The <keyword id="20039511" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="National-Medical-Commission" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="National Medical Commission" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="National Medical Commission">National Medical Commission</keyword> has reintroduced '<keyword id="20020656" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sodomy" source="keywords">sodomy</keyword> and <keyword id="23039406" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lesbianism" source="keywords">lesbianism</keyword>' as unnatural sexual offenses in the <keyword id="21817335" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="forensic-medicine" source="keywords">forensic medicine</keyword> and <keyword id="23039408" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="toxicology" source="keywords">toxicology</keyword> curriculum for undergraduate medical students. It has also brought back topics such as the hymen and its type, and its <keyword id="23039409" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="medico-legal" source="keywords">medico-legal</keyword> importance besides defining virginity and defloration, legitimacy and its medico-legal importance. These subjects were done away with in 2022, in accordance with a Madras High Court directive. The revised curriculum under forensic medicine and toxicology also includes "describe legal competencies including Bharatiya Nagarika Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA)" besides "Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), Civil and Criminal Cases, Inquest (Police Inquest and Magistrate's Inquest), cognisable and Non-cognisable offences". It talks about discussing sexual perversions, fetishism, transvestism, voyeurism, sadism, necrophagia, masochism, exhibitionism, frotteurism, and necrophilia. However, distinctions between consensual sex between queer individuals have been removed, a source said. The amended curriculum has done away with the seven-hour training on disability. At the end of teaching-learning in forensic medicine and toxicology, the student should be able to understand the medico-legal framework of medical practice, codes of conduct, medical ethics, professional misconduct and medical negligence, conducting medico-legal examination and documentation of various medico-legal cases and understand latest acts and laws related to medical professional including related court judgements, the <keyword id="19934791" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NMC" source="keywords">NMC</keyword> said in its document. "It was time to have a relook at all aspects of the various components in the existing regulations and guidelines, and adapt them to the changing demography, socio-economic context, perceptions, values, advancements in medical education and expectations of stakeholders," the NMC said in its Competency-Based Medical Education Curriculum (CBME) Guidelines, 2024. The result is an outcome-driven curriculum which conforms to global trends. Emphasis is laid on alignment and integration of subjects both horizontally and vertically while respecting the strengths and necessity of subject-based instruction and assessment, it said. The undergraduate medical education programme is designed with the goal of creating an "Indian Medical Graduate" (IMG) possessing requisite knowledge, skills, attitudes, values and responsiveness, so that she or he may function appropriately and effectively as a physician of first contact of the community while being globally relevant. "To achieve this, the following national and institutional goals for the learner of the Indian Medical Graduate training program are hereby prescribed. "The first contact physician needs to be skilful to perform duties of primary care physician and have requisite skills for promotive, preventative, rehabilitative, palliative care and referral services," the document said.

