Britain

Couples in Britain can have “designer” babis

The British government may approve the fertility law so that couples in UK can choose the sex and possibly the genes of their “designer” babies. The UK government highlighted more than 70 fertility issues on Tuesday // that are to be totally reappraised in its proposed update of the 1990 Human Fertilization and Embryology Act. The ministers of the UK governments are possibly approving the new law...

Brain drain of dentists from Kerala to Britain

In an attempt to fulfill the shortage of Dentists in Britain, many Indian dentists, particularly those in Kerala, are busy training for an examination that could get them jobs abroad. // Amit Patel, joint managing director of the Karnataka-based Manipal Bapuji Postgraduate Medical (& Dental) Faculty Pvt. Ltd (MBPMF), said there were close to 4,000 vacancies of dentists in Britain....

Doctor Training Undermined In Britain Due To Shortage Of Cadavers

Lack of dead bodies is affecting the training of new doctors in Britain. According to the Department of Health, two courses had been cancelled this year because of a lack of cadavers and experts said more would be hit if the // fall in body donations were not reversed. The government has blamed rising medical student numbers, TV shows and the Alder Hey scandal for the problem. In the...

Health Care Ties To Get Stronger Between India And Britain

The meeting between the Union Minister for Health and family welfare, Anbumani Ramadoss and Sue Hill, the visiting Chief Scientific Officer of the British Department of Health ended up with a positive note//, with both officials willing to extend mutual help and cooperation towards strengthening the health sector. The meeting lasted for more than an hour according to official report...

Botched Abortions Trigger Concern Over Legal Ambiguity In Britain

In a shocking revelation, a recent survey by the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health (CEMACH) indicates that there are at least 50 cases // a year nationwide in which babies survive abortion attempts. The systematic investigation by CEMACH, which monitors pregnancy deaths on behalf of Britain's six royal colleges of medicine, comes amid growing discomfort among clinici...

Paid-For Sex Rates In Britain Has Increased Two Fold Over The Past 10 Years

A recent survey done to evaluate the prevalence of paid-sex in Britain projects alarming results showing the rates have indeed doubled over the past decade. The survey was conducted amongst 11,000 British adults // between 1990 and 2000. The study participants were required to provide details regarding their sexual lifestyle and attitude towards sex in general. Additionally, the men we...

Rise In Waterborne And Malaria Cases Anticipated In Britain

The incidence of waterborne diseases and food poisoning cases is anticipated to rise in Britain, this summer. An increase in the number of malaria cases is also likely. // The incidence of salmonella // cases is hoped to soar particularly, as people would opt for more barbecues during summer. Cryptosporidium induced malaria may also be seen when there is an associated heavy rain....

Britain Toddlers To Receive Flu-Jab In Addition To The 21 Shots

The UK health department officials have proposed the administration of flu vaccine to all children less than 2 years of age, // in an attempt to prevent the incidence of seasonal flu. The dreadful condition, which affects nearly 5 to 10% of the population during winter, had claimed the valuable lives of over 1000 UK citizens, last year. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisat...

Prince Of Wales Is Alarmed By The Obesity Wave In Britain

The Prince of Wales said that there is an increase in the number of oversized people in Britain. He asked people to balance their lifestyle and exercise regularly. He said in a speech at St James's Palace that we are// following the close behind the United States in the health problem stakes. Prince Charles said that the infrastructure of the city discourages pedestrians and p...

New 'PPUD Syndrome' Prevalent Among Indian Doctors In Britain

A number of doctors who had migrated to Britain with high hopes of getting a safe and secure job are now under depression. More specifically, they are believed to be suffering from the so-called "PPUD syndrome" //that stands for post PLAB unemployed doctor's syndrome. Writing in the latest issue of the respected British Medical Journal, Surinder Sareen said the situation for the docto...

Britain Announces Third Transfusion Related 'Mad Cow' Case

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) has reported a third case of variant-CJD (a brain disease that represents human form of mad cow disease) in Britain. The patient is said to have contracted the disease from a blood transfusion // that had taken place 8 years ago. The donor who had developed symptoms of the disease much earlier, 20 months following the transfusion is under strict medi...

Britain Approves Indian Company For Supplying Medicines

Britain gave the green signal for the Chennai-based Shasun Chemicals and Drugs Ltd on Wednesday for supplying medicines that would soon hit the European markets soon. // With the approval from the British Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), Shasun's products from its formulation facility in Pondicherry can now be sold in Britain and other European countries. <b...

Frozen embryos stored in Britain

About 117,619 frozen embryos are stored in Britain. They are living balls of human cells suspended in liquid nitrogen at sub-zero temperatures, waiting for their lives to begin again. // Lois Walker was one among them and was conceived in October 1997, but was born in April 2000. Her gestation period lasted for more than two years. Lois is now 5 years old. Lois had been an eight-celled...

