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Mumbai startup develops India’s first universal gene test for infectious disease

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Mumbai-based health-tech startup HaystackAnalytics has developed the first of its kind universal infectious diseases (ID) gene test to identify existing and emerging infections, the company said on Monday.

The company is supported by the Department of Science and Technology, as well as several private healthcare players.

To identify infections, the company deploys Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI), and also provides information on drug resistance to support and identify correct treatment options for patients.

The new Universal Infectious Diseases test will be rolled out with their current partners in a phased manner over the next three months, the company said in a statement.

It will initially be targeted at identifying and treating sepsis in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients, but gradually be made available to anyone suffering from a fever of unknown origin, by eradicating the need to conduct multiple tests.

The test comes at an opportune time, as Covid-19 pandemic highlights the need for better diagnostic technologies, appropriate antibiotic use, and the renewed importance of infection prevention strategies.

“The test enables rapid (within hours) and comprehensive (covering nearly all known bacterial and fungal pathogens) screening in a near to point of care deployment. Leveraging the power of next generation sequencing and AI, the team of scientists and engineers at Haystack has been able to eliminate the need for a redundant and expensive battery of tests, with a single test,” Dr. Anirvan Chatterjee, Co Founder and CEO of HaystackAnalytics, said.

“Our single point focus is to prevent each and every death caused due to treatable infections. Genomics has the potential to reduce trial and error in disease management and bring equality of access to high quality healthcare,” he added.

In the past, HaystackAnalytics had partnered with various diagnostic centers and over 20 hospitals including AIIMS, to introduce their sequencing-based clinical products for Tuberculosis and Covid in the past.

It is while working on two of the most debilitating infectious diseases — Tuberculosis and Covid — the company said it recognised the true burden of inaccurate diagnosis of infections in India and the world.

While the novel coronavirus infected and killed millions of people across the globe, there are various other infectious diseases that continue to plague India.

In particular, India accounts for the largest number of sepsis cases (11.3 million) and sepsis-related deaths (2.9 million) in the world, as per a global study published in the Lancet in 2020.

Despite having a wide range of antibiotics and antifungal medicines, sepsis is a life-threatening organ failure. It occurs when the body ends up injuring its own tissues and organs, in response to an infection, leading to shock, disability, multi-organ failure, and even death if left untreated in the early stages.

“A large proportion of these deaths can be avoided by early and accurate identification of the pathogen causing the infection. Haystack’s UID test has been developed to solve this exact problem,” Chatterjee said.

Maharashtra

Chembur shootout case solved, two arrested

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Mumbai: Mumbai Police has solved the Chembur shootout case. The zonal team of Mumbai Police has arrested a shooter from Dharavi, who has been identified as 20-year-old Afsar Khan. The Crime Branch has arrested the second accused in this case from Mira Road. He is a resident of Santa Cruz. He has been identified as Firoz Khan.

The shooter arrested by Mumbai Police had shot at Sadruddin alias Sadru. DCP Nunath Dhole has confirmed this. This shooter had a property dispute with Sadru. Along with him, Firoz of Mira Road had conspired to kill Sadru and he was riding a Pulsar motorcycle. The case has been solved in a joint operation by the Crime Branch and Mumbai Police.

Crime Branch DCP Datta Nalawade has confirmed this. Several teams were formed to solve the case. Finally the police have solved the mystery. The accused attacked Sadru due to property and personal issues and the murder of Sadru was planned, according to Mumbai Crime Branch sources.

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Maharashtra

Jamiat Ulema Maharashtra (Arshad Madani) provided assistance to the heirs of Mohammad Irfan Ansari, martyred in Nagpur violence

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Nagpur, April 11: Violence broke out between two communities in Nagpur last month over the demand to remove the tomb of Aurangzeb Alamgir, in which people of the majority community attacked Muslims and damaged their property.

It is worth noting that on March 17, communal tension erupted after a holy shawl containing verses from the Quran was burnt during a protest by Hindutva organizations in Nagpur city and minor clashes also took place between the two communities. Mohammad Irfan Ansari was seriously injured in this incident and died during treatment.

Late Mohammad Irfan Ansari belonged to the working class and was the sole breadwinner in his family. He is survived by a 16-year-old student and his wife.

The late father had a heartfelt desire that his daughter should progress in the field of education and become a successful doctor, but this dream could not be realized in life.

Jamiat Ulema Maharashtra (Arshad Madani) presented a cheque of Rs 1 lakh to the student to continue her education.

On this occasion, Mufti Muhammad Sabir Shashat (President of Jamiat Ulema District Nagpur), Haji Ijaz Patel (Vice President of Jamiat Ulema District Nagpur), Atiq Qureshi (General Secretary of Jamiat Ulema District Nagpur), Sharif Ansari (Treasurer of Jamiat Ulema District Nagpur), Bari Patel, Majid Bhai, Haji Safiur Rahman, Muhammad Ashfaq Baba, Salman Tajamul Hussain Khan, Athar Parvez, Javed Aqeel, Mufti Fadil, Muhammad Abid, Shoaib Muhammad, Arshad Kamal, Dr. Shakeel Rahmani, Haji Imtiaz Ahmed, Fayyaz Akhtar and other members of Jamiat Ulema were present in large numbers.

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Maharashtra

Waqf Security Week begins as per instructions of Muslim Personal Law Board – Statements and black bands tied in mosques

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Mumbai, April 11: Auqaf Security Week began today, Friday, April 11, as per the instructions of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board. Under this, statements were given by scholars and imams on the importance, necessity and effectiveness of Auqaf in most of the mosques in the city. The shortcomings of the current Waqf Amendment Act 2025 were highlighted. It was said that this new law of the government regarding Auqaf could put thousands of acres of land dedicated by our elders in India in danger. After this law, those who illegally occupy Auqaf will be considered legal after twelve years. Similarly, attention was also drawn to other dangerous aspects of this act.

The scholars told the people that we have to fight this struggle according to the fundamental rights given in the Constitution and the law in the light of the instructions of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board. Our fight is not against any religion or caste, but we are fighting to get back our snatched rights and we will continue this struggle till the end without accepting any provocation.

Due to late information, the Black Belt program could not be organized in many mosques. However, in many mosques, Namazis raised their voice against this cruel law by wearing black belts. Officials from various areas have said that with the will of God, the Black Belt program will be organized next Friday with full preparation.

Maulana Mahmood Ahmed Khan Dariyabadi, Maharashtra convener of the Board’s Waqf Suraksha Abhiyan, has said that although the first phase of the Waqf Suraksha Abhiyan will continue till July 7, a big press conference and several meetings with non-Muslim brothers will be organized during this Waqf Suraksha Week. Programs will be organized in various areas of the city. Human chains etc. are also being organized by taking the police and administration into confidence. Arrests will also be made as per requirement. Maulana Dariyabadi further said that discussions are also going on with senior officials of the administration for a massive protest program against the existing Waqf law at a major intersection in the city.

Black bands were seen on mosques in most parts of Maharashtra besides Mumbai’s surrounding areas like Mumbra, Bhiwandi and Mira Road and statements were also given by the Imams of the mosques.

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