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An official from the Philippine Department of Health (DOH) revealed on Friday that COVID-19 Omicron sub-variant BA.5 was identified in two persons in the same home in a province north of the capital.

The BA.5 was discovered on May 15 in the samples of two completely vaccinated persons who had been boosted with COVID-19 vaccinations and lived in the central Luzon area, according to Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.

“Both have unknown exposure as they did not have a travel history,” she told an online media briefing.
Vergeire said they were considered “mild cases” after manifesting cold and cough. Both have since recovered. She added that one of close contacts, also a household member, is in isolation after testing positive for COVID-19.

Also Read: Omicron subvariant BA.2 is now detectable with OmiSure Covid test kits

The Philippines has also detected the Omicron sub-variants BA.2.12.1 and BA.4.

Vergeire said the Southeast Asian country’s hospitalization rate remains “at low risk despite a slight increase in case counts.”

“Both have unknown exposure as they did not have a travel history,” she told an online media briefing.
Vergeire said they were considered “mild cases” after manifesting cold and cough. Both have since recovered. She added that one of close contacts, also a household member, is in isolation after testing positive for COVID-19.

Previous Omicron subvariants

The Omicron sub-variants BA.2.12.1 and BA.4 have also been discovered in the Philippines.

Despite a minor uptick in case counts, the hospitalisation rate in the Southeast Asian country remains “at low risk,” according to Vergeire.

The country has recorded less than 200 infections each day, most of which are minor or asymptomatic. Over 3.69 million COVID-19 cases have been verified in the Philippines, with 60,455 fatalities.

As of June 1, the Department of Health stated that 69.4 million Filipinos, or 77 percent of the target population, had been fully vaccinated. However, according to the CDC, 40.9 million people have yet to receive their booster injections.

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According to a recent study conducted by Johns Hopkins Medicine experts, coffee intake is associated to a lower risk of acute renal damage (AKI).

The findings, which were published in the journal Kidney International Reports on May 5, reveal that individuals who drank any amount of coffee per day had a 15% lower risk of AKI, with the greatest reductions seen in those who drank two to three cups per day (a 22 percent -23 percent lower risk).

“We already know that drinking coffee on a regular basis has been associated with the prevention of chronic and degenerative diseases including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and liver disease,” says study corresponding author Chirag Parikh, M.D., PhD, director of the Division of Nephrology and professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “We can now add a possible reduction in AKI risk to the growing list of health benefits for caffeine.”

Also Read: Drinking coffee on daily basis may be beneficial to heart? Know how

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is defined as a “sudden episode of renal failure or kidney damage that occurs within a few hours or days,” according to the National Kidney Foundation. This causes waste products to build up in the blood, making it difficult for the kidneys to keep the body’s fluid balance in check.

Depending on the aetiology, AKI symptoms may include: insufficient urine output; swelling in the legs and ankles, as well as around the eyes; weariness; shortness of breath; disorientation; nausea; chest discomfort; and, in extreme instances, seizures or coma. The condition is most frequent in hospitalised individuals whose kidneys have been harmed by medical or surgical stress or complications.

Researchers evaluated 14,207 people with a median age of 54 who were recruited between 1987 and 1989 for the Atherosclerosis Risk in Cities Study, an ongoing investigation of cardiovascular disease in four U.S. communities. Over the course of a 24-year period, participants were asked how many 8-ounce cups of coffee they consumed each day: zero, one, two to three, or more than three. A total of 1,694 instances of acute renal damage were documented throughout the study period.

When demographic variables, socioeconomic level, lifestyle influences, and dietary factors were taken into account, individuals who consumed any amount of coffee had a 15% reduced risk of AKI than those who did not. Even after accounting for comorbidities such as blood pressure, BMI, diabetes, antihypertensive drug usage, and renal function, those who drank coffee had an 11 percent reduced chance of having AKI than those who did not.

“We suspect that the reason for coffee’s impact on AKI risk may be that either biologically active compounds combined with caffeine or just the caffeine itself improve perfusion and oxygen utilization within the kidneys,” says Parikh. “Good kidney function and tolerance to AKI — is dependent on a steady blood supply and oxygen.”

More studies are needed, Parikh says, to define the possible protective mechanisms of coffee consumption for kidneys, especially at the cellular level.

“Caffeine has been postulated to inhibit the production of molecules that cause chemical imbalances and the use of too much oxygen in the kidneys,” he explains. “Perhaps caffeine helps the kidneys maintain a more stable system.”

Coffee additions may influence AKI

Coffee additions such as milk, half-and-half, creamer, sugar, or sweeteners, according to Parikh and his colleagues, may also influence AKI risks and need more research. Consumption of other caffeinated beverages, such as tea or soda, should also be regarded as a possible confounding factor, according to the authors.

