Hepatitis C hits Calcutta

hepatitis c is stalking Calcutta. According to reports, one blood bank alone has detected 40 cases in the last seven months. Doctors in the city has warned that like hiv and hepatitis b , all blood units must be screened for this virus before transfusion. Doctors say that the mode of virus transfusion is still unknown. Described earlier as hepatitis non- a /non- b , this virus was identified in Japan in 1994.

New viruses on the prowl

outbreaks of previously unknown viruses is increasingly being reported from several parts of the world. The us Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( cdc ) in Atlanta, Georgia, has identified 50 new viruses that cause illness among humans.

The slippery killer

in the 18 years that we have known the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome ( aids ), medical science has made significant advances towards combating the menace.

Sneeze on

Disease that never was

ever since aids was reported in the early 1980s, different theories developed about its origins. However, the virus theory soon became established as 'the truth' about the cause of aids while all other view points and arguments were sidelined.

Unmasking the killer

when pig farmers and farm workers in Ipoh, Malaysia started dying last year, everybody suspected that it was due to the Japanese encephalitis ( je ) virus which is spread by the Culex mosquito. In November, the health authorities declared that je was the virus behind the spate of "mysterious" deaths in the pig-farming community around Ipoh.

Surviving Ebola

a string of new human pathogens has been added recently to the popular pantheon of demonology. The Ebola virus is one of the deadliest among these. It resembles the influenza virus in the early stages of infection in terms of its effects, and rapidly induces fever accompanied by shock, diffuse bleeding and the destruction of blood cells (haemorrhagic fever). It causes death in about 70 per cent of infections.

MONEYMAKERS

vaccine against hepatitis a: Smith-kline Beecham Pharmaceuticals have developed a new vaccine to prevent Hepatitis A. Harvix is a convenient two-dose vaccine for active immunisation against the disease. The vaccine is available in two variants, Harvix 720 Junior (for those between 12 months and 18 years) and 1440 Adult (for those over 18 years). Hepatitis A is widespread all over the third world. It is transmitted by indirect contamination of food, water and cooking utensils, among other things.

MALAYSIA

According to a senior us- government researcher, a mysterious virus epidemic that killed more than 100 people and devastated Malaysia's us $400 million pork industry could flare up again if care is not taken. "The epidemic may happen again, but if you are alert, you can stop it early," said Thomas Ksiazek of the Atlanta-based Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.

A mutating monster