Health

Indian pharmaceutical companies are staring at a possible write-off of their receivables from Sri Lanka, as they are struggling to repatriate money from the South Asian island country which is facing severe dollar crunch and a devaluation of local currency due to ongoing economic crisis.

One of India’s leading drug maker

said it took a charge of around Rs 40 crore in Q4FY22 on its forex line, on account of receivables from Sri Lanka.

“We have the money in Sri Lanka, but we can’t repatriate it because of currency reasons, this is between our subsidiary and us, so our numbers have taken a charge of Rs 40 crore, because the forex rates have changed from the time the money is due to us to the situation now, so those charges will keep coming,” said Umang Vohra, MD and Global CEO of Cipla.

Another executive of a drug company with exposure to Sri Lanka who is facing similar issues, said he is waiting for the government to act quickly so they will be able to continue shipping medicines to Sri Lanka. “The government has announced extending the $1 billion credit line, but we still don’t know how to avail it,” the executive said.

New Delhi: With Covid-19 cases declining steadily, regular international flights are expected to resume on March 15, PTI reported quoting government sources. Upon resumption, standard operating procedures effective at airports for foreign arrivals and departure would be followed.

“Given the consistent decline in Covid cases, a decision on resuming scheduled international flights has almost been arrived at by the Civil Aviation Ministry following consultation with the Health Ministry,” government sources said.

However, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation is yet to make an official statement.

“Regular International flights is likely to resume from March 15. The Guidelines for International Arrivals, which came into effect from February 14, will be followed at airports for the passengers of these flights,” an official source said.

The DGCA has extended the ban on scheduled international commercial flights till February 28, 2022. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, such flights have been prohibited in India since March 23, 2020.

Since July 2020, special passenger flights have been operating between India and around 40 countries under air bubble arrangements.

India had announced plans to allow resumption of scheduled commercial international passenger services from December 15. However, a spike in cases due to teh Omicron variant put paid to the plans.

With effect from February 14, the Health Ministry has released updated instructions for overseas arrivals, eliminating the necessary seven-day home quarantine and the requirement for an RT-PCR test on the eighth day.

Apart from uploading a negative RT-PCR report, taken 72 hours before the journey, there is an option to upload certificates of the completion of the full Covid vaccination schedule provided from countries on a reciprocal basis.

The demarcation of countries ‘at-risk’ and other countries has also been removed. Thus, the necessity to collect Covid samples at the port of entry and wait for the results from nations ‘at risk’ has been eliminated.

(With PTI Inputs)

New Delhi: Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, the worlds ‘oldest reigning monarch, tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday and is suffering moderate symptoms, according to Buckingham Palace.

She intends to resume modest responsibilities this week, news agency Reuters reported.

The 95-year-old queen’s health has been in the limelight since she spent a night in a hospital in October for an unidentified disease and was ordered by her physicians to rest. She has been properly vaccinated against coronavirus.

“The Queen has today tested positive for COVID. Her Majesty is experiencing mild cold-like symptoms but expects to continue light duties at Windsor over the coming week. She will continue to receive medical attention and will follow all appropriate guidelines,” the Palace was quoted by Reuters in its report.

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Charles, the crown prince, withdrew from an event earlier this month after catching COVID for the second time. According to a Palace insider, he had met the queen just days prior.

As she carried out her first in-person engagement since Charles tested positive, Elizabeth joked to members of the royal household that she couldn’t move much.

In early February, Elizabeth, the world’s oldest monarch, marked the 70th anniversary of her ascension to the British throne.

She is the first British monarch to reign for seven decades in a dynasty that dates back over 1,000 years to Norman King William I’s invasion of England in 1066.

(With Inputs From Reuters)

By Express News Service

HYDERABAD:  Walking on dry leaves, the sound of rainfall, wind cruising through leaves on a quiet summer day — the rhythmic sounds of nature are undeniably soothing. Did you know sounds can create physiological reactions and heal parts of you? Sound engineers, musicians and singing bowl therapy practitioners from the city share a better understanding of the healing properties of sounds.

“Our body’s cells have electric potential to resonate at specific frequencies and can be worked or changed by another frequency to bring the body into a vibrational balance and harmony. Sound is a vibration, and stimulating cells with sound can reduce the risk of common health problems and promote mental wellbeing,” says Nada Yogi, a yoga practitioner who practises sound therapy at Singing Bowl Therapy in Kondapur.