Emily Hu, Elizabeth Selvin, and Josef Coresh of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Morgan Grams of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine; Casey Rebholz of the Johns Hopkins Medicine and Bloomberg School of Public Health; Kalie Tommerdahl and Peter Bjornstad of the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus; and Lyn Steffen of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health are among the other researchers involved in this study. (ANI)

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On Friday, India’s daily total of COVID-19 cases surpassed 4,000 for the first time in over three months, with 4,041 infections reported in the previous 24 hours.

On March 11, India had a total of 4,194 COVID-19 cases. In a single day, the country saw a surge of approximately 1,000 COVID-19 cases, resulting in 3,712 new infections.

The health ministry announced today that the daily positivity rate was 0.95 percent in the past 24 hours, while the weekly positivity rate was 0.73 percent.

With the addition of fresh infections, the country’s COVID-19 active cumulative caseload stood at 21,177.

With 2,363 recoveries in the last 24 hours hence, the total recoveries now reached 4,26,22,757. India’s Recovery Rate is currently at 98.74 per cent.

As per the health ministry, India conducted 4,25,379 COVID-19 tests in the last 24 hours. The country has so far conducted 85.17 crore total tests, as per the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) data.

The country has administered more than 193.83 crore vaccine doses so far under the Nationwide Vaccination Drive.

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Top doctors cautioned about India’s vulnerability to heart ailments, which is 2-3 times greater in proportion than in Western nations, following the death of singer KK due to cardiac arrest, which shocked the country. Krishnakumar Kunnath, often known as KK, was a singer and songwriter who died on May 31 at the age of 53. On Tuesday, the singer became unwell while playing at a live performance in Kolkata and was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Speaking to ANI, Dr Naresh Trehan, Chairman and Managing Director of Medanta Hospital said, “As a young man, who is 50+ years old and had no major problems and dies suddenly. There are many such examples where a healthy person went to sleep and did not wake up. These are because of coronary artery diseases and high blood pressure which are silent killers.”

He further said, “It is the known statistics that Indians have a higher propensity percentage of people who will get heart disease 2 to 3 times that of the Western world.” He also stressed on the role of genes as a factor behind many diseases including heart disease.

Dr. Trehan explained the causes of heart illness by saying that people are prone to coronary artery disease owing to hereditary factors. A sedentary lifestyle and a lack of exercise are additional factors in the condition.

“We tell people to ‘know your genes’. One should pay attention to family history. If you have heart disease in your family then the children will have double the risk. If you have diabetes in the family, then the children will have doubled the risk of developing diabetes,” he said.

Also Read: COVID-19 infections increase risk of heart conditions up to a year later: Study

Dr Trehan further said if the heart disease is already in the family then one must get tests done timely.

He further said, “We suggest today that by the age of 25, people who have positive family history should get their first checkup. And then we identify the risk factors and guide them accordingly for the rest of their life. Similarly, people who do not have a history should get their first checkup by the age of 30 because there are problems that are existing, which we do not know about.”

“Another most dangerous factor is fried and refried food. Stress contributes to high blood pressure. We do have a large proportion of people who are smokers at a young age. So tobacco and chewing tobacco both create damage to the coronary arteries,” Dr Trehan added.

Emphasising on recognising symptoms, Dr Ashok Seth, Chairman of Fortis Escorts Heart Institute said, “Singer KK’s sad and untimely death has left all with important lessons. Firstly, recognise symptoms of heart attack – central chest/left arm discomfort, unusual cold profuse sweating, nervousness, feeling faint and severe indigestion not being relieved by antacids.”

Explained further on what needs to be done after symptoms, Dr Seth said, “Do not delay. Whatever the time is day or night, go straight to the nearest hospital and get an ECG done. It could be life-saving. Most of the deaths from heart attack occur in the first hour.”

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The Central Government intends to develop a rebuilt Nikshay site in the near future to adopt tuberculosis patients and give them with nutritional support.

“Restructured Nikshay portal will be launched shortly which will permit public representatives and corporates to adopt TB patients and in the effect of adopted TB patients, adherence to treatment regimen and nutritious food will be looked after by the person or the entity of a company adopting them,” official sources told ANI.

The initiative by the government will be launched anytime in the month of June.

“Any public-spirited individual, non-governmental or government, both public and private individuals can adopt TB patients to support in elimination of tuberculosis from India by 2025,” the sources said.

The sources further informed that it is compulsory for TB patients to enrol themselves after which the patients will be given choice and for that, they have to fill consent form.

Earlier, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya during Swasthya Chintan Shivir on Kevadia appealed to everyone to “join the soon to be launched ‘TB Patient/Village Adoption’ scheme where everyone can adopt TB patients and ensure their well-being, provide nourishment, timely diagnosis and prompt treatment”.