Indian Doctor In Britain Warned For Refusing Treatment

The General Medical Council (GMC) here has warned a doctor of Indian origin who refused to treat a patient who turned up at his clinic// because he was an asylum seeker in Britain. Mahesh Chandra, the general practitioner, reportedly refused the man treatment because "he was not British and did not speak English", a GMC committee has been told. Chandra, who studied medici...

Young Women In Britain Overtakes Men In Drinking

A study in Britain has pointed out that the number of young women consuming liquor has surpassed men of the same age making them// prone to liver disease before they could pass the teenage. Professor Moira Plant of Bristol University analysed research collected in a major international study focusing on 12 European countries in 2004 and 2005, reported the online edition of BBC News....

Self Harming Teenagers on the Rise in Britain

Some teens are so troubled that they attempt at Self harm. Now, there seems to be an alarming rise of this trend in epidemic proportions in Britain, with one adolescent in 12, knowingly causing themselves regular harm. // A report that has delved deep into the matter and is due for publication, says that this trend is becoming so common that in any classroom, there are at least two, w...

Britain's Bird Flu Contingency Plans Faces Criticism

A public health official blamed Britain's bird flu contingency plans as being too narrowly focused, ignoring the lessons learnt from the previous experiences// with dealing similar pandemics. However, the plans are too optimistic according to Dr. Hilary Pickles belonging to the Hillingdon Primary Care Trust in Middlesex, southern England. 'Normally you plan for the worst. They...

Britain Prepares For Mass Burials To Encounter Future Bird Flu Deaths

According to a leaked government document, it is stated that Britain needs to prepare itself to mass bury the dead bodies, if encountered with the pandemic flu sometime in// the future. It has been estimated that nearly one third of a million people will die if bird flu strikes in Britain. The document titled Managing Excess Deaths in an Influenza Pandemic, according to Life Style Extra,...

Work Permit Required For Indian Doctors in Britain

London. The overseas doctors in Britain are alarmed as new rules are being implemented that will make them require work permit before they can work// in hospitals of the National Health Service (NHS). There are currently thousands of doctors from the Indian subcontinent who could suddenly find themselves unemployed. In the event of a job vacancy if there are no local doctors avail...

Depression and Anxiety Endemic in Britain

A survey conducted by the British Association for Counseling and Psychotherapy (BACP) has revealed that anxiety and depression are endemic in Britain//. Apart from concerns about the mental health, the medical and so...

Britain To Put Health Warnings On Alcohol In Two Years

The UK government is mulling over plans to incorporate health warnings on alcoholic drinks within the next two years. Public Health Minister Caroline Flint //confirmed that the government was in talks with the drinks industry on the feasibility of putting cigarette-style warnings on drinks as well as in places where they are sold. "I think its finding the right sort of warning and obvio...

Britain Slaughters Chickens After Dead Birds Tested Positive

The British government has ordered the slaughter of some 35,000 chickens at a farm in the south-eastern county of Norfolk after dead birds// tested positive for a strain of bird flu, it was reported Thursday. Early tests showed it was likely to be the H7 strain, virulent among chickens but less of a risk to humans than the H5N1 variant, which can be fatal. Last month a swa...

Britain Gets Wonder Drug That Busts Fats

A new drug that busts fats as well as tackle health problems like diabetes and smoking has been introduced in Britain//. The drug has been estimated to reduce bodyweight by up to 10 per cent. The drug Rimonabant, also called as Acomplia, has been said to be the first drug that targets the natural body system which governs several factors controlling weight, appetite, metabolism and en...

Britain Reconsidering New Visa Rules for Indian Doctors

Britain's health authorities are reconsidering recent changes in visa rules that in effect make thousands of doctors of Indian origin ineligible// to work in the National Health Service. The department of health (DoH) and the home office had put in place a new system by which employers would need to prove that no suitable candidate was available before applying for a work permit for so...

Painkiller Based on Sea Snail Venom Made Available in Britain

New painkiller, Prialt, based on the venom of a sea snail will be available in Britain from today. The drug Prialt, or ziconotide, has resulted from over// 20 years' of research by the scientist, Baldomera Olivera, a professor at the University of Utah. The advantage of Prialt is that it is 1,000 times more potent than morphine but not addictive like morphine. It is mainly aim...

Britain Feels the Urgency to Vaccinate the Poultry against Bird Flu

About 10 million doses of bird flu vaccine were ordered on the advice of the Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) to be given to all poultry in England.// The decision was taken after the organic free-range poultry producers requested the government. But the problem is that the vaccines could mask the presence of bird flu and so assist its spread of the disease. But the CVO also said in a sta...

Allergic Symptoms on the Rise in Britain

According to the British government report it was found that there is an increase in the number of people admitted to hospital with severe allergic reactions to food// or insect stings. Anaphylaxis is found to be the most serious and potentially fatal form of allergic reaction. Statistics show that about 3,000 people suffer from allergic reactions and are admitted in the hospitals ever...