These vibrations are more than just a meditative or relaxing process. Sound baths also help you soothe and centre your mind as you listen, relax, and heal, he says. In sound therapy, the person immerses himself in these soothing vibrations, created with the help of age-old instruments such as Tibetan bowls, gongs and drums that help release any occlusions in the body and relax the nervous system.

Yogi adds, citing an example of how sound therapy works, “If you have been to a party, you know that music, even when it is playing without vocals, can raise your heartbeat. Sounds can take us into a transcendent state where mind and body meet, and it can have magical effects if positive sounds reverberate.”

Rohan Jacob, a city-based sound engineer, adds, “Sounds effect both positively and negatively — it produces white noise. We have adapted to grey sounds which do not have much effect on us but can help put us to sleep. There are applications and smart devices sold in the name of promoting sleep.”

New Delhi: Apple has updated its list of vintage and obsolete products to add the iPhone 6 Plus, as it has been more than five years since the device was last offered for sale.

The iPhone 6 Plus was first released in September 2014 alongside the iPhone 6, and it was discontinued in September 2016 following the launch of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, reports AppleInsider.

The iPhone 6 Plus’ sister phone, the iPhone 6, is not on the vintage list at this time as it was available for sale for a longer period of time.

Apple relaunched the iPhone 6 in 2017 as a midrange iPhone, and it was available for purchase until September 2018, so for that reason, it will be another two years or so before it is designated as a vintage product, the reoport said.

The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were notable for being the first devices to offer support for Apple Pay and for marking the first year that Apple offered the iPhone in multiple size options. Apple has continued on with the multi-size release strategy since the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus launch.

The vintage products list features devices that Apple stopped distributing for sale more than five years ago and less than seven years ago. Apple provides service and parts for vintage devices for up to 7 years, or as required by law, but repairs are subject to parts availability.

Apple stopped supporting the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus with software updates back in 2019 with the launch of iOS 13.

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LONDON: Vaccinated travellers can enter Britain without taking any coronavirus tests starting Friday, after the government scrapped one of the final restrictions imposed over the past two years in response to Covid-19.

British residents and visitors who have had at least two doses of an approved coronavirus vaccine now only need to fill out a passenger locator form before travelling to the UK.

Unvaccinated people still have to take tests both before and after arriving but no longer need to self-isolate until they get a negative result.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the UK “now has one of the most free-flowing borders in the world — sending a clear message that we are open for business.”

Airlines and other travel firms hailed the change as a lifeline after two years of severely constricted travel.

Andrew Flintham, managing director of travel group Tui UK, said there was “a huge pent-up demand for international travel,” and people were rushing to book getaways for the February school break and April’s Easter holiday.

Gatwick, London’s second-busiest airport, said that it plans next month to reopen the second of its two terminals, shuttered since June 2020.

British Airways chief executive Sean Doyle urged other countries to follow Britain’s “pragmatic approach.”

But some scientists worry the government is moving too fast. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative government lifted most domestic rules last month.

Face masks are no longer mandatory in most indoor spaces in England, vaccine passports for gaining entry to nightclubs and large-scale events were scrapped, as was the official advice to work from home.

Other parts of the UK — Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — have also lifted most restrictions.

Johnson announced this week that he hopes to lift the final restriction — mandatory self-isolation for people who test positive — by the end of February as part of a plan to live long-term with Covid-19.

Officials have said the government plans to switch from legal restrictions to advisory measures and treat the coronavirus more like the flu as it becomes endemic in the country.

Scientists expressed surprise at Johnson’s announcement. Tim Spector, an epidemiologist at Kings College London, said it was “more a political type of statement rather than a scientific one.”

“There is some rationale to this and other countries are doing things similar, but it’s clearly a race for the government to say that Britain is first, Britain is the first to come out of this, Britain has conquered omicron, our booster program is world beating etc, etc,’” he told Times Radio.

The re-opening came as statistics showed the UK economy grew by a bigger-than-expected 7.5% in 2021, despite an omicron-driven slowdown at the end of the year.

The re-imposition of some restrictions in response to the highly transmissible variant brought a 0.2% contraction in December.

