Diarrhea has claimed four lives in just eight days in Bedia, a tribal-dominated village in the Jarmundi block of Jharkhand’s Dumka district.

Several other residents have taken ill, prompting urgent medical intervention from the district administration.

The medical crisis came to light after former state minister and senior Congress leader Badal Patralekh informed Dumka Deputy Commissioner and Jharkhand Health Minister Dr Irfan Ansari about the outbreak and the rising number of fatalities on Thursday.

The first casualty was Sangeeta Marandi, who died on July 7, followed by her son Arvind Soren on July 10. On Thursday, July 17, two more deaths were reported -- Lakhiram’s wife and Bablu Kisko.

Taking cognisance of the situation, Dr Ansari immediately directed the Deputy Commissioner and Civil Surgeon to rush a medical team to the village with life-saving medicines and essential supplies.

A higher dose of rifampicin -- a bactericidal antibiotic used primarily to treat tuberculosis (TB) -- may be safe, and its use can potentially lead to recurrence-free survival in patients with pulmonary TB, according to a recent study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

TB is curable but still remains the most common cause of death due to infectious diseases, with an estimated 1.3 million deaths globally in 2022. Rifamycins are a crucial drug group in the anti-TB regimen, which sterilise the lesions and aid in recurrence-free cure.

Currently, rifampicin is administered at 10 mg/kg for six months to all patients with pulmonary TB.

The team reviewed the available evidence from published clinical trials to determine whether higher doses of rifampicin (more than 15 mg/kg) are more efficacious and safer.

“Compared to standard dose, higher doses of rifampicin were found to lead to early sputum conversion in eight weeks and thus faster TB bacteria clearance,” said corresponding author Dr Leeberk Raja Inbaraj, Department of Clinical Research, ICMR- National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis, Chennai.

A newly developed artificial intelligence (AI) tool, that uses data from the low-cost electrocardiogram (ECG), may be more accurate in identifying hidden heart disease than cardiologists, according to US researchers.

Structural heart disease, including valve disease, congenital heart disease, and other issues that impair heart function, affects millions of people worldwide. These often remain undetected due to lack of a routine and affordable screening test.

To address the gap, a team from Columbia University in the US has developed an AI-powered screening tool, EchoNext, that detects structural heart diseases using ordinary ECG data.

EchoNext identifies patients who should have an ultrasound (echocardiogram) -- a non-invasive test that is used to diagnose structural heart problems. In the study, published in the journal Nature, the tool was found to be more accurate than cardiologists.

A 32-year-old man on Wednesday tested positive for Nipah and is currently under treatment at the Palakkad Medical College hospital. Notably, his father recently passed away and was Nipah positive.

The test results came out on Wednesday.

The test was done at a centre in Malappuram district.

The timing of eye contact is key to how we communicate with both humans and robots, revealed a study led by Australian researchers on Wednesday.

Researchers from Flinders University found that not just making eye contact, but when and how it's done, fundamentally shapes how we understand others, including robots, according to a statement from the HAVIC Lab (Human, Artificial + Virtual Interactive Cognition), news agency reported.

"Our findings have helped to decode one of our most instinctive behaviours and how it can be used to build better connections, whether you're talking to a teammate, a robot, or someone who communicates differently," said cognitive neuroscientist Nathan Caruana, who led the HAVIC Lab.

In a study with 137 participants, researchers found that a specific gaze sequence -- looking at an object, making eye contact, then returning to the object -- was the most effective non-verbal way to signal a request for help.

Indians consume salt 2.2 times more than the amount recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), posing severe health risks such as hypertension, strokes, and kidney disease, among others, according to ICMR's National Institute of Epidemiology.

WHO recommends less than 5 grams per day of salt (roughly under a teaspoon) or below 2g of sodium per day.

However, “the mean salt consumption per day by an Indian is 11 grams per day, which is 2.2 times more than the WHO recommendation”, the ICMR-NIE said.

According to the apex research body, regular iodised salt contains 40 per cent of sodium, much higher than the WHO limit. The WHO also suggests the use of low-sodium salt to ward off the risk.

Hearing loss combined with the feelings of loneliness accelerates cognitive decline, leading to dementia in older adults, according to a study.

Researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) in Switzerland showed that isolation, communication difficulties, reduced alertness, and hearing impairment or loss are a real challenge in daily life.

The findings, published in the journal Communications Psychology, showed that hearing loss accelerates cognitive decline, particularly among individuals who feel lonely, regardless of whether they are socially isolated.

‘‘We found that people who were not socially isolated but who felt lonely saw their cognitive decline accelerate when they were deaf,’’ said Matthias Kliegel, professor in the Cognitive Ageing Laboratory in UNIGE.

Severity of menopause symptoms and lack of emotional support are likely reasons why some women experience depression during early menopause, finds a study on Wednesday.

Premature menopause, medically known as premature or primary ovarian insufficiency (POI), is a condition in which the ovaries cease to function normally before the age of 40. It has been linked to an elevated lifetime risk for depression and anxiety.

Affected women not only experience the effects of oestrogen deficiency, but they also experience the unanticipated loss of reproductive function. However, some women are more adversely affected by depression and anxiety by these changes than others.

The study, published online in the journal Menopause, suggests that risk factors include younger age at diagnosis, severity of menopause symptoms, lack of emotional support, and fertility-related grief.

“The high prevalence of depressive symptoms in those with POI highlights the importance of routine screening in this vulnerable population,” said Dr. Monica Christmas, associate medical director for The Menopause Society.

The central government on Tuesday denied media reports which claimed that the Ministry of Health has issued health warnings on Indian snacks such as samosas, jalebi, and laddoo to fight obesity crises in the country.

It noted that the warning labels on food issued by the Ministry of Health are “not selective towards Indian snacks”.

“Some media reports claim that the @MoHFW_INDIA has issued a health warning on food products such as samosas, jalebi, and laddoo. This claim is fake. The advisory of the Union Health Ministry does not carry any warning labels on food products sold by vendors, and has not been selective towards Indian snacks,” the Ministry of Health said.

Media reports claimed that the Union Health Ministry has urged all ministries, departments, and autonomous bodies to display warnings on Indian snacks like samosa, vada pav, kachori, and jalebi.

In an effort to promote healthy eating habits and raise awareness about food safety among students, the Food Safety Department of Tamil Nadu will soon install ‘oil, sugar, and salt’ boards in all educational institutions across Coimbatore district.

The initiative is aimed at combating rising levels of childhood obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) by educating students on the harmful effects of high-fat, high-sugar, and high-salt diets.

These boards, developed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR-NIN), will feature informative posters and digital displays.

They will highlight the recommended daily intake of sugar, salt, and oil, and explain how excess consumption can adversely impact health, including increasing the risk of obesity, type-2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.

To make the messages more appealing and accessible to children, the boards will feature attractive illustrations and cartoons. Officials believe this visual approach will help students easily understand the concepts of food safety and nutrition.