Pakistan continues to be dealing with a polio outbreak as four fresh cases have emerged, pushing the national tally to 37 this year, according to health officials on October 19, 2024. Health officials said that the regional reference laboratory for polio eradication at the National Institute of Health in Islamabad confirmed wild poliovirus type-1 (WPV1) in two children-one from each Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

In recent cases, a girl has been affected from Pishin, and two boys from Chaman and Noshki of Balochistan, and a girl from Lakki Marwat in KP. These are the first detections of the virus within Noshki and Lakki Marwat this year; isolated cases of poliovirus were previously reported within Chaman and Pishin. The province of Balochistan was the worst hit with 20 cases, Sindh had 10, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had five, and Punjab and Islamabad had one case each.

A gigantic fight against polio has been on going in Pakistan- especially in Balochistan and southern KP-over the last two years. Immunisation campaigns have often been suspended or delayed because of local protests, insecurity, and community boycotts. Consequently, quite a number of children did not get the necessary vaccinations, making existing patches of vulnerability for the virus to flow within those pockets.

Noshki, located near Afghanistan's border, and Lakki Marwat have also recently reported some positive environmental samples that confirm the virus is present here, said a local reference laboratory official. Samples of latest cases are currently under genetic sequencing for checking spread of virus and origin.

As the threat of polio continues to grow, Pakistan has vowed to mount a nationwide campaign against it beginning from October 28. With the zeal to tackle the menace in the most effective manner, over 45 million children under the age of five will be vaccinated across the country.

Today, Afghanistan and Pakistan remain one of the few countries where polio has not yet been eradicated. The WHO said the virus remains a potential serious public health threat in areas with low vaccination coverage and weak surveillance.

India On Alert Against Polio

The country declared itself polio-free since 2014 and has kept the disease on bay almost a decade with very robust vaccination programs; however, two cases of vaccine-derived poliovirus cases reported in recent days from Meghalaya create some amount of doubts over a possible resurgence. Experts observe that in India, despite these detections taking place, strong coverage of vaccination at 90-95% and mandatory surveillance measures keep the risk of this widespread outbreak at bay.

The experts point out, however, that such stable situation in India requires continued surveillance. "Countries like Pakistan and parts of Africa remain at a high risk because vaccination rates in those areas are much lower," Dr. Siddharth, public health expert, said. Vaccination is an indispensable act in order to avoid the spread of this incapacitating disease that manifests most importantly as a nervous system affliction leading to the paralysis of a long period.

With concerted efforts from health authorities, there is hope someday that the scourge of polio will be completely eradicated from the face of the earth and future generations will never suffer from its effects.

The Karnataka government has launched a QR code-based grievance system that allows consumers to lodge food and drug safety complaints directly with authorities. The move is aimed at making food and drug safety-related violations easier to report.

The Integrated Public Grievance Redressal System (IPGRS) was launched by Karnataka Health Minister U T Khader on August 17. The system has been developed by the state’s Food Safety and Drugs Administration (FSDA) in coordination with the Centre for e-Governance.

QR codes will be displayed at hotels, restaurants, eateries and drug stores, allowing customers to scan them and register complaints. They will also be able to track the status of complaints, according to officials.

What Can You Complain About?

The system is designed to cover both food and medicine-related violations. For food establishments, consumers can report:

• Unhygienic food or poor sanitation
• Food safety violations
• Use of artificial colours
• Problems at restaurants, hotels and street-food outlets
• Other food-related regulatory or service complaints
• For pharmacies and medicines, complaints can include:
• Expired medicines
• Overcharging or excessive pricing
• Adverse drug reactions
• Pharmacy-related grievances
• Other violations under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act

Also read: Immunity-Boosting Peptide Shows Promise In Long COVID Treatment, So Why FDA Has Not Approved It?

Why Has Karnataka Introduced This Now?

The QR system comes as Karnataka's food safety authorities ramp up inspections across the state. In one recent operation, inspections at government facilities reportedly uncovered food safety problems, while canteens at Vidhana Soudha and the health department headquarters in Bengaluru were sealed after officials found expired food and unhygienic conditions, including cockroaches.

The move came after complaints about unhygienic food handling and the use of artificial colours in shawarma and kebabs.

During the checks, 61 samples were collected, with nine shawarma samples and one kebab sample subsequently declared unsafe. Officials said legal action is now being initiated against those responsible.

