Swine flu tamed?

Why we are bugged

I am sure most of us have not come across the word “zoonosis”. Speak about AIDS, SARS, bubonic plague and swine flu, the word acquires affinity. And then talk of dengue and malaria, it acquires an ominous urgency. Zoonosis is a collective noun for such—and some lesser known—infections that have jumped over from animals to humans. These infections are the subject of David Quammen’s book Spillover.

Check for chikungunya

How wind lures mosquitoes

A STUDY conducted in coastal Kenya has found a fascinating link between wind direction and transmission of malaria in nearby households. Geographical features, other than distance from water bodies or potential larval sites, that lead to formation of malaria hotspots are not fully understood.

Curse of excess

Future shock

It is a definite recipe for disaster, barely short of apocalypse. Thousands may die, millions get affected, and assets worth billions of dollars get destroyed. As human-induced greenhouse gases increase, so will extreme weather events like floods, heat waves and droughts.

Non-profit diseases

 

Chikungunya spreads its tentacles

 

A close hard look

Fever stalks UP

It’s four months now. Baba Raghav Das Medical College (BRDMC) in Gorakhpur has been brimming with children. Most are unconscious. Many have drip needles pierced through their skinny arms and legs. Their parents line the hospital corridors, eating, sleeping, weeping and some even defecating.