Health Bulletin 05/ April/ 2024

The toll in the explosion within a chemical reactor at a facility of pharmaceutical firm in the Telangana's Sangareddy district climbed to six, as officially confirmed by the police on Thursday.

Four individuals lost their lives, and sixteen others sustained injuries in the explosion that took place at the SB Organics Ltd's factory, situated in Chandapur village of Hathnoora mandal of the district on Wednesday.

Pointing out the plights of foreign medical graduates (FMGs), especially delay in achieving their academic goals, the Foreign Medical Students' Wing of the All India Medical Students' Association (AIMSA) has urged the Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and the National Medical Commission (NMC) to reconsider and revise the 3-year internship and clerkship rule.

Referring to the NMC notices dated 22.11.2023 and 07.12.2023 directing the FMGs to undergo additional years of training to compensate for practical training lost due to COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine, the association highlighted that these added years present a significant setback in the academic journey of the affected students.

MoHFW removes Glyceryl Trinitrate, Isosorbide Dinitrate from Schedule P1

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has amended the Drugs Rules, 1945 by removing Glyceryl Trinitrate and Isosorbide Dinitrate from Schedule P1 which contains regulations regarding the retail package size of various drugs.

The amended rules furthermore stated that, for drugs not covered by Schedule P-1, the pack sizes of tablets and capsules should be as follows: if the number of tablets (coated or uncoated) or capsules (hard or soft gelatine) is less than 10, the packing should be made according to the integral number; if the number is more than 10, the pack sizes of tablets and capsules should contain multiples of five or seven.