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Shobha Shukla, CNS (Citizen News Service) (To mark International Women's Day 2017, CNS presents an exclusive story of courage and inspirtion, based upon an interview with TB survivor and activist Prabha Mahesh)  "I can never forget that day. It is etched in my mind forever. I came back from the laboratory, totally devastated and in tears. I had never ever thought even in the wildest of my dreams that a person like me could contract TB. But that was what my reports confirmed. I was so distraught that I asked my younger sister to promise to take care of my then 1 year old baby daughter in case I died (which I thought I would)", reminisced Prabha Mahesh , while narrating her traumatic brush with a disease that globally infects more than 10.4 million people and kills 1.8 million of them in a year. Prabha, who holds a Masters degree in Psychiatry and Social Work, was working as a superintendent in a government home for mentally challenged children in Mumbai when she was di...

[ Listen or dowload this audio podcast ] Dr Chitra Chandrashekar, recipient of prestigious Professor OA Sarma Oration Award 2016 spoke with Shobha Shukla, Managing Editor of CNS (Citizen News Service).  She shared her study findings that got her the coveted recognition. Preventing TB from spreading any further is indeed a compelling public health imperative. TB hotspots cannot be on blindspots. [ Listen or dowload this audio podcast ] [ Watch video ]

Shobha Shukla, CNS (Citizen News Service) Shobha Shukla, CNS (L), Dr Chitra Chandrashekar (R) [ audio podcast ] [ video ] So said award-winning Dr Chitra Chandrashekar , Director of  Dr Iravatham’s Clinical Laboratory, Hyderabad. I met her in Mumbai during NAPCON 2016 and was struck by her modesty and her passion for working in the field of TB. Chitra spoke with CNS (Citizen News Service) about her study titled 'Host susceptibility to Mycobacteria and Transmission dynamics' , related to the transmission dynamics of TB, which won her the prestigious Professor OA Sarma Oration Award at NAPCON 2016. Listen or download this audio podcast   Watch this video interview Here is what Dr Chitra Chandrashekar shared: “ It is important to know why TB transmission continues unabated in high burden countries like India, despite there being tools to control it. My study investigated TB transmission dynamics and associated risk factors in the micro environment of urban slums, which are ...

[ Listen or download this audio podcast ] World Cancer Day 2017 is on 4th February 2017. CNS presents an exclusive and very interesting panel discussion moderated by CNS Managing Editor, Shobha Shukla. Two noted experts on the panel: Dr Navneet Singh from Department of Pulmonary Medicine, PGIMER (Secretary of Indian Society for the Study of Lung Cancer); and Dr Marzi Mehta , senior surgical oncologist from Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research Centre, Mumbai [ Listen or download this audio podcast ].

Shobha Shukla, Citizen News Service - CNS Dr Navneet Singh, PGIMER (L), Shobha Shukla, CNS (C) and Dr Marzi Mehta, surgical oncologist (R) [ Watch this video ] [ Listen or download audio podcast ] Lung cancer is the most common cancer worldwide. In 2012, there were an estimated 1.8 million new lung cancer cases (13% of all cancers diagnosed), and 1.59 million deaths (19.4% of the total cancer deaths). According to the latest cancer registry data released by the Indian Council of Medical Research , 0.114 million new lung cancer cases (83,000 in males and 31,000 in females) are estimated during 2016 in India. Watch this video Listen or download audio podcast Over 20% cancer-deaths preventable Anne Jones , senior tobacco control expert with the International Union Against TB and Lung Disease (The Union); former CEO of ASH Australia; and Medal of the order of Australia (OAM) awardee; said that over 20% of all cancer deaths are caused by tobacco use. Tobacco use not only dangerously ele...

Shobha Shukla, Citizen News Service - CNS [ Podcast ] [ Video ] As fertility rates decline and life expectancy increases, the number of senior citizens is growing globally. Among the 7.3 billion people worldwide in 2015, an estimated 617.1 million, were aged 65 years or more. The Asia Pacific region is ageing rapidly and South-East Asia’s elderly numbers are growing fast at around 5% a year - between now and 2030 there will be nearly 20 million more people aged 60 and above in the region. Listen or download this audio podcast   Watch this video interview Turning its focus upon the the ageing populations in ASEAN countries, the European Union (EU) awarded a grant to the HelpAge East Asia Pacific Regional Office ( HelpAge EAPRO ) to implement a 4 year project (February 2013-January 2017) with key partners for "Strengthening the CSO Network on Ageing as a Development Partner in Southeast Asia (AMCo)". This project prioritised strategic activities in 6 ASEAN countries of Cambod...

