Omicron more deadly than seasonal influenza, reveals research

TB Team
-
0
Omicron more deadly than seasonal influenza, reveals research

Adults hospitalized with the Omicron variant have a higher death rate than those hospitalized with seasonal influenza, even though Omicron is considered less virulent with lower case fatality rates than the Delta and Alpha strains, new research has revealed.

The study by Dr. Alaa Atamna and colleagues from the Rabin Medical Center at Belinison Hospital in Israel found that adults (18 years or older) hospitalized with influenza were 55 percent less likely to die within 30 days than those hospitalized with Omicron during 2021-2022 influenza season.

Influenza and Covid-19 are both respiratory diseases with similar modes of transmission.

To find out more, researchers compared the clinical outcomes of patients hospitalized with Covid-19 (Omicron variant) and those hospitalized with influenza at a large academic hospital in Israel.

Overall, 63 patients died within 30 days — 19 were admitted with influenza, and 44 were hospitalized with Omicron.

Patients with Omicron tended to have higher overall comorbidity scores, needed more assistance performing activities of daily living (washing and dressing), and were more likely to have high blood pressure and diabetes, whereas asthma was more common in those hospitalized with influenza.

Respiratory complications and the need for oxygen support and mechanical ventilation were also more common in Omicron cases than in seasonal influenza.

“A possible reason for the higher Omicron death rate is that patients admitted with Omicron were older with additional major underlying illnesses such as diabetes and chronic kidney disease,” said Dr. Atamna.

The difference might also be due to an exaggerated immune response in Covid-19, and that vaccination against Covid-19 was far lower among patients with Omicron,” he added.

The double whammy of overlapping influenza and Covid-19 epidemics will increase the complexity of the disease and the burden on health systems, said the study to be presented at this year’s European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Copenhagen this month.

WHO tracking VOI XBB.1.5, six other variants under monitoring: Centre to states, UTs

TB Team
-
0
WHO tracking VOI XBB.1.5, six other variants under monitoring: Centre to states, UTs

The Centre on Friday told the states and Union territories that currently the World Health Organisation is closely tracking one variant of interest (VOI), XBB.1.5, and six other variants are under monitoring BQ.1, BA.2.75, CH.1.1, XBB, XBF and XBB.1.16.

During a review meeting on the Covid-19 situation, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya virtually interacted with the health ministers of the states and union territories and advised them to ramp up vaccination of all eligible populations, especially of the elderly and vulnerable population groups.

It was highlighted that while Omicron and its sub-lineages continue to be the predominant variant, most of the assigned variants have little or no significant transmissibility, disease severity, or immune escape.

The prevalence of XBB.1.16 increased from 21.6 percent in February to 35.8 percent in March, 2023. However, no evidence of an increase in hospitalization or mortality has been reported.

It was also informed that while India has achieved over 90 percent coverage of primary vaccination, the coverage of precaution dose is very low.

UP reports 1st Covid death in 2023, 192 new cases

TB Team
-
0
UP reports 1st Covid death in 2023, 192 new cases

Uttar Pradesh reported its first death due to Covid-19 this year, health officials said.

The state also reported 192 fresh Covid cases during the day while 68 patients recovered in the state, including one in the state capital Lucknow. At present, there are 842 active Covid cases in the state.

An elderly woman, who had tested positive for Covid-19 on April 2, died during treatment on Thursday while 35 more people tested positive for Covid-19 in Lucknow.

The woman, who died was a resident of Lucknow’s Vrindavan Colony and was admitted to a private hospital in Alambagh.

She was diagnosed as a patient of multi-organ failure and tested positive for Covid-19 with the TrueNat method.

“She was later shifted to King George’s Medical University (KGMU) where a second sample for Covid test was taken on April 4. The report of the second sample is awaited,” said a senior health official.

Till now, the state capital has reported 2,701 Covid deaths since the pandemic began in March 2020.

In the state, 23,650 deaths have been reported till now. Officials said once the confirmatory report of the sample taken at KGMU came, the death toll would be updated.

On Thursday, a steep hike in new Covid cases was reported in the state capital as 35 more people tested positive as compared to 24 new cases on Wednesday.

Six patients were from Indira Nagar and Aliganj, five from Sarojini Nagar, four from Alambagh and Chowk, two each from Chinhat, Qaiserbagh, and Tudiyaganj, and one each from NK Road, Malihabad, and Aishbagh, according to the health department data.

Bengal govt seeks 5.75 L COVID-19 vaccine doses from Centre

TB Team
-
0
Bengal govt seeks 5.75 L COVID-19 vaccine doses from Centre

In wake of a fresh spike in COVID-19 cases throughout the country, the West Bengal health department has sought the supply of 5.75 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccines from the Centre.

