HEALTH

Early diagnosis of cervical cancer must: Dr Nijhawan
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 3
The two-day CME in Pathology, jointly organised by the North-West Chapter of the Indian Association of Pathologists and Microbiologists (IAPM) and the Department of Histopathology, PGI, concluded here today.

Dr R. Nijhawan from the Department of Cytology and Gynaecological Pathology, PGI, said the cervical cancer was the common form of cancer among the Indian women. Stressing on the importance of early diagnosis of cancer, Dr Nijhawan said the women should be tested for the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) which was responsible for causing 99 per cent of the cervical cancer. Stress was further laid on the early diagnosis of the cancer by the use of the PAP smear test. Dr Nijhawan along with Dr Radhika presented a detailed account on the cytologial diagnosis of different stages of cervical pre-cancers so that the disease could be diagnosed at a fully curative stage. Dr Vanita Suri, Department of Gynaecology, discussed the role of the colposcope in visualising the cervix and the management of cancer before invasion had occurred.

Earlier, Prof Arvind Rajwanshi of the PGI elaborated on the bethesda system of classifying cervical disease and explained how the system could best be modified in the Indian context.

Prof S.K. Mishra, Sanjay Gandhi PGI, Lucknow, was of the opinion that difficult cases could be discussed between specialists in different centres using Internet. He said images of X-rays, pathological and other diagnostic materials could be exchanged between different centres using information technology.

A histopathology quiz was organised for the post-graduate students. The contest was conducted by the Head, Department of Pathology, Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, Prof Harsh Mohan.

Haryana achieves leprosy elimination target
Tribune News Service

Panchkula, October 3
Haryana has achieved the target set by the World Bank in the leprosy elimination programme for having one case of leprosy per 10,000 population within the stipulated time of five years. The state also earned a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh for achieving this target.

This was stated by the Director-General Health, Haryana, Dr B.S. Dahiya, here today. He informed that there are a total of 465 cases of leprosy, yielding a prevalence rate of 0.21 per 10,000 population. “There are 17 leper colonies in the state, of which four are authorised (at Ambala, Jagadhari, Karnal and Rohtak) and have been adopted by the Hind Kusht Nivaran Sangh. There are 1,050 inmates residing in these colonies and approximately 200 cases have been rehabilitated in the four authorised colonies,” he added.

Dr Dahiya said that last year (2003-04), a grant-in-aid to the tune of Rs 5.38 lakh was given by the Health Department to the Hind Kusht Nivaran Sangh. He said Information Education Communication (IEC) activities are intensively being carried out throughout the state to create awareness among masses about symptoms, diagnosis and treatment in all health institutions. Active search operations are also being conducted to detect hidden/unreported cases in the slum and industrial labour pockets in different parts of the state, he added.

Leprosy Day observed
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 3
Leprosy Day was observed by the Lepsory Welfare Mission at Mohali, in which leprosy patients from different parts of Punjab and neighbouring states took part. The president of the Leprosy Elimination Society, Mohali, Ms Tejinder Kaur, while speaking on the occasion, said that their mission was to educate the leprosy patients to know their rights within the framework of the Constitution of India.

State awardee of the Pals International Organisation, Jalandhar, Mr Barinder Singh, who has been instrumental in organising seminars on the disease, assured the gathering on carrying with the work of rehabilitation of the leprosy patients.

Seniority issue of PGI Profs ‘resolved’
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 3
The row over the issue of seniority at the PGI has been reportedly resolved as, according to sources, the PGI's governing body has decided that Prof Sarala Gopalan, head of the department of obstretictics and gynaeocology, is senior to Prof Sudha Suri, dean and head of the department of radiodiagnosis.

It is learnt that the governing body took the decision in favour of Professor Gopalan following the rules of the department of personnel, which stipulated that when two persons are conferred a designation on the same day — both same Professor Gopalan and Professor Suri had become professors on the same date — then whosoever is senior in the feeder cadre is presumed to be senior in the services as well. Professor Gopalan had become lecturer in the PGI earlier to Professor Suri.

