CDFD study: Indian murghi and chicken separate

June 17, 2008
By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, June 16: The Indian murghi (jungle fowl) not only tastes good but also tells the genetic history of other Indian birds, particularly the chicken.
A study conducted by the city-based Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics reveals that domestication of chicken has occurred independently in different locations of Asia including India. But the Indian chicken has not evolved from the Indian murghi as is commonly believed.
The Indian murghi (Gallus gallus murghi) is relatively pure and is not the parent of the Indian chicken. The CDFD study has shown that the red jungle fowl or Indian murghi and domestic birds do not hybridise in nature.
"Domestication of chicken is believed to have occurred in Southeast Asia, especially in Indus valley. However, non-inclusion of Indian red jungle fowl in previous studies has left a big gap in understanding the relationship of this major group of birds. In the present study, we addressed this issue by analysing 76 Indian birds
that included 56 Gallus gallus murghi, 16 Gallus gallus domesticus (domestic chicken) and four Gallus sonneratii (grey jungle fowl).
We also compared the D-loop sequences of Indian birds with those of 779 birds obtained from GenBank. Our results suggest that the domestication of chicken has occurred independently in different locations of Asia including India," according to CDFD's J Nagaraju.
The study was conducted jointly by Nagaraju, K Sriramana, M Muralidhar and RD Jakati.
Further, the study also suggested that the chicken populations have undergone population expansion, especially in the Indus valley.
Archaeological findings have indicated that the "mother of all poultry" is the Southeast Asian Red jungle fowl or Gallus gallus. Since domestication of chicken has been observed at the Indus valley as early as 3,200 BC, it is believed to be the epicentre of chicken domestication.
There was very rare genetic exchange between the red jungle fowl and domestic chicken populations, at least in recent history. A Maximum Likelihood tree obtained from the microsatellite data showed a clear separation of Gallus gallus domesticus from the Gallus gallus murghi, with Gallus sonneratii as an outgroup suggesting the genetic distinctness of Gallus gallus murghi.
The scientists also constructed a genetic distance based neighbour-joining tree to obtain the genetic relationship among Indian birds.
The result clearly pointed to the fact that hybridisation between Indian chicken and Indian red jungle fowl in the wild is extremely rare.

Indian Scientists Believe In God

June 16, 2008
By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, June 15: Science opens up the frontiers of knowledge and inquiry but a majority of Indian scientists believe that it leads them more to the path of Almighty God.
One in four scientists in India believe in the existence of a "supernatural" power or Almighty God and follow the religious ethics, codes and traditions to derive academic, professional, materialistic and spiritual satisfaction. A considerable number of them also believe in the theory of Karma, predestination, life after death while others believe even in the existence of ghosts and evil spirits.
A joint survey by the city-based Centre for Inquiry and the US-based Institute for the Study of Secularism, Society and Culture of trinity College, revealed nteresting aspects on the beliefs and religious practices of Indian scientists. As many as 1,100 scientists from 130 research institutions and universities participated in the survey, the first of its kind exercise on the psychological and sociological beliefs and practices of Indian scientists or people connected with research.
According to N Innaiah of the Centre for Inquiry, 29 per cent of scientists surveyed believed in the philosophy of Karma while 26 per cent agreed that there will be life after death. A small number (seven per cent) believe in the existence of evil spirits that haunt people.
The study was released earlier this week in New York. The survey took about six months. According to the findings of the survey, eight per cent of scientists in the country have ethical reservations about genetic engineering and research on stem cells.
The survey report also made a mention of ISRO scientists offering prayers to Lord Balaji in Tirumala to seek his blessings for the successful launch of space projects and programmes.
Barry Kosmin of Institute for the Study of Secularism in society and Culture expressed surprise that scientists in India do not differentiate much between
doing research on cows and pigs. A whopping 50 per cent of the scientists believe in the efficacy of prayers, as against just 10 per cent of scientists in the USA.
A little more than 60 per cent of scientists covered under the study made it clear that they would refuse to design biological weapons thanks to their religious beliefs.