Of the 5.75 lakh doses, five lahks are for Covishield, and the remaining 75,000 for Covaxin.

A senior official of the state health department said that the fresh request for COVID-19 vaccines to the Union government has been made in wake of apprehension that there might be fresh demands for booster doses in the state amid the recent spike in active cases.

“As it is there was a reluctance among the people to go for booster doses. The reluctance was aggravated further because of the dip in the number of active cases in the recent past. So, the state health department had to send back a huge stock of doses to the Union government before their expiry. Currently, the stock of doses is limited and is not enough to meet the requirement in case demand for boosters dozes amid a fresh spike in fresh cases. Hence, the state government has given fresh requisition of 5.75 lakh doses,” he said.

As per the records of the state health department, there are 127 active cases of COVID-19 in the state. The number of fresh cases reported during the last 24 hours in the state was 14. The maximum number of current active cases have been reported from the state capital of Kolkata. The affected persons have been kept under isolation. During the last three months, just one Corona- related death has been reported from West Bengal.

Rising Covid cases: TN enforces mask rule for govt hospitals

TB Team
-
0
Rising Covid cases: TN enforces mask rule for govt hospitals

Wearing the masks will be necessary for government hospitals from April 1 onwards, in the state of Tamil Nadu, because Covid-19 cases are growing day by day in a particular state.

Health minister Ma. Subramanian was passed the instructions on Friday and said that All the inpatients, doctors, outpatients, visitors, nurses, and other health-related employers and medical staff of hospitals need to wear covid-19 masks at hospitals.

Besides district headquarters hospitals and government medical college hospitals, There are overall 11,300 centers here that cover urban PHCs, taluk, and non-taluk hospitals, health sub-centers, and primary health centers (PHCs).

“From Saturday onwards, all government hospitals will have to follow the rules which have been settled by state and district-level health officers,’ The Health minister said to media reporters on Friday.

Even though Covid norms are in place in the state, the decision to implement the mask rule in hospitals has been taken because infections usually begin multiplying at hospitals first, the minister said, explaining the rationale behind the move.

Tamil Nadu reported 123 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, while 3,095 cases have been reported from across India in the past 24 hours, the minister told reporters.

India reports 40% jump in new Covid cases, Delhi govt calls emergency meet

TB Team
-
0
India reports 40% jump in new Covid cases, Delhi govt calls emergency meet

At 3,016 cases, India registered a 40 percent jump in the new Covid cases in the last 24 hours, said the Union Health Ministry on Thursday. In view of the rising cases, the Delhi government has called an emergency meeting.

The daily positivity rate has been recorded at 2.7 percent and the weekly positivity rate stands at 1.71 percent.

There were 1,396 recoveries in the last 24 hours and the active caseload stood at 13,509.

The Delhi government has called an emergency meeting after the Covid cases spiked on Wednesday. A total of 300 new Covid infections in the last 24 hours were recorded in the national capital, which is a rise over Tuesday’s 214 cases, as per the Delhi government health bulletin.

Meanwhile, two Covid-19-related deaths have also been reported in the same time span.

The positivity rate of the national capital city has risen to 13.79 percent. The number of active cases stands at 806 out of which 452 patients are being treated in home isolation.

With 163 patients recovering in the last 24 hours, the total number of recoveries so far has gone to 19,82,029, while Delhi’s total caseload is 20,09,361 and the death toll in the city has risen to 26,526.

A total of 2,160 new tests — 1490 RT-PCR and 670 Rapid Antigen – were conducted in the last 24 hours, taking the total to 4,07,85,433 while 141 vaccines were administered – 27 first doses, 34-second doses, and 80 precaution doses.

The total number of cumulative beneficiaries vaccinated so far stands at 3,74,04,636 according to the health bulletin.

US Senate passes bill to end national Covid emergency

TB Team
-
0
US Senate passes bill to end national Covid emergency

The US Senate has passed a bill to end the national Covid-19 emergency which was declared by former President Donald Trump on March 13, 2020.

The 68-23 vote on Wednesday was overwhelmingly bipartisan and the joint resolution, which cleared the House earlier this year, now heads to President Joe Biden, reports Media.

A White House official told media that while the President “strongly opposes” this bill, the administration is already winding down the emergency by May 11, the date previously announced for the end of the authority.

“If the Senate passed the measure and it heads to Biden’s desk, he will sign it, and the administration will continue working with agencies to wind down the national emergency with as much notice as possible to Americans who could potentially be impacted,” the official was quoted as saying.

