Private hospitals reluctant to join battle against H1N1

NEW DELHI:

NEW DELHI: Despite Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad’s virtual threat on Tuesday to private hospitals being clear — start isolation wards for the treatment of H1N1 swine flu patients or face legal action under the Epidemic Diseases Act, the private sector hospitals, which control 70% of the country’s health infrastructure , continue to be reluctant to pitch in.

They have cited a number of ‘‘ justifications’ ’ for their reluctance, including the absence of isolation wards, common air-conditioning as well as the doubtful revenue model . In turn, this has triggered anger in the government which feels that these hospitals were quick to seek concessions like cheap land but very slow to react to an unexpected medical emergency.

Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit called an emergency meeting of city private hospitals . Barring Max and Batra hospitals, all of them showed little eagerness to treat H1N1 patients and trotted out excuses . Two private pathological labs who were also called for the meeting, were said to be willing to carry out tests.

Dikshit described the meeting as a ‘‘ stock-taking exercise to evaluate the capability and infrastructure of private hospitals and to what extent they were willing to help us deal with the pandemic. Once the Centre issues guidelines we will draw up a plan to rope in private hospitals.’’

Speaking to TOI, a Union health ministry official said, “Private hospitals have no choice. States will identify the hospitals with the capacity to have a large isolation ward. It’s just a backup. What if the government’s infrastructure gets saturated? Don’t private hospitals have any responsibility towards the people?’’

The labs said they already have the golden Real Time PCR H1N1 testing kits. However , they wanted a relaxation of the rules. “According to the present stipulation, only bio safety level-II plus labs can test samples for H1N1. We have BSL II labs. The government should consider them good enough for testing.”

The government was not interested in setting charges for private hospitals. An official said, ‘‘ It’s up to private hospitals what they charge. But they should at least provide the facility for those who want to go to a private hospital.’’

ET

‘Tamiflu can have bad side-effects on children’

Consumers

Consumers in India will soon be able to buy anti-flu drug oseltamivir (marketed as Tamiflu by Swiss company Roche) from retail stores, with the government planning to lift the ban on retail sales. However, researchers at Oxford University have questioned the safety of the drug for children. They found in a study that it caused vomiting, dehydration and other complications in about 5% of cases among children aged between one and 12 years.

While the drug provided a small benefit by shortening the duration of illness in children with seasonal influenza and reducing household transmission, it was found to have little effect on asthma flare-ups, says the study published in British Medical Journal.

Researchers have clearly said that the harmful effects of Tamiflu and Relenza — another commonly used anti-viral drug — far outweigh their benefits and the results found for seasonal flu would apply for H1N1 too. The way out, they say, is to limit Tamiflu use, especially in children, to serious cases.

Indian doctors say this is the latest in a long series of questions raised about the H1N1 ‘‘wonder drug’’. Earlier, another study had reported that Tamiflu caused nausea and nightmares in children.

Said AIIMS professor of medicine Dr Randeep Guleria: ‘‘There have been other reports. In Japan, it was found to cause neuro-psychiatric manifestations like suicidal tendencies in patients. The drug’s literature, I believe, mentions this. That’s why we have been constantly warning against indiscriminate use.”

ET

Drought looms large, but don’t panic: Mukherjee

NEW DELHI, Aug 11: The spectre of drought looms large over as many as 161 out of 626 districts in India due to deficient monsoon, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said here on Tuesday, but asked citizens not to panic. “One hundred and sixty one districts have been declared drought-prone. As far as sowing is concerned, 20 per cent would be down,” Mukherjee told reporters on the margins of an annual conference with officials of the income tax administration.

“Monsoon situation is still erratic,” he warned, but added: “But there is no point of pressing the panic button. You all will go and start chanting drought, drought, drought and it will have an adverse impact.” Mukherjee said Punjab and Haryana - two most important states for food output - were fortunate since they use groundwater extensively, even as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh were facing shortage of water. Nearly 60 per cent of India’s farm sector is dependent on monsoon rains between June and September, but this year has witnessed one of the driest spells in eight decades, as per the Indian Meteorological Department. The met department said the average monsoon rainfall has been deficient by 25 per cent in the country for the monsoon period June 1 to August 5. The shortfall has been far higher in traditional breadbasket states like Punjab and Haryana. “We have a contingency plan,” said the finance minister, indicating measures such as allowing import of food grain, continuing with the ban on exports and asking state-run agencies to buy more stocks from the open market. The deficient rains have already resulted in prices of essential commodities go through the roof, with tur dal, a lentil native to India and part of the staple diet, costing over Rs 100 a kilogram in several states.

India seeks foreign investors for $20.6 bn road projects

India seeks foreign investors for $20.6 bn road projects
Date : Aug-11-2009 11:17

The government will hold a road show in Zurich, Switzerland, in order to attract the foreign investment for the road projects in India. The road show will seek investors for 135 road projects with an estimated cost of $20.68 billion, a government statement said Monday.

The show, being organised in association with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) as well as ICICI Bank, JM Financial Consultants and Swiss-Indian Chamber of Commerce and this will be inaugurated by Road Transport and Highways Minister Kamal Nath. Last month, the government has done a road show in Singapore.

On the top of this, Nath added "I am also planning to re-consider the termination clause of the project so that more investors can come,".