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God And Science

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The question "whether God exists?" is as old as the human civilisation
itself.
Intellectual people have always been divided over the answer. Scientists and
researchers as well as theologians have debated for centuries over the existence or otherwise of a supernatural power, called God the Almighty, but without a conclusive answer.
The results of a recent survey that a majority of Indian scientists believe in God is not surprising, given the deep-rooted religious traditions and culture in which they live. For Indian scientists, who are exploring newer horizons of science and conquering unexplored frontiers technology, belief in God is part of their life.
The survey had also proved the common misconception that science and scientists are alien to God and religion. Several leading scientists, discoverers and researchers have argued that a deep study of science only strengthens their firm belief in God and takes closes to Him.
Albert Einstein, though not a firm believer in "personal God" observed that science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind. While Sir Isaac Newton in his Principia stated "the most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion on an intelligent and powerful Being."
Not long ago Dr A Cressy Morrison, former president of the New York Academy of Sciences, came out with his "seven reasons why a scientist believes in God," concluding that "the fact that man can conceive the idea of God is in itself a unique proof". He says the conception of God rises from a divine faculty of man, unshared with the rest of our world - the faculty we call imagination. By its power, man and man alone can find the evidence of things unseen.
Indian scientists, however, unlike their counterparts in the West, openly display their faith when it comes to launch of some major scientific or research programme. It's no wonder then that our ISRO scientists have offered prayers at the Tirumala shrine to seek the blessings of the presiding deity for the success of India's space mission.
And then there's the argument that scientists are after all human beings and human beings are influenced by the environment around them. Indian ethos and traditions have never separated religion from science and man from God. And this is reflected in the belief of Indian scientists and researchers.

Malpractice in Muslim minority professional colleges

June 16, 2008
By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, June 15: Minority professional colleges are back to their old game with the State government delaying issue of orders on admissions in minority medical colleges.
The Andhra Pradesh High Court had issued certain guidelines to the State government on fair admissions in minority medical colleges. But the State government has not framed its own rules based on the HC's guidelines. In the absence of specific directions from the State government, minority students are denied fair admissions. Some of the colleges refuse to issue application forms saying that the admissions have been completed, though the State government is yet to announce the schedule for professional courses for the 2008-2009 academic year.
"The State government should implement single window system of admissions in medical colleges too to prevent misuse of the counselling process. The admissions are wrought with several irregularities. Though the court issued guidelines about a year ago, the State government did not feel it fit to come out with new regulations based on the court's orders," Muhammad Ansari, president of Minorities Educational Rights Association, said.All minority professional colleges are bound to notify in their respective web sites information regarding the allocation of category A and B seats. They should also keep Dr NTR University of Health Sciences informed about the
seats filled under both the categories, besides publishing the information/notification in leading newspapers.
The court suggested that the admission form should be loaded in the web site of the college/institution concerned so that the prospective candidates can download it. Candidates should be allowed to fill up the admission form and submit it through e-mail, apart from sending the same by post or courier along with relevant documents.

