“I'm not great at the advice. Can I interest you in a sarcastic comment?”

This is what ‘Friends’ actor Matthew Perry’s character Chandler Bing was known for. He was known for being funny. However, he had his own struggles in his personal life and those struggles were acute depression. He was treating it with ketamine infusion therapy which is legal in the US and the UK.

What is Ketamine infusion therapy?

Ketamine is an anaesthetic used to treat depression, anxiety and pain under supervised and controlled medical settings. However, it does have its side effects, which can lead to distortion of sight, sound and time. It can also produce calming and relaxing effects.

Ketamine increases a person’s heart rate and blood pressure. If overdosed, it can leave users confused and agitated and can cause them to hurt themselves without even realising it. It can also lead to liver damage and bladder problems.

However, when used in moderation and under the supervision of medical doctors, it can treat depression where traditional antidepressants have failed.

Prof Rupert McShane, a University of Oxford psychiatrist who runs an NHS ketamine treatment clinic told BBC that ketamine “probably turns off the area of the brain that is involved in disappointment.”

Can Ketamine Infusion Therapy Kill Someone?

In simple terms, it cannot, be if the dosage is given in a controlled setting and as prescribed. Ketamine infusion therapy uses drugs in small doses than those used for anaesthesia. It acts faster than traditional anti-depressants, but the effects also wear off way quickly. Which is why it is important to monitor patients’ mental state for relapsing back into depression and discouraging them from overdosing on it.

There are ways of giving people ketamine. One of the ways is through “infusing”, which means to use an IV drip. However, injections, nasal sprays and capsules are also methods used to give people ketamine.

Since the dosage of ketamine used in the infusion treatment is small, it being the reason of actor Perry’s death was ruled out. The medical examiner also noted that Perry’s last ketamine infusion therapy session happened more than a week before his death, which means by the time he had died, it must have worn off.

So, What Happened To Perry?

Though Perry’s last session was more than a week before, his post-mortem showed that his blood contained a high concentration of ketamine. He had died of the “acute effects” of ketamine.

If it was not his session, then how did he get ketamine?

Prosecutors alleged that his assistant gave him at least 27 shots of ketamine in four days before his death, reported BBC.

Perry has been open about his personal struggles and this is what the doctors and dealers used against him. Martin Estrada, the US attorney for California’s Central District told the BBC that people took advantage of his condition. They charged him 165 times more than what vials of ketamine cost.

Names that have come up include Dr Salvador Plasencia, drug dealers “Ketamine Queen” aka Jasveen Sangha and Eric Fleming, and Perry’s live-in assistant Kenneth Iwamasa.

Who Are These Names And What Did They Do?

Ketamine Queen or Sangha supplied drugs that led to Perry’s death. Her home was a “drug-selling emporium,” said Estrada. More than 80 vials of ketamine, and thousands of pills including methamphetamine, cocaine and Xanax were allegedly found in her house known as the “Sangha Stash House.”

Sangha is known to deal with high-end celebs and was a “major source of supply for ketamine to others as well as Perry,” said Estrada.

Dr Plasencia called Perry a “moron” while charging him $2,000 for vials that cost only $12. He sold Perry 20 vials of ketamine between September and October 2023, costing $55,000.

He was the one who taught Iwamasa, who had no medical knowledge to inject the drug. This is after he knew that “Perry’s ketamine addiction was spiralling out of control,” as per what the investigators told the BBC.

Another dealer Fleming was told by Sangha to “delete all our messages.” While Fleming pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute drugs unlawfully, he also allegedly messaged Sangha: “Please call...Got more info and want to bounce ideas off you. I’m 90% sure everyone is protected. I never dealt with [Perry] only his assistant. So the assistant was the enabler.”

The court documents also revealed that he asked Sangha on whether the ketamine stays in your system or “is it immediately flushed out.”

Dr Pepper, Bots, Cans

The people who allegedly exploited Perry used coded language for ketamine and called it “Dr Pepper”, “bots”, or “cans.”

Selling overpriced drugs, taking advantage of Perry’s mental condition and falsifying medical records to make the drugs given to him look legitimate by Dr Plasencia is what took Perry’s life.

Iwamasa is said to have administered more than 20 shots of ketamine and three on the day Perry died. Whereas ketamine is only administered by a physician. Authorities also found that weeks before Perry’s death, Dr Plasencia allegedly bought 10 vials of ketamine and intended to sell to Perry.

