-Down to Earth Antibiotics are indiscriminately used on food crops in several parts of the country, adding to the burden of antibiotic resistance    Dharampal Singh just cannot stop admiring the cauliflowers glistening with beads of dew on his farm near the Yamuna banks in Delhi. Next to the plot, rows of radishes, spinach, fenugreek and bottle gourds lie shining in the morning sun. “These untainted vegetables fetch me a premium in the...

-Down to Earth NEW DELHI: World Health Organisation (WHO) has classified Antibiotics into different groups based on their therapeutic efficacy and to curb the increasing risk of superbug infections. It has asked member-countries, including India, to adopt the classification in their health systems to cut the spread of antimicrobial resistance. Antibiotics are the most sold drugs segment in India with sales of over Rs 1,000 crore. The WHO classification specifies which Antibiotics...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Alternative and herbal medicines may not always be without side-effects. Doctors say unmonitored use of such medication, as also long-term drugs for ailments such as TB and body-building protein supplements, may lead to liver failure even among patients with no history of liver disease. Take the case of Rashmi Khare (name changed). The 27-year-old Delhi girl was admitted to Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS)...

-The Hindu CDSCO sends letter to manufacturers Alerted by the Union Health Ministry’s pharmaceutical watchdog, the National Co-ordination Centre of the Pharmacovigilance Programme of India (PvPI), on adverse reactions that were being reported from some commonly-used Antibiotics, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has now asked manufacturers to ensure that this information be made available to the general public. CDSCO has written to drug manufacturers, to mention in leaflets inserted into drug...

-The Times of India MUMBAI: Prices of essential medicines, including painkillers, anti-infectives, supplements and Antibiotics, will go up by over 4%, after the government gave its nod to the increase, in line with the annual Wholesale Price Index (WPI). Hike in prices of cardiac stents have also been allowed on the basis of WPI at 4.26% for calendar year 2018. The revision in prices of both stents and medicines will come...