What ifs and should haves

  Athira Elssa Johnson                                                                               STORY MEMO Hypothesis : (1) The initial track of the story was an investigation into - Medication for drug-resistant TB - how are these drugs administered? Is it leading to issues for patients? How are clinical trials done for these drugs? Subject description:  Drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) happens when bacteria become resistant to the anti-tuberculosis drugs-- the drug that is meant to kill TB bacteria no longer works in that situation. DR-TB is also spread through the air. If untreated DR-TB ...

  Pitch one :  To look into discrimination and exclusion of lgbtqia+ community in India’s blood donation policy The Central government recently defended the decision to bar LGBTQIA+ (gay and transgender people) from donating blood in India, citing scientific evidence after a member of the transgender community moved the Supreme Court seeking to strike it down. The central government said the decision is because the community comes under the "high-risk" group for HIV/AIDS. There is a history of deliberate exclusion of the community to lead normal lives like others, perpetuated by the system. We would like to investigate the operation of blood donation and look into how the decisions, parameters, and eligibility of blood donation work. The investigation can find more about the mechanism of stigma and discrimination towards the community, in the medical system. -          We would talk to the donation org, healthcare departments, donation c...

Communicable disease control programs and immunizations for illnesses like measles that were delayed due to covid are back in routine  Chennai: The recent report released by the Georgian based medical organisation Centre for disease control and prevention (CDC)states India is first on the list of global measles outbreaks. Chennai takes steps to tackle communicable illnesses including measles parallel to monitoring the covid-19 cases.   International medical organizations observe the outbreaks in different parts of the world as a result of the disruptions in routine immunisation, particularly of measles.  The global measles outbreak list of countries by the CDC states, “Measles outbreaks are declared when the number of cases reported in an area is higher than the expected number of cases”.  India has 12,271 cases of measles as updated in January 2023. “ There is no measles outbreak in chennai , it's the  follow up of regular patients and tracking of children...

By defending a policy that bars the queer community from donating blood, the government and medical system violate queer health rights  Athira Elssa Johnson, Nikhila V  The Central government recently defended the decision to bar people from the gay and transgender community and female sex workers from donating blood in India dismissing them as a "high-risk" group for HIV/AIDS (Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) and sexually transmitted illnesses. This was in response to the petition filed by Thangjam Santa Singh (Santa Khurai), a transgender activist from Manipur, challenging clauses 12 and 51 in the Guidelines for Blood Donor Selection & Blood Donor Referral.  The guidelines were issued by the National Blood Transfusion Council (NBTC) and the National AIDS Control Organisation, in October 2017. In the petition, Singh points out that clauses 12 and 51 are unconstitutional and “violative of Articles 14, 15, and 21…” In response to the Centre, the Supreme Court said ...

  GLOBAL STATS OF THE INCIDENCE LEVEL OF DEADLY YET NEGLECTED ILLNESSES  AND HEALTH FINANCING OF INDIA The estimated number of new and relapse tuberculosis (TB) cases arising in a given year, expressed as the rate per 100 000 population – comes under the TB incidence data— Tracking the incidence data will keep the TB elimination under check to monitor ,diagnose, treat and prevent further infection. Keeping a close check on country wise TB incidence rate would help the medical system to treat the illness thereby not permitting the possibility of a drug resistance – which can be difficult to treat . -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- India falls first in the list of the first 10 countries that are badly hit by the Measles Outbreak, according to the January 2023 report by CDC. This clearly shows the need for implementing preventive measures to deal the outbreak . The recent reports of th...