The department also turned its attention to food warehouses used by e-commerce platforms, inspecting 236 facilities and initiating proceedings against 44 for violations. Eight of these warehouses were fined a total of Rs 1.97 lakh after officials found unhygienic conditions.

Also read: Taiwan FDA Recalls 87,000 Blood Pressure Tablets: Here’s Why The Medicine May Not Work As Intended

Concerns were also raised over milk and dairy products entering the state. Of the 25 samples collected from batches coming into Karnataka from Tamil Nadu, one was found to be substandard.

In Bengaluru Urban, inspection teams visited more than 60 three- and five-star hotels, eight warehouses and four international restaurants.

The inspections also uncovered large quantities of expired, spoiled and improperly labelled food. Officials seized 429 kg of mutton and chicken, 203 kg of fish, and 200 kg of vegetarian food that had been stored alongside non-vegetarian items.

The seized material also included 76 kg of rotten or mouldy vegetables, 45 litres of expired milk and curd, and 12 kg of expired bakery products. Another 67 kg of cereals and other food products were confiscated for being expired or mislabelled, while 49 litres of used or non-compliant cooking oil were also seized.

How Will The QR System Help?

Traditionally, consumers had to go through a complex complaint-lodging process to report an unsafe restaurant, suspicious food product or expired or harmful medicines. The new system essentially puts a digital window to lodge complaints right at the place where the problem is discovered.

A customer who notices poor hygiene at a restaurant, for example, can scan the QR code displayed at the establishment and submit the complaint without having to separately search for the relevant authority. The system is also intended to make complaints easier for officials to monitor and follow up on.

The state government has described the initiative as the first of its kind in India, with the system integrated with the government's Centre for e-Governance.

That could become particularly useful in a state where food is sold through a huge network of restaurants, street vendors, hotels, pharmacies and institutional kitchens.

Even as global temperatures continue to climb, increased exposure to extreme heat may be more dangerous for people aged 60 and over than previously thought, according to a new study published in The Lancet Planetary Health.

The global study found that older adults may face serious health risks as their bodies struggle to keep up with extreme heat, a state physiologists call “uncompensable heat stress.” This occurs when sweating and other biological cooling mechanisms are overwhelmed and core body temperature continues to rise.

“The human body can tolerate only a limited range of ambient heat,” said lead author Qinqin Kong from Stanford Health Policy (SHP).

“Understanding where, when, and to what extent these limits are exceeded is critical for informing climate prevention policies,” Kong said.

What Did The Study Find?

Also read: AC Becomes ‘Must-Have’ For Offices As London Faces Fifth Heatwave; Here’s Why It Still Raises Dehydration Risk

The study accounts for age-related differences in heat tolerance on a global scale. Researchers drew on previously published laboratory experiments that measured heat tolerance across three age groups:

• Younger adults: 15–39 years
• Middle-aged adults: 40–59 years
• Older adults: 60 years and over

The researchers then mapped where heat would become dangerous for each group and how many people would be affected.

They used a high-resolution heat stress metric across scenarios ranging from 1°C to 4°C of global warming above pre-industrial levels, in 0.5°C increments, combined with population projections.

Based on at least 180 hours of dangerous heat annually, assuming roughly six hours of such heat per day:

• At 1.5°C warming: 22% of the world's older adults — about 290 million people — could face unsafe heat for at least one month each year.
• At 3°C or higher warming, older adults could face dangerous heat day and night for three months straight.
• A similar level of risk is not projected until 4°C warming, when about 17% (490 million people) could be affected.

Which Countries Will Be Most Affected?

Read More: UK, France Brace for Another Heatwave: How Hot Weather Can Affect Medicines

According to the study, South Asia and the Persian Gulf regions are projected to be among the most exposed.

At that level of warming, just four countries—India, China, Pakistan and Bangladesh—would account for 1.5 billion people, or 73% of the total population affected worldwide, across all age groups.

The researchers warned that the greatest challenge will fall on countries that combine high heat exposure with high poverty rates and limited access to cooling, including:

• India
• Pakistan
• Bangladesh
• Myanmar
• Niger

Why Are Older Adults at Higher Risk?

Each additional degree of warming exposes roughly 1 billion more people to at least 180 hours of uncompensable heat a year, with older adults bearing a disproportionate share of the risk.

When researchers accounted for the reduced heat tolerance associated with aging, the number of people facing repeated, uncompensable heat exposure was two to eight times higher than earlier estimates that used young-adult thresholds for everyone.

