VK News Today https://validator.w3.org/feed/docs/rss2.html Two Turkish-flagged vessels collide in Marmara Sea off Istanbul; 10 crew members unreachable Joshua Wong: Hong Kong’s pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong pleads guilty to association with foreign entities Sikkim recorded the highest incidence among Northeast states, with 374 dengue cases in 2024. Using the state’s revised population estimate, the dengue incidence was 57.9 per lakh. NEW DELHI: Climate change, deforestation, unplanned urbanisation and poor drainage are creating conditions for mosquitoes and other disease-carrying vectors to spread into new areas of the Northeast, a parliamentary health panel has warned, calling for targeted, technology-driven surveillance and prevention strategies.The Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare, in its report on vector-borne diseases in North-East India, said the region’s difficult terrain, changing rainfall and temperature patterns, rapid urbanisation and gaps in healthcare access were contributing to the persistence and geographical expansion of these diseases.The numbers show a sharp rise in dengue in the region. Reported cases increased from 142 in 2014 to 19,761 in 2023, before falling to 7,186 in 2024. The report records 1,524 cases in 2025 through August, making it a partial-year figure and therefore not directly comparable with full-year totals.Chikungunya cases in the region increased from 3,493 in 2023 to 3,991 in 2024, an increase of about 14.3%.The panel said dengue and chikungunya are increasingly urban concerns, driven by urbanisation, water-storage practices, poor waste management, climate change and population movement. Sikkim recorded the highest incidence among Northeast states, with 374 dengue cases in 2024. Using the state’s revised population estimate, the dengue incidence was 57.9 per lakh. Sikkim also reported 1,863 chikungunya cases, with an incidence of 291.2 per lakh in 2024.Malaria, however, presents a more mixed picture. Across India, the number of high-burden districts with an Annual Parasite Index above one fell from 155 in 2015 to 37 in 2024. In the Northeast, 16 districts in Arunachal Pradesh and six in Nagaland have reported zero indigenous malaria cases for the past three years.Japanese encephalitis remains another concern, particularly in Assam and other northeastern states. The report records 885 JE cases in the Northeast in 2024, compared with 709 in 2023. Nationally, the JE fatality rate fell substantially, from 17.6% in 2014 to 7.1% in 2024.Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesThe panel recommended real-time surveillance through a dedicated Northeast vector-borne disease portal and AI-based early-warning systems to predict hotspots, along with mobile health units, pre-monsoon camps, rapid-response teams, stronger labs and dedicated NESIDS funding for high-risk areas. It also called for disease-specific treatment protocols for severe dengue and other complications, a Regional Entomology Training Hub, and greater use of climate modelling and digital reporting. The panel flagged a data gap too: vector-borne disease data are not separately collected for tribal, rural and urban populations, and recommended doing so for more targeted interventions.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.About the AuthorAnuja JaiswalAnuja Jaiswal is a Senior Assistant Editor at The Times of India, with an impressive 18-year career in narrative journalism. She specializes in health and heritage reporting, expertly simplifying complex health information to make it engaging and understandable for readers. Her deep dives into heritage topics are well-researched, resulting in captivating narratives that resonate with her audience. Over the years, she has worked in Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh and West UP, gaining diverse on-ground experience that shapes her storytelling.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideosAmid Nepal Floods, 9-12 Glacial Lakes Flagged ‘Critical’ In Himachal | IIT Mandi | Climate Change’India World’s Best Location’: Goyal Holds Key Data Centre Meet, Eyes $200 Billion InvestmentManipur Violence: Three Naga Villages Attacked, 10 Houses Torched In Fresh Kangpokpi ClashesUnion Minister Chirag Paswan Gets Death Threat From ‘Terrorists’, Office Seeks Enhanced SecurityS-400 vs Project Kusha: Why India Wants More Russian Air Defence Despite Atmanirbharta’Historic Win’: CJP Hails Supreme Court Verdict As Apex Court Quashes FIRs, Sept 5 CancelledMamata Banerjee’s Niece Found Dead In Birbhum Home, Post-Mortem Underway To Establish CauseSonia Gandhi’s ‘Belonging’ Book Row: Why Did Penguin India Drop the Publishing Deal?Centre Defers Census In Manipur Amid NRC ProtestsCash Shortage Unlocks ₹17 Crore Fake Note Mystery At PNB’s Saharanpur Currency Chest123Hot PicksNepal floodGrand Canyon floodsSugar importMumbai milk priceCNG priceGoa anti-conversion billTN milk price hikeMaharashtra SIRDelhi trafficTop TrendingDelhi