Observe World Diabetes Day on November 14

 

WHO has estimated between 3 to 4 million will die due to complications of diabetes. Don't be included in these statistics!

A brief story of sugar:

This is what Pliny the elder (AD 23/24-79), a Roman naturalist and natural philosopher, wrote about sugar made from sugar cane,"

"Sugar is made in Arabia as well, but Indian sugar is better. It is a kind of honey found in cane, white as gum, and it crunches between the teeth. It comes in lumps the size of a hazelnut. Sugar is used only for medical purposes.". 

This shows that India's dalliance with sugar is from antiquity. It is said that this sweet and deadly stuff originated in India. It is also known that China (around 647 C.E) sent missions to India to get sugar refining technology. Indian sugar was taken to Brazil by the Portuguese and created a thriving industry. -Wikipedia

Sugar and indentured labor:

Sugar was also responsible for indentured Indian laborers shipped off to far-off places by the English. Indentured laborers were slightly better than slaves but were also widely exploited by their white supervisors who also abused them.

India is the largest producer of sugar:  

https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/india-becomes-the-largest-producer-of-sugar-in-the-world/articleshow/91788423.cms%E2%80%A6,-Search%20for%3A

That is great news. It is also the second-largest exporter of sugar. This is also good news. But India is also called sometimes the diabetes capital of the world. Not good, bad news.

India and diabetes:

https://www.thecitizen.in/index.php/en/NewsDetail/index/8/12321/Is-India-The-Diabetes-Capital-Of-The-World---#:~:text=Often%20known%20as%20the%20diabetes%20capital%20of%20the,due%20to%20high%20blood%20sugar%20in%20the%20world.

According to WHO an estimated 3.4 million die due to diabetes-related diseases.

Indians and sweets:

Indians love sweets and there is no festival that is celebrated without sweets. In present-day India, it has become even more popular with more and more types of sugary sweets (obesity has become a problem. Not only solid sweets but also sugared liquids both domestic and foreign). But perhaps it is time to take a step back and moderate at first and severely limit with time the intake of sugars. It should not result in the loss of life which takes so long to put in place.

The addiction is real:

Every time I visit Bengaluru I gorge on sweets. This said, I do not drink coffee with sugar, and seldom eat ice cream or cakes. I shun everything sweet.

These are the places I visit in Bengaluru and my brother-in-law is the co-culprit.

Pictures from the 2019 Deepavali Series (Festival of Lights)

Recommendation:

Celebrate World Diabetes Day by denying for one whole month (at least)of sugary sweets on November 14, 2022.

Look out for my next post:

My experiments with sugar control

Face of democracy: INDIA has chosen a learned person from a tribal community as its First Citizen

 

 

India has chosen Draupadi Murmu from ODISHA as its First Citizen. She belongs to a tribal community and is a teacher. She has experience in the government including a governorship.

Here is a list of the other illustrious people who were the First Citizens (Draupadi Murmu is also included).

List of presidents of India - Wikipedia

Today (7/23/2022) my good friend and mentor Swarn Kalsi forwarded this heart-rending account about our new president Shrimati Draupadi Murmu and how she found peace:

"Shrimati Draupadi Murmu’s personal life is a story of resilience and ‘self-pride’. There was an unforgettable moment for her in 2009 when her 25-year-old son Lakshman died unexpectedly after attending a gathering in Bhubaneshwar. His death broke her. Supriya Kumari, head of the Brahma Kumari ashram in Rairangpaur, Odisha says, “She was completely shattered. She wasn’t having any life within her to even talk.”

In one of the talks on Brahma Kumari’s television program, Draupadi Murmu herself narrated this event, “The tsunami came into my life in 2009. It was a huge jolt to me. I couldn’t hear anything for a few days. I slipped into depression. Log kehte the ye to mar jaegi (People thought I would not survive). But, no, I wanted to live.”