“This will contribute immensely to our goal of TB-Free India by 2025”, he stated.

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In adulthood, a person’s height may become a determinant of risk for many health issues, according to a comprehensive genetic research conducted by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs’ Million Veteran Program (MVP).

A correlation between height and decreased risk of coronary heart disease was discovered, as well as a link between height and a higher risk of peripheral neuropathy and circulatory problems. The findings were published in the journal PLOS Genetics on June 2, 2022.

Dr. Sridharan Raghavan from the VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System, who led the study, described the results as “a significant contribution to understanding how height is related to clinical conditions from an epidemiologic perspective.” More research is needed before the findings might lead to changes in clinical care, says Raghavan.

However, the results highlight the association between height and clinical conditions that impact the lives of Veterans, he explains. “The broad scope of our study yielded a catalogue of clinical conditions associated with genetically predicted height. In other words, these are conditions for which height might be a risk factor, or a protective factor, irrespective of other environmental conditions that also could impact height and health.”

Height isn’t usually thought to be a risk factor for illnesses. However, previous study has found links between height and the probability of developing a variety of health problems. It’s unclear if this association has a biological foundation or is the result of other variables.

Part of a person’s adult height is determined by genes acquired from their parents. However, environmental factors like as diet, socioeconomic situation, and demography (such as age or gender) all influence ultimate height. This is why establishing a link between height and illness risk can be challenging.

Researchers at the VA looked at genetic and medical data from over 280,000 Veterans enrolled in MVP to see whether there was a link. They matched these findings to a list of 3,290 genetic variations linked to height culled from a recent genome study.

They discovered that the risk levels of 127 different medical disorders are connected to white individuals’ genetically determined height. Because Black patients are underrepresented in genetic research, there is a scarcity of data on them. However, the medical characteristics related with height were relatively constant between Black and white individuals in this study. In the MVP research, almost 21% of Veterans were black. At least 48 of the connections found in white patients were also found in black patients.

According to the researchers, all of the most important findings, such as height being connected to a decreased risk of coronary heart disease but a greater risk of atrial fibrillation, peripheral neuropathy, and circulatory problems, were identified in both Black and white subjects.

Overall, depending on the condition, genetically predicted height was connected to both reduced and higher illness risk. People who are tall tend to be less likely to have cardiovascular issues. Being taller was connected to a decreased risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and coronary heart disease in the study. However, taller participants had a greater risk of atrial fibrillation. Previous study has demonstrated these links.

Being tall, on the other hand, may raise the risk of the majority of non-cardiovascular illnesses studied. This was notably true with peripheral neuropathy and vein-related circulation diseases.

Damage to the nerves outside of the brain and spinal cord, notably in the limbs, is known as peripheral neuropathy. Height has previously been associated to poorer neural conduction and nerve issues in research. The MVP study verifies this association by utilising genetic methods to demonstrate that tall persons have a higher chance of nerve issues.

Erectile dysfunction and urine retention, both of which are connected to neuropathy, were linked by the researchers to genetically predicted height.

The findings on peripheral neuropathy, according to Raghavan, are “very fascinating.” He shared his findings with clinical colleagues who deal with individuals with peripheral neuropathy on a regular basis. Raghavan’s colleagues agreed that tall persons have the worst neuropathy, but they were unaware of any further research that supported this theory.

Cellulitis, skin abscesses, persistent leg ulcers, and osteomyelitis have all been connected to a person’s height. Being tall tends to increase the risk of circulation problems such varicose veins and thrombosis (blood clots in the veins).

Height might also put you at risk for illnesses that aren’t related to neuropathy or circulation. People whose genetics suggested they would be tall were more likely to have toe and foot abnormalities, which can be caused by higher weight bearing in tall people.

Height was also linked to an increased incidence of asthma and non-specific nerve problems in women, but not in men, according to the study.

According to the researchers, the findings show that height may be an overlooked but biologically essential and unchanging risk factor for a variety of common illnesses, particularly those affecting the extremities.

It may be useful to consider a person’s height when assessing risk and disease surveillance, they say.

More work is needed before this research can be translated into clinical care, says Raghavan. “I think our findings are a first step toward disease risk assessment in that we identify conditions for which height might truly be a risk factor,” he explains. “Future work will have to evaluate whether incorporating height into disease risk assessments can inform strategies to modify other risk factors for specific conditions.”

Height and Health Conditions

Future work will also focus on the potential mechanisms that tie height to these health conditions.

Height might also put you at risk for illnesses that aren’t related to neuropathy or circulation. People whose genetics suggested they would be tall were more likely to have toe and foot abnormalities, which can be caused by higher weight bearing in tall people.