Lesbianism as sexual offence reintroduced in NMC's medical curriculum

The 40-year old volunteer, who works as a business consultant had wanted to investigate the cause of him contracting severe neurological health complications he had suffered after being vaccinated with Covidshield shots under development at <keyword id="95879" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Serum-Institute-of-India">Serum Institute of India</keyword>, but the company was intimidating him with a threat of over Rs 100 crore damage suit, said his advocates. "We are yet to get any reply for the legal notice sent to various parties, including Serum Institute. We have seen news reports about Serum Institute threatening our client with a suit for over Rs 100 crore," N.G.R. Prasad, Advocate, Row &amp; Reddy, told IANS. "Our client had restricted his claim only for Rs 5 crore and wanted investigation to start as to the cause of him suffering severe neurological problems and stop the vaccine from affecting other people," Prasad added. On the other hand, Serum Institute without getting into the root cause is intimidating its volunteer with a threat of over Rs 100 crore damage suit. "The client is ready to fight it out legally if needed," R.Rajaram, another Advocate for the volunteer told IANS. The two advocates said this will be a medico-legal case and the evidence of medical professionals will be obtained in support of their client. "The volunteer was a healthy male prior to being vaccinated. He was tested only for coronavirus infection before being vaccinated with Covidshield. He was found negative for coronavirus infection," Prasad said. "No other medical tests were done to ascertain his health condition," Prasad added. He said in case of any adverse reaction, investigation into the issue should have been carried out immediately-whether it is related to the vaccine or not. "But it was not done despite the severe neurological health complications our client had developed," Prasad said. Reacting to the volunteer's legal notice, Serum Institute in a media statement on November 29 said: "The claim is malicious because the volunteer was specifically informed by the medical team that the complications he suffered were independent of the vaccine trial he underwent. In-spite of specifically being made aware of the same, he still chose to go public and malign the reputation of the company." The company is silent on what basis the medical team told the volunteer that his neurological problems are independent of the vaccine trial that he underwent. According to Prasad, no other medical tests were done on his client to ascertain his pre-vaccination health status and other pre-existing ailments. "The allegations in the notice are malicious and misconceived. While the Serum Institute of India is sympathetic with the volunteer's medical condition, there is absolutely no correlation with the vaccine trial and the medical condition of the volunteer. The volunteer is falsely laying the blame for his medical problems on the <keyword id="8983421" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Covid-vaccine">Covid vaccine</keyword> trial," Serum Institute had said. "It is evident that the intention behind the spreading of such malicious information is an oblique pecuniary motive. The Serum Institute of India, will seek damages in excess of 100 crore for the same and will defend such malicious claims," the company issued a counter threat. "We had sent a legal notice to the Serum Institute; Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR); AstraZeneca, UK; Drugs Controller General of India; Andrew Pollard, Chief Investigator, Oxford Vaccine Trial; The Jenner Institute Laboratories, University of Oxford; and the Vice Chancellor of Sri Ramachandra Higher Education and Research," Prasad said. As per the legal notice issued, the volunteer, a 40-year old male is married and has two kids aged about 12 and 7 years. On coming to know about the call for volunteers for the third phase of human trial at Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research (formerly called Sri Ramachandra Medical College &amp; Research Institute or SRMC) for testing the Covid-19 vaccine developed by the Oxford University, the public spirit in him wanted to volunteer, the notice said. The volunteer was informed by the Ramachandra Institute that it was a randomised controlled study to determine the safety and immunogenicity of Covishield (Covid-19 vaccine) in the health of Indian adults. The 'participant information sheet' given to him said that the sponsors were (a) Serum Institute of India Pvt Ltd (SII), and (b) The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR); and the investigation site is Sri Ramachandra Higher Education and Research (deemed university), Chennai, and the investigator is S.R. Ramakrishnan. According to the notice, as per the 'participant information sheet', "Oxford University has developed a vaccine against Covid-19. This vaccine has been previously tested in around 500 healthy adults of 18 to 55 years of age in the UK and was found to be