The beneficial effects of pleiotropic drugs

By Syed Akbar
June 14, 2008
Hyderabad: Imagine a heart patient benefiting from a tablet he takes for relief from
nagging headache. The tablet not only gives him relief from headache, but also dilutes his blood to the extent of preventing further cardiac attacks.
Or a person suffering from some neurological problem finds that the wrinkles on her face have vanished and she looks younger, after a doctor prescribed her Botolinium Toxin, also known as Botox. The drug was originally intended for neurological conditions like stiff neck, but is now being increasingly used for cosmetology, uplifting face and as an anti-ageing drug that reduces wrinkles.
What more does a patient ask for? Take a cheap tablet for some known small problem and get relief from a major health problem yet to be discovered. Many drugs have side effects. Some of them are good and some of them are quite bad. Drugs with multiple effects, either beneficial or harmful, are called pleiotropic medicines. In short, pleiotropic effects of a drug are actions other than those for which the medicine was specifically developed. For instance, a medicine primarily meant for headache relief working against a cardiac problem without the knowledge of the patient.
Health experts say that pleiotropic effects may be harmful (toxicity), neutral (without any side-effects) or beneficial. Such drugs come cheap and are quite affordable even for the economically poorer sections. Take the case of the simple drug called aspirin. Everybody knows that it’s available off the counter in a medical shop and provides the much-needed relief from headaches and other body aches. Aspirin was originally used as an analgesic (pain reliever) agent by doctors across the world. In-depth research has shown that aspirin has benefits unimaginable, such as helping patients who suffered a stroke. It works in patients with a history of heart attack and peripheral vascular diseases.
Says senior physician Dr Aftab Ahmed, “the list of such drugs is quite long. The active agent in these drugs works in more than one ways. Thus it benefits the patient in several ways. Some drugs have negative effects too and it is quite common. But the drugs with multiple beneficial effects really work in favour of the patient. Beta blockers are generally prescribed for BP control but they are also beneficial for heart failure, angina, and post myocardial infarction patients.”
Doctors worldwide prescribe statins for patients with high levels of cholesterol. Statins reduce cholesterol. They also improve the functioning of blood vessels. Statins are potent inhibitors of cholesterol biosynthesis.
In clinical trials, statins are beneficial in the primary and secondary Prevention of coronary heart disease. However, the overall benefits observed with statins appear to be greater than what might be expected from changes in lipid levels alone, suggesting effects beyond cholesterol lowering.
Statins also involve improving endothelial function, enhancing the stability of atherosclerotic plaques, decreasing oxidative stress and inflammation, and inhibiting the thrombogenic response. They are also beneficial with their extra-hepatic effects on the immune system and bones.
“Sildenafil popularly known as Viagra is basically a drug for impotency or erectile dysfunction, later on it was found to be useful in new born children too,” says Dr Manoj Agarwal, senior cardiologist, Apollo Health City, Hyderabad. The drug can be used for patients who have primary pulmonary hypertension. There are lots of patients suffering from this disease, it has no permanent cure. This drug helps to improve their quality of life.
“In new born nitric oxide is required to decrease the resistance in lungs known as pulmonary vascular resistance. However nitric oxide is expensive and most patients here can’t afford. A few years ago Sildenafil, nitric oxide donor was found very useful in new born children with heart disease. These children have high pulmonary artery pressure and this drug helped in reducing the suffering of the children. That way a drug originally intended for some other purpose has become a boon for these children,” argues Dr Manoj.
Suffering from malaria? Doctors prescribe chloroquine. You get rid of the dangerous malaria thanks to chloroquine dose. And you are also relieved of your nagging joint pains, arthritis, amoebic liver abscess, photosensitive skin lesions, in case you are suffering from all or any one of them. Chloroquine has properties beyond curing malaria. Diabetics, particularly women, have much to cheer about metformin, the
commonly prescribed drug for diabetes. Metformin has got benefits for women with polycystic ovary disease associated with infertility and overweight.
Viagra is now increasingly prescribed for patients with pulmonary Hypertension. ACE inhibitors, originally for BP control, but is also useful for heart failure, diabetic kidney diseases and post MI Patients.
The next time one goes to a medical shop, one need not be shy of asking for Viagra. For, it has benefits other than those popularly known or advertised by drug manufacturers.

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Pleiotropic (drugs with multiple benefits):
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1. Aspirin: originally an analgesic; useful to stroke, heart attack, peripheral vascular disease patients.
2. Beta blockers: Generally prescribed for BP control; also beneficial for heart failure, angina, and post myocardial infarction patients.
3. Statins: reduce cholesterol; also improve the functioning of blood vessels.
4. Chloroquine: anti-malarial drug; used for joint pains, arthritis, amoebic liver abscess, photosensitive skin lesions etc.
5. Botolinium Toxin or Botox: neurological conditions like stiff neck; beneficial for cosmetology, uplifting face, as an anti ageing drug, reduces wrinkles.
6. Metformin: anti-diabetes; benefits for women with polycystic ovary disease associated with infertility and overweight.
7. Viagra: erectile dysfunction; used for patients with pulmonary hypertension; this reduces pulmonary hypertension and symptoms associated with it.
8. ACE inhibitors: BP control; also useful for heart failure, diabetic kidney diseases, post MI patients etc.

