MAD' volunteers return after tour

September 25, 2011

Mangalore, September 25: Make a Difference (MAD), a youth volunteer network that works with underprivileged children completed 'Tour de difference' wherein volunteers cycled to 12 Indian cities, and covered 4,240 kilometers in the months of August and September and were able to raise a sum of Rs 3.60 lakh towards the purchase of Cambridge syllabus textbooks for 300 underprivileged children in Mangalore.

Sharing the experience, Raichand, a final year MBBS student from KMC Mangalore, said: “I am very excited having completed a huge task.”

Sebastian Thele from Germany said the tour was an amazing experience. “I did not have such an experience in my life.” While Sudhith from Cohin who joined the team from Cochin said it was an awesome experience. “We met people who were curious to know what MAD is all about,” he said.

Speaking about the condition of the road, both Raichand and Sebastian said the roads were excellent till Kerala. “However, the roads are in deplorable condition in Kerala. There were few stretches where one had to search for the existence of the road.”

MAD Mangalore chapter President Greeshma Rai said that the main objective of the expedition was to raise Rs 100 for every kilometre the cyclists cover, and thereby meet the costs incurred by the Mangalore chapter of MAD on Cambridge syllabus textbooks for the 300 children under its wings and to also promote and stress the importance of education to the future of the country.

A rally was organised to welcome Tour de Difference back to Mangalore. The rally concluded at Mangalore Press Club on Saturday. They cycled to 12 cities—Mangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Viojayawada, Chennai, Vellore, Bangalore, Mysore, Coimbatore, Thiruvananthapuram and Cochin.

MAD in Mangalore has been instrumental in four centres namely Balika Ashram in Kankanady, Aloysius Boys Homes, Ullal, Prajna Group of Institutions at Marnamikatta and CARDTS, Nantoor.

Programmes

She said the riders and the MAD volunteers will be a part of the final stage of the 'design for change,' an international competition, where children will be implementing solutions to tackle the various problems affecting their lives. There will be a photo exhibition of the 'tour's' travels put up at City Centre mall throughout the weekend.

On Sunday, the riders and volunteers will paint and renovate the CARDTS Centre. To celebrate the end of TdD, different bands from across the city will compete in the 'The Big Band theory' at Mangalore Ladies Club at Light House Hill road on Sunday at 4.30 pm, she added.

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No cases yet, but vigilance high: Karnataka braces for Nipah threat

News Network

February 3,2026

Bengaluru: Following reports of fresh Nipah virus (NiV) cases in West Bengal and heightened vigilance across parts of Southeast Asia, the Karnataka Health Department has placed the state on high alert and activated emergency preparedness protocols.

Health officials said enhanced surveillance measures have been initiated after two healthcare workers in Barasat, West Bengal, tested positive for the virus earlier this month. While no cases have been reported in Karnataka so far, authorities said the state’s past exposure to Nipah outbreaks and high inter-state mobility warranted preventive action.

Officials have directed district health teams to intensify monitoring, particularly at hospitals and points of entry, and to ensure early detection and isolation of suspected cases.

High Mortality Virus with Multiple Transmission Routes

Nipah virus is a zoonotic disease that can spread from animals to humans and has a reported fatality rate ranging between 60 and 75 per cent. Fruit bats, also known as flying foxes, are the natural reservoirs of the virus and can transmit it by contaminating food sources with saliva or urine.

Known modes of transmission include:

•   Contaminated food: Consumption of fruits partially eaten by bats or raw date-palm sap
•   Animal contact: Exposure to infected pigs or other animals
•   Human-to-human transmission: Close contact with body fluids of infected persons, particularly in healthcare settings

Symptoms and Disease Progression

The incubation period typically ranges from 4 to 14 days, though delayed onset has also been reported. Early symptoms often resemble common viral infections, making prompt clinical suspicion critical.

•   Initial symptoms: Fever, headache, body aches, fatigue, sore throat
•   Progressive symptoms: Drowsiness, disorientation, altered mental state
•   Severe stage: Seizures, neck stiffness and acute encephalitis, which can rapidly progress to coma

Public Health Advisory

The Health Department has issued precautionary guidelines urging the public to adopt risk-avoidance practices to prevent any local spillover.

Do’s
•   Wash fruits thoroughly before consumption
•   Drink boiled and cooled water
•   Use protective equipment while handling livestock
•   Maintain strict hand hygiene

Don’ts
•   Avoid fruits found on the ground or showing bite marks
•   Do not consume beverages made from raw tree sap, including toddy
•   Avoid areas with dense bat populations
•   Do not handle sick or dead animals

Preparedness Measures

Officials confirmed that isolation wards are being readied in major government hospitals and that medical staff are being sensitised to identify early warning signs.

“There is no cause for panic, but there is a need for heightened vigilance,” a senior health official said, adding that there is currently no approved vaccine or specific antiviral treatment for Nipah, and care remains largely supportive.

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