The Office for National Statistics said the growth follows a 9.4% contraction in 2020 as the pandemic shut down big chunks of the economy. The UK economy is now back to the size it was in February 2020, just before the new coronavirus swept the UK.

Britain has Europe’s highest coronavirus toll after Russia, with more than 159,000 officially recorded deaths. The country has seen a drop in both new infections and Covid-19 patients admitted to hospitals since the peak of the omicron spike in early January.

Officials have credited the government’s booster jab program with preventing the surge in omicron cases from causing serious stress to UK hospitals.

In Britain, 84.6% of people 12 and up have had two doses of a vaccine and almost two-thirds have had a third, booster shot.

In this section:

What is IC?

Interstitial cystitis (IC), also called bladder pain syndrome, is a chronic, or long-lasting, condition that causes painful urinary symptoms. Symptoms of IC may be different from person to person. For example, some people feel mild discomfort, pressure, or tenderness in the pelvic area. Other people may have intense pain in the bladder or struggle with urinary urgency, the sudden need to urinate, or frequency, the need to urinate more often.

Health care professionals diagnose IC by ruling out other conditions with similar symptoms.

Researchers don’t know the exact cause of IC. Some researchers believe IC may result from conditions that cause inflammation in various organs and parts of the body.

Severe IC symptoms can affect your quality of life. You may feel like you can’t exercise or leave your home because you have to use the bathroom too often, or perhaps your relationship is suffering because sex is painful.

Working with health care professionals, including a urologist or urogynecologist, along with a pain specialist, may help improve your IC symptoms.

How common is IC?

IC is common. The condition may affect between 3 million and 8 million women and between 1 million and 4 million men in the United States.¹

Who is more likely to develop IC?

IC can occur at any age, including during childhood, but is most common in adult women and men. About twice as many women are affected as men.¹ However, more men may struggle with IC than researchers originally thought.

Some research suggests that women are more likely to develop IC if they have a history of being sexually abused or physically traumatized.²

What other health problems do people with IC have?

Many women with IC are more likely to have other conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue syndrome.³ Allergies and some autoimmune diseases are also associated with IC.⁴

Vulvodynia, which is chronic pain in the vulva that often causes a burning or stinging feeling, or rawness, is commonly associated with IC.² Vulvodynia has symptoms that overlap with IC.

What are the complications of IC?

The symptoms of IC—such as urgency, frequency, and pain—may lead you to decrease your physical and social activity and negatively affect your quality of life.

Women with pelvic pain or vulvodynia often have pain during sexual intercourse, which can damage your relationships and self-image. Men also can experience pelvic pain that causes uncomfortable or painful sex. Sometimes sex can increase bladder pain attacks, also called symptom flares.

Sexual complications may cause people to avoid further intimacy, possibly leading to depression and guilt. Like many people who deal with chronic pain, people with IC are more likely to struggle with sleep loss due to the frequent need to urinate, and with anxiety and depression.⁵

Medical tests such as pelvic exams and Pap tests often are painful for women with IC symptoms, especially those who may have pelvic floor muscle spasm. Don’t avoid these tests. Talk with a health care professional about how to make pelvic exams and Pap tests more comfortable and how often you should have them.

References

The Delhi High Court on Thursday issued notice to the Centre and National Medical Council (NMC) on a plea moved by students seeking directions to NMC to allow physical training in India of Indian students studying medicine in China, who are stuck in their home country India, due to COVID-19 pandemic.

The Petitioners, 147 students of medicine in the Ningbo University (China) states that they returned to India in early 2020 (January to March) and thereafter, have been stuck in their home country India, ever since due to the non-availability of visas from the Chinese authorities.

The Division Bench of Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh on Thursday sought response of Central Government through the Ministry of Law and Justice, Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and National Medical Council and listed the matter for March 21, 2022.

The court while issuing notice to respondents orally asked the respondents to deal with the issue and resolve the issue as these are the students, not terrorists. They are just praying for the arrangement of their study.

Students seek court direction, declaring Clause 2 (iii) of Schedule I Schedule-I of the National Medical Commission (Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate) Regulations, 2021 as notified on 18.11.2021 which stipulates that the training/internship/ clerkship to be done outside India in the same foreign medical institution throughout the course of study.