CFTRI Research: Sip Coffee And Avoid Diabetes

June 13, 2008
By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, June 12: Sip coffee to your heart's content and keep diabetes away.
The Central Food Technological Research Institute has come out with a special type of coffee rich in chlorogenic acid to keep coffee lovers healthy.
Ordinary coffee contains chlorogenic acid, an important anti-oxidant, which has several therapeutic properties. The coffee developed by CFTRI from green coffee beans contains chlorogenic acid in large quantities as compared with the ordinary coffee available in the market.
Since the CFTRI's coffee has large reserves of chlorogenic acid, besides caffeic acid, it increases the uptake of glucose in the body and regulates blood glucose levels. This in other words means regular intake of coffee prevents diabetes and related disorders.
CFTRI scientists selected green coffee beans of various grades and low grade coffee and softened them by steam. Later, they flaked the seeds. The flakes were then passed through a suitable dryer to reduce the moisture and to get light cream/light brown coloured crispy flakes. The flakes were ground to a coarse powder.
"The flakes or powder is loaded into columns and extracted with a suitable solvent mixture. The extract is distilled under controlled conditions to maximise the recovery of the solvent to produce coffee conserves, which are mainly chlorogenic acids and diterpenes. The final product is packed in clean containers," a senior CFTRI scientist told this correspondent from Mysore.
Moreover, coffee rich in chlorogenic, caffeic and paracoumaric acids and eugenol is also useful in preventing tumour growths in the body. Chlorogenic acid has been found to protect gastric mucosa against irritation. It also improves the digestibility of foods, beverages and medicaments. The improved digestibility
is expressed through a much-reduced systemic acid secretion, which has been found to be directly dependent on an increased level of chlorogenic acid content, the CFTRI study found out. It has a chemopreventive effect too on rat stomach cancer.

Andhra Pradesh to emerge as major nuclear fuel hub by 2030

June 9, 2008
By Our Correspondent
Hyderabad, June 8: Andhra Pradesh is all set to play a crucial role in meeting the energy requirements of the country by 2030 through nuclear power.
The Department of Atomic Energy has set its eyes on Andhra Pradesh to explore hidden uranium and thorium reserves to meet the target of producing 10,000 mw of power. DAE plans to make nuclear energy at least 40 per cent of the total power consumption in the country in the next two decades.
Andhra Pradesh has vast nuclear fuel reserves in Nalgonda and Kadapa districts. The "site selection committee" of the DAE has identified certain places in Andhra Pradesh for setting up of nuclear reactors, but a decision has not yet been taken, Atomic Energy Commission chairman Anil Kakodkar told reporters.
Earlier, VP Raja, additional secretary in the Department of Atomic Energy, said his department would make more investment in Andhra Pradesh to achieve the nuclear energy target of the country. "Andhra Pradesh has prospective sites for nuclear exploration at Nalgonda and Kadapa. Nuclear research and development facility would be set up in Visakhapatnam. Together with UCIL plant at Nalgonda, NFC in Hyderabad, R and D facility at Visakhapatnam, ECIL, Atomic Minerals Division and uranium reserves in Kadapa, the State is going to have a major role in the years ahead," Raja pointed out at the NFC Day celebrations here on Thursday.
He said a force of 100 to 120 volunteers would be trained on June 16 and 17 to take up awareness campaign in nuclear sites in the State. They will explain to people in Telugu and Hindi that the safety measures adopted in the country were the most stringent in the world and there was no need to fear about these projects.
A titanium plant will be set up in Kerala, Dr Kakodkar said.

