kept in mind before donation. Now, we will look from a closer perspective at how blood donation can negatively affect those who are donating.

The first point is bruising, there is a fair amount of chance that a donor can get bruised during insertion of a needle, which ranges from yellow to purple to blue. Where normal bruises are okay and we should not worry about and can treat it with ice packs but if the bruise changes its colour, then we should definitely go to visit the doctor.

The second demerit is continued bleeding which may happen in some cases after the removal of the bandage which is applied by the nurse at the hospital after s/he removes the needle. We are told to keep the bandage for four to five hours as bleeding stops in some time. But in some cases, bleeding continues even after five hours then it is suggested to keep the bandage for a longer duration. And even after that, bleeding doesn’t stop then it is the time you go to see the doctor.

In some cases, dizziness, light-headedness and nausea was observed in donors after donation. After blood donation, the donors are told to sit and have energizing snacks and juices to not feel any after effect of donation to give their body rest. The feeling subsides in some hours but in some cases, it continues and in such cases the donors should call their centres and go to see the doctor.

Then comes pain. We all know that donating blood is not painless as a needle is inserted to take out the blood and removed when the process completes. Though the pain is not of high level but in case of bruising it aggravates, then it is suggested by the doctor to take some pain reliever medicines to alleviate the pain.

In some of the cases physical weakness was also experienced by the donors especially in the arm in which the needle was inserted. It is the reason; the nurses tell donors not do any heavy activity five-six hours after the donation.

But we should never forget how blood donation is necessary for humanity and how it has the ability to save a dying person. It is an act of humanity and can do a lot of good and save millions of hopes. As one blood donation can not only save only one life but it can save up to approximately three lives. It is totally up to a person to donate or not but if you are ready to donate then analyze pros and cons and whatever you are comfortable with, you can go for that.  

The Indian Rebellion in 1857 represented an important, but eventually unsuccessful, revolt in India between 1857 and 1858 against the British East India Company, a sovereign power in the name of the British Crown. In the garrison town of Meerut, 40 mi (64 km) northwest of Delhi (now old Delhi), rebellion began on the 10th of May 1857 as a mutiny of corporate army troops. It then broke out in other rebellions, mainly in the upper Gangetic plains and central India, although there were also more northern and east incidents. In that area, the rebellion posed an extensive threat to the British power and was only contained in Gwalior ‘s defeat on 20 June 1858. The British gave amnesty on 1 November 1858 to all non-assassinated rebels, even though they did not formalize their hostilities until 8 July 1859. His name is disputed, defined in different ways as Sepoy Mutiny, Indian Mutiny, the Great Rebellion, the 1857 Rebellion, the American Rebellion, the First War of Independence.

Indian rebellion was nurtured by resentments emerging from diverse perceptions, including intrusive social reforms of the British type, harsh taxes on land, a gradual withdrawal by rich landowners and princes, and uncertainty about improving British rule. However, many Indians fought also for the British and most of them tended to be in line with the British law. On both sides, British officers and civilians, including women and children, were targeted by rebels and their allies, including sometimes whole towns, on terror, sometimes betraying unprecedented brutality, by British.

Following the outbreak at the Meerut mutiny, the rebels soon arrived at Delhi, which was proclaimed emperor Hindustan by its 81-year-old Mughal ruler Bahadur Shah Zafar. Eventually, large tracts of the North-West and Awadh provinces were occupied by the rebels. The response of the East India Company also came quickly. Kanpur and Delhi were recovered by the middle of July 1857 with the aid of reinforcements. It took the rest of 1857 and the best part of 1858 for Jhansi, Lucknow, and particularly the landscape of Awadh to suppress the rebellion. Other corporate managed regions in India — Bengal, Bombay, and Madras — have largely remained calm. In the Punjab, the Sikh princes supported the UK decisively by supporting and supplying troops. In the words of Governor-General Lord Canning, the large princely nations, Hyderabad, Mysore and Kashmir, and the smaller Rajputana, did not join the uprising, serving the British as “breakers in a storm.”

The revolt took on the characteristics of a patriot revolt against the British oppression in certain regions, especially Awadh. The rebels, however, did not declare articles of faith for a new constitutional structure. However, the rebellion proved a significant pillar in the history of the Indian and British empires. It caused the East India Company to split and compelled the British, in the passage of the Government of India Act 1858, to reorganise the army, the financial system and administration in India. The British government directly administered India in the emerging British Raj thereafter. Queen Victoria released a declaration on 1 November 1845 to the Indians, who promised equal rights to other British subjects, though lacking the legitimacy of a constitutional clause. Over the next decades, the Indians had to make strong reference to the Queen’s proclamation with the admissions of a new nationalism, when they were not always admitted to such privileges.

Fortis, a private hospital released a statement about 27-year-old woman who tested positive for the virus again which appears to be a scary situation of the recurrence of such devastating virus.

The woman was tested positive in July for the first time after she got symptoms fever of cough, she was fit after treatment and tested negative. Her symptoms were also not a severe one. After being discharged from the hospital, her symptoms of COVID erupted again in one month.

In an interview Dr Pratik Patil, Consultant, Infectious Diseases, Fortis Hospital, Bannerghatta Road mentioned, “In the first week of July, the patient was symptomatic (fever, cough and sore throat) and was tested positive. She was admitted to the hospital and recovered well. A repeat test was conducted on her, which turned out to be negative, post which she was discharged on July 24. However, nearly after a month, in the last week of August, she developed mild symptoms again and has tested positive again. Both times she did not have any severe disease. This is possibly the first reported case of COVID reinfection in Bangalore.”