Height was also linked to an increased incidence of asthma and non-specific nerve problems in women, but not in men, according to the study.

Also Read: Moving more often has long-term weight loss in older adults: Research

According to the researchers, the findings show that height may be an overlooked but biologically essential and unchanging risk factor for a variety of common illnesses, particularly those affecting the extremities.

Raghavan explains that studies such as this would not be possible without MVP. “MVP is extremely important for these types of studies,” he said. “By linking clinical data with genetic data, we can study clinical outcomes that are not commonly collected in other types of observational cohort data. For example, some of the stronger associations in our study — with peripheral neuropathy, venous insufficiency, osteomyelitis, foot ulcers — would not be collected routinely in lots of other data that include genetics. This linkage is helpful for research and for translating research findings back to clinical care.”

Beyond its sheer number of participants, MVP also allows for previously impossible research because of participation of Veterans from many different groups across the nation. “The other important contribution of MVP is its diversity,” explained Raghavan. “While the majority of participants are white, there are large numbers of Black and Hispanic participants, who have been underrepresented in genetic studies in the past.”

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The current monkeypox outbreak in Europe, according to the European Medicines Agency (EMA), is “not a public health emergency” at this time.

The danger of the general public contracting the disease is minimal, according to Marco Cavaleri, the EMA’s director of biological health threats and vaccines strategy, and no significant rise in cases is expected, even if an increase in instances is predicted.

“The focus should remain on the identification, monitoring and management of new cases (of monkeypox),” Xinhua quoted Cavaleri as saying.

Cavaleri said the monkeypox outbreak is “unusual, including the large geographical spread,” but “most patients had mild symptoms and recovered without needing treatments.”

The EMA is acting out of precaution to ensure options for prevention and treatment if needed, he said.

On Wednesday, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said thirty non-endemic countries have reported more than 550 confirmed cases of monkeypox.

Also Read: More than 550 confirmed monkeypox cases reported: United Nations

“Investigations are ongoing, but the sudden appearance of monkeypox in many countries at the same time suggests there may have been undetected transmission for some time,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told journalists at WHO’s Geneva headquarters.

With most reported cases having been among sexual encounters between men, those communities are working to inform their members of risks and preventative action that can be taken.

“But all of us must work hard to fight stigma, which is not just wrong, it could also prevent infected individuals from seeking care, making it harder to stop transmission,” warned the WHO chief, urging affected countries to widen their surveillance to the broader community.

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Concerned about the surge of COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra, state Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar warned on Thursday that if the trend continues, face masks would have to be made mandatory.

Maharashtra on Wednesday recorded 1,081 cases of COVID-19 infection, the highest daily rise after February 24. On Tuesday, the state had reported 711 cases. Addressing a press conference here, Pawar said, “The use of face masks will have to be made mandatory if the number of Coronavirus cases continues to grow.”

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has convened a meeting of the Covid-19 working team on Thursday in response to the unexpected increase in cases.

The Mask Mandate

“If COVID-19 cases continue to rise in Maharashtra, the state government will take a decision to make masks mandatory. The Government is keeping an eye. Discussions have been held with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray regarding the COVID-19 situation in the state,” Ajit Pawar said.

The Deputy Chief Minister highlighted that the state government has withdrawn the liquor home delivery facility, as COVID-19 cases have reduced.

“We have withdrawn the liquor home delivery facility, as COVID cases have reduced. The facility was started as there were restrictions on movement due curtail the spread of COVID-19. Now, the situation is in control and so we have withdrawn the facility,” he said.

Also Read: Possible to be contagious following Covid isolation? Is it necessary to wear mask once I’m feeling better?

The increased number of COVID-affected patients, according to Pawar, is a cause for concern. He went on to say that the state administration is aware of the issue and is investigating it.

On seeing the increase in cases of the coronavirus in Mumbai, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials have asked all hospitals and COVID centres in Mumbai to be ready to combat any further spread of the virus in the city. Additional commissioner Sanjeev Kumar said, “Yesterday, we had a meeting with all the hospitals and COVID centres in Mumbai. We request people to wear masks in crowded areas.”

The BMC officials say that all hospitals and COVID centres have been alerted after the meeting.

The testing for COVID-19 has been increased in Mumbai so that more and more people can get tested for the virus.

During the early stages of the epidemic, the World Health Organization praised the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for successfully restricting the virus’s spread in the region where over six lakh people dwell.

Despite the constant rise in the incidence of infections, BMC commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal has urged authorities to scale up testing on a war footing and to keep personnel at ‘jumbo’ Covid facilities on high alert.

“The new cases (reported) daily have gone up tremendously in Mumbai, and with monsoon round the corner, we will now see a rapid rise in symptomatic cases,” Chahal told BMC officials.

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