AHMEDABAD: The city on Tuesday reported 80 new Covid cases. With 114 patients discharged, the number of active cases reached 521. Across Gujarat, 225 new cases were reported and with 337 discharges, the number of active cases reached 1,755. One Covid death was recorded, in Rajkot city. The other cases included 29 from Vadodara city, 25 from Surat city, 11 from Dang, and 9 from Rajkot city. In the past two days there has been a reduction in overall cases, according to state health department figures. Eight patients are on ventilators. Two of the state's 33 districts have no active cases. Gujarat in the past 24 hours administered 2,081 first doses of Covid vaccine and 5,222 second doses. In all, 5.43 crore persons have had at least one dose and 5.39 crore have had two doses.
AHMEDABAD: After six days, the city again recorded sub-50 daily Covid cases at 39 – recording 84-day low daily tally. With discharge of 49 patients, active cases in Ahmedabad reached 555. The city also recorded death of a Covid patient. Across Gujarat, 158 Covid cases were recorded. Other cases included 20 from Vadodara city, 19 from Surat city, and 12 from Gandhinagar. Active cases in Gujarat reached 1,868 as discharges improved over new cases after two days. Out of 33 districts, 11 had 10 or less active cases. Gujarat in 24 hours vaccinated 1,411 persons for the first dose and 4,604 for the second. In all, 5.43 crore are administered first and 5.39 crore second dose of Covid vaccine.
Amid much talk of police reforms in the state, something seems to be going very wrong on that front — Gujarat has recorded the highest number of custodial death cases over a period of five years, reveals data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). The data also reveals that the total number of custodial deaths in the state has been increased by 120% from 2017 to 2021.In terms of custodial deaths registered in the country, Gujarat tops the list with 69 cases among all the states and Union Territories, followed by Maharashtra with 39 cases and Andhra Pradesh with 26 cases.Among the major instances of custodial deaths reported in the state, one was from back in December 2019 when Telangana native Babu Nisak Shaikh (65), a bedsheet seller who was visiting Vadodara for business, went missing from the Vadodara railway station area. A missing person complaint was filed with the Sayajigunj police station by Shaikh’s son and a habeas corpus petition was filed in the Gujarat High Court. Subsequently, an FIR was registered against six cops of Fatehgunj police station who had detained Shaikh and tortured him to make him confess to a theft. Shaikh died due to torture meted out to him. Later, his body was thrown in a canal. Shaikh’s body is yet to be foundeven though the entire canal was drained out.In another case, three cops of Bopal police station were booked for allegedly killing Naroda resident Surubha Zala (35), who was a suspect in a gold theft case.
AHMEDABAD: On Sunday, the city recorded 66 new Covid cases. With discharge of 76 patients, the active cases reached 558. Across Gujarat, 251 cases were recorded, and with 208 discharges, the active cases reached 1,954. Navsari district recorded death of a patient.Other cases included 39 from Vadodara city, 23 from Surat city, and 23 from Rajkot among others. Out of 33 districts, three had zero active cases.
AHMEDABAD: On Saturday, the city recorded 76 new Covid cases, making it the fourth consecutive day of fewer than 100 cases. The city also reported one of the two Covid deaths in Gujarat, the other was in Gir Somnath. Across Gujarat, 314 cases were reported. After nearly a week, the active case tally rose with more new cases than patients who recovered. On Saturday, Ahmedabad had 579 active cases and Gujarat 1,912. The other cases included 46 from Vadodara city, 25 from Surat city, 20 from Gandhinagar, and 14 each from Rajkot city and Valsad. Gujarat in the past 24 hours administered 1,857 first doses of Covid vaccines and 6,776 second doses. In all, 5.43 crore people have had at least one dose and 5.39 crore have had two.