He further added, “’Usually, in case of infection, the COVID Immunoglobulin G antibody is tested positive after two to three weeks of infection. However, in this patient, the antibody has tested negative, which means she did not develop immunity after infection. There is second assumption to this that the IgG antibodies disappeared in nearly one month, leaving her susceptible for reinfection. Reinfection in someone means that antibodies may not be produced by every individual or if they do develop, they may not last long enough, and therefore, allowing the virus to enter the body and cause the disease again.”

AGRIOTA is an ecommerce platform to connect the agro traders and Indian farmers. The geographical and environmental conditions of UAE are not suitable for growing crops with in the country so it is completely dependent on import. Whereas India is a one of the largest producer of agricultural products. AGRIOTA is a recently launched portal which connects farmers and traders of UAE without any intermediate or agent. It is a very good opportunity for Indian farmers to do business and have good income.

Shopping trends are changing rapidly everything is shifting to digital sellers and buyers are getting connected directly. Not only AGRIOTA but also many other e commerce platformso like Amazon ,JIO mart ,flipkart and groffers are there which can be a good marketplace for agro products. This will not only improve the economy of the country but also improve the social lifestyle of Indian farmers they will be able to afford good medical facilities and their children will get good education and will contribute towards nation.

The Indian government should run awareness campaign to educate Indian farmers about the opportunities in digital selling and ecommerce and provide adequate aid and facility to the farmers so that can produce agro products in good quality and quantity. In the recent GDP report of first quarter Agriculture was the only sector to show positive growth rate. Agricultural sector have full potential to make India one of the strongest economy in the world.

Last few months I have completed, six courses launched by World Health Organisation (WHO) and thus I have received few videos, materials, links etc. from WHO.  Based on ‘World Health Statistics 2020: A visual summary’ published by WHO, few important points are presented here for the benefit of readers, academicians and scholars. Since this article is based on international publication so researchers can use for further research.  

   Before starting of the discussion, it is pertinent to mention that, all human beings desire to survive with healthy life. Long ago, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore wrote a beautiful Bengali poem and from there one line I am quoting in English alphabet “Morite chahi na ami sundor bhubone…Manober majhe ami bachibare chai” (meaning in general is ‘in this beautiful world I don’t like to die, rather would like to survive among the human beings’). For leading a healthy life, all the Governments in the world have been trying their best for their citizens by spending a good amount from Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on health. In addition, World Health Organisation (WHO) has been doing excellent work in this area as we know its role during COVID19 crisis.

    In 2005 a new concept has been developed by the World Health Organisation known as the International Health Regulations (IHR, 2005), an agreement between 196 countries and territories to work together for global health security. They are a commitment to develop and improve public health capacities that make the world ready to respond to emerging public health emergencies. And for this purpose, 13 indicators have been prepared and for the benefit of readers I am presenting all:  Legislation and financing, Coordination and focal point, Zoonotic events, Food safety, Laboratory, Surveillance, Human resources, Health emergency framework, Health service provision, Risk communication, Points of entry, Chemical events and Radio nuclear emergencies. The IHR scoring system exists to measure a country’s ability to prepare for and respond to these health emergencies. Anyway, according to World Health Organisation, “the global outbreak of COVID-19 will have an unprecedented – and as yet unknown – effect on our work towards a healthier world”. “This year’s World Health Statistics report makes clear that the global efforts in recent decades have been fetching good result”.

 According to me first important point from the publication is concept of Healthy Life Expectancy (HALE).  Life expectancy gives an indication of how long a population is expected to live on average. But Healthy Life Expectancy (HALE) reveals the true health of a person. It’s about both length of life and quality of life. Not just the number of years the average person lives, but the number of years they can expect to live in good health. And the inspiring news is that, “between 2000 and 2016, HALE increased globally by 8% from 59 years to 63”.

Since 2000, the risk of a child dying before their fifth birthday has halved in the African region. This is due, in part, to gains made in vaccination coverage for specific diseases. From 2000 to 2018, global coverage of DTP3 (Diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis) immunization has increased from 72 percent to 86 percent. During the same period, MCV2 (Measles-containing-vaccine second-dose) immunization coverage has gone up from 18 percent to 69 percent. Also from 2008 to 2018, PCV3 (Pneumococcal conjugate 3rd dose) immunization coverage has scaled up from 4 percent to 47 percent.  But according to the publication under-5 mortality remains a major problem in Africa, where the rate is more than eight times higher than the European countries (in 2018). Another point is about the maternal death. The death of women as a result of complications during or following pregnancy and childbirth reflects the global inequalities in access to quality health care.  In the world, between 2014 and 2019, 81 percent of births were attended by skilled health personnel. The issue lies with African countries as Africa’s data is 525 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births which is seven times greater than the target.

Further, according to the publication, incidences of HIV, TB and malaria have decreased globally since 2000, yet they still pose a major threat. Indeed, progress in the fight against malaria has stalled in most regions since 2014 but HIV has increased in Europe and Eastern Mediterranean compared with 2000.

   Before conclusion, I wish to mention that, “the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need for global cooperation to improve population health. In order to achieve the health targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it is critical that we monitor progress on all fronts to reduce inequalities, address climate change and strengthen health systems, so that no one is left behind”.

Dr Shankar Chatterjee, Hyderabad