Geneva, May 17 (IANS) After a gap of seven years, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday released its updated list of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which also provides guidance on the development of new and necessary treatments to curb the rising spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

During AMR infections, driven majorly by the misuse and overuse of antimicrobials, bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites no longer respond to medicines. It majorly affects the treatment of high-burden infections, such as tuberculosis, leading to severe illness and increased mortality rates.

The Bacterial Priority Pathogens List (BPPL) 2024 features 15 families of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that are grouped into critical, high, and medium categories for prioritisation.

The new “list is key to guiding investment and grappling with the antibiotics pipeline and access crisis,” said Dr. Yukiko Nakatani, WHO’s Assistant Director-General for Antimicrobial Resistance ad interim.

“The threat of antimicrobial resistance has intensified, eroding the efficacy of numerous antibiotics and putting many of the gains of modern medicine at risk,” since the first list was released in 2017, Dr Yukiko added.

In the BPPL 2024, the WHO removed five pathogen-antibiotic combinations that were included in 2017 and added four new combinations.

The third-generation cephalosporin-resistant Enterobacterales are now listed as a standalone item within the critical priority category, while Carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CRPA) infection moved from critical to high priority in BPPL 2024.

Further, the critical priority pathogens, such as gram-negative bacteria resistant to last-resort antibiotics, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis resistant to the antibiotic rifampicin, continue to present major global threats due to their high burden, and ability to resist treatment and spread resistance to other bacteria, the WHO said.

The BPPL 2024 also emphasises the need for a comprehensive public health approach to addressing AMR, including universal access to quality and affordable measures for prevention, diagnosis, and appropriate treatment of infections.

–IANS

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New Delhi, May 17 (IANS) Online food aggregator Zomato’s Co-founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal on Friday launched a new feature to help customers make healthier choices.

New Delhi, May 17 (IANS) Online food aggregator Zomato’s Co-founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal on Friday launched a new feature to help customers make healthier choices.

To begin with, the company has started suggesting ‘roti’ as an alternative to ‘naan’.

Goyal said the company has seen a seven per cent “attach rate” for these suggestions, and “we have received overwhelmingly positive feedback for this feature”.

“We are soon planning to scale this to other dishes and categories as well. For example, if you are craving a dessert, we might show you lower calorie desserts as options when you add the former to your cart,” Goyal posted on X social media platform.

In March, Goyal faced flak over his decision to launch a ‘pure veg mode’ on the Zomato platform with riders wearing ‘green’ uniforms.

After strong criticism, the company later ‘changed’ the colours from green to red even for rushing vegetarian deliveries to its customers across the country.

The food delivery platform posted a net profit of Rs 175 crore in Q4 FY24 compared to a loss of Rs 188 crore in the same period a year ago.

The company’s stock hovered around Rs 194 apiece on Friday.

–IANS

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Chhotaudepur, May 17 (IANS) More than 800 cases of hypertension have been reported in Udaipur’s Chhotaudepur district within one-and-a-half-month.

Additionally, a recent health check-up camp for government employees revealed that 295 out of 3,471 employees were diagnosed with hypertension.

Chhotaudepur has a significant tribal population, primarily comprising communities like the Rathwa, Bhil, and Naikda tribes.

World Hypertension Day, observed on May 17, aims to raise awareness about hypertension.

Hypertension, commonly known as high blood pressure, is a medical condition where the force of the blood against the artery walls is consistently too high. This condition can lead to serious health problems, such as heart disease, stroke, and kidney disease.

From April to May 15, the District Health Department conducted non-communicable disease diagnosis camps every Friday at various sub-centers, screening 30,385 people. Out of these, 875 were found to be hypertensive.

District Health Department also organised health diagnosis camps for government employees. The initiative, stressing the moral responsibility of maintaining employee health, found 295 hypertensive patients among 3,471 employees screened, officials shared.

Experts attribute the rise in hypertension to modern lifestyle changes.