After two months, she visited Supriya Kumari in the Brahma Kumaris ashram, completed a course, and learnt Sahaj Rajyog. She recovered by changing her life. Since then, *she gets up every day around 3.30 am* and retires to *bed by 9.30 pm*. She *does yoga and meditation unfailingly and is punctual as well*. The spiritual bent of life not only survived her but stabilized her too.

But tragedy befell Murmu again when her younger son, Shipun, died in a road accident. When his body was brought home, she was broken completely, once again.

Rajesh Sharma, a local journalist who was present at her home, says, “She was crying uncontrollably. She broke down before her son’s body. She raised her hands to the sky, asking, ‘God, what more do you want from me? What is left now?’” The catastrophe came in droves.

In an indescribable series of events, her mother and a younger brother died within a month. And a year later, due to deep depression, her husband, Shyam Charan Murmu, died as well.

At that point, Droupadi Murmu told a TV anchor with pain in her voice: “When my second son died, the jolt was a little less than before because I was doing meditation. My husband wasn’t as strong as me, so he couldn’t survive.” She insisted on her only daughter, Itishree, to marry and lead a normal life. *After the deaths of five family members, she turned to spirituality and vegetarianism*. When she was the governor of Jharkhand (2015-2021), she made the kitchen completely vegetarian. She is likely to bring many fundamental changes in the running of the government in the Rashtrapati Bhavan if she becomes the President.

Draupadi Murmu has *donated her family’s land in Pahadpur for public causes*. She runs the SLS residential school in memory of her husband and two sons. At the exact location, she has made samadhis in their memory. It’s a heart-wrenching sight.

At the same time when you see tribal girls and boys getting free education and decent surroundings around samadhis, you can visualize carving out a beautiful future out of a deadly past.

Take a bow Draupadi Murmu, to be the President of India!"

How are COVID-19 (Wuhan Virus) variants classified?

WHO has classified them as Variants of Interest (VOI) and Variants of Concern (VOC).
Here is a list from the WHO site mentioned in this post.

Variants of Interest:

Variants of Concern:

Mayo Clinic seems to think that the vaccines developed for COVD-19 are not so efficient against the mutations observed in the variants. 

Hence there is movement to create booster shots which translates to more business for the vaccine makers. Are we seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, or the tunnel is bifurcating in all directions?

Variants causing concern in the US (https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/expert-answers/covid-variant/faq-20505779) are:

"Alpha. (B.1.1.7). This COVID-19 variant appears to spread more easily and might have an increased risk of hospitalization and death.

Beta (B.1.351). This variant appears to spread more easily. It also reduces the effectiveness of some monoclonal antibody medications and the antibodies generated by a previous COVID-19 infection or COVID-19 vaccine.

Gamma (P.1). This variant reduces the effectiveness of some monoclonal antibody medications and the antibodies generated by a previous COVID-19 infection or a COVID-19 vaccine.

Epsilon (B.1.427). This variant appears to spread more easily. It reduces the effectiveness of antibodies generated by a previous COVID-19 infection or COVID-19 vaccine.

Epsilon (B.1.429). This variant appears to spread more easily. It reduces the effectiveness of antibodies generated by a previous COVID-19 infection or COVID-19 vaccine.

Delta (B.1.617.2). This variant appears to spread more easily. It might reduce the effectiveness of some monoclonal antibody treatments and the antibodies generated by a COVID-19 vaccine."

Colombian Variant:

The B.1.621 variant has been reported in 26 different countries and territories since it was first recorded by the World Health Organization, including the U.S.

https://www.who.int/en/activities/tracking-SARS-CoV-2-variants/

Corona Virus Pandemic and the QUAD Countries

 These important country groupings for mutual economic benefits have also suffered. Only two of its members seem to have done good. Here is a pictorial to illustrate with data from the JHU.

Looks like India and Japan have not been doing well recently. It is critical for Japan hosting the Olympics in a matter of few weeks. It surely does not bode well for Japan.

