Jeywin Blog

India’s launch of RISAT-1 Satellite a “grand success”

Thursday, April 26th, 2012

The PSLV-C19, the newest in the series of polar satellite launch vehicles of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), burst off the launch-pads of Sriharikota in the wee hours of 26.04.2012 on its space mission of placing indigenously developed Radar Imaging Satellite the RISAT-1 in a polar circular orbit.

ISRO’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, at precisely 5.47 a.m., on 26.04.2012, launched the launch vehicle’s core stage igniters and set of six strap-on motors ignited within seconds of each to signal the successful lift-off of the PSLV-C19 with the RISAT -1 firmly docked inside its metal frames.

The RISAT-1 with a payload of 1858 kg, the heaviest satellite being launched yet by the PSLV, is a state-of-the-art Active Microwave Remote Sensing Satellite carrying a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) payload that will operate in the C-band. In simpler terms, the RISAT-1 can beam back imaging of the earth surface features during day and night and under all imagined weather conditions. The SAR which gives the RISAT-1 its magic lens also makes it superior to the generation of optical remote sensing satellites in terms of clearer imaging at all times and under any condition.

Addressing the team of scientists and engineers, ISRO Chairman K. Radhakrishnan said he was happy to announce that the PSLV-C19 was a “grand success” and had injected into polar orbit India’s first Radar Imaging Satellite.

According to ISRO scientists, once the satellite onboard propulsion system will raise the orbital altitude to 536 km with orbital inclination of approximately 97 degrees to place the RISAT-1 into a polar sun-synchronous orbit, the satellite will begin its daily routine of 14 orbits with a of 25 days. During its mission life of five years, RISAT-1 will use its active microwave remote sensing capability for cloud penetration and day-night imaging of the earth surface and provide critical data inputs for a range of applications.

The satellite’s applications will range across agriculture — paddy monitoring in the kharif season — and management of natural disasters like flood and cyclone and could greatly assist food security planning in India.

The PSLV C-19 is the 21st flight in the PSLV series of satellite launches and the third to involve the high-end version (PSLV-XL) equipped with six extended strap-on motors, each carrying 12 tonnes of solid propellant. The two earlier flights of PSLV-XL were used to launch Chandrayaan-1 and GSAT-12 communication satellite.

It can spy and also do a hundred humdrum things

India’s space and security capabilities are poised for a big leap with the launch of an entirely indigenous radar imaging satellite, RISAT-1.

In the popular mind, radar satellites have a swashbuckling image that is often associated with covertly watching over other countries and tracking their military hardware. These satellites can certainly serve that sort of function. But such spacecraft also support a range of more humdrum but vital operations.

Optical satellites rely on sunlight to illuminate the ground below, working much like an ordinary camera does. Radar satellites, on the other hand, must send out pulses of radio waves and then pick up signals that bounce back.

Once the monsoon sets in over India, cloud cover often severely limits the useful images that satellites with optical cameras can supply. But radar can see through cloud and rain. Nor does darkness hamper its operation.

Optical or radar?

While ISRO opted to go the optical route for India’s early remote sensing satellites, it was also very clear that the technological capability to build and use space-based radars needed to be developed. Led by O.P.N. Calla, a group at ISRO’s Space Applications Centre at Ahmedabad built a “Side-Looking Airborne Radar” that was installed on a Dakota aircraft in 1980. It subsequently built a more sophisticated “Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar.” The National Remote Sensing Centre at Hyderabad operates two aircraft that can carry such radars.

Apart from learning to build the hardware, the space agency sought to develop the necessary expertise in using radar imageries for various applications. It did so by taking data from foreign radar satellites, starting with Europe’s ERS-1 that was launched in 1991.

Flood mapping, agriculture

Satellite radar data, often from Canada’s RADARSAT satellites, is now routinely used during the monsoon to provide near real time flood mapping. In last year’s monsoon, for instance, radar data was drawn upon to identify affected areas when floods struck Assam, West Bengal, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala.

Monitoring crops from space to derive timely and more accurate estimates of acreage and yield was identified as an important application early on in India’s remote sensing programme. But with small field sizes in the country, different crops being grown in the same area and variations in agricultural practices, establishing ‘signatures’ that can distinguish one crop from another has been difficult enough with optical remote sensing.

It becomes even more complicated with radar where a number of factors, such as soil characteristics, moisture levels in the soil and even the plant size and shape, influence the signals that return to the satellite.

Radar, however, opens up the possibility of monitoring crops grown during the monsoon when extensive cloud cover often hinders optical satellites. Data from Canada’s RADARSAT satellites is currently being used for operational rice crop inventory at the state and national levels, according to a journal paper published by a team of ISRO scientists. There has also been some success with jute.

