TOPIC : GS 2Issues Relating to Development and Management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
Nipah amidst a pandemic
What is the news?
- India is even as fears of a Nipah virus outbreak have surfaced in Kerala with one confirmed death in Kozhikode.
- While confirmed cases of the viral infection have been reported several times since 2001 in West Bengal and Kerala, it was the outbreak in 2018, in Kozhikode
Factors Related to outbreak
- Outbreaks fanned by exotic viruses are not foreign to India
- The Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme shows the diversity of viral or bacterial outbreaks that flash by with barely a mention, unless they threaten India’s metropolises as outbreaks of dengue, H1N1, chikungunya or malaria sometimes do.
- The SARSÂCoVÂ2 pandemic also draws attention to significant outbreaks that preceded it.
- Nipah in Kozhikode and Malappuram was the first outbreak terms such as ‘contact tracing’, ‘RT PCR’, ‘antigen test’, and ‘PPE kits’ became part of the ordinary discourse in Kerala.
- The State’s public health system, earlier commended only for quality primary health care, earned appreciation for its ability to establish links between the infected and their contacts and to isolate them to prevent further spread.
- There are now established protocols at the national level for the three key aspects of a potential pandemic infection control, treatment and vaccination.
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Lessons from the virus outbreak
- When a contagion hits, the world now understands what can and cannot be controlled within each geographic region’s context.
- It is these lessons from the coronavirus pandemic that must inform future outbreaks.
- It had become routine for Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, at intervals, to report outbreaks of ‘mystery fevers’, when they were often easily diagnosable infections that were just a competent, accessible laboratory test away.
Way Forward
- The latest Nipah outbreak in India will peter out like in 2019 or be worse than in 2018, India must be heartened that the potential of an outbreak evokes national concern and an anticipatory response unlike the earlier and purely reactive approach.
- A standardised treatment for Nipah continues to be elusive and a spike in cases could spell disaster given the high mortality rate.
- Some studies suggest that vaccines developed for the coronavirus, if adequately tweaked, may prove effective against the Nipah virus too.
- Potential candidate vaccine is in early human trials.
- Vaccination continues to be the best bet against the disease, the very fact that global attention and capital no longer need to be coaxed to developing vaccines for tropical infections is itself a key difference in how the world approaches outbreaks in the coronavirus era.
Mains Question
How are Quick development of vaccines for tropical infections is a success of the coronavirus era?
Sources : https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/nipah-amidst-a-pandemic/article36348891.ece
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PRELIMS PUNCHERS
- Maldives
It is officially the Republic of Maldives, is an archipelagic state in the Indian subcontinent of Asia, situated in the Indian Ocean. It lies southwest of Sri Lanka and India, from the Asian continent’s mainland .Maldives is one of the world’s most geographically dispersed sovereign states. Malé is the capital and the most populated city, traditionally called the “King’s Island” where the ancient royal dynasties ruled for its central location.
The Maldivian Archipelago is located on the Chagos-Laccadive Ridge, a vast submarine mountain range in the Indian Ocean; this also forms a terrestrial ecoregion, together with the Chagos Archipelago and Lakshadweep. Maldives became a founding member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). It is also a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the Non-Aligned Movement. The World Bank classifies the Maldives as having an upper-middle income economy.
- The Chagos Archipelago
It is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean about south of the Maldives archipelago. This chain of islands is the southernmost archipelago of the Chagos-Laccadive Ridge, a long submarine mountain range in the Indian Ocean. In the north are Peros Banhos, Salomon
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Islands and Nelsons Island in the south-west are Three Brothers, Eagle, Egmont and Danger Islands. Diego Garcia is the largest and lies in the southeast part of the Archipelago.
In 1965, the United Kingdom separated the administration of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius to form the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT).Mauritius gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1968, and has since claimed the Chagos Archipelago, still administered by the British, as Mauritian territory. In 2019, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that the UK’s occupation of the Chagos Islands, including Diego Garcia, is unlawful, and that the United Kingdom is legally obliged to hand them back to Mauritius as rapidly as possible.
- 3. The Bum La Pass
It is a border pass between Tibet’s Cona County and India’s Tawang district in Arunachal Pradesh. It is away from the India-administered town of Tawang and 43 km from the China-administered Tsona Dzong town in Cona County in Tibet. The pass currently serves as a trading point between Tawang and Tibet.It is also an agreed Border Personnel Meeting point for the security forces of China and India.
An old traders road went from Tawang via Milakatong La Pass ,”La” in the Tibetan Language means “pass” to Bum La Pass and finally to Tsona Dzong in Tibet. It is often covered with heavy snow throughout the year. It is one of the most off-beat passes in the world.
Sources : https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/india-china-border-lac-7157725/
- Odisha’s Manda buffalo breed to be recognised by NBAGR
The Manda buffalo found in Odisha’s Koraput district and characterised by its flat forehead with short muzzle and broad semicircular horns has become the 19th buffalo breed in India to be recognised by National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources.
These buffaloes have ash grey and grey-coloured coats with copper colour hair. Their lower legs are light in colour with copper-coloured hair at the knee. Some animals are silver-white in colour. These animals are resistant to parasitic infection and less prone to diseases and can live, produce and reproduce in a low/nil input system. These buffaloes mature at around three years and drop the first calf at around four years. Every 1.5 to 2 years they give birth to a calf for the whole life of around 20 years
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PRELIMS QUESTION
- Consider the following statement with regard to Maldives
- It lies southwest of Mauritius and India
- The World Bank classifies the Maldives as having an middle income economy
Select the correct statement using code given below.
(a). 1only       (b) 2 only
(c).Both      (d). None of above
Answer : D
It is officially the Republic of Maldives, is an archipelagic state in the Indian subcontinent of Asia, situated in the Indian Ocean. It lies southwest of Sri Lanka and India, from the Asian continent’s mainland .Maldives is one of the world’s most geographically dispersed sovereign states. Malé is the capital and the most populated city, traditionally called the “King’s Island” where the ancient royal dynasties ruled for its central location.
The Maldivian Archipelago is located on the Chagos-Laccadive Ridge, a vast submarine mountain range in the Indian Ocean; this also forms a terrestrial ecoregion, together with the Chagos Archipelago and Lakshadweep. Maldives became a founding member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). It is also a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the Non-Aligned Movement. The World Bank classifies the Maldives as having an upper-middle income economy
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- Manda buffalo breed to be recognised by NBAGR belongs to which of the following state
- Chhattisgarh
- Jharkhand
- Odisha
- West Bengal
Answer : C
The Manda buffalo found in Odisha’s Koraput district and characterised by its flat forehead with short muzzle and broad semicircular horns has become the 19th buffalo breed in India to be recognised by National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources.
These buffaloes have ash grey and grey-coloured coats with copper colour hair. Their lower legs are light in colour with copper-coloured hair at the knee. Some animals are silver-white in colour. These animals are resistant to parasitic infection and less prone to diseases and can live, produce and reproduce in a low/nil input system. These buffaloes mature at around three years and drop the first calf at around four years. Every 1.5 to 2 years they give birth to a calf for the whole life of around 20 years