He also injected Perry with a large dose, two days later. This caused him to “freeze up” and spiked his blood pressure.

When I Die, I Want Helping Others To Be The First Thing That’s Mentioned

Perry had always been open about his drug addictions, struggles with alcohol and his depression. He said that his openness would help others who are also struggling and wanted to be remembered by his quote which also is on the homepage of the Mattew Perry Foundation that helps others struggling with the disease of addiction: “When I die, I want helping others to be the first thing that’s mentioned.”

Five arrests have been made in the case so far.

India's flagship health insurance scheme, Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), which covers more than 62 crore people, could soon offer higher financial protection if a key parliamentary recommendation is accepted.

A Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare has recommended increasing the insurance cover under PM-JAY from the current Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh, according to a report by The Times of India.

The committee said the existing coverage is inadequate to meet the cost of several life-saving treatments, including liver transplants, complex cardiac surgeries, and immunotherapy.

Key recommendations

The panel has proposed:

• Increasing PM-JAY health insurance coverage from ₹5 lakh to ₹10 lakh.
• Introducing special high-cost treatment packages for expensive procedures.
• Adopting a differential pricing model for complex and advanced medical interventions.
Supporting higher coverage through:

• Pooled financing
• Negotiated pricing with hospitals and medical device manufacturers
• Co-funding mechanisms with states.

Recommendations To Improve Cashless Treatment

To improve the efficiency of the scheme, the committee also recommended:

• Strict enforcement of the six-hour turnaround time for pre-authorization of cashless treatment.
• Imposing penalties on hospitals or agencies responsible for unnecessary delays.
• Conducting regular audits of pre-authorization workflows.
• Expanding auto-approval for more low-risk procedures.
• Deploying AI-enabled case tracking to speed up approvals and improve transparency.

What is Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY?

Launched in September 2018, Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) is the world's largest government-funded health assurance program.

The scheme currently provides Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization, covering around 12 crore families, representing the bottom 40 per cent of India's population.

It was later expanded to include around 6 crore senior citizens aged 70 years and above from 4.5 crore families, irrespective of their socio-economic status. The scheme also covers poor and vulnerable families, as well as gig and platform workers.

Recent milestones

Last month, West Bengal became the 36th state to implement the Centre's flagship health insurance scheme.

Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda recently said one of the government's biggest achievements has been reducing out-of-pocket healthcare expenditure, which has fallen from 64.6 per cent before 2018 to 43.4 per cent. He added that AB PM-JAY has enabled timely access to quality healthcare through a cashless, paperless, and fully digital platform.

According to the government, the scheme has achieved the following milestones:

• More than 44 crore Ayushman Cards have been created.
• Over 12 crore hospital admissions have been authorized under the scheme.
• Women account for nearly half of all beneficiaries.
• More than 104 crore health records have been linked to over 93 crore ABHA accounts.

Universal health coverage by 2033

In March, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told Parliament that the government aims to achieve universal health coverage by 2033.

Addressing the Rajya Sabha, she said health insurance has become a priority area for the government, with the sector covering 58 crore lives during 2024-25, according to news agency PTI.

"Health insurance is a priority for this government. In fact, we are hoping that by 2033 we will have insurance cover for all," Sitharaman said.

A diarrheal illness caused by the parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis is spreading across multiple US states, with federal health officials reporting a higher-than-expected number of cyclosporiasis cases this summer. While several outbreaks have been identified, investigators have yet to pinpoint a common source.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is investigating clusters of infections in Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Michigan, Ohio, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Some clusters have been linked to Mexican-style restaurants, a grocery chain and a catered event, but officials say there is no evidence yet that they are part of a single nationwide outbreak, CNN reported.

Meanwhile, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is tracing fresh produce, including white and green onions, cucumbers and cilantro, as potential sources of contamination.

Michigan has reported the largest outbreak so far. As of July 6, the state had confirmed 678 cases of cyclosporiasis, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). The state typically records around 50 cases annually, making this year's outbreak more than 13 times higher than normal.

Ohio has also seen a sharp rise, reporting 177 cases as of July 2. Nearly 171 of those infections were recorded after June 20, with cases confirmed across 43 counties.

