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Mangaluru, Mar 12: 'We the People', a new civil society organisation, was launched at a function organised at Fr. L.F. Rasquinha Hall of St. Aloysius College in the city recently. The organization aims to deepen democracy and improve the living standards of citizens in the Dakshina Kannada.

During the launch, experts highlighted the importance of citizens' participation in the effective functioning of a democratic system. They urged citizens to bring any observed deficiencies to the attention of the authorities and emphasized the critical role civil society organisations play in this process.

The function was presided over by Padmanabha Ullal, a senior social worker, and retired officer, who also launched the organization's website, www.we-the-ppl.org. In his address to the gathering, Ullal emphasized the need for citizens to take responsibility for identifying and reporting problems and grievances. He stated that only through people's participation can the system work more dynamically.

The chief guest, Katyayani Chamaraj of Civic Bangalore, expressed concern that the government has the wrong policies for solving the problems of the municipalities. She urged civil society organisations to inform local government bodies of people's demands.

"The Ward Committees are not allowed to function properly, and Area Sabhas have not been constituted yet. Unlike rural areas, a social audit is not done in urban areas. Civil society organisations should constantly make local government bodies aware of the people's demands. Advocacy should be done for people's work; if unavoidable, issues can also be challenged in court," she said.

Prof. D. Jeevan Kumar, Hon. Professor of Karnataka State Rural Development and Panchayat Raj University, Gadag, quoted comparative studies and gave suggestions for developing the democratic system in India. Melanie Kumar, a freelance journalist, spoke about the dangers of social media.

President of 'We the People,' Prathapchandra Kedilaya, explained the organisation's aims and objectives. He also announced that the Association would be convening a brainstorming meeting with social activists from across the Dakshina Kannada district within the next ten days. The purpose of this meeting would be to address the various social issues affecting the region.

The Vice President, Mariete Fernandes, welcomed the gathering. Secretary Oswald Periera gave a vote of thanks. Treasurer Suresh Nayak and Executive Members Bhaskar Kiran, Dilip Vas Naik, Gladys Monteiro, and Steevan Dsouza participated in the inaugural.

There is a need for increased monitoring and precautionary measures to ward off H3N2 but no cause for panic yet, say experts as India confirms its first two deaths due to the influenza virus.

In Karnataka, 78-year-old Hiregowda. a diabetic who suffered from hypertension died due to the H3N2 seasonal influenza subtype on March 1. Another death, that of a 56-year-old lung cancer patient, was reported from Haryana.

From January 2 to March 5, 451 cases of the H3N2 have been reported in the country, according to data shared by the ministry on Friday. It also said it is keeping a close watch on the situation and cases are expected to decline from month end.

H3N2 is a non-human influenza virus that normally circulates in pigs and has infected humans, according to the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Symptoms are similar to those of seasonal flu viruses and can include fever and respiratory symptoms such as cough and runny nose, and possibly other symptoms, including body ache, nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea.

As concerns mounted and some people wondered whether this could possibly turn out to be another Covid, pulmonologist Anurag Agrawal said he doesn’t expect to see a massive wave.

"Admission to hospital has not been very common and only about 5 per cent cases have been reported to be hospitalised," added Tarun Sahani, senior consultant, internal medicine, Apollo Hospitals.

While there is no need to panic yet, Sahani said it is advisable to take precautions similar to those taken during Covid times.

"... if most of the infected people recover albeit slow, it should be fine," virologist Upasana Ray, an alumni member of the Indian National Young Academy of Science (INYAS) and member of Global Young Academy (GYA), told PTI.

She noted that lockdowns and extensive use of masks for extended periods of time helped control transmission of more virulent versions of the virus, but also prevented good exposure of regular seasonal respiratory viruses.

"Due to at least two years of elaborate, expansive use of masks, we might have lost part of our immunity against the versions of these other respiratory viruses that are now getting transmitted," Ray argued.

According to Agrawal, H3N2 outbreaks can "indeed cause death" and are more severe than regular flu.

"Since there is general immunity to flu and vaccines exist, I wouldn’t expect to see a massive wave but yes, all outbreaks and deaths are of some concern," Agrawal, the dean of the Trivedi School of Biosciences at Ashoka University, told PTI.

Sahani noted that India is witnessing a huge spike in H3N2 cases since the start of 2023.

"The incidence is two to three times higher than usually seen at this time of the year. This virus is known to be a subtype of Influenza A virus which is common at this time of the year," Sahani told PTI.

Though the Covid pandemic seems to be ending, the spate of respiratory illnesses continues among adults with a significant number being infected with influenza viruses such as H3N2, adenovirus and H1N1.

According to the latest data available on IDSP-IHIP (Integrated Health Information Platform), a total of 3,038 laboratory-confirmed cases of various subtypes of Influenza including H3N2 have been reported till March 9 by the states.

This includes 1,245 cases in January, 1,307 in February and 486 cases in March till 9th, it said.

The Union Health Ministry is keeping a close watch on the seasonal influenza situation in various states/UTs through the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) network on a real-time basis.

Agrawal said flu surveillance is an important part of public health.

"In coming times we will have better combined respiratory virus surveillance," Agrawal, the former director of the CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology noted.

Ray agreed, saying disease monitoring is urgently needed to address the situation. 

Mangaluru, Mar 18: A male passenger who had arrived by an international flight was caught smuggling gold by concealing it in the diaper of his 21-month old daughter at the Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) in a recent incident, a customs release here said on Saturday.

The gold, in the form of paste, was kept in pouches inside the diaper. However, it was detected by officials during checking.

In another incident, a male passenger had hidden the gold in paste form and tied it across his waist like a belt. Another person hid gold in paste form in his rectum.

In all, customs officials at the MIA have seized 1,606 gm of gold worth Rs 90.67 lakh from March 1 to 15 this year, the release said. All the three passengers have been arrested and further investigations are on.