Health insurance a predominant medium for achieving universal healthcare in India ? A farfetched dream?

In India, there are two kinds of insurances - Social Health Insurance (e.g. Employees State Insurance Scheme) & Voluntary Health Insurance. Even after years of grappling with health insurances, 71% of the health care costs are borne by the households. CGHS (Central Government Health Scheme), ESI (Employees State Insurance) and private insurance providers are major participants but they often ignore the population that needs the healthcare insurance the most.

Self Help Groups and NGOs extend a number of Community based health insurance schemes. However, this covers only less than 1% of the country?s population. ESIS and CGHS taken together constituted 41% of total spending on insurance. The government has rolled out various schemes like RSBY (Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna) that cover population in informal sector but only the BPL (Below Poverty Line) and marginalized population. Still a large non-formal sector is there that is above the BPL but in dire need of health insurance as they are most susceptible to catastrophic health expenditures and fall below poverty line due to health expenditures.

Emerging Themes In Virology

The importance of the virology field has been increasing in number of academic publications and has never been more exciting as a research area and more relevant to human health or present in the media due to the economic impact (animal loss) and ecological issues regarding the recent outbreaks impacted by viral agents. There is high number of well-established virology journals already in existence and I must confess I caught myself reflecting on the question if really need another journal devoted to this topic. The answer is yes when I realize the niche for this new journal. To achieve that we plan launch special issues and also use a strength of guarantee the quality of manuscripts are published by the rigor of its review process. While in major journals the publication can take months for acceptance to publish we will be very quick for a feedback.

Association of dogs (Canis lupus familiaris, Linnaeus, 1753) and risk perception of zoonotic infection for humans

Dogs were used by the early age people for various important purposes before being domesticated. They perform many roles for people, such as–hunting, herding, pulling loads, protection, assisting police and military, companionship and more recently, aiding handicapped individuals. However, dogs are also a source of meat in many countries like–Korea. In this modern world dogs are not just pets but they are treated like members of the family.

As pets have a close bond with human, there is a major risk of health hazard. Dogs harbor a number of infective stages of disease causative agents transmissible to man. They become infected with an internal or external parasite at some point in its lifetime. Parasites can affect the pets in a variety of ways, ranging from simple irritation to causing life-threatening conditions if left untreated. Some parasites can even infect and transmit diseases to human. To date, domestic animals represent an important source of zoonotic diseases. A zoonotic disease is a disease that can be passed between animals and humans. Household pets play a direct role in transmitting zoonosis.

Individual immune system responds differently

Each individual immune system is highly specific but extremely distant from other individuals. Based on recent technological advancement whole immune system analysis reveal different immune profiling for every individual. Herein, we clarified the detailed variation in the human immune system with coherence to their respective effecting factors. The most influencing factors include age, time, gender, heritable, non-heritable, non-pathogenic, pathogenic microbes, genetic makeup and environment. Correlating these factors analysis will help us to investigate and treat numerous immune pathological conditions with highest specificity at the doorstep of every individual in the near future.

Hepatitis C-related Diabetes Mellitus: A Health Dilemma Too Necessary to Consider

The suggestion of a possible association between diabetes mellitus and chronic HCV infection has revolutionized our recent understanding of non-communicable diseases. The initial idea behind this association was higher prevalence of diabetes mellitus among patients with cirrhosis due to chronic HCV infection compared to those with non-HCV-related cirrhosis (Gane, 2012). However, this was not always true, as some studies did not find an excess prevalence of diabetes mellitus in HCV-infected patients (Marmo, 1998., Imazeki, 2008). This discrepancy is not unexpected, since the prevalence of diabetes in patients with chronic HCV infection may be influenced by several factors such as HCV genotypes, viral load, the severity and duration of liver disease as well as interferon (IFN) therapy (Fenakel, 2000., Ferraz, 2002., Alaei, 2009).