RADARSAT data was costly, remarked one person who was involved with the Indian remote sensing programme. “With our own satellite, we will be able to carry out more extensive studies for establishing ways to monitor other crops with the required accuracy.”

Glacier study

Satellite-borne radar could prove useful in studying glaciers in the Himalayas, according to Anil V. Kulkarni who earlier worked at the Space Applications Centre and is now with the Divecha Centre for Climate Change at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore.

Radar techniques could potentially be employed to understand some key parameters of glaciers, including their rate of movement and area. It may also be possible to derive indications of whether they are gaining or losing mass from one year to the next. Such information could provide important insights into how climate change is affecting the glaciers.

Radar data could also be utilised to figure out how much snow was melting in summer. With suitable modelling, it should then be possible to estimate the run-off that flows into various rivers, he pointed out.

RISAT-1’s radar data is likely to find many more applications, including in geology, terrain mapping and forestry. Oceanography can benefit from information on winds and currents that such data can supply. Canada is reportedly using its RADARSAT satellites to manage shipping operations, including monitoring offshore fishing activities.

Military use

A radar satellite opens up avenues for watching over another country’s military operations. Such satellites can pick out military vehicles, aircraft and ships.

A radar satellite is “a very powerful instrument” for detecting naval movements, remarked Bhupendra Jasani of the Department of War Studies at King’s College London. They could even pick up the wake of submarines moving below the surface. Radar imageries could also aid in examining if a nuclear reactor was being used for plutonium production.

RISAT-1’s radar can see through clouds and work in darkness

The RISAT-1’s radar will be able to see through clouds and work in darkness, conditions that hamper optical satellites. Its images will be useful for a variety of applications, from crop forecasting and disaster management to addressing the country’s strategic needs.

The RISAT-1 will, however, be the country’s second radar imaging satellite. India already operates the Israeli-built RISAT-2, which was launched in April 2009 and appears to have been quickly procured to meet security requirements.

After the ISRO launched IRS-1A in 1988, it sent up well over a dozen earth-viewing satellites bearing a variety of optical imaging cameras. These satellites have created a large user community within the country. Their data is also being received and utilised in several countries.

An important reason for the ISRO’s initial emphasis on optical imaging was the far greater complexity of a radar satellite, according to Pramod Kale, who was once director of the ISRO’s Space Applications Centre at Ahmedabad that builds payloads carried on Indian satellites.

With RISAT-1, ISRO scientists and engineers demonstrate their mastery of that difficult and closely guarded technology. If the satellite works as its creators hope, it will match and perhaps in some respects even surpass Canada’s second-generation RADARSAT-2 that is now operational.

The RISAT-1 uses the ‘synthetic aperture radar’ technique. It carries out complex processing of the radar echoes received from the same place on the ground so as to simulate a much bigger antenna than it actually carries. Doing so greatly increases the image resolution that is possible.

Radar images from the satellite will have a resolution that can be varied from 50 metres down to 3 metres. However, as resolution increases, less of the ground can be imaged as the satellite passes overhead.

In a special ‘spotlight mode,’ where the satellite will keep looking at a small region on the ground, it will be capable of providing one-metre resolution images. (The best resolution now possible on the ISRO’s optical remote sensing satellites is believed to be about 0.8 metres.)

The satellite is equipped with an advanced ‘active phased array’ antenna. Instead of a single device generating the microwave signals, the antenna has a large number of modules that collectively produce the radar beam. By suitably adjusting the signals generated by various modules, the beam can be electronically moved around. Even if a few modules fail, the satellite can continue to function albeit perhaps with some degradation in performance.

PM congratulates scientists

Hailing the successful launch of PSLV carrying Radar Imaging Satellite (RISAT-1), Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 26.04.2012 said it was an important milestone in India’s space programme and congratulated the ISRO scientists for displaying mastery of the complex launch vehicle technology.  “I would like to warmly congratulate all scientists of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for the successful launch today of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)-C19 carrying the Radar Imaging Satellite -1(RISAT -1), the heaviest satellite launched till date using PSLV, ” PM said. “The twentieth consecutive successful launch of the PSLV is an important milestone in our space programme and is testimony to ISRO’s mastery of the complex launch vehicle technology,” he said.

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North Korea’s Satellite Program and Failed Launch

Wednesday, April 18th, 2012

K. Bharath Kumar, M.S. (USA)

The Launch Background

In the month of March 2012, North Korea i.e., Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) announced its plan to launch an “earth observation” satellite between April 12th and 16th , 2012 to mark the 100th birth anniversary of its founder Kim Il Sung.  North Korean space officials said the Unha-3 rocket was meant to send a satellite into orbit to study crops and weather patterns — its third attempt to launch a satellite since 1998.