safe and induce an immune response. Currently, three large clinical trials in thousands of healthy adults are ongoing with this vaccine in the UK, Brazil and South Africa. The SII has collaborated with the Oxford University and AstraZeneca (a pharmaceutical company in the UK) to manufacture this vaccine on a commercial scale, which is called Covishield." According to the notice, the Sri Ramachandra Institute and the trial investigator also assured the volunteer that the vaccine has already been found to be safe and that this study is to further confirm the safety and immune response of Covishield in Indian adults. "Our client further states that the contents in Page 8 of the participant information sheet further assured the safety of the vaccine, though two participants in the UK developed unexplained neurological symptoms that were concluded to be not related to the vaccine," the notice stated. As per the notice, there is nothing in the participant information sheet to educate or warn the participants about any serious side-effects of the said vaccine, like the one suffered by him. The volunteer had signed the consent form on September 29. As the test for antibodies against Covid-19 was negative, the Covishield study vaccine was given to him on October 1. For 10 days after vaccination, there was no adverse reaction, but on October 11, the volunteer woke up at 5.30 a.m. with a severe headache and went back to sleep and did not get up when his wife tried to wake him up at 9 a.m. At 2 p.m., he woke up and vomited and went back to sleep, saying he had a severe headache. There was a total behavioural change in him -- he was not aware of his surroundings, he showed irritation towards light and sound, and was resisting any effort to make him get up from bed, the notice said citing his wife. The Covishield volunteer vomited in the ambulance enroute the emergency ward of the Sri Ramachandra Medical College Hospital. "According to the hospital's discharge summary, he was brought into the hospital "in an altered mental state" and was "disoriented". The Covidshied volunteer was discharged from the hospital on October 26, with the discharge summary stating that he had suffered "acute encephalopathy". "He says that in the 16 days that he was in the hospital, almost all possible medical tests and investigations were done on him to connect his neurological set back to any of his earlier health condition, that is, to connect it to some factor other than the test vaccine that was administered on him on October 1. But all the tests done on him was found to be negative, confirming that the setback in his health was due to the test vaccine he was administered on October 1, and not because of any prior health condition," the notice said. The volunteer was even fastened to the bed as he was aggressive. Citing his wife, the notice stated that the volunteer is still not stable, has severe mood swings, has problems with comprehending and focusing on things, is finding it difficult to even do simple routine things like making online payments, leave alone focusing on work-related matters. So much so that he is feeling utterly frustrated and lacking confidence totally. Even after a month of the severe adverse reaction to the vaccine, neither has the regulator (Drugs Controller General of India/Data and Safety Monitoring Committee), the sponsors (ICMR and SII) or the collaborators of the sponsors (AstraZeneca and Oxford University) got in touch with him to find out about the severe adverse effect after vaccination and investigate the severe reaction the test vaccine has had on him. According to the notice, this clearly goes against the protocols and guidelines set by the World Health Organization (WHO) in dealing with an Adverse Event Following Immunization (AEFI)/Vaccination. "The WHO protocol clearly states that 'the criteria for initiating investigation (an AEFI) could be fixed as within two working days for serious events and five working days for non-serious events'. And 'a report must be made as quickly as possible so that an immediate decision can be made on the need for action and investigation'," the notice said. "Our client's wife states that EEG tests done on November 12 (18 days after discharge from the hospital) shows 'dysfunction involving both hemispheres', and 'dysfunction involving the ascending sensory pathways on both sides from both the lower extremities'. Psychiatric evaluation done on the same day shows 'mild deficit in verbal &amp; visual memory functions', 'mild deficit in dealing with complex information', and 'an under-functioning in overall cognitive functions'," the notice stated. The volunteer is claiming a financial compensation of Rs five crore for all the trauma he is undergoing and with an uncertain future in his health, and also the testing, manufacturing and the distribution of the vaccine should also be stopped immediately. When contacted, a spokesperson of Sri Ramachandra Higher Education told IANS that the matter is subjudice and cannot comment on the matter despite no suit has been filed by the volunteer.