The White House said in January that Biden “strongly opposes” the Republican resolution to end the Covid-19 emergency, but did not threaten a veto.

House Democrats largely voted against the bill when it was brought to the floor in February except for 11 Democrats who joined Republicans in support.

With the highest number of cases and fatalities, the US remains the worst-hit country by the Covid pandemic.

As of Thursday morning, the country’s caseload and death toll stood at 106,163,408 and 1,154,353, respectively.

S.Korea to likely shorten Covid isolation period to 5 days in May

TB Team
-
0
S.Korea to likely shorten Covid isolation period to 5 days in May

South Korea’s mandatory Covid-19 isolation period is expected to be reduced to five days from the current seven starting in early May as the government is considering downgrading the virus to a lower infection level.

Covid-19 has been classified as a “serious” disease since February 2020, and a classification downgrade to an “alert” level means that infected people will be required to isolate for five days, reports Yonhap News Agency.

A decision on whether to downgrade it will be made in early May, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said during a Covid-19 response meeting on Wednesday.

“The long fight against Covid-19, which has lasted for more than three years, is nearing an end. It was a difficult process, but thanks to the participation of the people, patience, and dedication of medical workers, we were able to get here,” he added.

If virus situations continue to stabilize after a downgrade of the disease category for Covid-19 in May, the government will also downgrade the virus’ infection level to Class 4 from Class 2, Han said.

Currently, the virus infection level is on par with chickenpox or measles, and Class 4, categorized as the lowest level, includes the seasonal flu.

When Covid-19 is categorized as Class 4, the government will fully lift a mask mandate and abolish mandatory isolation for infected people, Han said.

Earlier this month, the government ended the mask mandate for public transportation, lifting one of the last-remaining Covid-19 restrictions.

The mask mandate remains in place for medical facilities, pharmacies, and facilities vulnerable to infections.

38 school girls test Covid positive in UP’s Lakhimpur Kheri

TB Team
-
0
38 school girls test Covid positive in UP’s Lakhimpur Kheri

A district health official said thirty-eight girl students of the Kasturba residential school in Mitauli block of Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district have tested positive for Covid-19 infection.

Lakhimpur Kheri Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Santosh Gupta, said that one staff member was also found Covid-positive during a contact tracing exercise on Sunday after which the entire campus has been turned into a quarantine center by the Health department.

This is the highest number of new Covid cases reported in a district in a day this year.

Gupta, who rushed a medical team to the Kasturba school, said samples of all 92 contact cases of the school had been sent for testing. The report of 38 among them was positive. Most of those who tested positive were asymptomatic, he added.

“All students and staff had been advised seven-day quarantine on campus and provided medicine kits. Condition of all students, barring two who have cold, is fine,” the CMO said.

Those found Covid-positive had been kept in a separate wing on the school campus, he added.

A mother and child wing in Motipur has been asked to keep 20 beds ready for any medical need among the students and staff on the campus.

“I personally spoke to students and assures them of all help. We are keeping watch on the health condition,” said Gupta. An ambulance had also been stationed at the Kasturba school in case of any emergency, he added.

With this, the number of active Covid cases had risen to 41 since March 23, he said.

On March 23, a girl student of Kasturba residential school in Mitauli block tested positive for Covid-19. Then, an elderly person from Behjam block and another person from the Mitauli block also tested positive in the last couple of days.

Meanwhile, District Magistrate, Lakhimpur Kheri, Mahendra Bahadur Singh, said all preventive measures, including providing medical kits, sanitization, etc, had been ensured. He said there was no need to panic and urged people to observe Covid-19 protocol strictly.

India reports 1,249 new Covid cases, 2 deaths

TB Team
-
0
India reports 1,249 new Covid cases, 2 deaths

In the last 24 hours, India reported 1,249 new Covid-19 cases and two deaths, the Union Health Ministry said on Friday.

The country’s total active caseload has risen to 7,927 which is 0.02 percent of the overall.

The two new fatalities reported from Gujarat and Karnataka have increased the overall death toll to 5,30,818.

The recovery of 925 patients in the last 24 hours took the cumulative tally to 4,41,61,922. Consequently, India’s recovery rate stands at 98.79 percent.

Meanwhile, the daily and weekly positivity rates stood at 1.19 percent and 1.14 percent, respectively.

Also in the same period, a total of 1,05,316 tests were conducted across the country, increasing the overall tally to over 92.07 crores.

As of Friday morning, India has administered a total of 220.65 crore vaccines against Covid, including 6,117 doses in the last 24 hours, the Ministry said.

1...456...222Page 5 of 222