Indian metros: Cancer rate to go up by 26.6 per cent

June 9, 2008
By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, June 8: Five cities including Bangalore and Chennai will report 26.6 per cent increase in the registered number of cancer cases this year, according to Bangalore-based National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Science.
A research work carried out by Dr P Marimuthu of NIMHANS show that 26.6 per cent increase is expected in the registered number of cancer cases in Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi and Bhopal. In the case of Delhi, the increase will be 52.68 per cent, the highest for any city in the country. The age adjusted analysis by NIMHANS indicates that in terms of deaths, Mumbai is experiencing the higher incidence rate among the five cities. The mortality rate for Mumbai is 50 per cent reported from the age group 55 and above years.
"The changing demographic scenario in India is declining fertility level and increasing life expectancy. As the life expectancy at birth increases proportionately the percentage of geriatric population also rises. Higher incidence of non-communicable diseases, especially cancer is positively associated with
percentage of aged population of a country. The World Cancer Report documents that cancer rates are set to increase at an alarming rate globally. Cancer rates could increase by 50 per cent new cases for the year 2020," Dr Marimuthu told this correspondent.
The Indian Council of Medical Research indicates that the age adjusted incidence of gall bladder cancer in women in New Delhi is 10.6 per 1,00,000 population, the world's highest rate for women. Thyroid cancer is more prevalent in the coastal areas of Kerala and Karnataka, while oral cancer tops the list in Andhra Pradesh, particularly Hyderabad.
Men from Delhi in the age group 65-69 may have more number of cases followed by the age group 60-64 for the year 2008. Then men from Chennai will have an increasing trend from the age of 50 to 69 years. Almost a similar trend of cancer incidence for males in the year 2008 is expected from Chennai, Bangalore and Mumbai.
He said in the female-age specific incidence, women from Delhi in the age group 50-54 may have more number of cases followed by the age group 40-44 for the year 2008. Then the females from Bangalore may have more number of cases from the age of 45 to 54 years. Almost a similar trend of cancer incidence for females in the year 2008 is
expected from Chennai, Bangalore and Mumbai.
"Though there is no variation in reported number of cases from Mumbai over the years, the standardisation gives the idea of higher incidence rate for Mumbai. After further analysis on the population data, it is found that the Mumbai
population is negatively growing from 1991 to 2001 census years, but the registered number of case is constant over the years. The decreasing population size in Mumbai and almost the same number of registered cancers cases over the years influenced the incidence rate in Mumbai," he said.
Dr Marimuthu pointed out that there is decline in the cervical cancer incidence, but this decline is very meagre. Though the cancer incidence rate in India is less than that of the Western countries but due to the large population size, number of cases is more prevalent at any time. It is shown that in India 8.7 million Disease Adjusted Life Years lost from cancer was second to ischaemic heart disease.
The NIMHANS study found that Delhi is expected to have more number of cases every year. Though the number of cases is marginally declining in Mumbai, it is experiencing higher incidence rate among these five cities. More number of cases are projected in the age group 45-55 and in the age group of 65-70 years for females and males respectively. Cancer deaths are about 3.6 per cent to the total deaths and
50 per cent cancer deaths are recorded from the age group 55 and above categories.

Big Bang experiment: What's going to happen?

