New Delhi, Jan 10: Inter-sectoral collaboration and enhanced research are crucial to address the rising burden of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) like diabetes, hypertension, and obesity, said the Union Health Ministry on Friday.

NCDs account for over 66 per cent of all deaths across the nation. The burden of NCDs such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, and cancers has also become a significant public health challenge, particularly among individuals over the age of 30.

“The need for inter-sectoral collaboration, enhanced research, and innovative practices to address the growing burden of NCDs,” said Punya Salila Srivastava, Union Health Secretary.

She said this at the two-day national workshop on NCDs, hosted by the Union Health Ministry in collaboration with the Government of Telangana from January 8-9.

The workshop brought together key stakeholders including Principal Secretaries (Health), Mission Director-National Health Mission, and other senior officers from all the States and Union Territories, health professionals, and policymakers from across the country, focused on strengthening strategies for the prevention, screening, management, and treatment of NCDs.

“This national workshop marked a significant step toward achieving the government’s vision of a ‘Healthy India’, with an emphasis on universal access to quality healthcare services and the reduction of premature mortality from NCDs,” Srivastava said.

She noted that the workshop will enable the Health Ministry “to strategise the priorities while submitting proposals before the 16th Finance Commission of India for strengthening the health care system including prevention and control of NCDs”.

The conference featured comprehensive discussions, field visits, and knowledge-sharing sessions addressing different aspects of major NCDs, including diabetes, hypertension, chronic kidney disease (CKD), chronic respiratory disease (CRD), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), stroke, and cancer.

Community-based interventions were a major focus, with sessions emphasising the role of campaigns such as Fit India and Eat Right India. It also discussed state-specific strategies to address hypertension and cancer, as well as explored strategies to address gaps in cancer care — from screening to follow-up.

New Delhi, Jan 7: Children and elderly with cold and cough must stay at home to prevent the spread of Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV), a respiratory illness currently seeing an uptick in the country, said former AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria, on Tuesday.

Speaking to media, Guleria, Chairman, Institute of Internal Medicine, Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, Medanta Gurugram, said that prevention is most important.

“If the child has fever, cold, and cough, the child should stay at home for at least 5 to 7 days, so that the child does not give the infection to others in the school,” he said.

He also recommended schools issue advisory to parents to not send such children to school, which can then also spread to the elderly.

So far, seven cases of HMPV — Karnataka (2), Gujarat (1), and Tamil Nadu (2) have been reported. All the cases were detected in young children ranging from 3 months old to 13 years old.

Guleria urged for following public health measures like regular handwashing and, the use of masks, which can protect from other respiratory illnesses like flu.

“I think the lessons we learned from, Covid are something that everyone should follow, especially during this time, because this will protect you not only from the HMPV but even from Covid or other influenza-related viruses.

“Covid appropriate behaviour such as wearing a mask, regular hand washing, cough etiquettes like covering your cough. If you don’t have a tissue or a handkerchief cover your cough/sneeze in your arm or elbow so that you don’t spread the infection, avoid going to crowded places,” the noted pulmonologist told media.

Guleria said that the virus is not new and causes only mild infection in young children and elderly persons. He added the infection is self-limiting and must not be treated with antibiotics but with proper hydration and nutrition.

Meanwhile, Union Minister JP Nadda, in a video message, said that the HMPV is not a new virus.

“It was first identified in 2001 and has been circulating in the entire world since many years, It spreads through the air by the way of respiration. This can affect persons of all age groups. The virus spreads more during the winter and the early spring months,” said the Union Minister.

The Health Ministry, the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), and the National Centre for Disease Control are keeping a close watch on the situation in China, as well as in neighbouring countries, Nadda assured.

“There is no reason to worry. We are closely monitoring the situation,” he added.

Mumbai, Jan 7: As more clarity emerged around HMPV amid increased surveillance across the country, India’s domestic benchmark indices closed higher on Tuesday amid positive global cues while buying was seen in metal, media, energy, commodities, PSU bank, financial service, pharma and FMCG sectors.

Sensex ended at 78,199.11, up by 234.12 points, or 0.30 per cent, and Nifty settled at 23,707.90, up by 91.85 points or 0.39 per cent.

Nifty Bank ended at 50,202.15, up by 280.15 points, or 0.56 per cent. The Nifty Midcap 100 index closed at 56,869.3 after rising 502.35 points, or 0.89 per cent, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index closed at 18,673.45 after rising 248.20 points, or 1.35 per cent.

On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), 2,627 shares ended in green and 1,356 shares in red, whereas there was no change in 103 shares.

According to market experts, amid positive global cues indicating no major concerns regarding HMPV, the domestic market partially recovered from yesterday’s sharp sell-off but traded within a range ahead of the critical first advance estimates for India’s FY25 GDP.

“In the near term, the market is expected to remain cautious, awaiting signs of earnings recovery during the upcoming result season, while also dealing with ongoing FII selling which is driven by the strengthening dollar, rising US bond yields, and reduced expectations of further rate cuts,” they noted.

On the sectoral front, auto, IT and consumption segments were major losers.

In the Sensex pack, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, Asian Paints, Nestle India, UltraTech Cement, L&T, Adani Ports, Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, Titan, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Sun Pharma and SBI were the top gainers. Whereas Zomato, HCL Tech, TCS, Tech Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Infosys and Bajaj Finserv were the top losers.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 2,575.06 crore on January 6 and domestic institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 5,749.65 crore on the same day.

“As the market approaches critical support and resistance levels, investors are advised to monitor price action closely and adopt a cautious stance in the coming sessions,” said experts.