AHMEDABAD: For the third consecutive day, the daily Covid cases in Ahmedabad city remained below 100 as the city saw 95 cases on Friday. The city also recorded the death of two Covid patients. In the past two days, the city has recorded three deaths. Across Gujarat, 290 positive cases were recorded. Other cases included 33 from Vadodara city, 21 from Surat city, 19 from Rajkot, as well as 17 from Rajkot city and Surat among others. Out of 33 districts, three districts had zero active cases. Gujarat in 24 hours vaccinated 2,581 persons for the first dose and 8,182 for the second. In all, 5.43 crore were administered the first dose and 5.38 crore were given the second dose of Covid vaccine. The state administered booster doses to 35,676 senior citizens, taking the total to 53.77 lakh. The state also administered 3.34 lakh booster doses to 18-59 years population, taking the total to 91.49 lakh.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday urged people to take their precautionary doses of vaccine against Covid-19 at a time when India has been seeing a rise in the number of cases. “I urge all present here to take a precautionary dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. On the completion of 75 years of independence, the government has started a campaign of giving free vaccine doses for 75 days,” Modi said as he virtually addressed a huge gathering while inaugurating Shrimad Rajchandra Multispecialty Charitable Hospital in the tribal area of Dharampur taluka of Valsad Thursday.“We should ensure that everybody in our family and our area or village takes the precaution dose,” the PM added. The PM’s reminder comes as the Central government commenced free supply of the Covid vaccines for 75 days as part of the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ campaign.The PM highlighted that in addition to the Covid vaccine campaign, India was also carrying out a nation-wide vaccination for animals, including cows and buffaloes, against the food and mouth disease. Around “12 crore vaccinations have been done of which 90 lakh were done in Gujarat”, the PM claimed. His statements came as Gujarat has been battling Lumpy Skin Disease, a viral disease that has been spreading across cattle population in the state and has claimed at least 1,838 cattle lives until Thursday.Praising the hospital, the PM said people in the tribal-dominated Dharampur and its nearby talukas will benefit from the new facility. “The commitment to serve the poor will become stronger through such a hospital,” Modi said, adding he was “glad that doctors and staff from Surat, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and foreign countries have come here to serve the people”.The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone of a Centre of Excellence for Women and Animal Hospital in Dharampur. “The Centre of Excellence for Women by Shrimad Rajchandra Mission will change the lives of many women in the tribal areas. Shrimad Rajchandraji had emphasised more on education and skill development. At a younger age, he had pressed his views on women empowerment,” he said.Newsletter | Click to get the day’s best explainers in your inboxHe said the Centre’s endeavours were directed at ensuring to remove all obstacles that “prevented our sisters and daughters from moving forward”.Modi also praised Shrimad Rajchandra, the 19th century Jain philosopher and poet, for making “huge contributions to the country’s history”. “It is unfortunate that we lost bright leaders who could have made the world aware of the knowledge and strength that India has, too soon,” Modi said about Rajchandra, who inspired Mahatma Gandhi.
Predicting a new variant of Covid-19 in India by November that may “evade the vaccine” and “increase hospitalisation”, chairman and managing director at Bharat Biotech (BB) International Limited Dr Krishna Ella advocated nasal vaccine as the next step for the protection of upper respiratory system as injectable vaccines can protect “only the lower part”.Speaking at the 43rd Vikram Sarabhai Memorial Lecture on “innovation and entrepreneurship” at the Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA) on Saturday, Ella said, “People who took the injectable vaccines are protected in the lower (respiratory system) part so they still get the infection because upper part of the lung is not protected. The nasal vaccine gives upper lung protection… We are optimistic that both injectable and nasal strategy will work,” said Dr Ella.Phase 3 trial for BB’s nasal vaccine was announced as completed in June this year and the company is yet to submit the trial data with the DCGI.Stating that conducting clinical trials during the pandemic was a challenge, Ella emphasised that during Covaxin development, “safety” was kept as the first tenet so that “healthy people do not get into trouble”. “Even if the efficacy is a little down, it doesn’t matter, but its safety profile is very very important,” he said.
Dr Gangakhedker was the head of the department of epidemiology and communicable diseases at the country’s apex Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. He is also a part of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO’s) scientific advisory group on origins of novel pathogens. He has been working on HIV/AIDS since the 1980s, contributing significantly towards the national policies in place today. He was also instrumental in handling the Nipah virus outbreak in Kerala in 2018.There have been over 18,000 cases of Monkeypox across 78 countries in the world, with 70 per cent cases being reported from Europe and 25 per cent cases from the Americas. Even though cases have rapidly spread across the world, there have only been five deaths, that too in countries where the infection was found even before the current outbreak, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). India has so far reported four cases – three from Kerala – all with a history of international travel – and one from Delhi without it.Now that we have detected a case of local transmission in India, are we likely to see more cases of Monkeypox in the coming months? Can the infection spread across the country like COVID-19?This virus does not have the classical pandemic potential. The first reason is