Yemen to try new strategy to fight malaria

Yemen's health ministry recently announced a new strategy to fight malaria in the country at a reduced cost. In place of annual campaigns against the disease, it plans to have permanent teams looking after malaria-affected areas in the country. People from malaria-prone villages will be trained to implement preventive measures. The new strategy would lower costs as involvement of local people would cut down transportation and housing costs, said Abdul-Salam al-Aqel,

Aloe vera helps cure kala-azar

known for its cosmetic applications, aloe vera, the wonder plant, has now been found to possess ingredients that can cure kala-azar and some other forms of leishmaniasis. Ghrita Kumari, as the plant is locally known, can kill two forms of leishmania parasites, researchers from Kolkata's Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research and Indian Institute of Chemical Biology have found.

Vector control, drug infusion to check filariasis

lymphatic filariasis, commonly known as elephantiasis, has long been a major cause of acute and chronic morbidity among people in tropical and subtropical areas of Asia, Africa, the western Pacific and some parts of the Americas. Of the estimated 128 million cases of lymphatic filariasis, 91 per cent are caused by Wuchereria bancrofti.

Mosquito-specific pesticide in the offing?

is another menacing insecticide ready for a run? Scientists from Rochester University's Mayo Clinic in the us claim to have made a breakthrough in creating a pesticide that can kill mosquitoes without affecting people.

Floods lead to disease outbreak in Kenya

As the Rift Valley fever grips Kenya, at least 75 people have died and another 183 infected since the disease was first reported in November 2006. More than 500 livestock have so far died from the disease and the outbreak has forced the closure of livestock markets in the North Eastern Province.

IN SHORT

All for ageing oil well Oil and Natural Gas Corporation has inked an agreement with the Russian Tatarska Geophysica Technologies (TGT) for increasing production of matured fields. TGT is a service provider in well and reservoir management. The MoU is to put the ageing fields back into production and arrest decline from matured fields. Deal for solar rooftop

SOUTH ASIA

Tracking the snow leopard: The life and habits of the elusive snow leopard will no longer be a mystery. For the first time, a team has fitted a snow leopard with a global positioning system (GPS) collar to track its movements. The 35 kg female was captured on the Purdum Mali ridge in Pakistan. Over the next few months, the team aims to tag another four snow leopards. The solitary nature of snow leopards and their habitat in remote rocky terrains, make them difficult for study.

Yellow fever outbreak feared in Ivory Coast

Following the diagnosis of four cases of yellow fever in Ivory Coast, who has called for an immediate vaccination programme in the country.

Dengue outbreak in Delhi

delhi is in the grips of a severe outbreak of dengue, which has claimed a number of lives. Dengue cases started being reported in the capital since early September, but the issue came into focus when a student at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences died of the disease on September 30, 2006. The prime minister's family getting affected on October 4, 2006, further brought the issue into prominence.

IN SHORT

green guarantee: The Centre will extend its rural job guarantee schemes to plantations. State governments have been asked to deploy "tree guards" to protect "avenue plantations" on rural roads prescribed to be taken up under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana. The plantation costs will be covered by funds generated for the job schemes. Avenue plantation on both sides of rural roads are expected to create substantial wage employment opportunities and enhance livelihood support for the rural poor.