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MGIMS-JBTDRC Health Update - Web for current awareness on emerging infectious diseases and Life Style Health Problems

                 Infectious diseases are emerging around the globe and spreading faster and becoming increasingly difficult to control. According to WHO, infectious diseases are now spreading geographically much faster than at any time in history. Over the last 5 years alone 1100 different epidemic diseases were verified.  In 2003 SARS spread from China to 30 countries and killed 800 people. Mortality rate in H5N1 (Bird Flu) cases is alarming being 60%.  2.5 billion People live in areas at risk for epidemic transmission of Dengue. 43,138 cases of Chikungunya suspected in Kerala in late 2007. Annually, US$ 3 billion economic loss with about 17 crore workdays lost due to TB in India. Widespread drug resistance, as a consequence of poor medical treatment and misuse of antibiotics, jeopardized global efforts to control infectious diseases.  With around  2 billion people are traveling by air every year across the world, an outbreak or epidemic in one part of the world is only a few hours away from becoming an eminent threat somewhere else.

                   'Lifestyle' deaths could top 388 million in next decade and 36 million premature deaths by 2015. 300 million adults worldwide are clinically obese. WHO estimates nearly 25 million cardiovascular diseases deaths worldwide by 2020. 25 million Indians have diabetes, and this is forecast to grow to 57 million by 2025, while 30% diabetes people worldwide do not know they have it.   Most of the suicide cases are due to untreated Depression. Cost of allergy drugs alone, worldwide, is estimated to be $8 billion. Allergy, Depression and Alzheimer's affecting one in every 4, 5 and 20 people respectively, developing serious consequences for future.

                    In context of current status, it is realized, lack of awareness, altered lifestyle, unhygienic and Junk food, changed environmental conditions, speed of travel and global reach being major factors; expose people at increased contact with a previously unfamiliar microbe or its natural host and promote dissemination. There is urgent need for e-health info service portal for effective surveillance and control. MGIMS-JBTDRC Health Update online is developed with an aim to aware people about current status of emerging infectious and lifestyle diseases was launched by Mr. Senthil Kumaran Shanmugam, Vice President, Satyam Computer Services Ltd., Chennai at Medical Informatics workshop on 30th November at Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences. It will also contain the basic information and research about casual organism/ gene/ protein/ other factors and links to renowned research centers, cost effective Medical Tourism centers to facilitate further research and to meet the demand of cost effective medical care.