The plea also seeks direction to the National Medical Commission to recognize online classes attended by the Petitioners by their universities situated in China. Students also pray the court to direct the Ministry of External Affairs to meet the Chinese authorities concerned and address and resolve the concerns of the Petitioners.

The petition also seeks direction to direct the National Medical Commission to allow physical training/internship/clerkship of the Petitioners after getting necessary permissions from the Ningbo University (China) and recognize the completion of the course from any other university outside China.

The petition further stated that, on January 1, 2022, in response to RTI Application filed by a student who is a petitioner herein to the National Medical Commission, a reply was received stating, “National Medical Commission grants permission recognition to the Medical Colleges Institutions within the country. Medical Graduates who possess the Foreign Medical Degree qualification may appear in Screening Test for his her registration in India provided that the Medical Qualification Degree is recognized in that country from where the same has been acquired.”

In the present extra-ordinary circumstances, the Petitioners herein are neither being allowed to attain physical training/internships/clerkships in India by the NMC nor any clarifications being provided by the authorities regarding the approval to the online theory classes attended by them from their medical University situated in China, the plea reads.

The petitioners herein are not even allowed to get a transfer from their present Medical University in China to any other Medical University abroad apart from China in view of the Regulations, 2021. In this background, during these unprecedented times of medical emergency arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic, the future of Indian citizens who are medical students in China is being put at stake.

Drug maker Lupin on Wednesday said it has entered into a distribution agreement with Medis for Lupin’s orphan drug NaMuscla (mexiletine).

Medis will commercialize NaMuscla for the symptomatic treatment of myotonia in adults with non-dystrophic myotonic (NDM) disorders in Central and Eastern European countries.

Under the agreement, Medis will initially focus on the commercialization of NaMuscla in Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, and Slovenia in the first phase. Lupin will continue commercialization of NaMuscla in Germany, France, and the UK.

NaMuscla is the first and only licensed product for this indication.

NDM disorders are a group of rare, inherited neuromuscular disorders which is characterized by the inability to relax muscles following voluntary contraction. NaMuscla reduces myotonia symptoms in people with NDM, resulting in a significant improvement in quality of life and other functional and

clinical outcomes for patients.

NaMuscla, which has been designated orphan drug status, received EU marketing authorization in December 2018.

“We know that collaborating with partners which are highly focused in their territories means patients receive medicines in the most efficient way,” said Thierry Volle, president EMEA, Lupin.

Around 1,000 people in Central and Eastern Europe living with NDM have limited access to a licensed treatment for myotonia that can reduce the daily burden of this disabling, lifelong symptom.

Lupin said it has recruited the first study participants in a pediatric trial as part of the pediatric investigation plan for NaMuscla in children and a post-authorization study to address long-term safety and treatment effects on patient-reported outcomes in adults.

Researchers in Canada have developed a computer model that simulates many variables affecting the transmission of COVID-19 to suggest the best ways to slow the spread of variants. The model created by researchers at the University of Waterloo takes raw data already in use to forecast case numbers and hospitalisations, and then adds other factors, such as vaccination rates, mask use and lockdowns, and the number of breakthrough infections.

The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, is based on Canadian province Ontario’s recent experience with COVID-19 and data from the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table.

“We were actually building the model when the Delta variant was still the dominant one in Ontario,” said Anita Layton, a professor at the University of Waterloo.

“We simulated a variant that was similar to Omicron, and the model is helpful for understanding whatever variants will come next,” Layton said.

The team can change the parameters of the computational model to see what would happen with a new variant.

It can also show what it would take to stop variants that are more contagious than others, the researchers said.

As a result, the model can show where vaccination levels need to be or what levels of restrictions are necessary to keep a new variant at bay, they said.

“It includes vaccination and different vaccine types, delays in second and third doses, the impacts of restrictions and even the competition among different variants of concern,” said Mehrshad Sadria, a PhD student in applied mathematics at Waterloo who also worked on the new model.

“We want policymakers and stakeholders to have the most pertinent information so they can make the best decisions,” Sadria said.

The researchers plan to develop the model to include even more factors that influence the spread of COVID-19 in specific communities.

“We would like to investigate how people of different ages are impacted and compare different levels of vaccination between and within age groups,” Layton said.

“We are also looking to make it more refined so we can focus on specific regions of Ontario, which can then be helpful for looking at resource distribution,” he added.