The Union Health Ministry expressed concerns on e-pharmacy over "free-run " of medicines especially sedatives and mood-altering drugs, illegal profiling of buyers and unlawful data collection, calling it 'too dangerous'.  

Mentioning consumer safety as the primary focus, the ministry is in action to finalise and implement the draft on e-pharmacy rules. 

Currently, Drugs and Cosmetics Act , 1940 regulates the import, manufacturing and distribution of drugs.        

Previously, the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) sent show-cause notices to 20-odd e-pharmacies including Tata 1mg, NetMeds, Practo etc. stating the selling of drugs that are not for retail sale and should only be done by a pharmacist.       

As per E- pharmacy market in India 2022-27 report, the market has flourished tremendously for providing superior and practical solution to customer problems and is expected to rise from its current worth of ₹25.50 billion in 2022 to ₹89.47 billion in 2027 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.20%. 

According to the report, more than 4.5 million women and kids perish each year during pregnancy, childbirth, or the first few weeks following delivery.   

Worldwide, the death rates of expectant mothers and babies remain intolerably high, and the COVID-19 pandemic has made it harder to get them the healthcare they require.  

In the report, "Improving maternal and newborn health and survival and reducing stillbirth," the most recent statistics regarding these deaths are evaluated.   

The analysis demonstrates that since 2015, improvements in survival have stalled, with 290 000 maternal deaths annually, 1.9 million stillbirths, and 2.3 million newborn fatalities.  

More than 75% of all nations affected by armed conflict and Sub-Saharan Africa report decreasing funding for maternal and neonatal health since 2018.  

Less than 60% of pregnant women obtain even four of the eight antenatal visits that the WHO recommends in the worst-affected nations in Sub-Saharan Africa and Central and Southern Asia.

More than 60 nations are not expected to achieve the reduction objectives for maternal, neonatal, and stillbirth mortality under the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 based on current trends.

Tick bites causes multiple diseases especially Lyme's Disease. 

Around 30,000 infections are annually reported in USA and 3000-5000 in India. 

The most common exposure route is through trekking, gardening, camping or even playing outside, where the chances of being bitten by a Black-Legged Tick is high. 

There are a few ways to protect ourselves from Tick bites:- 

Tick resides in humid and moist environment, so always try to walk in the middle of the trail and avoid trespassing through any thick vegetation. 

Use skin repellents using appropriate chemical insecticide for topical use or infused in clothing; Chemicals includes permethrin, DEET, picardin etc. 

Daily Tick checks via visible inspection at certain body parts like under the arms, in and around ears, inside the belly button, back of the knees, in and around all head and body hair, between the legs and around the waist; Check for clothing and pets as well. 

If a Tick is found attached to any surface, remove carefully with a fine-tipped tweezers. 

Unexpected summer fever or odd rash with a travel history in Tick habitat may be an early sign of Lyme's Disease. Consult a healthcare provider at the earliest. 

Use chemical control agents on pets to control ticks.

A multi-country study assessing the accuracy of an app, OptiBP, which estimates blood pressure through the camera of a smartphone by reading optical pulse waves was rolled out.  

It was identified by WHO as innovative health technology for low-resource settings, that will be incorporated into the health system during routine antenatal care.  

It will be one of the digital health interventions for health system strengthening but needs evaluation and evidence for its appropriate integration.  

The study will evaluate these tools effectiveness and accuracy in as many contexts as possible in future.

Outbreak of Lassa fever is reported in Nigeria. 

There has been 877 confirmed cases and 4702 suspected cases with 152 deaths and a case fatality of 17%.  

Three states, Ondo (32%), Edo (29%) and Bauchi (11%), account for the majority of confirmed cases (72%) in the country.  

Lassa fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic disease caused by the Lassa virus.  

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and health authorities of affected states are leading the response to the outbreak.  

No vaccine for Lassa fever is currently available for use in humans.

National Mission For Clean Ganga Organizes River-Cities Alliance Global Seminar On 4th May 2023. 

National Mission For Clean Ganga (NMCG) in association with the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) organized the ‘River-Cities Alliance (RCA) Global Seminar: Partnership for Building International River-Sensitive Cities’ in New Delhi.  

River Cities Alliance:  Joint initiative of the Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation under the Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS) & the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), with a vision to connect river cities and focus on sustainable river centric development. 

The Purpose of the seminar was to provide a platform for officials of member cities and international stakeholders to discuss and learn good practices for managing urban rivers. 

