As India fights its first Zika outbreak, BANJOT KAUR travels to the virus-hit districts of VIDISHA and BHOPAL in MADHYA PRADESH and finds a grievously unprepared response system
We were in two minds when we went to the block hospital. The gynaecologist checked my blood report and repeated the advise of abortion. Out of sheer scare, I got the foetus aborted then and there
MADHVI SHARMA, 37, is three-month pregnant and distraught. On November 5, officials from the nearby Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Hospital came to her house in Madhya Pradesh’s Vidisha district. They were on a surveillance after Zika cases were reported from Sironj—the block where Madhvi lives. The team was particularly targeting pregnant women because Zika can deform foetuses. On finding she was pregnant, they collected her blood sample. Ten days later, block medical officer R L Dinkar and a paediatrician from the hospital came and told her she had Zika and must undergo an abortion if she did not want to have a deformed baby. Madhvi’s first two children— both girls—are differently abled and her third child—a boy—had died within hours after birth.
Officials also advised Neeta Sahu, who lives in the same locality as Madhvi, to undergo abortion. She did so on November 26. Did the officials overreact in advising abortion?
Esta historia es de la edición December 16, 2018 de Down To Earth.
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Esta historia es de la edición December 16, 2018 de Down To Earth.
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A SPRIG TO CARE FOR
Punarnava, a perennial herb, is easy to grow and has huge health benefits
DIGGING A DISASTER
Soapstone mining near Dabti Vijaypur village has caused many residents to migrate.
REVIEW THE TREATMENT
Several faecal sludge treatment plants in Uttar Pradesh suffer from design flaws that make the treatment process both expensive and inefficient
MAKE STEEL SUSTAINABLE
As India works to double its GDP by 2030, its steel industry must balance growth with sustainability. By embracing policies like the Steel Scrap Recycling Policy 2019 and adopting green technologies, India is paving the way for a more sustainable future in steel production
Can ANRF pull off the impossible for India?
Anusandhan National Research Foundation is expected to reorient India's innovation goals but funding issues, old mindsets remain a drag
TROUBLED WOODS
Forests are a great bulwark against climate change. But this is fast changing. AKSHIT SANGOMLA travels through some of the pristine patches of the Western Ghats to explore how natural disturbances triggered by global warming now threaten the forest health
BLINDING GLOW
The science is clear: increased illumination has damaging consequences for the health of humans, animals and plants. It’s time governments introduced policies to protect the natural darkness and improved the quality of outdoor lighting.
GROUND REALITY
What happens when the soil loses the ability to grow healthy, high-yield crops on its own?
GM POLICY MUST BE FARMER CENTRIC
On July 23, the Supreme Court of India directed the Union government to develop a national policy on genetically modified (GM) crops for research, cultivation, trade and commerce through public consultation.
Vinchurni's Gandhi
A 96-year-old farmer transforms barren land into a thriving forest in drought-prone region of Satara