More COVID-19 vaccines from India

 

There are 7 vaccines in India that may contribute to controlling the COVID-19 threat. Zydus will be coming with two different types.

 Here is a list. Follow the link at the end of the post for more details.

1. Covaxin - Bharath Biotech

2. Zydus Cadila's (2) -ZyCoV-D

3. AstraZeneca

4. Biological E        -from Hyderabad, Feb 2021

5. Mynvax -from Bengaluru's IISC based research. Recombinant type

6. Gennova -from Pune, mRNA type, Probably March 2021

Here is a full list:

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health-news/coronavirus-vaccines-in-india-heres-a-list-of-all-covid-19-vaccines-made-in-india/photostory/79463339.cms

India begins its massive vaccination program on January 16

The first ones to get the vaccine are the front-line workers estimated at 30 million. The second group to follow are people above the age of 50 and those below the age of 50 with co-morbidity. The second group is estimated at 270 million. I am sure the AADHAR project will be of immense use.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/all-india-vaccine-rollout-set-for-next-week-govt/articleshow/80123824.cms

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/covid-19-vaccination-drive-to-kick-off-on-jan-16-govt/articleshow/80187668.cms

Read more at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/80187668.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Read more at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/80187668.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

https://www.ibtimes.com/india-start-mammoth-vaccination-drive-january-16-3118013

It is noteworthy that an Indian Pharmaceutical  (Bharat Biotech)

company could develop a vaccine in record time to address the emergency.

Update: COVID-19 new cases and mortality

COVID-19 new cases are increasing across the globe. This post looks at three countries that have experienced the maximum damage. 

Here is comparison for two dates, 11/14/2020  and 11/22/2020.

The below graphics are all on 11/16/2020. The US trend is alarming for the new cases. Even Brazil is on the brink of going higher in the coming weeks.

It is imperative that the travel during the coming months should be avoided. The holiday celebrations are great, but you do not want to spend it in a hospital wearing breathing machines and experience other ensuing complications. It would have been so nice if the vaccines were available a month earlier.

India claims this is fake news from China

 The Times reported that China has used a microwave weapon in Ladakh to repel Indian soldiers from their position, based on the report of a talk given by a Chinese professor Jin Canrong of Renmin university in Beijing.

Details here:  https://hodentek.blogspot.com/2020/11/chinese-use-microwave-weapons-to-repel.html

However, Indian army has denied that any such event took place during the confrontation in Ladakh.

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/india-on-reports-that-china-used-microwave-weapons-in-ladakh-fake-news-2326640

It appears more like a 'fake news' circulated by China. Most news in China are monitored and it is highly likely the hews was fake. Visit the site for more fake news: https://pib.gov.in/factcheck.aspx

Looking at the logic of this announcement it appears this 'fake' news was more for domestic consumption. It definitely makes it appear China having superior technology and using judiciously  to 'avoid firing bullets'.

This said in news from such such areas of conflict may need to be taken with a (sizeable) grain of salt.

An Update: Covid-19 vaccine developments in India

India's Serum institute is ready with 40 million doses of AstraZeneca's Vaccine ready to ship and the Novavax's vaccine will be made. The bulk of Novavax vaccine has been received by Serum. Both of these need regulatory approval.

Serum has been working on getting regulatory approval for AstraZeneca's vaccine  from India based on its trial on 1600 participants. 

The final recipients of these vaccines are yet to be published.

• Additionally, India has two home-grown vaccines in development..

• Reddy's laboratories is carrying put out a trial of Russia's Sputnik vaccine developed by the Gemaleya Institute.

• Other major development has been the over 90% success rate of the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.

Current (as of 11/14/2020) statistics for the most affected 3 countries derived from Johns Hopkins' data is shown below.