Serum Covishield legal row: Chennai volunteer seeks investigation, lawyer says company is intimidating him with ₹100 crore suit

New Delhi, May 19 () Invasive technique should not be adopted for forensic autopsy in COVID-19 death cases as mortuary staff are exposed to potentially dangerous health risks due to organ fluids and secretions even after taking the highest precautions, the ICMR said on Tuesday.The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), in its 'Standard Guidelines for Medico-legal autopsy in COVID-19 deaths in India', said, "It will prevent the spread of infection to doctors, mortuary staff, police persons and all the people in chain of dead body disposal." According to the guidelines, the deaths in hospital and under medical care due to coronavirus infection is a non-MLC case and doesn't require postmortem examination and the required certification of death will be done by treating doctors. Bodies of suspected COVID-19 patients, which are brought to hospital, may be labelled as medico legal cases by the doctor in emergency and it will be sent to mortuary and police will be informed, which may necessitate a medicolegal autopsy for clarity in the cause of death. "The forensic autopsy of these cases may be waived off," the guidelines said. In some homicidal, accidental or suicidal death cases, the deceased may be COVID-19 confirmed or suspected. If the patient dies in hospital, the clinical records and all other relevant documents may be sent along with the body for forensic autopsy. After the inquest procedure, if any crime is not suspected, police have the authority to waive off conduction of medico-legal autopsy, even though labelled as medico-legal case. "The investigating police officer must proactively take steps to waive off unnecessary autopsies during such pandemic situation," the guidelines said. As per the procedure of conducting forensic autopsy, "...along with external examination, multiple photographs and verbal autopsy (as depicted by WHO)...post-mortem should be conducted strictly avoiding any invasive surgical procedures and avoiding splashing of body fluids contact for staffs, body handlers and doctors conducting post-mortem." According to the guidelines, if COVID-19 test report is awaited, the body must not be released from a mortuary until the final report is received and after the formalities, it must be handed over to the district administration. "At no time, more than two relatives must be present near the body and they must maintain a distance of at least one meter from the body. The body must be identified through the plastic bag, without opening the bag, and it must be done in the presence of law enforcing agencies," it said. "The body must be taken to the burial/cremation ground in presence of law enforcing agencies, where not more than five relatives of the deceased should be allowed," it said. These guidelines are based on the current understanding about modes of transmission of COVID-19 sensitivity of the diagnostic tests, international autopsy guidelines and knowledge about infrastructure and logistic strength of common mortuaries in India, the document stated. Complete personal protective equipment (PPE) has to be used while shifting the body in the mortuary if it involves direct handling of the body by the staff. The body should be packed in a double packing in a leak-proof zipped transparent plastic body bag, which is locked properly to avoid spillage of any fluids. The existing mortuary facility for body storage should be strictly divided into COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 bodies. Incase of burial, upper surface should be cemented and earmarked. The body must be cremated in electric crematorium, wherever possible, so that the movement and handling of the body is minimised, the guidelines stated. Religious rituals, which require touching the bodies, should be avoided like bathing, kissing and hugging of the dead bodies, the document said, adding that the ash does not pose any risk and can be collected to perform the last rites. The document lists a series of FAQs like over how many days is the infectivity period of COVID-19 from a dead body, in response to which the ICMR said the coronavirus infection is a respiratory infection and mainly spread through aerosols. "As per the available scientific literature till now, the survival of virus gradually decreases with time in a dead body but there is no specific time limit after to declare the body non-infective. So, it is advisable to adopt the necessary precautions while handling the body and non-invasive autopsy technique," it said. As for the protocol to do autopsy in a COVID-19 suspected dead body with negative RT-PCR result, the apex health research body said, "Considering the relatively high rate of false negative results of COVID-19 RT-PCR, every case still has to be considered as a possible COVID-19 case. "Thus, it is advisable to follow non-invasive autopsy in these cases throughout the duration of pandemic," it said. PLB KJ KJ KJ

No invasive technique be adopted for forensic autopsy in COVID-19 death cases: ICMR

New Delhi, May 11 () Invasive techniques should not be adopted for forensic autopsy in COVID-19 death cases as doctors and other mortuary staff are exposed to potentially dangerous health risks due to organ fluids and secretions, the ICMR has said in a draft document.According to the final draft 'Standard Guidelines for Medico-legal autopsy in COVID-19 deaths in India' released by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), deaths in hospital and under medical care due to coronavirus infection is a non-MLC case and doesn't require postmortem and the required certification of death is being done by treating doctors. Some of the cases of suspected COVID-19 death which are brought dead to hospitals are labelled by emergency doctors as MLC and the body is sent to the mortuary and police are informed which may need postmortem examination for clarity in the cause of death."The forensic autopsy of these cases may be waived off," the draft guidelines said. Some of the cases are suicide, homicide or accident and may be positive or suspected case of coronavirus infection. After the inquest procedure, if any crime is not suspected, police have the authority to waive off conduction of medico-legal autopsy, even though labelled as medico-legal case."The investigating police officer must proactively take steps to waive off unnecessary autopsies during such pandemic situation," the draft document said.As per the procedure of conducting forensic autopsy, the "dissection of bones and tissues will generate aerosol which may lead to spread of infection. On the basis of same along with external examination, multiple photographs and verbal autopsy (as depicted by WHO)...the post mortem should be conducted strictly avoiding any invasive surgical procedures and avoiding splashing of body fluids contact for staffs, body handlers and doctors conducting post mortem." According to the draft guidelines by the ICMR, if the COVID-19 test report is awaited, the body must not be released from the mortuary until the final report is received and after the formalities, it must be handed over to the district administration. "At no time, more than two relatives must be present near the body and they must maintain a distance of at least one meter from the body."The body must be identified by relatives through the plastic bag, without opening the bag, and it must be done in the presence of law enforcing agencies," it said."The body must be taken to the burial/cremation ground in presence of law enforcing agencies, where not more than five relatives of the deceased should be allowed. Large gathering at the crematorium/ burial ground should be avoided as a social distancing measure as it is possible that close family contacts may be symptomatic and shedding the virus," it said. These guidelines are based on the current understanding about modes of transmission of COVID-19 sensitivity of diagnostic tests, international autopsy guidelines and knowledge about infrastructure and logistic strength of common mortuaries in India, the document stated.Complete PPE has to be used while shifting the body in the mortuary if it involves direct handling of the body by the staff. The body should be packed in a double packing in a leak-proof zipped transparent plastic body bag which is locked properly to avoid spillage of any fluids. The existing mortuary facility for body storage should be strictly divided into COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 bodies.In case of burial upper surface should be cemented and earmarked.The body must be cremated in electric crematorium, wherever possible, so that the movement and handling of the body is minimized, the draft guidelines stated. Religious rituals which requires touching the bodies should be avoided like bathing, kissing and hugging etc., the document said, adding that ash does not pose any risk and can be collected to perform last rites. PLB DVDV