C. B. Choubisa, District Health Officer, emphasised that “hypertension can be managed with proper diagnosis, regular medication, dietary adjustments, and lifestyle changes”.

He stressed the importance of regular blood pressure checks, particularly from age 30, due to increased stress and sedentary habits.

“Once a concern for older adults, it is now prevalent among younger individuals, with significant cases reported among those aged 20 to 30. The shift is largely due to increased stress and decreased physical activity,” Choubisa added.

He advocated for regular exercise and a healthy daily routine as effective measures against hypertension.

A combination of factors can cause hypertension. Primary hypertension, the most common type, typically develops gradually over years and is influenced by genetic predisposition, aging, obesity, physical inactivity, a high-sodium diet, excessive alcohol consumption, tobacco use, and chronic stress.

Secondary hypertension, which occurs more suddenly, is often due to underlying conditions such as kidney disease, adrenal gland tumors, thyroid problems, and illegal drugs like cocaine.

–IANS

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New Delhi, May 17 (IANS) Seasonal variations like hot humid weather or chilling winter can significantly raise blood pressure or cause a sudden drop, said health experts on Friday, stressing the need for regularly monitoring blood pressure.

The blood pressure tends to vary as the temperature fluctuates. According to health experts, seasonal variations of blood pressure occur, especially in North India, because in winter temperatures drop up to five to six degrees, and in summer it can reach the maximum between 40 to 45.

“This usually happens during severe winter as the cold climate causes vasoconstriction of the blood vessels, which means that the blood vessels become narrow, they go into a spasm, and because of that, the blood pressure may rise,” Dr Vinayak Agrawal, Senior Director and Head, Non-Invasive Cardiology, FMRI, Gurugram, told IANS.

High ambient temperatures in summer cause blood pressure to drop, leading to orthostatic hypotension (lightheadedness or dizziness when standing after sitting or lying down), increasing the risk of falls.

“And especially during extreme summers, there can be a lot of sweating, which can further reduce the BP,” Dr Ashwani Mehta, Senior Consultant, Department of Cardiology, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, told IANS.

“One can prevent rise or drop in BP during seasonal variations by following a schedule and keeping an eye on the blood pressure. If you measure your blood pressure and adjust the medicine in consultation with your doctors, then it can be taken care of. Many times doctors reduce the dose of medication in certain patients during summers and restart them during the winters,” he said.

The experts recommended taking precise blood pressure measurements along with regular physical activity like yoga, and cycling, as well as the reduction in ultra-processed foods to also help prevent other hypertension complications like brain stroke, dementia, and heart problems.

–IANS

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New Delhi, May 17 (IANS) Despite geopolitical, metabolic, and environmental threats, a new study on Friday showed that global life expectancy is expected to increase by 4.9 years in men and 4.2 years in women by 2050.

However, people are likely to spend more years in poor health, revealed the study based on the latest findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) 2021, published today in The Lancet journal.

Researchers attributed this to an increased shift from a range of communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional diseases (CMNNs) to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) — like cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and diabetes.

Global life expectancy is predicted to increase to 78.1 years of age in 2050 (a 4.5-year increase). Global healthy life expectancy (HALE) – the average number of years a person can expect to live in good health — will increase to 67.4 years in 2050 (a 2.6-year increase).

“In addition to an increase in life expectancy overall, we have found that the disparity in life expectancy across geographies will lessen,” said Chris Murray, Chair of Health Metrics Sciences at the University of Washington and Director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).

Murray added that the biggest opportunity to speed up reductions in the global disease burden is through policy interventions aimed at preventing and mitigating behavioural and metabolic risk factors.

“There is immense opportunity ahead for us to influence the future of global health by getting ahead of these rising metabolic and dietary risk factors, particularly those related to behavioural and lifestyle factors like high blood sugar, high body mass index, and high blood pressure,” Murray said.

–IANS

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