Health

Karanveer Singh has Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). His family has discovered an experimental therapy that skips the missing exon in the DMD gene, allowing dystrophin production. Despite bureaucratic obstacles, the Central Licensing Authority permitted a clinical trial across India. If successful, the treatment, developed by the Dystrophy Annihilation Research Trust (DART), will be available at a fraction of the cost of Western alternatives, offering hope to thousands of families.

The National Digital Health Mission’s Strategy Overview outlines India’s plan to become a Digital Health Nation, leveraging the nascent state of healthcare digitization to learn from other countries and avoid their mistakes. The strategy involves adapting India’s data portability architecture, using the Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture (DEPA) for healthcare data sharing. It proposes a radically-federated design, storing healthcare data at its generation point and enabling rapid data transfer across the health system.

As countries grapple with COVID-19’s community spread phase, the focus has shifted to frequent testing. It is time to consider the potential use of health and immunity passports. These passports could become essential for travel and social activities, but at the same time give rise to a greater risk of deepening social divides and creating new forms of privilege.

Cities are dense hubs of economic activity. However when they come up against an epidemic like COVID-19, it prompts rethinking urban design, emphasizing remote work, local markets, and reduced physical contact, while considering the impact on migrant populations and urban efficiency.

The 2001 anthrax attacks led to the development of syndromic surveillance, a method for early disease detection using aggregated data. This technique, exemplified by India’s Aarogya Setu app during COVID-19, analyzes symptom data and location history to predict and manage outbreaks, balancing public health benefits with privacy concerns.

During India’s fifth week of lockdown, measures have slowed COVID-19’s spread, despite testing and reporting concerns. A staggered lifting of restrictions is planned, balancing disease control with economic needs. Utilizing mobility data can guide reopening strategies, but privacy concerns must be addressed, especially in less dense areas.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the vulnerabilities of global supply chains and our over-reliance on just-in-time delivery models. While some may argue for more insular approaches and increased governmental control, the free movement of data and international collaboration has enabled rapid responses, such as genome sequencing and 3D printing of medical equipment. The crisis highlights the potential for global collaboration to impact health outcomes positively.

Developing vaccines is expensive, risky, and time-consuming due to stringent approval processes and logistical challenges. Platform technologies for vaccines, which can be adapted quickly for different pathogens, offer a promising solution. However, current legal regimes are not equipped to evaluate these platforms, and regulators must gain experience with them to accelerate approvals.

British colonial India significantly advanced forensic science, driven by a narrative of native deceit. Techniques like graphology and serological analysis were developed as judicial reliance on forensics grew, due to distrust in native testimonies. This legacy persists in India’s criminal justice system, often prioritizing technology over fundamental rights, as seen in recent DNA data bank legislation.

The alarming rise of drug-resistant malaria in South-East Asia necessitates the development of new treatment regimes in India. Controlled human infection model (CHIM) studies could expedite this process but raise significant ethical concerns. A robust ethical and regulatory framework is essential to proceed with such studies.