No invasive techniques be adopted for autopsy of COVID-19 patients: ICMR document

Srinagar, Jun 15 () An 18-year-old man succumbed to COVID-19 here on Monday, becoming the youngest person to die of the disease in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. The man, a resident of Handwara area of north Kashmir's Kupwara district, was admitted to the Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital here on June 12 as a medico-legal case involving assault, the officials said. His swab sample for the novel coronavirus was taken the next day which came back positive, they said, adding that he died around 3 am. He had serious head injuries besides bilateral pneumonia, they said. With the fresh death, the toll due to COVID-19 in the union territory has risen to 61. SSB MIJ DPB

18-yr-old man becomes J-K's youngest COVID-19 victim

Mumbai, May 15 () The Maharashtra government hasset up two committees at state and district level for bettercoordinationbetween public and private hospitals in tacklingthe spread of COVID-19.The decision to constitute the coordination panels wastaken on Thursday after a meeting between representatives ofthe Indian Medical Association (IMA) and Maharashtra Chiefsecretary Ajoy Mehta, according to the government.A Government Resolution (GR) issued on May 14 said thecommittees will ensure all government decisions regardingsteps being taken to control the pandemic and medicalprotocols are made available to all concerned.The panels will see that PPE kits, gloves and masksare made available to medical workers in private hospitals.The committees will also work out steps to be taken toensure medical workers have social security and are treatedwith respect and dignity, the GR said.The state-level committee will be headed by the chiefsecretary and comprise principal secretary (public health),principal secretary (urban development),secretary (medicaleducation), Mumbai municipal commissioner and director of theDirectorate of Medical Education.Director of health services will be member-secretary,while president of the IMA (Maharashtra) and a representativeof the association will be an invitee on the panel.The district-level committee will have collector aschairman and members will include CEO of the zilla parishad,police commissioner,municipal commissioners and districtpolice superintendent.District civil surgeon will be member-secretary, whiledistrict president of the IMA (Maharashtra) and arepresentative of the medical body will be an invitee.Coordination between government and medical fraternitywill be worked out for state and district level implementationof all coronavirus-related guidelines issued by the WHO andUnion Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the GR said.Till May 14, Maharashtra had recorded 27,524 cases ofCOVID-19.Meanwhile, a release issued by the IMA (Maharashtra)said a delegation led by its state unit president AvinashBhondwe met Mehta and other senior officials on Thursday todiscuss issues related to the coronavirus pandemic.Apart from setting up of the two committees for smoothfunctioning of the COVID 19 control campaign, the IMAsuggested that there should be a uniform policy about fees andother charges for COVID and non-COVID patients treated byprivate hospitals all over the state.The IMA suggested that all acquired private hospitalsshould be included under the state's Mahatma Jyotiba Phule JanArogya Yojana, the release said.The IMA said there should not be any medico-legal caseagainst any doctor on ground that the treating doctor orhospital is cause of COVID-19 infection to a patient.The renewal date of registration of hospitals underthe Bombay Nursing Home Act should be postponed in view of theCOVID-19 pandemic, the release said. MRRSY RSY