The correlation between asthma disease and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory airway disease that has airway hypersensitivity causing coughing attacks, recurrent wheezing, and dyspnea and that is diagnosed based on anamnesis, spirometric examination, and physiological and pathological characteristics. It is found that its prevalence rate varies based on the countries and between 1% and 18%. Management of asthma, as stated by international guidelines, is based on the assessment of disease control. A useful numerical method to evaluate the level of disease control is the asthma control test (ACT), which includes questions regarding symptoms, medication use, and self-assessed disease control. Pathology of asthma is explained by the fact that numerous inflammatory cells and mediators affect all the airways.

The geo-sanitary conditions of taeniasis carriers, migration and the re emergence of neurocysticercosis

Geo-sanitary conditions in public health are a determining factor in understanding that disease processes are highly dynamic and respond to the conditions of the environmental context. Beyond the biological, immunological and therapeutic scenario in the management of the parasitic diseases which affect the human, the epidemiological conditions that involve the life cycle of the parasite are determinant to the behavior of the disease; such is the case of the Taeniasis and its clinical impact on neurocysticercosis. This is identified punctually how the sanitary conditions can generate the dissemination of the disease by the contamination with feces of human carriers.

A case of atopic dermatitis that healed completely

The case, which I wish to demonstrate, is that of a 37-year-old man (H.T.), who visited my clinic on September 19, 1991. He had had an atopic dermatitis since the age of 4 years. His dermatitis recovered in part spontaneously at the age of 15 and worsened at the age of 28. He was treated with repeated intra dermal injections with 1 ampoule of Asthremedin, a product of Nippon Pharmaceutical Company(Osaka), consisting of 2 mg peptone and extracts of rabbit’s skin and testis, killed small pox virus, and fungi, at 2-3 day-intervals. Shortly after the 66th injection, he suffered from a temporary worsening of the dermatitis, i.e., a considerable quantity of exudes, followed by a complete healing.

Incorporation of antigens from whole cell lysates and purified virions from MP12 into fluorescence microsphere immunoassays for the detection of antibodies against Rift Valley fever virus

Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a zoonotic virus belonging to the genus Phlebovirus and one of the five genera in the family Bunyaviridae. In ruminants, the disease is characterized by abortions, fetal deformities, and high mortality rates. Humans are also readily infected through aerosols from infected animals or by exposure to infected animal tissues, aborted foetuses, and from infected mosquitoes. 

RVFV is transmitted among ruminants and humans by direct contact with infectious tissues or by the bites of infected mosquito species of the Aedes and Culex genuses. Global warming has certainly had a great impact on the transmission patterns of RVF. Since the first outbreak in 1930, the geographical distribution of the virus has been expanded to several countries of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Now, there are growing concerns of the continued spread of RVF to other parts of the world, including the United States and European Union.

Lymphocyte subset and anti-HLA in AIDS Saudi patients

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection characterized by profound CD4+ T cell destruction compromised mucosal barrier function and chronic immune activation. In Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) considers a significant public health problem. Our study design incorporated sixty-six AIDS Saudi patients under Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART1) and after 6-12 months (HAART2), twenty healthy persons as a control. We measure subset lymphocyte cells by flow cytometry, CD3+4+ T cells, CD3+ 8+ T cells, and CD16+/CD56+ ratio were high significantly lower than controls in HARRT1 and HAART2 treatment (P ≤ 0.01). 

COBAS AmpliPrep assessed quantitation of HIV-1 RNA viral load in plasma, also Screening of Human leukocyte antigens antibodies (Panel reactive antibody (PRA)) measured by Luminex 100. There were no significant differences in class I, class II antibodies under the differences between groups, since the indication level value attained (0.311) Chi-square=4.780, and (0.104) Chi-square=4.531 respectively and these values were greater than (0.05) and inconsiderable. Contrary, the results of Class II showed considerable differences antibodies with variable gender. The level value attained (0.008), for study's Saudi women member. The more Immune-biomedical research will be needed in the future to decrease morbidity and mortality in HIV/AIDS patients.

Root tuber of Tacca leontopetaloides L. (kunze) for food and nutritional security

Root and tuber crops provide a substantial part of the world food supply and are also an important source of animal feed and industrial products. On a global basic, approximately 45% of root and tuber crop production is consumed as food, with the remainder used as animal feed or for industrial processing for products such as starch, distilled spirit, alcohol and fermented beverages including beer and a range of minor products. Millions of people in many developing countries do not have enough food to meet their daily requirements and many more are deficient in one or more micronutrients. In many cases rural communities depend on wild resources including wild edible plants to meet their food needs in periods of food shortage.

