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Book Review Indian Pediatrics 2001; 38: 313-314 |
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News in Brief |
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Gujarat’s devastating earthquake toll is officially 16,403 dead and 68,478 injured. In all 21 districts and 8792 villages were affected. The estimated loss of property has been put at Rs. 13,500 crore and more than 2.28 lakh houses collapsed. But the remarkable way in which recovery has started in Gujarat after this colossal destruction takes one’s breath away. Individuals, organizations and nations are chipping in from every corner of the globe and the innate strength of the Gujarati entrepreneur will see this state back on the rails faster than expected. Already power supply is back in 9 towns and 557 villages; 9 towns and 913 villages have piped water, telecommunication links are partly back and no major epidemic has broken out (The Times of India 6 Feb 2001). Ethics It is truism that if you are poor and unaware, you are at great risk of being exploited. In the big bad world of multinational pharmaceutical industries, how strictly etical guidelines are followed while conducting research on patients in developing countries is questionable. The recent cloud surrounding the 1996 trial comparing trovafloxacin with cerftriaxone in children with meningitis in Nigeria, in which many children died, is a case in point. The trial was conducted by Pfizer in the Aminu Kanu teaching hospital but it is unclear whether the international code of ethics was followed or not and whether the National Association for Food and Drug Control (NAFDAC) gave clearance. The disappearance of the medical records of 300 children from the hospital only serves to increase suspicions. Now the Nigerian government has ordered an enquiry into the whole affair (The Lancet Interactive 13 Jan 2001). Disease Watch Strange things happen when capitalism rears its head amongst the very poor. In August last year a local authority started charging a fee to provide water to very poor people in an informal settlement in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. Today an epidemic of cholera is sweeping through the area and has affected 14,000 people and killed more than 50. It was an epidemic waiting to happen in a place where 80% have no running water and more have no sanitation. But aggressive control measures by the government has resulted in a very low case fatality rate though there are no signs of diminution in the cholera cases (eBMJ 13 Jan 2001) Policy The World Bank’s decision to partially fund a private multi-specialty hospital in Maharashtra has raised many eyebrows. Five per cent of the International Development Association loan will go in building this hospital. The pharmaceutical company Wockhardt will hold 51% of the equity. Local and international health care workers are upset and feel that the money should go instead to government run hospitals which cater to the really needy. The real fear is that a precedent will be set where funds will get diverted to projects which finally benefit only the rich (eMBJ 3 Feb 2001).
Gouri Rao Passi,
Pediatric Dermatology Atlas - www.med.jhu.edu/peds/dermatlas. The pediatric der-matology atlas is compiled, reviewed, scored and updated by physicians of the Johns Hopkins University, USA. Currently more than 350 images with their description have been included in this collection. It is also possible to contribute images to this collection. Pediatric Grand Rounds Broadcast - http://www2.med.umich.edu/telemedicine/pediatrics/index.cfm. Live audio of the Pediatric grand rounds from the University of Michigan, Department of Pediatrics can be accessed from this site. Archives of past episodes are also available for download. Pubmedcentral - http://pubmedcentral.nih.gov. This is the new web based repository that will archive, organize, and distribute free of charge peer reviewed reports from biomedical journals. At present full text of 16 medical journals are available from this site. More journals are expected to follow suit. This site, a part of the National Institute of Health, USA aims to provide full text access of medical journals free of charge. Atlas of Medical Parasitology- www.biosci.-ohio-state.edu/~parasite/i-p.html. This is an online atlas containing images, including photomicrographs. Over 500 images with descriptions can be visualized from this site. This site has been hosted by the Ohio state university. Housestaff Guide to the NICU - www.peds.umn.edu/divisions/neonatalogy/spnicu/guide.html. Housestaff manual for the NICU from University of Minnesota contains information for the residents including fluid calculation, feeding schedules, protocols for various diseases, transfusion protocols, artificial ventilation, immunization and description of invasive procedures. Pediatric Respiratory Reviews - www.harcourt-international.com/journals/prrv. The table of contents of the current and past issues of this quarterly journal can be accessed from this website. Full text access is restricted to subscribers only. One sample issue can be viewed free.
C. Vidyashankar |