Scientists involved in a historic "Big Bang" experiment to begin on September 10 hope it will turn up many surprises about the universe and its origins -- but reject suggestions it will bring the end of the world.
And Robert Aymar, the French physicist who heads the CERN research centre, predicted that discoveries to emerge from his organization's 6.4 billion euro ($9.2 billion) project would spark major advances for human society.
"If some of what we expect to find does not turn up, and things we did not foresee do, that will be even more stimulating because it means that we understand less than we thought about nature," said British physicist Brian Cox.
"What I would like to see is the unexpected," said Gerardus t'Hooft of the University of Michigan. Perhaps, he suggested, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) machine at the heart of the experiment "will show us things we didn't know existed."
Once it starts up on Wednesday, scientists plan to smash particle beams together at close to the speed of light inside CERN's tightly-sealed Large Hadron Collider to create multiple mini-versions of the primeval Big Bang.
Cosmologists say that that explosion of an object the size of a small coin occurred about 13.7 billion years ago and led to formation of stars, planets -- and eventually to life on earth.
A key aim of the CERN experiment is to find the "Higgs boson," named after Scottish physicist Peter Higgs who in 1964 pointed to such a particle as the force that gave mass to matter and made the universe possible.
But other mysteries of physics and cosmology -- supersymmetry, dark matter and dark energy among them -- are at the focus of experiments in the 27-km (17-mile) circular tunnel deep underneath the Swiss-French border.
CERN, the European Centre for Nuclear Research, says its key researchers -- and many ordinary staff -- have been inundated by e-mails voicing fears about the experiment.
There have been claims that it will create "black holes" of intensive gravity sucking in CERN, Europe and perhaps the whole planet, or that it will open the way for beings from another universe to invade through a "worm hole" in space-time.
But a safety review by scientists at CERN and in the United States and Russia, issued at the weekend, rejected the prospect of such outcomes.
"The LHC will enable us to study in detail what nature is doing all around us," Aymar, who has led CERN for five years, said in response to that review. "The LHC is safe, and any suggestion that it might present a risk is pure fiction."
Cox, from the School of Physics and Astronomy at Britain's Manchester University, was even more trenchant. "I am immensely irritated by the conspiracy theorists who spread this nonsense around," he said.
When the experiment begins soon after 9 a.m. (0700 GMT) on September 10, disaster scenarists will have little to work on.
In the first tests, a particle beam will be shot all the way around the LHC channel in just one direction. If all goes well, collisions might be tried within the coming weeks, but at low intensity. Any bangs at this stage, said one CERN researcher, "will be little ones."

Telangana crisis in the Telugu Desam: No T-talk in the party for now

By Syed Akbar
June 3, 2008
Hyderabad: The by-election results have silenced the voice of Telangana protagonists in the Telugu Desam. It was the Telangana Rashtra Samithi that had failed to impress upon Telangana voters, but unwittingly the poor performance of the TRS had its echo in the Telugu Desam.
Those who have been vociferous in the Telugu Desam with their Telangana demand have suddenly become silent. They did not muster enough courage even to participate in the victory celebrations at the party headquarters, NTR Bhavan.
Now they do not have the Telangana ammunition to keep Telugu Desam president and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on tenterhooks. The mandate against the TRS has made it clear that a majority of voters are still in favour of united Andhra Pradesh, notwithstanding the electoral tantrums of some senior politicians in
major political parties.
Chandrababu Naidu has emerged more powerful in the Telugu Desam after the by-elections. He did not succumb to T-pressure from senior leaders including T Devendar Goud during the height of electioneering.
The TD supremo simply declared that he was not against Telangana, but consistently maintained that NT Rama Rao had formed the Telugu Desam for the unity and self-respect of Telugu-speaking people.
Now that the T-sentiment failed to work, Chandrababu Naidu is likely to crack the whip. The ensuing Mahanadu of the Telugu Desam will talk about only the "development plank" and not about the "division" of the State. If the initial reaction of Devendar Goud to the by-poll results is any indication, the T leaders in the party will not make much noise at the Mahanadu.
Chandrababu Naidu has, in a way, made known his stand on united Andhra Pradesh clear when newly-elect legislator and his confidante Talasani Srinivas Yadav declared that "I won on united Andhra Pradesh plank and not on Telangana stand". He addressed a press conference at NTR Bhavan. It is an open secret that whoever addresses
media from NTR Bhavan gets prior approval from the party supremo.
Incidentally, Srinivas Yadav is a bete noire of Devendar Goud and his statement makes it clear that Chandrababu Naidu will no longer tolerate any T-talk in the party, at least for now.
There was strange electoral paradoxes too. Telugu Desam leaders who wrote T-slogans on walls during by-poll campaign lost, while those who were moderate in their T demand romped home. C Narsi Reddy, who contested from Dommata, made Telangana an issue in his campaign but could not win over the voters. Srinivas Yadav did not
speak of Telangana even once and yet he won. E Dayakar Rao, who won from Warangal Lok Sabha, is a known T activist. But he maintained a low profile during the campaign and harped on the development plank.