Nationally, excluding Michigan, the CDC reported 145 confirmed cases across 17 states between May 1 and June 16. At least 20 people have been hospitalized, though no deaths have been reported. Patients ranged in age from 5 to 86 years, with a median age of 42, and about 61% of cases were reported in women.

Why Is It So Difficult To Find The Source?

Experts say Cyclospora cayetanensis is much harder to trace than common foodborne bacteria such as E. coli and Salmonella.

Investigators often rely on DNA fingerprinting to connect bacterial infections to contaminated food through laboratory networks such as PulseNet. However, this approach is far less effective for Cyclospora because the parasite has a far more complex genetic makeup, making it difficult to link cases to a single food item or supplier.

Dr. Max Teplitski, former head of the Division of Food Safety at the US Department of Agriculture and now chief science officer at the International Fresh Produce Association, said the parasite remains one of the most difficult foodborne pathogens to investigate, contributing to delays in identifying the outbreak source, CNN reported.

How To Prevent Cyclospora Infection

The CDC recommends the following precautions to reduce the risk of infection:

• Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water before and after handling fresh produce.
• Rinse fruits and vegetables under running water before eating, cutting or cooking them.
• Do not rewash produce labeled "prewashed."
• Scrub firm produce, such as melons and cucumbers, with a clean produce brush.
• Cut away bruised or damaged portions before eating.
• Refrigerate cut, peeled or cooked fruits and vegetables within two hours.

Cyclospora spreads through food or water contaminated with human feces and is not transmitted directly from person to person.

Dr. Darien Sutton, an emergency medicine physician and ABC News medical correspondent, stressed that proper handwashing is essential because alcohol-based hand sanitizers are not effective against the parasite.

"This type of parasite doesn't easily go away with alcohol-based hand sanitizer. So, good old handwashing is really key here," Sutton said.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a recall of organic frozen blueberries sold at Publix stores across eight US states after they were linked to a potential outbreak of E. coli infections.

GreenWise Organic IQF Blueberries were first recalled by Frutas y Hortalizas del Sur S.A. of San Carlos, Chile, which supplied the product to grocery chain Publix. Publix then recalled the frozen blueberries from its stores on July 3, 2026, according to a company statement.

According to FDA, the outbreak has resulted in 12 confirmed cases of E. coli-related gastrointestinal illness, including four hospitalizations. The FDA also said it has received reports of illness after consumers ate the frozen blueberries.

While many strains of E. coli are harmless, the bacteria involved in this recall is Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC).

"E. coli O145 is a Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) that can cause illness characterised by severe stomach cramps, diarrhoea (which may be bloody), and vomiting," the FDA said.

The agency added that although most healthy people recover within a week, some infections can lead to hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a serious complication that can cause kidney damage, particularly in young children, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems.

Which States Are Affected?

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The recalled blueberries were distributed to Publix stores in:

• Alabama
• Florida
• Georgia
• Kentucky
• North Carolina
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Virginia

Which Blueberries Are Being Recalled?

The FDA advises consumers to check their freezers for the following product:

• Product: Frozen GreenWise Organic IQF Blueberries
• Package Size: 10 oz
• Lot Code: 60401
• Best By Date: February 9, 2028

Consumers who have the affected product should not eat it. Frutas y Hortalizas del Sur S.A. said it is working closely with regulatory authorities and customers. The company has instructed all customers who received the affected lot to immediately isolate the product, stop distributing it, and notify any downstream customers.

What Is E. coli?

Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a group of bacteria that normally lives in the intestines of humans and animals. Most strains are harmless and help with digestion. However, certain strains produce toxins that can cause serious illness when ingested through contaminated food or water.

What Happens During an E. coli Infection?

An E. coli infection most commonly affects the digestive system, causing:

• Watery diarrhoea
• Severe abdominal cramps
• Gastroenteritis
• Vomiting
• Mild fever
• Loss of appetite

Some infections, particularly those caused by Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, can lead to hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a potentially life-threatening condition that damages the kidneys.

How to Protect Yourself From E. coli

You can reduce your risk of E. coli infection by:

• Washing your hands thoroughly with soap and water.
• Handling raw and cooked foods separately.
• Cooking food, especially meat, thoroughly.
• Washing fruits and vegetables before eating.
• Drinking safe, clean water and avoiding unpasteurised products.