Why should India be concerned about climate change

As expected, last week was dominated by the climate change meet at Copenhagen. Let us take a bird’s eye view of the last week’s developments.

Swine flu:

After the initial hesitation, the government included private hospitals in the fight against swine flu. But lately, they are facing flak from the government once again. So far, there are 670 deaths due to swine flu in our country and according the Health Ministry most of it is due late reporting for which they hold private doctors responsible. Two things are obvious: (a) private doctors require training on the modalities, (b) better coordination between the government and private agencies is required

Climate change at Copenhagen:

A tonne of carbon dioxide emitted in India is the same as a tonne of carbon dioxide emitted in the U.S., but that isn't making climate negotiations any simpler in Copenhagen. India has displayed flexibility in its climate change position by offering to adopt the international guidelines under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), while reporting to Parliament on its unsupported domestic efforts to deal with climate change. This move can be viewed as a significant step. It conveys to the global community that India’s reporting would be at international standards, at the same time the government would be able to tell the domestic audience that it has not submitted to international review.

Why should India be concerned about climate change? The three main ‘categories’ of impacts, namely those on agriculture, sea level rise leading to submergence of coastal areas as well as increased frequency of extreme events. Each of these pose serious threats to India. Read this article and more such interesting articles. Help India become Carbon Neutral.

China and the US were placed at the bottom end of a worldwide national ranking of performance on climate protection published on Monday, 14 December 2009. Compiled by Germanwatch, a think tank and the Climate Action Newtork (CAN), an alliance of environment pressure groups, the annual Climate Change Performance Index ranks countries based on their climate protection performance, comparing 57 industrialised countries and emerging economies.

Money laundering:

A team from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an intergovernmental body that sets benchmarks for legislation on money laundering, is in India to assess the country’s legal and enforcement framework. The assessment, which ends on Friday, 18 December 2009, will set the ball rolling for New Delhi’s membership of the elite body.

Illegal activities such as drug trafficking, trade in weapons and white collar crimes can generate large sums of money. Money laundering refers to the act of making these gains legitimate by disguising the source of money, changing its form or moving it to a location where not many questions are asked.

Storing power in the grid:

The distribution of electricity to millions of consumers is a difficult task because while the amount of electricity generated is relatively fixed over short periods of time, the demand for electricity fluctuates throughout the day. A highly efficient electricity grid that can easily harmonize energy production with energy consumption is needed to answer this problem. Read my recent blog post on the subject

Danish Island:

The Danish island of Samso has become one of the first industrialized places on Earth to qualify as completely energy self-sufficient. Should we aim at converting our villages into the so called ‘Danish Islands’ using appropriate renewable technology ?

India’s first commercial MW power plant:

Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Dr. Farooq Abdullah on 15 Dec 2009 (Tuesday) inaugurated country’s first commercial 2 mega watt Solar Power Plant in Punjab’s Amritsar District.

Cement and concrete:

Those working on cement and concrete may have a look at my recent blog post on International Journals on Cement.

See you next week

*

Swine flu: symptoms, diagnosis and treatment

Incubation Period

One to seven days

Symptoms

Manifestations of H1N1 influenza (swine flu) are similar to those of seasonal influenza. Patients present with symptoms of acute respiratory illness, including at least two of the following

* Fever

* Cough

* Sore throat

* Body aches

* Headache

* Chills and fatigue

Diarrhea and vomiting (possible)

Transmission

Influenza viruses can be directly transmitted from pigs to people and from people to pigs.
Human infection with flu viruses from pigs are most likely to occur when people are in close proximity to infected pigs, such as in pig barns and livestock exhibits housing pigs at fairs.
Human-to-human transmission of influenza A (H1N1) can also occur. At present, in India we have two indigenous cases. This is thought to occur in the same way as seasonal flu, which is mainly person-to-person transmission through coughing or sneezing by people infected with the influenza virus.

Disease spreads very quickly among the population especially in crowded places.

Cold and dry weather enables the virus to survive longer outside the body than in other conditions and, as a consequence, seasonal epidemics in temperate areas appear in winter.

People may become infected by touching / handling something contaminated with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose.

Influenza A (H1N1) viruses are not transmitted by food.

Eating properly handled and cooked pork (at an internal temparature of > 160 degree Fahrenheit) and pork products is safe.

Diagnosis of H1N1

For diagnosis of influenza A (H1N1) infection, respiratory specimen would generally need to be collected within the first four to five days of illness (when an infected person is most likely to be shedding virus). However, some persons, especially children, may shed virus for 10 days or longer.

Treatment

The treatment given below is only indicative and should be taken only with doctor's advice

For Adults: For case- Tab Oseltamivir 75 mg B D for five days

For Chemoprophylaxis - Tab Oseltamivir 75 mg O D for 10 days

For children:Syrup Oseltamivir as per doctor's advice.

Watch a video on Swine Flu

FAQ about swine flu

Catagorise patients for better treatment

Swine Flu: myths and facts

WHO warning

India tops H1N1 death rate

With 100 deaths in 3,987 laboratory confirmed positive H1N1 cases, India has registered a mortality rate of 2.3 per cent — much above the 0.9 per cent mortality rate for the rest of the world.

Advice to parents on H1N1

The vast majority of children who develop flu-like symptoms this fall will have a few miserable days and nothing more. Those days are best spent at home -- not in the ER or a doctor's office. read more....

Docs suggest drug combo to treat H1N1

the doctors suggest use of combination of two anti-viral drugs instead of just Tamiflu to contain deterioration in the condition of critical patients. Use of double dose of Tamiflu is another option in the case of critical patients.

Ultimate guide to flu virus:

A flu virus may be 90 times smaller than a human red blood cell - so small it can hide between light waves - but in a typical year it can cause nearly half as many deaths as traffic accidents. As skilled at changing its appearance as Tom Cruise in "Mission Impossible," the flu virus mutates from one season to the next, making last year's immunizations useless in fighting this year's variation. But recent developments in the pharmaceutical industry are improving the odds on the medical battlefield. Learn more about this devious pathogen and your weapons against it .. ..

Indian vaccine for Swine Flu to be ready by March 2010:

An Indian vaccine against the pandemic strain of swine flu will be ready for use by March next with the authorities planning to fast-track clinical trials in accordance with international protocols. It was proposed to combine the different phases of clinical trials from safety to immunogenicity in the fast-track mode to make the vaccine available in March 2010, as otherwise it would be ready only by the end of 2010. Read more .. ..