The long-pending issue of seniority was deferred at the last governing body meeting held September 22. The High Court, however, reacted adversely to the indecision, and told the PGI to take a decision before the next date of hearing in the court on October 6. The court has, however, postponed the next hearing to November 3 for technical reasons.

Professor Suri had gone to the court in 2000 after the previous PGI administration under Professor S.K. Sharma had decided to put Professor Gopalan ahead of Professor Suri in the seniority list.

SPORTS

They knew not about winning, yet they sprinted to victory
Minna Zutshi

It was a special sports event. For special children. Their faces flushed with the sheer joy of holding the centre-stage, the children tried to make sense of it all. Many of them could not grasp the import of the hullabaloo - men and women milling around, cajoling teachers and parents, the chalky tracks, the loud claps. But they somehow instinctively knew that it was for them, as a 14-year-old boy Shangu told us with a broad, knowing grin that he would run fast in the race. Teenaged Ishwinder and Jasjeet Kaur, too, seemed to know that if they did what was being told to them, they would get a pat on the back, though these girls answered the race-related queries in monosyllables.

For most of these 200 children from Amritsar, Hoshiarpur, Balachaur, Pathankot, Jalandhar Cantonment and the city, who participated in this Zonal Pre-Olympics, the body willed while the mind played truant. The programme was organised in Jalandhar under the aegis of the District Special Olympics Association, Jalandhar and the Chaanan Association for Mentally Retarded. The special children took at a shot at various sports events, including races, walk, jumps, weightlifting and cycling. The winners would be eligible for participation in the 7th Punjab State Special Olympics to be hosted in the month of November. Non-Olympic games like carom and cards were also arranged.

Interestingly, these children displayed some sort of camaraderie (cynics might shrug it off as imitation) during the competitions. The "go signal" was not enough; only if their companion standing next to them sprinted off, did they budge from their position. "It seems the norms of competition have been rewritten. As they don't understand what winning is all about, they enjoy the very act of participation," said Ms Sunita Rani, mother of a participant, with a sad smile on her face.

However, barely 10 parents had turned up for the event. Some parents erroneously thought it was no good to "waste time and money" on these children, Mr Amarjit Singh Anand, President of the Chaanan Association, told us. "There is a misconception that mentally retarded children can never be integrated into the mainstream. The fact is that there are degrees of mental retardation. Those on the borderline can do fairly well if they are given expert care during the initial years," he explained, adding wryly, "It seems most of the parents 'give up' on these children. They are willing to spend lakhs on their 'normal' children, but when it comes to the special children, they would rather have them subsist on charity." TNS

Handball meet results
Tribune News Service

Anita Yadav of Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University, Raipur, attempts a shot against Nagpur University during All-India Inter University Handball Championship at Panjab University on Sunday. — A Tribune photograph

465 bullocks released
Our Correspondent

Dera Bassi, October 3
Following court orders, the police today released 465 bullocks, that had been impounded at Ghaggar railway station in Mubarikpur village, about 2km from here, for the past a week.

The police has given possession of 463 bullocks to Mr Ikhalq Ahmed, a resident of Khadra village of Muzzafarpur in Uttar Predesh, as he had got a power of attorney from Sher Khan, the actual transporter of the cattle.

Booked under Section 4 (A) of the Punjab Prohibition of Cow Slaughter Act 1955, Sher Khan had been evading arrest so that he could arrange a power of attorney for the release of the bullocks.

Two bulls had died under mysterious circumstances at the railway station.

A Rajpura court had ordered the release of the bulls on September 18 asking the applicant to furnish a superdari bond of Rs5lakh with a surety of like amount.

Sher Khan, along with Haji Iqbal Ahmed, Haidev Ali and Allias, residents of Muzzafarpur in Uttar Pradesh, had been booked on a complaint of Col Dharamvir Singh (retd), vice-president of the Vishav Hindu Parishad, Punjab.

He had alleged that the bullocks were being transported to Bihar and West Bengal for slaughtering.