New Delhi Nov 28 PTI Unable to afford medical treatment in Dubai a 34-year-old Indian carpenter flew into Delhi with a severed thumb wrapped in a bandage after 22 hours of the incident A delay of two hours would have drastically reduced the chances of recovery Sandeep who hails from Rajasthan lost his left thumb while working on a saw machine in September His modest income did not allow him treatment in Dubai Doctors there put the thumb between the fingers and wrapped a bandage around it On arriving in India the family took him to Aakash Healthcare it being the nearest hospital to the airport The saw had cut three vessels causing loss of 300 ml of blood in less than 24 hours doctors at the hospital said We took him in for surgery within 10 minutes of reaching the hospital The procedure technically known as reimplantation and conducted under regional anesthesia took six hours to complete This is a highly specialised process where micro suture and micro instruments are used said Dr Aashish Chaudhry Director and Head Orthopaedics Joint Replacement Department The doctors harvested a part of a vein from the forearm to place between the severed arteries of the thumb The patient has recovered well and is ready to join work in another fortnight Chaudhry said Doctors termed it a rare surgery as an amputated thumb can be successfully reattached within 24 hours only if it is preserved in a cold container or surrounded by ice Sandeep is lucky to have reached the hospital in the nick of time A delay of two more hours would have reduced the likelihood of complete recovery to just 20-30 per cent they saidPTI GVS CK

New Delhi [India], October 31 (ANI): With the rising cases of dengue in Delhi, private hospitals are either increasing the number of beds or cancelling the planned surgeries in order to accommodate dengue patients.

New Delhi Oct 28 PTI It cannot be said that Delhi has attained herd immunity despite the latest serological survey showing that 97 per cent people here have developed antibodies against COVID-19 experts said on Thursday and cautioned people to not let their guard downThe sixth serological survey has showed that the national capital had a seropositivity rate of 97 per cent Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Thursday All districts were found to have a seroprevalence of over 95 per cent he saidDr Pragya Sharma professor at Maulana Azad Medical Colleges department of community medicine who was involved in finalising the sero survey results said herd immunity is achieved when we know what will be its cut-offWe cannot say whether Delhi has attained herd immunity although 97 per cent people have antibodies against COVID-19 she saidExplaining further she said if the virus is the same variant or it does not undergo significant mutations people of Delhi will be safeWhatever variants would come if there are no significant changes in the antigenic properties this protection will stand she addedShe said it is presumed that if the mutant virus the cases of which have been detected on Maharashtra comes to Delhi it wont create a havoc like it did in April-MayPeople should not let their guard down The more the virus passes through the population the more it is likely to undergo mutations It is a new and unpredictable virus she addedDr Parinita Kaur senior consultant - internal medicine Aakash Healthcare in Dwarka said the numbers of the sero survey are a welcome signHardly any household was unaffected during the second wave in April-May These numbers indicate that people have already been infected in large numbers But we are in the middle of the festive season and people need to avoid crowding and get-togethers Even last year there was a surge in cases post Diwali People need to be cautious she added PTI SLB TDS TDS

New Delhi Sep 17 PTI Various hospitals in the national capital are witnessing a spike in the number of seasonal flu cases among children with some even requiring hospitalisationAmid fears of a possible third wave of COVID-19 experts at a recent meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority DDMA had said that as flu and coronavirus have similar symptoms the Delhi government should continue vigorous testing to keep the spread of COVID-19 in check during the flu seasonDoctors at PSRI Hospital here said 70 per cent of the children coming to OPD have flu-like symptoms Aakash Healthcare in Dwarka also said they are seeing 50-60 cases of viral illnesses on a daily basis in their OPDDr BL Sherwal medical director of Chacha Nehru Bal Chikitsalaya said the number of children coming to OPD has seen an almost three-fold increaseEarlier we would see 500-600 patients but this time 1700-1800 cases are coming to OPD This is because of the heavy rainfall this season and this trend has been continuing since the beginning of September he saidAt Talking about the cases Dr Sarita Sharma Senior Consultant Paediatric PSRI Hospital said children are coming with symptoms like high-grade fever up to 102 to 103 for three to four days Besides cough cold poor oral intake vomiting has also being seen among the children Cough is dry and spasmodic for small children below five years of age Few children are also having wheezing problems This is seasonal Flu caused by a virus affecting the respiratory tract like RSV and Influenza she saidShe said viral illnesses like dengue gastroenteritis typhoid and hepatitis are causing diagnostic dilemmas and then there is also the fear of COVID-19Of all the children coming to the OPD with flu-like symptoms approximately 15 to 20 percent require hospital admission she addedAccording to Dr Meena J Consultant Department of Peadiatrics Aakash Healthcare in Dwarka there is a spike in fever cases with vomiting cold and cough Especially infants under one year are showing severe symptoms few of them needed to be hospitalised too Many of them suffer from temperatures as high as 103-104 degrees and the fever does not decrease after oral medication sometimesWe are giving them symptomatic treatment like giving heavy fluids for hydration providing oxygen therapy when the fever is not going away after oral medication she said She advised people to avoid crowded places maintain proper respiratory hygiene like covering nose and mouth while sneezing frequent handwashing and also suggested that the children should be kept at a distance from the person having cold or feverThe viral infection passed on from adults to small children can be very severe In case your child has a high viral fever and heshe is having less oral intake you should take the child to the hospitalHydration must be maintained along with proper rest In case the baby is showing serious symptoms like high fever and vomiting delay in consultations can lead to severity We had a few cases like this who needed to be admitted in NICU she explainedApart from viral flu Dr Meena said they are also seeing outbreak of dengue among children this time We are seeing three to five positive cases of dengue among children daily from almost two weeks Children are symptomatic show fever body ache fatigue symptoms and are diagnosed later after testsThe need for hospitalisation is increasing as some of the patients are coming with reduced blood platelets Children with dengue are not among severe cases but we have admitted about three to four cases she saidShe said it needs to be ensured that there should not be any stagnant water at homes Mosquito repellents should be used whenever children are going out she said PTI SLB TDS TDS