Maharashtra govt forms two coordination panels on COVID-19

New Delhi, May 20 () Nasal swab samples from bodies of suspected COVID-19 cases should be collected for testing of coronavirus infection at the emergency before moving the body to mortuary, the ICMR said. According to the 'Standard Guidelines for Medico-legal autopsy in COVID-19 deaths in India' released by the ICMR on Tuesday, if the COVID-19 test report is awaited, the dead body must not be released from the mortuary until the final report is received and after the formalities, it must be handed over to the district administration. "It is advisable to collect Nasopharyngeal swab at the emergency department/casualty/ward/ICU and should be sent for COVID-19 RT-PCR test in all suspected cases before moving the body to mortuary for preservation if the same was not sent in due hospital course," the guidelines said. Asymptomatic infected people and patients in incubation period may not meet the diagnostic criteria for suspected cases, but if they have possible epidemiological history, all dead bodies without reliable clinical/epidemiological history and all unidentified dead bodies should be treated as suspected COVID-19 deaths. "Cases with negative swab results also should be treated as suspected COVID-19 deaths as false negative result is not uncommon," the guidelines stated. At no time, more than two relatives must be present near the body and they must maintain a distance of at least one meter from the body. The body must be identified through the plastic bag, without opening the bag, and it must be done in the presence of law enforcing agencies. "The body must be taken to the burial/cremation ground in presence of law enforcing agencies, where not more than five relatives of the deceased should be allowed," it said. In case of burial, upper surface should be cemented and earmarked. The body must be cremated in electric crematorium, wherever possible, so that the movement and handling of the body is minimised, the guidelines stated. Religious rituals which require touching the bodies should be avoided like bathing, kissing and hugging of the dead bodies, the document said, adding the ashes do not pose any risk and can be collected to perform the last rites. As for the ideal depth of burial of dead body, the ICMR said as per available literature and reports, the burial is being done at a depth of six to eight feet. During autopsy or while handling the dead body, if anyone get accidental occupational exposure with body fluids/tissues of a COVID-19 patient, then immediately the entire exposed area should be washed with soap and water with minimum contact time of 20 seconds. This should be followed by application of 70 per cent alcohol based disinfectant. The exposed clothes/ articles should be disposed off according to the established practices. The matter should be reported to the hospital administration to evaluate the necessary steps accordingly, the ICMR added. PLB SRY

Nasal samples from dead bodies be collected for COVID-19 test before sending to mortuary: ICMR

New Delhi, May 19 () The survival of coronavirus gradually decreases with time in a dead body, as per scientific literature till now, though there is no specific duration to declare a body as non-infective, the ICMR said on Tuesday. So, it is advisable to adopt the necessary precautions and non-invasive autopsy technique while handling the body, the apex health research body said in response to a question over how many days is the infectivity period of COVID-19 in a dead body. COVID-19 is a respiratory disease and mainly spreads through aerosols, the ICMR said while listing a series of frequently asked questions in its 'Standard guidelines for Medico-legal autopsy in COVID-19 deaths in India 2020' released on Tuesday. Responding to a question over the protocol to be followed for performing an autopsy in a COVID-19 suspected dead body with negative RT-PCR result, the ICMR said considering the relatively high rate of false negative results of COVID-19 RT-PCR, every case still has to be considered as a possible coronavirus infection case. "Thus, it is advisable to follow non-invasive autopsy in these cases throughout the duration of pandemic," it said. Asked if an invasive autopsy can be performed after disinfecting the body surface using one per cent of hypochlorite or 70 per cent of alcohol solution, it the source of the infection from a COVID-19 confirmed case is mainly from aerosol generating procedure from internal body fluids and visceral organs. Even mucosal surfaces, such as those in nasal and oral cavities, gases or fluids expelled through natural orifices as a result of compression of cavities, which can occur during transport, can be sources of disease transmission. "Hence, surface disinfection does not provide protection against COVID-19 during autopsy," the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said. Asked if there is any risk of infection to body handlers if COVID-19 and non-COVID bodies are kept in separate racks of same cold chamber having same compressor, it said the chances of contacting the infection is negligible if proper precautions are taken like double bagging of body and handling it with proper PPE. The ICMR further said that there should be a dedicated hospital staff for transfer of such bodies to mortuary. Incase there is shortage of staff in mortuary, additional staff should be deputed for transportation of the body by hospital authorities. The help of NGO's and social welfare department may also be taken to address any kind of manpower issue. Asked what procedure should be adopted and whether internal dissection is required if a COVID 19 confirmed or suspected patient dies due to unnatural cause, it said in such cases the certification of death should be done in coordination with police and the body should be handed over to relatives without internal dissection. In cases that are treated, hospital case records like lab investigation reports, report of other diagnostic tests, including treatment given, will give an additional documentary background for correlating with the investigation and to reach a reasonable conclusion about the cause of death and other related queries. "Non-invasive autopsy technique as described in guidelines should be used, if at all required to prevent the risk of spreading the infection to mortuary staff, police personnel and contamination of mortuary surfaces," the ICMR said. PLB KJ KJ

