AMU doctors save 7-month-old girl with critical heart disease
Aligarh, Aug 25 : Doctors at the Aligarh Muslim University's Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College (JNMC) successfully performed a four-hour-long operation to set right a severe congenital anomaly that had threatened the life of a seven-month-old girl.
Doctors said only a few centres in north India could perform this critical procedure.
Mahira, daughter of Salman, a resident of Aligarh's Jawan area, owes her life to the leader of the team, cardiothoracic surgeon Mohammad Hanif Beg, who is also the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Pro Vice Chancellor.
Since one of the heart chambers of the infant was not developed and there was a hole in her heart, it resulted in the mixing of pure and impure blood, the doctors said on Saturday, adding that the child suffered blue discoloration, rapid and distressed breathing and feeding difficulty among other problems.
For the procedure performed on Friday, blood from the baby's head, neck and arms was routed to her lungs. The girl has now been discharged to live a healthy life, the doctors said.
M.H. Beg said the surgery was done free of cost under the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK), a government initiative under the National Health Mission.
The JNMC is the only centre in western Uttar Pradesh with facilities for complex cardiac surgeries of children, doctor Azam Haseen said.
More than 80 children with heart diseases have benefited from the RBSK programme at JNMC, Uzma Firdaus, Nodal Officer, District Early Intervention Centre, Aligarh said.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
