Standing Behind part 2

There he was again in those same green scrubs, with matching blue face mask and head and shoe covers, moving around finding his way to peek on the OR table just to have a glimpse of what was going on. One could almost see the big smile on the other side of the mask, see the gleaming eyes behind his spectacles, everyone could almost feel the energy. He kept struggling just like the surgeon for almost four hours trying to see as much as he can, trying to learn as much as he can.
He looked so happy today. He looked so alive.
He had been denied another interview today.

Standing Behind

There he was in his green scrubs,blue face mask
and a matching head and shoe covers,
standing and staring,
staring at the proceedings in the OR,
careful not to touch any thing, careful not to touch anyone.
You could see through his eyes the terrible feeling,
that feeling which some of us know very well,
that feeling of disgust that only those who know can feel and those of us who have never gone through it can only imagine but would never know how it feels.
How it feels to stand behind?
How it feels to stand behind.

Arrey Baba

So next time if a Brasilian beauty says to you "Bhagwan ke liye" don't get surprised. Brasilians know a lot about India and its culture, thanks to the famous soap "Caminho Das Indias" which as told by my Brasilian coleagues is very popular. The language used is Portugese and the title means 'path to India'.
It has also made bollywood quite popular and Brasilians are doing samba to bollywood beats. Here is Url to give you an idea what it is all about, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jziUn7JNCBc&NR=1

What a great way to introduce a new culture to your country! I guess Ekta Kapoor is coming up with the Indian version of it titled,"KBrasil KKa Kraastaa", since the letter'K' has to be there.
Imagine Indian girls running around in bikinis.
ARREY BABA!!!

Swine Flu Pandemic: Where does India Stand

Following facts were reported by the Times of India quoting Health ministry reports on 11th October 2009,

India’s total death toll: 389

Total people infected with Swine Flu: 11,874

Total samples tested till date: 50,049

Most badly affected state: Maharashtra

What does WHO has to say?

“As of 4/October/2009 there have been over 375,000 lab confirmed cases of Pandemic influenza H1N1 2009 and over 4500 deaths reported to WHO.”

So applying simple mathematics here, India has contributed to about 8.5% of the total reported deaths around the world.

Is Prevention Better Than Cure?

It always is stupid! So needless to say that a vaccine that could prevent from getting the Swine Flu, is the need of the hour.

Developed countries of the world have been using regular Influenza Vaccines during flu season to prevent people from getting flu and dying.

Does India has a Swine flu Vaccine?

If you Google Swine flu vaccine and India, it comes up with millions of pages claiming that India is developing it’s indigenous vaccine and it would be available soon. How soon? God only knows. Four agencies that are in forefront of developing the vaccine earlier claimed that the vaccine would be available in September/October 2009 but the latest news is that it would not be available till March/April 2010.

So what can India do?

India’s Options:

1) Let Swine flu rule and people die.

2)Develop a Vaccine faster.

3)Import from a foreign country.

1) Well the first option doesn’t need any explanation, our authorities are pretty good at that.

2) Vaccine developing agencies have sort of let us down on this and have failed to quickly develop a vaccine as is evident.

3)Although it looks an attractive option, here is what WHO has to say in it’s briefing note:11,

“24 SEPTEMBER 2009 GENEVA -- Regulatory authorities have licensed pandemic vaccines in Australia, China and the United States of America, soon to be followed by Japan and several countries in Europe. The length of the approval process depends on factors such as each country's regulatory pathway, the type of vaccine being licensed, and the stage of manufacturers' readiness to submit appropriate information to regulatory authorities.”

It also says,

“These supplies will still be inadequate to cover a world population of 6.8 billion people in which virtually everyone is susceptible to infection by a new and readily contagious virus. Global manufacturing capacity for influenza vaccines is limited, inadequate and not readily augmented.”

It also says,

“ Many affluent countries have previously contracted with manufacturers to obtain sufficient vaccine supplies to cover their entire populations. However, most low- and middle-income countries lack the financial resources to compete for an early share of limited supplies. Vaccine supplies in these countries will largely depend on donations from manufacturers and other countries.”

I sincerely hope that India is amongst those ‘affluent countries’ who have the money to book the vaccines in advance. One of the basis for this hope is the statement from the ICMR Director which was quoted in the Times of India saying that some of the foreign manufacturers have agreed to do bridging studies so as to find out how Vaccine works in the Indian population so I am guessing that Indian Government has made some kind of an arrangement with these vaccine providers, otherwise we are at the mercy of donations from the affluent countries.

Ministry of Health, India webpage dedicated to Swine Flu speaks nothing about the vaccine though.

Thanks to Quiplash for the photograph.

Technorati Tags: Swine flu,Swine flu vaccine,India,Swine flu facts,Swine flu myths,Swine flu update,physicians

Mian Miami

Mian Miami ek aisa shehar nikla
Jo US mein hokar India jaisa dikhla
Bus mein lambi katarein dikhi
Train mein thandi baharein dikhi
Goron se adhik dekhe Cuban
English se adhik suni latin
Gharon kay aur dikhi chaar diwari
Machhar aur makhi ki thi bharmari
Garmi aisi ki kardey behaal
Mehngai itni ki kardey halaal
Hello ki jagahan aa gaya ola
Thank you kay liye gracias bola
Bimar dekhe garib dekhe or dekhe pehalwan
Spanish bolnay waalon se sab doctor thay pareshaan
Bus mein kachra phelaati aunti nay kiya mujhe hairaan
US mein bhi rehte huay hua India ka sa gumaan

Glass Art Museum, Navy Pier, Chicago

The Physician

Intubate, extubate
Aspirate, respirate
Desperate

Cardiovert, circulate
Inject, resuscitate
Desperate

Articulate, disarticulate
Reduce, fixate
Desperate

Explore, ligate
NPO, ambulate
Desperate

Inspect, palpate
Percuss, auscultate
Desperate

Aghast, exasperate
Suffer, co operate
Desperate

Criticize, deprecate
Profess, educate
Desperate

Hopeless, tolerate
Hopeful, desolate
Desperate

Excited, passionate
Dreamy, ignorate
Desperate

Depressed, irritate
Endure, motivate
Desperate