-The Hindu India, even before Independence, was among the countries that indigenously manufactured vaccines almost years within they were discovered, historical records suggest. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech on Friday presented a view of India’s vaccination history that is at odds with the facts. “If you look at the history of vaccinations in India, whether it was a vaccine for Smallpox, hepatitis B or polio, you will see that India would have...

-The Hindu Business Line Large inter-State variations in funding, shortcomings in quality of care and neglect of urban health continue to haunt the sector Since Independence, India has made some notable gains on the health front. For instance, life expectancy at birth has increased, infant mortality and crude death rates have fallen steeply, diseases such as Smallpox, polio and guinea worm have been eradicated, and leprosy is on the verge of getting...

-Scroll.in The past is no recipe for the future – but it can suggest what to expect. Epidemics, much like wars or natural disasters, profoundly influence the course of history. Consider a few examples. Smallpox, malaria, and influenza decimated indigenous Americans after European contact in the 16th century, paving the way for western colonisation of the New World. Yellow fever helped turn the tide of the Haitian Revolution at the beginning of...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: India has eliminated maternal and neonatal tetanus. It has been reduced to less than one case per 1000 live births across the country, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has validated adding India to the list of countries that have successfully battled the disease. "This is a huge achievement for India which until a few decades ago reported 150,000 to 200,000 neonatal tetanus cases annually," WHO regional...

-Outlook An ambitious drive to eliminate or control a host of diseases, including measles, which affects lakhs of people and leave many killed every year will be launched, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan today said. Vardhan said the government was already working towards eliminating measles by 2015 and Rubella, also known as German measles, and 'Kala-azar' or black fever by 2015. It also aims to eliminate parasitic disease Filaria by 2015 and Leprosy at...