Geographical distribution of Lyme-like borreliosis in Brazil: Hot spots for research and surveillance.

From studies that have accompanied cases of this disease in the country it’s possible to identify that epidemiological, clinical and laboratories aspects are different from cases of Lyme disease recorded in the United States and Eurasia, the Brazilian Lyme borreliosis has been called Lyme-like disease or Syndrome Baggio-Yoshinari.

The etiological agent causer of this disease has not yet been detected (isolation and molecular characterization) in human samples from the cases described in the country and a portion of the medical and scientific community questions the occurrence of the disease in the Brazilian territory.

In order to increase the knowledge about Lyme-like borreliosis in Brazil, we analyzed the records included in the Gerenciador deAmbiente Laboratorial (GAL), which is the information system that collects the data on the requests for laboratory diagnostic tests in the scope of the Brazilian Health System.

Simultaneous identification of Mycoplasma gallisepticum and Mycoplasma synoviae by duplex PCR assay

Mycoplasma gallisepticum (M.G) and Mycoplasma synoviae (M.S) have recognized as common respiratory pathogens especially in chickens cause a lots of economic losses in poultry industries. The aim of this study was development and validation of duplex Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) for simultaneous detection of MG and MS. A total of 50 samples from tracheas, lungs and air sacs were taken from commercial broiler chicken farms in Iran. 

The samples were cultured in PPLO broth supplemented for M.S and M.G isolation and bacteria DNA were extracted by phenol/chloroform. The conserved region of 16S rRNA gene was applied for the detection of Mycoplasma genus in 163bp fragment and MG in 183 bp fragment and vlhA gene for detection of MS in 350 bp fragment. 

Health insurance a predominant medium for achieving universal healthcare in India – A farfetched dream?

In India, there are two kinds of insurances - Social Health Insurance (e.g. Employees State Insurance Scheme) & Voluntary Health Insurance. Even after years of grappling with health insurances, 71% of the healthcare costs are borne by the households. CGHS (Central Government Health Scheme), ESI (Employees State Insurance) and private insurance providers are major participants but they often ignore the population that needs the healthcare insurance the most. 

Self Help Groups and NGOs extend a number of Community based health insurance schemes. However, this covers only less than 1% of the country’s population. ESIS and CGHS taken together constituted 41% of total spending on insurance. The government has rolled out various schemes like RSBY (Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna) that cover population in informal sector but only the BPL (Below Poverty Line) and marginalized population. Still a large non-formal sector is there that is above the BPL but in dire need of health insurance as they are most susceptible to catastrophic health expenditures and fall below poverty line due to health expenditures. 

Eupatorium arnottianum

Parasitic diseases caused by Leishmania and Trypanosoma species, known as neglected tropical diseases, are responsible for high mortality and morbidity rates in developing countries. Leishmaniasis is caused by more than 20 species of the kinetoplastid protozoan parasite Leishmania, which is transmitted to humans by species of phlebotomine sand flies. 

It occurs in 98 countries with 350 million people living at risk. According to the varied manifestations of the disease, leishmaniasis is classified into four clinical forms: visceral, mucocutaneous, diffuse or disseminated cutaneous, and cutaneous. It is estimated that each year there are 200,000- 400,000 new cases of visceral leishmaniasis, 700,000- 1,200,000 new cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis, and about 20,000-30,000 deaths. 

Antiprotozoal activity of flavonoids from Eupatorium arnottianum

Parasitic diseases caused by Leishmania and Trypanosoma species, known as neglected tropical diseases, are responsible for high mortality and morbidity rates in developing countries. Leishmaniasis is caused by more than 20 species of the kinetoplastid protozoanparasite Leishmania, which is transmitted to humans by species of phlebotomine sand flies. It occurs in 98 countries with 350 million people living at risk. According to the varied manifestations of the disease, leishmaniasis is classified into four clinical forms: visceral, mucocutaneous, diffuse or disseminated cutaneous, and cutaneous.