[ Listen or download this podcast ] Jerome Pons, Head of Cooperation (Malaysia and Thailand) at the European Union spoke with CNS (Citizen News Service) in Chiang Mai, Thailand on 19th January 2017. He raised important ageing related issues and made a strong case calling upon countries to not ignore the elderly and adapt development responses to meet the unique needs of changing population demographics. Thanks to the HelpAge International's East Asia Pacific Regional Office (EAPRO) for helping facilitate this interview. [ Listen or download this podcast ]

[ Listen or download this podcast ] Dr BB Rewari is widely acknowledged for his decade-long stewardship of Indian government's roll-out of antiretroviral therapy (ART) programme beginning from ART provision to the first person living with HIV to over a million now. Now he is the focal person for HIV/AIDS at the World Health Organization (WHO) South-East Asia Regional Office and helping accelerate ART and other efforts to #endAIDS by 2030 (#SDGs). This interview is part of CNS Inspire Series . [ Listen or download this podcast ]

Shobha Shukla, Citizen News Service - CNS Dr Navneet Singh, PGIMER (L), Shobha Shukla, CNS (C) and Dr Marzi Mehta, surgical oncologist (R) Lung cancer is the most common cancer worldwide. In 2012, there were an estimated 1.8 million new lung cancer cases (13% of all cancers diagnosed), and 1.59 million deaths (19.4% of the total cancer deaths). According to the latest cancer registry data released by the Indian Council of Medical Research , 0.114 million new lung cancer cases (83,000 in males and 31,000 in females) are estimated during 2016 in India. Diagnostic challenges Dr Navneet Singh, Pulmonologist, PGIMER While early diagnosis of lung cancer helps save lives, it is beset with many challenges. TB and lung cancer have overlapping symptoms and, to some extent, similar radiological findings. So people with lung cancer, especially those living in areas far away from good healthcare facilities, often get misdiagnosed and are treated for TB. They are referred to tertiary care centres on...

Shobha Shukla, Citizen News Service - CNS Both TB and HIV pose serious health risks. But when these two infections join together, the result is a potentially lethal co-epidemic of TB-HIV. Their coexistence is similar to opposites attracting each other despite glaring differences like two unlike poles of a magnet. They are two linked epidemics that must be fought together, in order to make significant progress in ending both.  The facts are alarming. People living with HIV (PLHIV) are 26 times more likely to develop TB than those without HIV infection and TB is the predominant cause of death for PLHIV, responsible in 2015 for 1 in 3of these deaths. In 2015, there were an estimated 10.4 million new TB cases worldwide, 1.2 million (11%) being in PLHIV. Also of the estimated 1.4 million TB deaths in 2015, 400,000 deaths were among PLHIV. 40-80% of HIV infected people with TB have extra pulmonary disease, compared with 10-20% of people without HIV. PLHIV also face increased threat of ...

Shobha Shukla, CNS (Citizen News Service) Dr Suwat Chariyalertsak, Director, RIHES, CMU Pre-exposure prophylaxis or PrEP, is a relatively new concept of "treatment as prevention" against HIV for those HIV uninfected persons who might be at risk of contracting the virus. Currently, only Truvada, a two-drug (Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate/ Emtricitabine - TDF/FTC) combination pill, is available to be taken for PrEP.  Approved by US FDA in July 2012, Truvada is 100% effective in preventing HIV in those who take this once a day pill at least 4 or more days a week. But studies have revealed that many find it difficult to comply with a daily pill regimen.The development of alternatives for daily PrEP, and more adherence-friendly schedules, could increase prevention choices and increase acceptability. Because of the potential issue of adherence to a daily regimen, as well as the stigma issues around a daily pill regimen, an injection shot given once every two months, that would reduc...

Shobha Shukla, CNS ( Citizen News Service) [ Watch this video interview ] [ Listen or download the audio podcast ] Mahatma Gandhi had once said, "If I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning". Gandhi's thought resurfaced after listening to Dr Ishwar Gilada , President of AIDS Society of India (ASI). He could not have been more sincere in demanding action to the fullest to #end AIDS by 2030 as promised by our governments. Fragmented actions in silos and scattered across sectors are just not enough to build up the pace on the ground to help governments keep this promise to #endAIDS. At the 2015 UN General Assembly, our governments had committed to end AIDS, TB and malaria by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Dr Ishwar Gilada spoke with CNS (Citizen News Service) at the sidelines of the 9th National Conference of AIDS Society of India (ASICON 2016). This interview is p...