'The government sent a request to the ICMR after a team of doctors from Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) failed to ascertain the reasons behind it,' a health department official told IANS.

The PMCH team rejected the possibility of congenital blindness in new-borns due to high arsenic content in water.

Bihar Health Minister Nand Kishore Yadav said the health department had also approached experts in the US.

The cases have been reported from villages under Bihiya, Sahpur and Barehara blocks, about 60 km from here.

Healthcare workers and general public could face risks by inhaling various components of crude oil such as benzene, toluene and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, all of which may cause cancer, the Natural Resources Defence Council (NRDC) said.

Crude oil also contains mercury and lead, both of which can be dangerous if inhaled or swallowed, the group said in a statement.

Short-term effects include skin and respiratory problems while longer-term risks are uncertain, the NRDC said.

It said some people living along the coast were already reporting headaches, nausea, coughing and throat irritation.

'There are significant health risks associated with this oil spill, and the risks aren't just to wildlife, they are also to humans,' Gina Solomon, a senior scientist with the NRDC, was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

The immediate worry, said Solomon, is what are called volatile organic compounds, which include chemicals like benzene that can be released in vapour form from the oil floating in the water.

'These chemicals can cause acute health effects such as headache, nausea, vomiting, cough, dizziness. The chemicals can also cause longer-term effects, including the potential for miscarriage or low birth weight in pregnant women and risk of cancer over the longer term,' he said.

Since the BP offshore oil-rig explosion April 20, at least 200,000 gallons of oil a day have been pouring into the Gulf of Mexico.

'The latest technology provided by Cisco makes the work of a doctor more convenient. Earlier, the doctor would go in search of a telemedicine room, but the new technology provided by Cisco helps the doctor connect with patients on a laptop supported by an internet connection and web camera,' Apollo Telemedicine Foundation president K. Ganapathy said Friday.

'Even miles apart, doctors can give medical supervision, conduct detailed clinical examination and interact with patients through web camera,' Ganapathy added.

Sangita Reddy, executive director of Apollo Hospitals Group, said: 'Although, Apollo Hospitals had one of the largest telemedicine network, we were not able to touch rural areas in India as the initial investment for this facility was high. The alliance with Cisco has made telemedicine user-friendly and cost-effective.'

Reddy said Apollo had started deploying Cisco desktop-based healthcare technology in remote clinics and super-specialty hospitals, enabling patients to access doctors at any point of time.

Vishal Gupta, vice president of Cisco, said: 'Using this new desktop-based healthcare solution, we create an environment similar to what patients experience when they visit their doctor.'

'The high definition video, audio and end-to-end telemedicine and the immediate diagnosis with specialist will help patients, particularly those in rural areas,' Gupta added.

Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Dinesh Trivedi said a central health team visited Kuttanadu area in Kerala in January to investigate reported increase in cancer cases.

He said the high profile team of an oncologist, a radiotherapist, an epidemiologist and scientists, has submitted its report to the union health ministry and the state government.

The experts suggested that the government-run T.D. Medical College should form a database of cancer cases and also strengthen treatment facilities in the state.

The report also recommended that the quality of drinking water should be examined.

'Quality of drinking water may be examined by the public health engineering department for ensuring safe supply,' the minister said.

Trivedi said the central government has extended assistance to the state to continue the National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP) for early detection and treatment of cancer patients.

'This Mother's Day is a grim reminder of thousands of mothers dying during child birth,' said Shabana, brand ambassador of 'Save The Children' campaign, in a press statement.

'It is indeed sad that on one hand our country is emerging as a global power and on the other we have shocking statistics on maternal, newborn and child mortality. As a nation we must invest in the health of mothers and children,' she added.

Every year around 68,000 women die annually from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth and India ranks 73 out of 77 middle-income countries, rated for the 'best place to be a mother in'.

The recent report released by 'Save the Children' indicates that lack of knowledge and poor education adds to the misery of women.

Despite progress in reducing maternal mortality and child mortality, India still ranks one out of 12 countries that account for two-thirds of under five and maternal deaths in the world.

'There is a strong link between the status of women, her level of education and her health. When women have little or no education, they have little say over whether they can go to a doctor or not. Educated girls marry later and have healthy babies. Strong, healthy women lead to strong, healthy children and communities,' said Shabana.