The Notable points discussed in the seminar were regarding the Best practises by international cities of Greater Manchester, Hamburg, Copenhagen, Aarhus and national cities of Ayodhya and Udaipur in developing their rivers; Decentralised Urban Wastewater Management System in Japan and also the Contributions of NMCG – Urban Agenda and Urban River Management Plan Framework, STPs to address issues of faecal contamination.

On 14 April 2023, the Ministry of Health (MoH) of South Sudan declared an outbreak of the hepatitis E Virus (HEV) in Wau city, the capital of Western Bahr el-Ghazal state.     

23rd March – 13th April, 2023:  91 HEV suspected cases, 35 confirmed cases; 5 deaths reported; Case fatality ratio – 5.5%        

Median age – 20 years (range 2-71); Males – 74% of cases 

HEV cases have been consistently reported in South Sudan since 2018, with recurrent outbreaks in Bentiu IDP (internally displaced persons) camp which houses around 170000 individuals. 

The Reasons for the outbreaks are  –   Poor sanitation and hygiene practices, especially in the IDP camp; limited availability of safe drinking water; poor access to essential medical services; the presence of a large IDP population in South Sudan; financial constraints;  limited local capacity to carry out response activities effectively

Public health response (South Sudan MoH and WHO and partners) – Immediate activation of the Public Health Emergency Operations Center and all response pillars: coordination, surveillance, case management, WASH, IPC, RCCE, safe and dignified burial, points of entry, and logistics.

 National Program for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS) in India, which is being implemented under the National Health Mission, is being expanded to include new diseases and initiatives such as Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, Chronic Kidney Disease, and STEMI. 

To reflect this expansion, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has decided to rename NPCDCS as "National Programme for Prevention & Control of Non-Communicable Diseases" (NP-NCD). 

Additionally, the Comprehensive Primary Healthcare - Non-Communicable disease (CPHC NCD) IT system, which enables screening and management of NCDs, will now be called the "National NCD Portal".  

This comes in a letter by the Joint Secretary, MoHFW, dated 03.05.2023 which also advises State Governments and Union Territories to use these new names in all future references and correspondences with the Government of India.

The International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) Emergency Committee announced on 4th May 2023 that the COVID-19 pandemic is no more a "public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC)." 

On the 15th meeting, the Committee considered the following: Increasing herd immunity, vaccination, better case management, and consistently low virulence of the circulating strains of COVID-19 renders it not under the PHEIC category. 

The Surveillance and vaccination equity gaps remain and require attention. 

The "2023-2025 COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan" focus on it as an ongoing health issue and directs attention from emergency to long-term management.

The Food Security Information Network (FSIN) and Global Network Against Food Crises (GNAFC) have come up with a joint analysis report, "Global Report on Food Crises." 

The Report shows 258 million people across 58 countries in 2022 were in acute food insecurity. 

The main drivers of acute food insecurity are Conflict Economic crisis Extreme weather conditions. 

South Sudan had a food crisis of the highest severity. 

More than 50% of people in the seven countries who suffered "Catastrophe" (extreme starvation, malnutrition, and death) belonged to Somalia.

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Under Swachh Bharat Mission Urban 2.0, many cities have ingeniously revitalized neglected places into social hubs. 

Bhopal converted 37 acres of dumpsite into a gorgeous green zone welcome post for the city.  

Navi Mumbai took a unique route and built a multi-sports arena with safety nets in the free space under the Sanpada flyover. 

Surat and Patna converted their dumping grounds into biodiverse, sustainable open parks with benches made of discarded tires, tins, etc.  

These initiatives make the environment clean and green, promoting the health and well-being of the urban residents.

From 3 to 30 April 2023, WHO reported 2.8 million new COVID-19 cases and 17000 deaths, a decrease of 19% new cases, 30% deaths compared to 6 March- 2 April 23 data. 

The decrease in numbers may be due to decrease in testing, delays in reporting.  

The variants of interest (VOIs): XBB.1.5 and XBB.1.6

Variants under monitoring (VUMs): seven variants.  

Out of 11 South-East Asian countries, eight countries have contributed in large numbers.  

India holds the maximum contribution (222,784 new cases and 652 deaths), followed by Indonesia and Thailand.  

Across the 6 WHO regions,  the European region had the highest contribution to new hospitalizations and ICU admissions followed by SEAR to new hospitalizations and East Mediterranean regions to new ICU admission.