Teen Gang RapeUS Iran WarNepal FloodsDan DriscollPakistan Hindu Temple DemolishedGlenn PhillipsPascal WehrleinConnor McDavidDelhi SIRLebron James BSF HCM ASI exam 2026: Jaipur shift cancelled, revised exam on September 18; check direct link to download hall ticket Pawan Kalyan turns 55; PM Narendra Modi calls him ‘widely respected’; actor’s wife Anna Konidala shares special tribute Forgetting things too often? These everyday food combinations may support memory and brain health In 1928, Al Capone bought a Miami Beach estate and spent about $200,000 fortifying it; after the mansion was demolished in 2023, its vacant site sold for $21 million In 1993, Barbra Streisand gave her $15 million Malibu estate to conservation; the 24-acre property was planned as an environmental research centre | World News SBI PO Prelims result 2026: Scorecards released at sbi.bank.in, direct link to download here ‘Bethlehem Kudumba Unit’ vs ‘Khalifa’ box office day 12/13: Nivin Pauly’s film crosses Rs 215 Cr worldwide; Prithviraj Sukumaran starrer remains at Rs 43.21 Cr In 2011, up to 30,000 rats were eradicated from Palmyra Atoll; five years later native tree seedlings jumped from fewer than 150 to more than 7,700 KVS NVS Tier-II result 2026 out: Final answer key released for TGT and Senior Secretariat Assistant posts; check direct links here ‘Irumudi’ box office collection day 12: Ravi Teja starrer records 10.6% drop; India net collection reaches Rs 142.05 Cr The secret to why Japanese people of Okinawa Island live longer (and how to start today) Digital certificates from architect, engineer, CA a must: What new UP RERA rule means for realtors ‘We would have had real civil strife’: JD Vance recalls 2024 attack on Trump India Post GDS recruitment 2026: Registration begins for 23,757 posts; direct link to apply here ‘Hanuman Ansh’: Who was Neem Karoli Baba, the guru whose teachings influenced Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg and Julia Roberts IIT graduate Vidit Aatrey left his IAS dream then his corporate career but failed twice building a startup; today he has turned an e-commerce giant into a Rs 30,000-crore business ‘Pre-event indications’: Did Nepal miss warning signs before deadly floods? What report says Updated: Sep 02, 2026, 09:47 IST ‘The more you bowl, the stronger you become’: Gurnoor Brar Markets fall sharply in early trade: Sensex down 700 points, Nifty below 23,830 Ministry of Education extends NMMS scholarship 2026-27 deadline to September 30 ‘Sultan of Mappila songs’ Kozhikode Aboobacker passes away at 80; veteran composer leaves behind 3,000 melodies Brad Pitt and Ines de Ramon ‘trying’ for a baby? Actor reportedly wants ‘two or three’ kids amid secret wedding buzz In 2003, Nasa researchers found freshwater snails mated and reproduced in space, with gravity-sensing statoconia 50% larger by volume than ground controls ‘No sexual intent’: HC quashes harassment case against man accused of exposing himself to woman while urinating The procedure, however, clearly reduces AF. Seven-day heart monitoring detected AF in 21% of patients after ablation, compared with 41% after the dummy procedure. NEW DELHI: A procedure widely used to treat atrial fibrillation (AF), an irregular heartbeat, cuts abnormal heart-rhythm episodes but may not itself be responsible for the improvement in patients’ quality of life, a new study published in The Lancet has found.The PVI-SHAM-AF trial involved 262 patients with symptomatic AF, with 173 assigned to catheter ablation and 89 to a sham procedure. Conducted between November 2021 and November 2025, the trial found that ablation, which uses a catheter to destroy tissue causing abnormal electrical signals, did not significantly improve quality of life compared with the sham procedure. The median age was 67 years.Both groups reported substantial improvement after six months. The average quality-of-life score rose from 61.3 to 81.1 in the ablation group and from 59.2 to 74.9 among those who underwent the dummy procedure. The difference was not statistically significant.The procedure did, however, clearly reduce AF. Seven-day heart monitoring detected AF in 21% of patients after ablation, compared with 41% after the dummy procedure.This distinction is important because improving quality of life is a major reason for offering AF ablation to symptomatic patients. The study therefore raises the possibility that some of the improvement patients report after the procedure may be related to expectations or reduced anxiety, rather than the ablation itself.Dr Ambuj Roy, cardiologist at AIIMS, said, “Atrial fibrillation is a common heart rhythm abnormality of the upper chambers of the heart, particularly in the elderly. It can be treated with medicines or, increasingly, by a complex procedure called catheter ablation, in which the source of the abnormal rhythm is isolated.”He said the study carried two important messages. “Many of the perceived benefits of complex procedures may be due to the placebo effect or reduction in anxiety because a procedure is performed. Thus, even established procedures need to be tested in sham trials. Second, we need to be selective in advising AF ablation, as the primary benefit of the procedure, improvement in quality of life, is now in serious doubt,” he said.Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesEarlier AF ablation studies generally did not use a dummy procedure, so patients knew whether they had received the actual treatment, which could influence how they reported symptoms and quality of life. The new trial included patients with both paroxysmal and persistent AF, with a median age of 67 years, across nine centres in Germany and Poland.The findings do not mean ablation does not work. It reduced AF recurrence and the time patients remained in an abnormal rhythm, but did not provide a significant additional quality-of-life benefit over the dummy procedure. The researchers cautioned that the results are based on six months of follow-up, with 12-month results still awaited.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.About the AuthorAnuja JaiswalAnuja Jaiswal is a Senior Assistant Editor at The Times of India, with an impressive 18-year career in narrative journalism. She specializes in health and heritage reporting, expertly simplifying complex health information to make it engaging and understandable for readers. Her deep dives into heritage topics are well-researched, resulting in captivating narratives that resonate with her audience. Over the years, she has worked in Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh and West UP, gaining diverse on-ground experience that shapes her storytelling.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideos’India World’s Best Location’: Goyal Holds Key Data Centre Meet, Eyes $200 Billion InvestmentManipur Violence: Three Naga Villages Attacked, 10 Houses Torched In Fresh Kangpokpi ClashesUnion Minister Chirag Paswan Gets Death Threat From ‘Terrorists’, Office Seeks Enhanced SecurityS-400 vs Project Kusha: Why India Wants More Russian Air Defence Despite Atmanirbharta’Historic Win’: CJP Hails Supreme Court Verdict As Apex Court Quashes FIRs, Sept 5 CancelledMamata Banerjee’s Niece Found Dead In Birbhum Home, Post-Mortem Underway To Establish CauseSonia Gandhi’s ‘Belonging’ Book Row: Why Did Penguin India Drop the Publishing Deal?Centre Defers Census In Manipur Amid NRC ProtestsCash Shortage Unlocks ₹17 Crore Fake Note Mystery At PNB’s Saharanpur Currency ChestBihar, Jharkhand End 25-Year Dispute, Sign Sone River Water-Sharing Agreement123Hot PicksNepal floodGrand Canyon floodsSugar importMumbai milk priceCNG priceGoa anti-conversion billTN milk price hikeMaharashtra SIRDelhi trafficTop TrendingDelhi Teen Gang RapeUS Iran WarNepal FloodsDan DriscollPakistan Hindu Temple DemolishedGlenn PhillipsPascal WehrleinConnor McDavidDelhi SIRLebron James Sep 02, 2026, 09:10 IST Duleep Trophy: East Zone in final with dominant victory over Central CISF ASI Paramedical admit card 2026 released: PST starts September 14, check documents and direct link here BTS star Jungkook’s video detailing his ‘IDEAL TYPE’ goes viral: ‘I have a certain type of person I’m looking for’ Brad Pitt and Ines de Ramon ‘trying’ for a baby? Actor reportedly wants ‘two or three’ kids amid secret wedding buzz Project ‘C430L’: How Russia secretly helped Iran develop supersonic cruise missiles UPSSSC PET 2026 registration extended till September 7 after OTP, website issues; read official notice here ‘Both of my deliveries were by caesarean’: Bhagyashree on motherhood and fitness; says ‘the weight will increase’ is not true 9 Affordable furniture ideas that will make your room super elegant US Green card wait times stretches to 179 years for Indian professionals as job-based immigration backlog now exceeds 1.2 million Sep 02, 2026, 08:39 IST GATE 2027 registration starts today: IIT Madras adds Robotics & Automation paper, check key dates George Clooney and Amal Clooney arrive in Venice ahead of the Venice Film Festival: Actor to be honored at the event ‘We feel lucky to have survived. It is like a second birth for us’: How did the owners of Nepal’s green house survive the flash floods? Palmistry Predictions, 2nd September, 2026: Which Planet Could Trigger Your Biggest Turning Point in September 2026? Larry Ellison and son David accused of ‘powering some of the most destructive forces in the world’; Paramount issues rare statement Top stocks to buy today: Stock recommendations for September 2, 2026 – check list MP Police SI Recruitment 2026 notification out for 504 posts: Check dates, eligibility and physical standards Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh turn cheerleaders for Aneet Padda-starrer ‘Hunkkaar: The Roar’ IIT graduate Vidit Aatrey left his IAS dream then his corporate career but failed twice before building Meesho; today he has turned the e-commerce giant into a Rs 30,000-crore business Birth Date & Power: Does Your Numerology Hold a Hidden Raj Yoga?