Britain’s cancer initiatives leap forward with a miracle dru

A miracle drug is beginning to light up the lives of thousands of cancer patients, with hope for treating two severe cancers of the kidney and the gut.// Initial examinations of the drug have left a clue of its future use in breast, lung and pancreatic cancers. This drug called Sutent, nicknamed as the “smart” drug works by nipping an important enzyme that causes the cells to prolife...

Rabbit Flu Claims Its First Human Victim In Britain

A rabbit that a young farmer shot on his family’s farm near Stowmarket Suffolk, has caused his death leading to UK’s first case of death by rabbit flu.// John Freeman, 29, had become infected with the bacteria pasteurella multocida after he had picked up a rabbit on his farm. His mother explained that he subsequently fell the following day and succumbed to the infection after three da...

Britain Undertakes Study into the Cause of Diseases

Britain plans to undertake the world’s largest study into the genetic and environmental causes of disease through the U.K. Biobank project.// Its goal is to collect DNA samples from around 500,000 people between the ages of 40 and 69 and monitoring their health at the same time. Participants in the project are expected to be found after letters targeting men and women in the a...

Britain's Support for India's Health Programme

Britain Wednesday launched a 252 million pounds (Rs.21.94 million) initiative to support India's reproductive and child health programme aimed at saving one million lives// every year. The 252 million pound fund being provided through the Department for International Development (DFID) is to be Britain's single biggest response to arrest India's high infant and maternal mortality rate...

Indian Doctor in Britain Jailed for Molesting Patients

A British court has awarded a 63-year-old doctor of Indian origin a four-year jail sentence for molesting, kissing and flirting with women patients over a 13-year //period between September 1991 and December 2004. Benjamin Deodhar, the India-born doctor who qualified in India, moved to Britain in 1973. He had been running the practice in Grimsby since 1990. His one-man practice had 2,9...

Britain's Longest Surviving Heart Transplant Patient Dead

Gordon MacDonald, 66, who had a heart transplant at Papworth Hospital, Cambridge, in 1980 for cardiomyopathy died on Sunday following a short illness. He was Britain’s// longest surviving heart transplant patient having survived for 26 years after undergoing the surgery. His daughter, Suzanne MacPhee, was also diagnosed with cardiomyopathy and had a heart transplant last year. It is...

Britain Hospital Staff Threatens Strike

Employees angry over plans of British hospitals to outsource medical transcription to India have voted to go on strike if the plans are not shelved.// Several hospitals in Britain have outsourced or are in the process of outsourcing the work of typing up patients' notes to India to save costs at a time when they are facing financial deficits. These include hospitals in Staffordshire, L...

Britain Plans Medical Hub To Meet India, China Challenge

Faced with India and China's growing strengths in medical research, British Prime Minister Tony Blair// has announced the creation of a 'global medical excellence cluster' comprising universities and drugs companies. The hub is to be set up in southeast England to protect Britain's science base and boost its ability to find new cures. This is the latest of measures initiated by governm...

First Keyhole Heart Valve Surgery Scheduled in Britain

Heart surgeons are getting ready for the first heart valve replacement operation in Britain using key hole technique. // The operation is scheduled for Tuesday and will be performed by Jan Kovac and a team of cardiologists. The surgery is termed as percutaneous aortic valve replacement. This technique called the key hole technique was first performed in France. The novelty...

Highest Obesity Rates in Britain!

A government report released on Tuesday revealed that Britain had the highest obesity rates in Europe. The data from the Organization// for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) was cited in the “Health Profile of England” report. According to the report, the adult obesity rates in Britain were the highest at 24%, while it was only 8% in Italy, 9% in France and around 12% in...

Anti-Bird flu surveillance stepped-up in Britain

As a new strain of bird flu virus has been detected in Asia, the British government announced the increase in patrolling //in several more sites for any evidence of bird flu. The death of any water birds in U.K.’s 304 nature reserves, reservoirs and parks will be brought to the notice of the Department of the Environment Food and Rural Affairs. An additional 1,200 sq Kms area will be br...

Indians Among Worst Affected By TB In Britain

Tuberculosis (TB) showed an alarming rise in Britain last year with ethnic South Asians//, especially Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi, accounting for most cases. According to figures released by Britain's Health Protection Agency (HPA), there was a 10.8 percent increase in TB cases in Britain, with 8,113 cases in 2005 as against 7,321 in 2004. The highest proportion of cas...

New Zealand Requests Details from Britain about ‘Black Sheep

Close on the heels of a communiqué from Britain about a novel type of brain disease in a sheep of New Zealand descent on Britain’s research farm, New Zealand authorities// have requested exact details of the disease from British scientists. Britain's Veterinary Laboratories Agency has detected the disease, which is technically called ‘scrapie’ that belongs to a family of diseases akin to mad cow...