Country	All Time		Past Day		Past Week		Past Month
	Confirmed Cases	Deaths	New Cases	New Deaths	New Cases	New Deaths	New Cases	New Deaths
INDIA	8,773,479	129,188	44,684	520	311,399	3,626	1,466,382	17,922
BRAZIL	5,810,652	164,737	29,070	456	179,471	2,722	669.789	12,990
US	10,737,335	244,332	177,224	1,138	979,723	7,327	2,841,426	27,143

Source :    https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/region

It goes beyond saying that we need to outpace the virus and develop the vaccine(s) to put an end to this  human tragedy.

India's Corona Virus situation is slightly improving

 Both Indian news media and John's Hopkins' data seem to indicate that the Corona Virus situation is getting better.

 

Fortunately, the number of deaths though appearing big compared to the population has been low so far.

With the coming holiday and festival season coming this situation is likely to go the other way. Another environmental factor that my get the situation southwards is the increasing pollution and dust. I hope Bengaluru and various other municipalities made use of the restrictions to better plan their traffic situation in controlling air pollution.

 Happy Navratri for all our friends, family and Indian citizens.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/life-style/navaratri-2020-kalash-sthapna-date-puja-vidhi-muhurat-timings-6724917/

Dr. Reddy's Laboratory in India teams with Russia's RDIF for Sputnik V Vaccine trials

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and Dr. Reddy's laboratory has received renewed approval to conduct late-stage clinical trials in India.

This new trial will have 1500 participants. Dr. Reddy's will do the clinical trials, and if approved will distribute the vaccine. RDIF will supply 100 million doses to Reddy's.

Other countries where sputnik V will be tried are Belarus, Venezuela and UAE. Russia is doing a Phase III trial with 40,000 participants.

If everything goes well Indian manufacturer will produce 300 million doses.

The above is abstracted from the Reuters' site.

https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-russia-india-idUSR4N2GK04T

Links to Sputnik V

https://sputnikvaccine.com/

Dr. Reddy's Laboratory is traded as an ADR (RDY).

Convalescent Plasma Therapy is getting new traction

"Plasma therapy is not new. German physiologist Emil von Behring won the Nobel Prize in 1901 for using it to treat diphtheria. It was also used during the Spanish Flu in 1918." -  Quoted from an Indian news link.

 It was tried early on in Wuhan. As it was not a clear test for the use of plasma therapy, it did not draw attention. But many countries are experimenting as the process of getting the plasma appears easy. Unfortunately, there is no definitive proof it will work. However, desperation has lead people to go for it and demand.

It was today announced that it has emergency authorization in the USA.

Read more here:

June 3, 2020
https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20200603/plasma-therapy-helps-critically-ill-covid-patients#1

July 13, 2020
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-53387607

August 21, 2020
https://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/info-2020/fda-halts-plasma-use-for-covid.html

August 23, 2020
https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/08/23/905277083/fda-authorizes-convalescent-plasma-as-emergency-treatment-for-covid-19

COVID-19 vaccine testing status in India

According to WHO 26 vaccine candidates are being developed. Decades of development have been squeezed into less than a year. The infection has been rampant in India with over 2.2 million and the fatality of 44,000 in India.

Three vaccines are in different phases of testing:

1. Bharath Biotech vaccine
2. Zydus Cadila's DNA vaccine
3. The Oxford vaccine manufactured by Serum Institue of India (SII) has been approved for Phase II and Phase III trials at 17 sites within a week.

[1. and 2. have completed Phase I and will be beginning Phase 2 clinical trials]

Other news:

• Immunology and vaccine research in Bengaluru will start in collaboration with Emory Vaccine Center in Atlanta
• Serum Institue of India will be partnering with GAVI and Bill Gates & Melinda foundation to deliver 100 million doses and manufacturing starting in August 2020.
• Moderna started testing Phase III with 30,000 study subjects on July 27

-------------------------------------------
Summarized from Hindustan Time of Aug 11,2020
https://tinyurl.com/y6qjsu9q
-------------------------------------------
or

https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/covid-19-latest-updates-3-indian-vaccines-under-trial-russia-to-allow-civilian-use-this-week/story-eUNncepriH354QPlOjXflK.html

Fast-Track Clinical trials of Indian indigenous vaccine for COVID-19

Indian Council of Medical Research has partnered with Bharat Biotech International Limited  to fast-track clinical trials of the indigenous COVID-19 vaccine. No country can wait to test and regular protocols must be replaced by fast-track methods.