Quoting the National Commission on Macroeconomics and Health report, Minister of Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad said the number of stroke cases will increase to 1.7 million in 2015 from 1.2 million in 2005.

'Hospital based data from India indicate a high proportion of young stroke cases - first ever stroke onset is 40 years - ranging between 15 percent to 30 percent,' Azad said.

The minister said to address the non-communicable disease burden, including stroke cases, the ministry has drafted a National Programme for Prevention and Control of Diabetes, Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke (NPDCS).

Initially, the programme is proposed to be implemented in 15 states and union territories in 100 districts, he added.

Azad said all stroke cases are attended to in the health care delivery system at various levels, including community health centres and district hospitals.

He said under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), which aims to provide quality healthcare to people living in remote areas of the country, funds have been provided to states to strengthen their health infrastructure.

In a study of nearly 4,000 women aged 25 to 45, who are sexually active, about 71 percent said they were not trying to get pregnant, while six percent said they were.

But nearly one in four, 23 percent, told researchers they were neither trying to conceive nor trying to prevent a pregnancy.

'This finding dramatically challenges the idea that women are always trying, one way or another, to either get pregnant or not get pregnant,' said Julia McQuillan, professor of sociology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UN-L) and the study's lead author.

'It also shows that women who are ok either way should be assessed separately from women who are intentional about pregnancy.

Among women who had no children, 60 percent said they were trying to not get pregnant, 14 percent were trying to get pregnant and 26 percent responded that they were 'ok either way'.

'If health-care providers only ask women if they are currently trying to get pregnant and women say no, then the assumption is that they are trying not to get pregnant,' McQuillan said.

'Clearly, many women are less intentional about pregnancy. Yet this group should be treated as if they will likely conceive and should therefore get recommendations such as ensuring adequate folic acid intake and limiting alcohol intake.'

In addition, the study examined the attitudes and social pressures regarding pregnancy of the respondents, as well as their socio-economic status.

Women who said they were neither trying nor preventing pregnancy said the ideal number of children would be - 3.17 on average.

They also tended to be slightly more religious than women who were either trying to get pregnant or not trying to get pregnant.

The theme this year is 'Nurses: Together For Healthier Lives'.

The day is celebrated in memory of Florence Nightingale who was born May 12 and founded nursing as a modern profession.

This year's event is organised by the Emirates Nursing Association (ENA) in collaboration with Medscope International FZ LLC.

The celebration will include scientific, cultural and educational programmes.

--IANS/WAM

snb/vt

'It is estimated that 4.2 crore Indians are suffering from thyroid disorders with almost 90 percent undiagnosed. Although the reason is not understood, women are at a higher risk of most types of thyroid diseases than men,' said R.V. Jayakumar, president of the Indian Thyroid Society.

'Thus to promote good health amongst Indian women and expectant mothers, this Mother's Day the Indian Thyroid Society and Abbott India are jointly creating awareness of this often-neglected and under-recognised disorder,' he added.

According to Jayakumar, the most common thyroid disorder occurring around or during pregnancy is thyroid hormone deficiency or hypothyroidism.

'That is why we decided to initiate an awareness campaign on Mother's Day this year, urging all women and expectant mothers to undergo thyroid testing to ensure a healthy life for themselves and their babies. As part of a precautionary measure, women should check their thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) level as soon as pregnancy has been confirmed,' he said.

A study by a team of scientists from the Institute of Environmental Research at Technical University, Dortmund (TU-D), Germany, and the Donald Danforth Plant Science Centre, St Louis, Missouri, injected the mice with labelled tetrahydropapaveroline (THP) over a period of five days.

This chemical is the substance which the poppy plant converts into morphine in a complex process involving several steps. These steps, 17 altogether, were exactly what the scientists found in the mice.

'The animals have to possess an elaborate enzyme system which enables them to produce morphine autonomously,' explains Michael Spiteller, professor at the Dortmund Institute of Environmental Research.

Apart from one little difference in the early stages, the conversion process is the same in the animal and the poppy plant. According to Spiteller, evolution has obviously found two ways to synthesize morphine.

The purpose of the body's own morphine production is still unclear. Morphine might help the nerve cells to communicate with one another, says a TU-D release.

But it is also possible that animals, and possibly humans too, use the production of morphine, for instance, under shock or in case of severe injuries as the body's own painkiller.

The research was recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.