the transmission efficiency is low. The Ro value (this is the basic reproduction number that represents the number of people who can get the infection from the affected) is far too less for a spread. It can never be like COVID-19 where the virus is transmitted rapidly through the respiratory route. This is mainly transmitted through sexual route.Second, not everyone is at an equal risk of getting the infection. The number of people at high risk is going to be smaller.Third, those with Monkeypox get skin lesions, with the symptoms starting between six to 13 days of getting the infection. If people are aware about the kind of lesions seen in Monkeypox, they will be careful about onward transmission.The WHO says that the disease is transmitted through close contact with lesions, bodily fluids, respiratory droplets and contaminated materials. It is still unclear about the infection being transmitted through sexual routes. What does evidence suggest?The transmission of Monkeypox from animals to humans is well established; the disease manifests in people living close to forests and consuming bush meat. Over the years, there has been an increase in human-to-human transmission but we still do not know everything about it.What we have seen till now is that the Ro is higher among men who have sex with men (MSM). And the reason that perhaps happens is because most of the lesions tend to occur in the peri-genital region. Though the Monkeypox virus has been documented as being present in the semen, we don’t know if it has replication potential. The mere presence of the virus doesn’t make the infection sexually transmissible. If someone is in the incubation period and doesn’t have lesions and another person gets it from unprotected sex, then it establishes that the virus in the semen is replication competent. This is what is called a classical sexually transmitted disease.Even otherwise, if the infections are occurring only in people where you can ascribe it to sexual activity, it is quite possible that it might emerge as a sexually transmitted infection. It took us a couple of years to establish HIV as a sexually transmitted disease, but with the speed of research these days, we might know for sure in one-and-a-half months.However, every organism has a preferred route of transmission and an accidental one. As we have seen cases in children, clearly there is transmission through skin lesions as well. Hence, it is essential that those infected remain in isolation and maintain hygiene in a way that household transmission can be prevented.Most of the cases reported so far are in MSM. Is there any reason men are at a higher risk of getting the infection?We have seen fewer cases of the infection being reported in women but it isn’t unheard of. There is a case series of pregnant women who got the infection reported from Congo.The prevalent gender inequality comes into play here. Women are less likely to seek care, especially if the lesions are in the genital area. Plus, if the infection is transmitted from the husband to the wife, and she knows that it is self-limiting, she might not seek care.This is compounded by the fact that the infections were mostly reported in regions near the forest, meaning access to health facilities weren’t very good, and among the poor. After all, that’s why they consumed bush meat. We should not stigmatise the infection so that people who do have symptoms seek care.What can be done to prevent the spread of the infection?It is preferable that people avoid sexual activities with partners who are unknown or not regular. If one does have sex with an unknown partner, a condom should be used – although, we still do not know whether condom can prevent transmission of Monkeypox.Good isolation and hygiene practices will also prevent household spread of the infection. It is always a good idea to wash hands after being outdoors.As for healthcare workers, they should just adhere to protocols that are followed for any infection – such as wearing gloves while checking the lesions or ensuring proper disposal of bio-medical waste so that those collecting or transporting it do not get exposed.The US is vaccinating high-risk populations post-exposure. Is there a need for vaccines here in India as well?It is too early to talk about vaccination; we have only reported four cases. We also need to look at the impact of the disease. There is a very low risk of death – less than one per cent. And, this estimate is based on data from Africa. So far, there have been no deaths reported outside Africa in the multi-country outbreak, though the number of cases has been pretty high. Statistically, the case fatality ratio is very, very low.The disease is not very severe, so the public health systems are unlikely to be over-burdened. Data from the Western countries shows that about 13 per cent of the cases are hospitalised. If you look at the breakup of the hospitalisations, many come in for pain management. This number is likely to be lower in India – varying among different socio-economic groups with different health-seeking behaviour. Most patients can be effectively isolated at home.The disease is as it is mildest, so is there a need for getting a vaccine after exposure to reduce severity? Also, the vaccine being used was developed against small pox, which has been eradicated. So there is no effectiveness data for it, it only has immunogenicity data. Why use it unless necessary?Can the smallpox vaccine, which was given to people before the elimination nearly 40 years ago, help?Theoretically, it’s possible. But for that we have to assume that our immune system still remembers a vaccine that was given 42 years ago. We don’t have evidence for that. But, then there are vaccines like the one for measles that is needed only once.Two genome sequences from the patients in Kerala have been uploaded by India. The infections have been caused by a different sub-lineage from the one that has been most commonly found. What does this mean?I think we should not over analyse these phylogenetic data. There can be any number of mutations in a virus but unless there are any clinical manifestations of it, it doesn’t matter to people. It is still important data but it is too premature to talk about it now.
