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HEALTH
WATCH
Taking
a Shot Cut
Immunisation
against four diseases, including hepatitis B, at a single go
High
in the list of horrors for new parents today is the dreaded jaundice-causing
virus, hepatitis B. Without mercy, this killer virus preys on one in 20
Indians, most of them babies less than a year old. In spite of the obvious
danger, hepatitis B is currently not a part of the National Immunisation
Programme. Most children only get shots of the DPT (diphtheria, pertussis
and tetanus) vaccine. Now all that may change. A new four-in-one vaccine,
Tritantrix HB, developed by the pharmaceutical company SmithKline Beecham
not only protects the child against diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus,
but also against hepatitis B-in a single sweep.
 When
Pfizer India and Shanta Biotech launched Shanvac B, the first Indian DNA-based
hepatitis B vaccine, earlier this year and other companies followed suit,
the fight against hepatitis B got a new edge. It was time to destroy the
virus-it reigned supreme through the 1990s, feasting on and destroying
livers, frequently leading to liver cancer among survivors of its attack.
Often silent in its devastation, hepatitis B sometimes signals its presence
with symptoms like tiredness, mild fever, yellow skin and eyes, along
with dark urine and pale faeces. "Hepatitis B is even deadlier than
aids," warns Dr Dinesh Pal, joint director of the National Institute
of Public Cooperation and Child Development.
Like HIV,
hepatitis B sneaks into its victims through blood and body fluids, so
infants born to hepatitis B infected mothers are at a particularly great
risk. Currently the only way to protect the child is to administer a single,
anti-hepatitis B vaccine a month after birth and again five months later.
This is in addition to the DPT vaccine series to be taken at six, 10 and
14 weeks. The growing child's initial months are marked by a deluge of
painful shots for a variety of vaccines-polio, measles, mmr... the weary
list continues.
At Rs 120,
Tritrantrix HB is not a big price to pay for a vaccine that kills four
birds with one stone. Explains pediatrician Dr P.N. Dubey of Apollo Hospital,
"It means one less prick for the infant, one less visit for the mother."
While the DPT vaccine is currently a very affordable Rs 8 per shot, a
single hepatitis B vaccines costs 20 times more. In the final analysis,
the lower cost could hold the key to the widespread success of the quadruple
vaccine-and to the nation's future health.
-Supriya
Bezbaruah
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Miracle
Fruit: Apples,
according to Indian scientists, are a nutritional treasure chest.
Apple skins help ward off cancer through a unique mix of molecules
called flavinoids and polyphenols. Studies show that apples check
proliferation of most liver and colon-cancer cells. The fruit supplies
a range of nutrients such as iron, copper, vitamin C and calcium.
Eating an apple is a more efficient way of cleaning teeth than a toothbrush.
It even plays a role in preventing heart disease. Besides, malic acid
present in the fruit prevents diseases like rheumatism and arthritis.
Sounds like a miracle posing as a fruit. |
 Tomatoes
Fight Trouble: Red is a reassuring sign, at least in vegetables,
according to Canada-based Indian nutritionists. Lycopene, the molecule
that splashes tomato red, protects the human body from the ravages of
cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Such chronic diseases are often caused
because rogue oxygen atoms bombard parts of cells. Lycopene is particularly
adept at trapping these atoms. Eating over 10 tomatoes per week has been
shown to reduce the risk of prostate cancer by 35 per cent and was also
effective in preventing cholesterol. Yet another reason to eat more salad.
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Relics
of old empires exist everywhere. Why can't the Mani Shankar Aiyars of
India let them be? asks INDIA TODAY Senior Editor Ravi Shankar in