This is particularly concerning because extreme heat is already one of the leading causes of weather-related deaths worldwide. Heat-related mortality may also become the largest contributor to climate-related costs in a warming world.

Why Prolonged Heat Can Be Dangerous?

The researchers noted that sustained exposure beyond the body's heat tolerance limits can lead to dangerous or even fatal hyperthermia and can worsen pre-existing chronic illnesses, particularly those affecting the:

• Cardiovascular system
• Respiratory system
• Renal system

These findings underscore the urgent need for age-specific adaptation strategies alongside ambitious climate change-mitigation efforts to protect clinically vulnerable populations from escalating heat-related hazards.

The study calls on governments to develop heat emergency plans and improve access to cooling and heat-warning systems.

The team also stress that cutting emissions remains essential to reduce older people's risk of prolonged, round-the-clock heat exposure and protect future generations from widespread heat danger.

The Clarence High School in Bengaluru's Richards Town has suspended offline classes temporarily after more than 500 students and 21 staff members reported flu-like symptoms.

According to reports, at least two students have tested positive for H1N1 and one staff member is undergoing treatment at Bangalore Baptist Hospital. The school has been shut down as a precautionary measure as health officials continue to investigate the outbreak.

But before panicking, it is important to understand that 500-plus people falling sick suddenly does not mean there are 500 H1N1 cases. Many of those affected have reported common flu-like symptoms like fever, cough, cold, and body aches, and testing is needed to determine the exact cause.

What Is H1N1?

H1N1 is a subtype of influenza A virus. Patients with H1N1 may present common flu-like symptoms like fever, cough, sore throat, runny or blocked nose, headache, fatigue, and body aches. Some children may also experience gastrointestinal symptoms like vomiting or diarrhoea.

The contagious infection spreads mainly through respiratory droplets that get released when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks. Crowded spaces like classrooms, school buses, and playgrounds can provide plenty of opportunities for virus transmission.

Children may spread the virus to others before realising they are sick, making it difficult to contain an outbreak.

Also read: H1N1 Flu Rising in India: Why Heart Patients Need to Watch

What Symptoms Must Parents Look For?

School settings are particularly prone to respiratory infections as children spend hours together indoors and frequently share objects and touch common surfaces.

In the Bengaluru case, school authorities have also raised concerns about sanitation and waste accumulation around nearby street-food vendors, although this has not been established as the cause of the H1N1 infections.

It is important to understand that not every seasonal flu is caused by H1N1 virus. But isolate your child if he or she child presents the following symptoms:

• High fever or chills
• Persistent cough
• Sore throat
• Runny or blocked nose
• Headache
• Significant body aches
• Unusual tiredness or weakness
• Vomiting or diarrhoea in some children

Please note that not every child with flu will develop a fever. So the absence of fever does not necessarily rule out influenza.

While most children recover without serious complications, some are at greater risk of severe influenza, including very young children and those with conditions like asthma, diabetes, heart disease, or neurological disorders.

Also read: Why Humidity Can Worsen Sinus Symptoms Even Without An Infection?

When Should Parents Seek Urgent Medical Help?

Certain symptoms should not be dismissed as 'just the flu'. Seek urgent medical attention if a child develops the following symptoms as they can indicate complications like pneumonia, severe dehydration, or other serious effects of influenza.

• Difficulty breathing or very rapid breathing
• Chest pain
• Blue or grey lips or face
• Severe dehydration or very little urine
• Persistent vomiting
• Seizures
• Severe weakness or unusual drowsiness
• A child who is difficult to wake or does not respond normally

India's National Centre for Disease Control lists breathlessness, chest pain, drowsiness, falling blood pressure and bluish discolouration among warning signs that warrant urgent medical attention.

Also read: Delhi Sees Nearly 6x Rise In H1N1 Cases: How Is It Different From Other Respiratory Infections?

Precautionary Measures Parents Must Take

Not every child with a cough or fever needs an H1N1 test. Testing decisions should be made by a doctor based on the child's symptoms, exposure, and risk factors.

Parents should also avoid administering antibiotics on their own. Remember that H1N1 is a viral infection, so antibiotics is not the right course of treatment.

If a child develops flu-like symptoms, the most important step is not to send them to school. Parents should also:

• Instruct them to wash hands frequently
• Teach children to cover while coughing and sneezing
• Avoid sharing bottles, utensils and towels
• Limit close contact with others while the child is sick
• Keep commonly touched surfaces clean
• Speak to a doctor about seasonal influenza vaccination, particularly for children at higher risk