NIMHANS: Tsunami trauma still haunts victims

June 1, 2008
By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad: The Tsunami that hit the Indian Ocean in December 2004 is now history. But
four years after the devastation, people affected by Tsunami are still in trauma. Their psychiatric morbidity is quite high and children are the worst-hit. The Bangalore-based National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences conducted a study on people affected by Tsunami and compared the data with those of normal
population. About 12,000 victims were interviewed as part of the study to establish psychiatric morbidity and the extent of mental trauma they had undergone.
"People are still traumatised. The effect will continue for some more time. In case of children, it may continue for life," NIMHANS assistant professor of psychiatry Dr
Suresh Bada Math, told this correspondent. A meta-analysis of 160 studies of disaster victims found that post-traumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder, generalised anxiety disorders, and panic disorders were identified.
The factors that most consistently increased the risk for adverse outcome were severity of the exposure to the disaster; living in a highly disrupted or traumatised community; lack of social support; belonging to an ethnic minority group; post-traumatic stress; and being female.
Psychiatric morbidity was 5.2 per cent in the displaced population and 2.8 per cent in the non-displaced population. The overall psychiatric morbidity was 3.7 per cent. The displaced survivors had significantly higher psychiatric morbidity than did the non-displaced population. The disorders included panic disorder, anxiety disorders not otherwise specified, and somatic complaints. The existence of an adjustment disorder was significantly higher in the non-displaced survivors. Depression and post-traumatic stress disorder were distributed equally in both groups.
According to Dr Suresh, one of the study team members, psychiatric morbidity was found to be the highest in the displaced population. However, the incidence of
depression and PTSD were distributed equally in both groups. Involvement of community leaders and survivors in shared decision-making processes and culturally
acceptable interventions improved the community participation.
"Cohesive community, family systems, social support, altruistic behaviour of the community leaders, and religious faith and spirituality were factors that helped survivors cope during the early phase of the disaster," he said.
The NIMHANS study suggested that in a developing country like India there is a high need for psychosocial rehabilitation from day one of the disaster. "Our observations
clearly depicts that the presence of a mental health team in the early phase of disaster is definitely required for treating the immediate needs of the patients and planning long-term psychosocial rehabilitation as per the local need. The ‘mental health/psychiatric’ label needs to be avoided in the country".
The initial assessment by the team revealed that five to eight per cent of the population were suffering from mental health issues following the disaster. This may increase as time passes. Psychiatric morbidity is expected be around 25 to 30 per cent in the disillusionment phase. A notable feature was the high resilience
observed in the joint family system during the early phase of the disaster.
The NIMHANS experiences emphasised the point that in the formulation of any psychosocial rehabilitation plan, due consideration should be given to the local
culture, traditions, language, belief systems and local livelihood patterns. Any rehabilitation programmes need to be flexible, locally adaptable and acceptable. Utilisation of local community resources and community participation should be emphasised, leading towards community empowerment.
The team found that 475 survivors had at least one psychiatric diagnosis. Of these, 244 were displaced survivors residing in the Port Blair relief camps, and 231 were in the Non-Displaced Survivors Group from Car-Nicobar Island. The most common psychiatric problems observed in the survivors’ group were adjustment disorder in 178 (37.5 per cent), depression in 102 (21.5 per cent), panic disorder in 57 (12 per cent), PTSD in 53 (11.2 per cent), anxiety disorder not otherwise specified (NOS) in 26 (5.5 per cent), and other disorders in 16 (3.4 per cent). The "other" disorders were noted in children and adolescents by their parents, and included dizziness, vertigo, startle response, sleep-wake cycle disturbance.