As per government estimates, the road sector entails an investment of about $70 billion by 2012. Out of this, around $41.05 billion is expected to be from the private sector participation while $10 billion is likely from foreign investors

Government to take more steps to support exporters

Government to take more steps to support exporters
Date : Aug-11-2009 15:39

Despite the economy showing signs of stabilization, India''s export sector continues to decline. However, stimulus measures are announced by the government and they are beginning to show some impact. Moreover, government is looking to take some more measures to support the exporters in the forthcoming trade policy review later this month.

Additionally, India''s exports have been declining for nine consecutive months since the financial crisis took place. However, the total exports from India stood at $168.7 billion for 2008-09, showing a poor growth of 3% compared with $163 billion of exports in the previous financial year while India had set a target of achieving $200 billion worth of exports in 2008-09. In addition, the government will try to provide more relief to sectors like textile, gem and jewellery and similar labour intensive businesses as these have declining in demand.

April-July direct tax receipts rise 3.27%

April-July direct tax receipts rise 3.27%
Date : Aug-11-2009 11:57

The net direct tax collections have reported a marginal growth of 3.27 per cent during the first four months (April-July) of the current fiscal on account of higher tax refunds.

The direct tax collections for the April-July period stood at Rs 73,990 crore as against Rs 71,648 crore reported in the same period last fiscal, according to a finance ministry release. However, the total tax refund outgo of the income tax department for this period grew by 53.36 per cent at Rs 20,768 crore as compared to Rs 13,542 in the corresponding period last year.

The net collections are gross receipts less refunds. The high refunds are on the back of initiatives by the revenue department of faster processing of returns on the new national computer network.

Meanwhile, the corporate taxes witnessed a growth of 2.61 per cent at Rs 42,685 crore as against Rs 41,598 crore in the same period last year. The personal income tax, which includes the fringe benefit tax as well as securities transaction tax and residual banking cash transaction tax, shot up by 4.33 per cent to Rs 31,279 crore as compared to Rs 29,982 crore last fiscal. Moreover, on a monthly basis, the net tax collections inched up marginally by 1.75 per cent for the month of July 2009 at Rs 14,525 crore as against Rs 14,275 crore in the year-ago month.

161 districts drought-prone: Pranab

NEW DELHI:

NEW DELHI: A quarter of India's districts are facing the threat of drought and sowing of crops are 20 percent lower than the previous year, finance
minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Tuesday.

India is heavily dependent on the June to September monsoon rains for farm output, to help rural income and to drive economic growth. After the driest June in 83 years, the annual rains have been more than a quarter below below normal this season.

"Monsoon situation is still erratic," Mukherjee told reporters. "One hundred and sixty one districts have been declared drought-prone. So far as sowing is concerned, 20 percent would be down," he said.

India has 604 districts. The rain deficit since June 1 worsened to 28 percent at the weekend, raising fears that the season may turn out to be as bad as 2004 when summer crop output fell 12 percent after a drought. The rains are vital for sugarcane, oilseeds and other crops.

Mukherjee said the government was ready to manage a drought and a contingency plan was also in place. "Of course, always there is a contingency plan," the minister said. "There is no point of pressing the panic button because you will go and start chanting drought, drought, drought and it will have an adverse impact," he said.

Among measures the government could take to mitigate the situation are to raise imports and curtail exports. It has already stepped up efforts to buy more sugar and has banned wheat exports and restricted rice shipments.

"Fortunately, Punjab and Haryana have extensively used the ground water. Bihar and certain other states, there are shortfalls," Mukherjee said.

Asked whether the shorfall in rains would affect India's growth, he said he expected the economy to expand more than 6 percent in 2009/10, as predicted by the central bank. Asia's third largest economy expanded 6.7 percent in the last fiscal year, sharply lower than the 9 percent or more it grew in the previous three years, as the global economic crisis took a toll. Mukherjee was also confident that direct tax receipts for the 2009/10 fiscal year would be surpassed.

TOI

Swine flu death toll rises to 10 in India

New Delhi: A seven-year-old girl in Vadodara in Gujarat and a 63-year-old woman in Maharashtra died of the swine flu virus on Tuesday afternoon. Doctors at Haffkine institute, Parel, carry out tests for swine flu in a laboratory. (TOI)


The deceased identified as Sayeeda Dorjeewala from Mumbra, in neighbouring Thane district, was admitted in Noor hospital in Mumbai on August 6.

She had tested positive for H1N1 and was also suffering from some other complications, according to the Disaster Management Cell of Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai.

Famida Panwala, 53, was the first casualty of swine flu in Mumbai. With Sayeeda’s death the number of fatalities in Maharashtra has risen to seven.

A seven-year-old girl also succumbed to swine flu in the government-run Sir Sayajirao Gaekwad (SSG) Hospital in Vadodara today, hospital authorities said.

With this, two persons have died due to swine flu in the state.

"Seven-year-old Arya Borde, who was admitted to the SSG hospital on last Wednesday died today afternoon," the hospital's medical superintendent Atul Saxena said.

"She (Arya) was admitted in a critical condition. Her samples were sent to the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) in Delhi where it turned out to be positive," he said.

Principal Secretary, Health, Ravi Saxena said," Arya was administered Tamiflu after being admitted to SSG hospital. There was no history of foreign contact."

"She was on ventilator support since August 7. She had no viral pneumonitis patch until August 9. The results of H1N1 was confirmed on August 8. She became critical today morning and passed away at around 12.30 hours," Saxena said.

The first death in Gujarat due to H1N1 virus was of 43-year-old Praveen Patel, an NRI based in Atlanta, US, in the civil hospital on Sunday

Shruti Gawde (13), who died at the Sassoon Hospital in Pune had become the eight victim of the deadly virus early on Tuesday.

TOI