COVID-19 survival reduces with time in dead body, but no time limit to declare it non-infective:ICMR

<ul><li>One in every six people in India suffer from some form of <keyword id="6354774" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mental-health">mental health</keyword> issues, says a recent study of “Access to care, awareness and attitudes towards mental health in India.” </li><li>Over half of the Indians are unlikely to recognise the symptoms of mental disorders and people suffering from mental illness. </li><li>Lack of awareness explains misconceptions on mental disorders in India. Merely 8% of the respondents knew if their health insurance covers mental health. </li><li>India witnesses nearly 28% of global suicides despite accounting for 18% of the population worldwide.</li></ul>As India observes the <keyword id="57200" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="World-Mental-Health-Day">World Mental Health Day</keyword> on October 10, a recent study of “Access to care, awareness &amp; attitudes towards mental health in India” says that nearly one in six people suffer from some form of mental health issues. Yet, the country lacks awareness on mental health and related disorders. Over half of the Indians are unlikely to recognise the symptoms of mental disorders and people suffering from mental illness, shows the analysis from the study published by Cosmos Institute of Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences (CIMBS), and World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH). “Surprisingly, even amongst those who had close interactions with a person with mental illness, 35% thought mental health issues were uncommon suggesting conversations on mental illness remain taboo. This could possibly be explained by 41% of those who had a person with mental illness amongst their near and dear ones feeling that other people were insensitive and likely to ridicule a patient,” said Dr Sunil Mittal, who was the principal investigator of the study. The National Mental Health survey of 2016 predicts that roughly 13.7% lifetime prevalence of mental illness among Indians. And, over 150 million are in need of active intervention. However, merely one in every four individuals felt that the government provided adequate support to persons with mental illness. “The nature of the caregivers’ role is invisible and complex, much like mental illness itself. The entire journey is laden with fears, insecurities, trauma, isolation and dysfunctionality. To add to it, the new laws do not cater to the concerns and needs of caregivers and their voice,” said Mitali Srivastava, Senior Psychologist at CIMBS. Lack of awareness and suicides Even when they aware, Indians do not know how to cure themselves. Merely 8% of the respondents knew if their insurance covered mental health. India witnesses nearly 28% of global suicides despite accounting for 18% of the population worldwide. Yet, almost 30% people did not consider suicide to be associated with mental illness — which explains the less likelihood of intervention. “There is a need for well-thought guidelines for a participatory approach to encourage non-governmental and private entities, and address concerns regarding medico-legal issues in mental health service delivery. Without which, it is difficult to bridge the huge treatment gap that exists today. Also, innovation and adoption of technology like tele-medicine need to be promoted,” said lawyer Mrinal Kanwar. The survey analysed responses from over 10,000 individuals across seven states in India. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/society/news/suicides-in-india-are-increasing-but-there-is-no-official-data/articleshow/71437559.cms">India stopped counting suicides 3 years ago — now, it’s the worst in all of South East Asia</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/education/article/fear-self-loathing-and-stress-affect-students-appearing-for-competitive-exams/articleshow/71392742.cms">Fear, self-loathing and stress affect students appearing for competitive exams</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/society/news/india-wants-more-iits-to-have-wellness-centers-to-curb-stress-and-depression/articleshow/71424045.cms">India wants more IITs to have wellness centers to curb stress and depression</a>

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