Dr Gangakhedker was the head of the department of epidemiology and communicable diseases at the country’s apex Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. He is also a part of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO’s) scientific advisory group on origins of novel pathogens. He has been working on HIV/AIDS since the 1980s, contributing significantly towards the national policies in place today. He was also instrumental in handling the Nipah virus outbreak in Kerala in 2018.There have been over 18,000 cases of Monkeypox across 78 countries in the world, with 70 per cent cases being reported from Europe and 25 per cent cases from the Americas. Even though cases have rapidly spread across the world, there have only been five deaths, that too in countries where the infection was found even before the current outbreak, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). India has so far reported four cases – three from Kerala – all with a history of international travel – and one from Delhi without it.Now that we have detected a case of local transmission in India, are we likely to see more cases of Monkeypox in the coming months? Can the infection spread across the country like COVID-19?This virus does not have the classical pandemic potential. The first reason is the transmission efficiency is low. The Ro value (this is the basic reproduction number that represents the number of people who can get the infection from the affected) is far too less for a spread. It can never be like COVID-19 where the virus is transmitted rapidly through the respiratory route. This is mainly transmitted through sexual route.Second, not everyone is at an equal risk of getting the infection. The number of people at high risk is going to be smaller.Third, those with Monkeypox get skin lesions, with the symptoms starting between six to 13 days of getting the infection. If people are aware about the kind of lesions seen in Monkeypox, they will be careful about onward transmission.The WHO says that the disease is transmitted through close contact with lesions, bodily fluids, respiratory droplets and contaminated materials. It is still unclear about the infection being transmitted through sexual routes. What does evidence suggest?The transmission of Monkeypox from animals to humans is well established; the disease manifests in people living close to forests and consuming bush meat. Over the years, there has been an increase in human-to-human transmission but we still do not know everything about it.What we have seen till now is that the Ro is higher among men who have sex with men (MSM). And the reason that perhaps happens is because most of the lesions tend to occur in the peri-genital region. Though the Monkeypox virus has been documented as being present in the semen, we don’t know if it has replication potential. The mere presence of the virus doesn’t make the infection sexually transmissible. If someone is in the incubation period and doesn’t have lesions and another person gets it from unprotected sex, then it establishes that the virus in the semen is replication competent. This is what is called a classical sexually transmitted disease.Even otherwise, if the infections are occurring only in people where you can ascribe it to sexual activity, it is quite possible that it might emerge as a sexually transmitted infection. It took us a couple of years to establish HIV as a sexually transmitted disease, but with the speed of research these days, we might know for sure in one-and-a-half months.However, every organism has a preferred route of transmission and an accidental one. As we have seen cases in children, clearly there is transmission through skin lesions as well. Hence, it is essential that those infected remain in isolation and maintain hygiene in a way that household transmission can be prevented.Most of the cases reported so far are in MSM. Is there any reason men are at a higher risk of getting the infection?We have seen fewer cases of the infection being reported in women but it isn’t unheard of. There is a case series of pregnant women who got the infection reported from Congo.The prevalent gender inequality comes into play here. Women are less likely to seek care, especially if the lesions are in the genital area. Plus, if the infection is transmitted from the husband to the wife, and she knows that it is self-limiting, she might not seek care.This is compounded by the fact that the infections were mostly reported in regions near the forest, meaning access to health facilities weren’t very good, and among the poor. After all, that’s why they consumed bush meat. We should not stigmatise the infection so that people who do have symptoms seek care.What can be done to prevent the spread of the infection?It is preferable that people avoid sexual activities with partners who are unknown or not regular. If one does have sex with an unknown partner, a condom should be used – although, we still do not know whether condom can prevent transmission of Monkeypox.Good isolation and hygiene practices will also prevent household spread of the infection. It is always a good idea to wash hands after being outdoors.As for healthcare workers, they should just adhere to protocols that are followed for any infection – such as wearing gloves while checking the lesions or ensuring proper disposal of bio-medical waste so that those collecting or transporting it do not get exposed.The US is vaccinating high-risk populations post-exposure. Is there a need for vaccines here in India as well?It is too early to talk about vaccination; we have only reported four cases. We also need to look at the impact of the disease. There is a very low risk of death – less than one per cent. And, this estimate is based on data from Africa. So far, there have been no deaths reported outside Africa in the multi-country outbreak, though the number of cases has been pretty high. Statistically, the case fatality ratio is very, very low.The disease is not very severe, so the public health systems are unlikely to be over-burdened. Data from the Western countries shows that about 13 per cent of the cases are hospitalised. If you look at the breakup of the hospitalisations, many come in for pain management. This number is likely to be lower in India – varying among different socio-economic groups with different health-seeking behaviour. Most patients can be effectively isolated at home.The disease is as it is mildest, so is there a need for getting a vaccine after exposure to reduce severity? Also, the vaccine being used was developed against small pox, which has been eradicated. So there is no effectiveness data for it, it only has immunogenicity data. Why use it unless necessary?Can the smallpox vaccine, which was given to people before the elimination nearly 40 years ago, help?Theoretically, it’s possible. But for that we have to assume that our immune system still remembers a vaccine that was given 42 years ago. We don’t have evidence for that. But, then there are vaccines like the one for measles that is needed only once.Two genome sequences from the patients in Kerala have been uploaded by India. The infections have been caused by a different sub-lineage from the one that has been most commonly found. What does this mean?I think we should not over analyse these phylogenetic data. There can be any number of mutations in a virus but unless there are any clinical manifestations of it, it doesn’t matter to people. It is still important data but it is too premature to talk about it now.