Source: This document was forwarded to me via WhatsApp.

FabiFlu for corona virus COVID-19 approved in India

FabiFlu is the first oral favipiravir-approved medication in India for the treatment of Covid-19

More here: https://tinyurl.com/y8g2jyyh

What is FabiFlu?

According to Glenmark, India:

•It is a prescription-based medication, with recommended dose being 1,800 mg twice daily on day one, followed by 800 mg twice daily up to day 14, the drug firm said.

•Available Through Retail & Hospital Channels

•200 Mg Tablet, 34 Tablets in A Strip, ₹103/Tablet ..Strip MRP ₹3500

•The company is producing the active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) for the product at its Ankleshwar plant, while the formulation is being manufactured at its Baddi plant.

•Finally A Good News In Fight Against COVID19. It's Launched Under Brand Name FabiFlu.

•FabiFlu(Favipiravir ) has shown clinical improvement of up to 88 per cent in mild to moderate COVID-19 cases.

Who makes it in India?

Source: IndiaNewsTV.com

Glenmark launches Covid-19 drug at Rs 103 per tablet.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenmark_Pharmaceuticals

Who made the original Favipiravir?

FabiFlu is same as Avigan in Japan. Avigan was developed in 2014 by Fujifilm Toyama Chemical, a unit of Fujifilm Holdings.

According to FujiFilm spokesperson,

“Avigan is a viral RNA polymerase inhibitor, with a new mechanism of action that inhibits viral gene replication within infected cells,”.

Japan is testing Avigan in 43 countries.

More here: https://tinyurl.com/yaek2jxv

Latest COVID-19 news from India

This snapshot of the interactive graph is from Wikipedia, which in turn uses the Government of India information. This data template is useful to get an overview of the latest COVID related infection and death. Wikipedia coverage is quite comprehensive and it is highly recommended.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_in_India

More details here (Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India):
https://www.mohfw.gov.in/

It was doing so well in India in April
https://hodentekplus.blogspot.com/2020/04/how-did-india-japan-and-singapore-do-in.html

Support Wikipedia.

Check your source of news and delete FAKE (do not forward) news.

Indian Corona Virus Vaccine "COVAXIN" gets approved in India for Phase I and Phase II

India's regulator, Central Drugs Standard Control Organization has approved Bharat Biotech India to conduct human clinical trials for its 'COVAXIN'.  Phase I and Phase II trials start in July 2020

Bharath Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research's(ICMR) National Institute of Virology(NIV)

Others in the queue:

Zydus Cadilla

Serum Institute of India

Panacea Biotec

More here: http://bitly.ws/8V7B

Border intrusions by Chinese into Indian territory

Recently Chinese have increased their intrusions into India using the opportune moment while India is in the midst of a coronavirus pandemic.

https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/other/ladakh-stand-off-india-china-continue-to-stand-ground/ar-BB14J32m

This video is from a person on the ground near the area of intrusion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWhHaWaIyck&feature=youtu.be

Corona Virus Data-April 2020

This chart is based on data from the following source. Only data for India, Japan, and Singapore are extracted.

Data of interest from April 01 - April 29

https://covid.ourworldindata.org/data/owid-covid-data.xlsx

Some good out of the evil

It has been observed world wide that pollution levels are at their lowest. I saw some incredible pictures of clear skies and fog free cityscapes.

Here is a picture I cropped from Times of India.

"A NASA image, part of a study, shows that the lockdown has led to air pollution levels declining to a 20-year low in India, especially northern India."