Here’s what’s trending in India right now.
No, it’s not Aamir, SRK or Sallu – the holy trifecta of Bollywood.
It’s H1N1, dengue and cancer.
H1N1 is making a comeback in Maharashtra like never before, where there’ve already been 667 deaths this year. To put this in perspective, the last major outbreak was in 2010, when there were 669 fatalities.
To boot, there’ve been a rash of H1N1 testing done across the country by various labs, each test running up bills of up to Rs. 9,000. And patients don’t know any better when it comes to the need for such testing.
Meanwhile, Delhi is in the grip of another medical demon – dengue. With close to 1,300 dengue cases reported so far this year, the disease has choked Delhi.
Smoking completes the triad of malaises afflicting an economically resurgent India. A shocking finding by a study group based in England inferred that new mothers resume smoking with a vengeance in the first year after delivery. The scenario in India can’t be far off.
Apart from this trifecta of health risks, there has been a surge of malaises in India in recent years. One report by The Hindu put the 2013 figure at 3.3 million premature deaths, which occurred due to high BP, high blood sugar, and high pollution.
So, it’s never too late to opt for some protection in the form of health insurance and plans that can cover spiraling medical costs of hospitalization and diagnostics.