In addition, Pyongyang took the unusual step of admitting dozens of international television reporters, who were taken on a tour of the launch site. Television has been broadcasting a stream of video of the missile called Unha-3, or “Galaxy-3,” emblazoned with the North Korean red star, against a backdrop of mountains.

However, the launch had appeared to have failed, with the rocket splintering into pieces moments after takeoff, South Korea’s Defense Ministry said in Seoul.  The satellite failed to enter orbit after its launch on the morning of April, 13, 2012, the official KCNA news agency reported.  North Korea’s much-anticipated rocket launch ended quickly in failure early Friday (13/04/2012), splintering into pieces over the Yellow Sea soon after takeoff.  Scientists and technicians are now looking into the cause of the failure, reported Xinhua.

South Korea said that North Korea will have to “take responsibility” for the alleged failed long-range rocket launch, which breached a UN ban.  North Korea acknowledged in an announcement broadcast on state TV that a satellite launched hours earlier from the west coast failed to enter into orbit. The U.S. and South Korea also declared the launch a failure.

A failure would be a huge blow to a nation that has staked its pride on a satellite launch seen as a show of strength amid persistent economic hardship as North Korea’s young new leader, Kim Jong Un, solidifies power following the death of his father, longtime leader Kim Jong Il, four months ago.

The United States, Britain, Japan and others have called such a launch a violation of U.N. resolutions prohibiting North Korea from nuclear and ballistic missile activity. Experts say the Unha-3 carrier is the same type of rocket that would be used to launch a long-range missile aimed at the U.S. and other targets. North Korea has already tested two atomic devices but is not believed to have mastered the technology needed to mount a nuclear warhead on a long-range missile.

U.S. Warnings before the Launch

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, speaking for the Group of Eight nations after their foreign ministers met in Washington, said Thursday that all the members of the bloc agreed to be prepared to take further action against North Korea in the Security Council if the launch went ahead.  “Pyongyang has a clear choice: It can pursue peace and reap the benefits of closer ties with the international community, including the United States; or it can continue to face pressure and isolation,” Clinton said.

The planned satellite launch later this month by North Korea was provocative, the US government said on Monday, April, 09, 2012.  “North Korea’s launch of a missile would be highly provocative, it would pose a threat to regional security, and it will be inconsistent with its recent undertakings to refrain from any kind of long-range missile launches,” State department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

She noted that Washington considered the launch as a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1718 and 1874, which prohibited Pyongyang from conducting launches that use ballistic missile technology, Xinhua reported.

Pentagon Monitoring of Launch

The US defense department was closely monitoring the prospect of a satellite launch this month by North Korea, a top Pentagon official said on April 6th, 2012. George Little, acting assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, said the US was “monitoring it closely. We understand the impact it could have on regional stability”.  ”We’re working very closely with our Republic of Korea (South Korea) allies as well as our Japanese allies to monitor. We hope it doesn’t happen. But if it does, we’ll be ready to track it,” Little was quoted as saying by Xinhua.  “I believe we have what we need to track (the launch) and to also work closely with our allies in the region to respond,” he added.

Little said North Korea would be “violating UN Security Council resolutions if they move ahead with such a launch”. He called upon Pyongyang not to go ahead with the launch, but said the Pentagon was operating on the assumption that the launch could happen. North Korea has indicated that it intends to launch the satellite, he noted. “They have done so in the past. So if history is any guide to the future, we would be remiss if we didn’t take those announcements for what they are”, he added.

Launch Details and Results

The Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite was fired from the Sohae Satellite Launching Station in Tongchang-ri along the west coast at 7:38 a.m., but failed to reach orbit, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.  “Scientists, technicians and experts are now looking into the cause of the failure,” KCNA said.

U.S. and South Korean intelligence reports say the rocket quickly broke up and splashed into the Yellow Sea.  “The missile traveled one to two minutes and broke apart in the air. It broke into 20 separate pieces,” Shin Won-shik, a South Korean Defense Ministry official, said at a briefing Friday morning.  Shin said some of the debris fell 60 to 90 miles off the west coast of South Korea.

“For all their advanced technology, these rockets are fairly fragile things,” said Brian Weeden, a technical adviser at Secure World Foundation who is a former Air Force officer at the U.S. Space Command. “You’re looking at a metal cylinder that has fairly thin walls that contains a lot of high pressure liquid.”

North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) officials said that the U.S. detected and tracked the launch of the North Korean missile at 6:39 p.m. EDT. NORAD said that the missile went south over the Yellow Sea about 165 kilometers west of Seoul.

NORAD said the first stage of the missile fell into the sea about 100 miles west of Seoul.  Stages two and three failed and no debris fell on land and the missile and the debris were never a threat.

According to projections, the first stage of the rocket was to fall into the ocean off the western coast of South Korea, while a second stage would fall into waters off the eastern coast of the Philippine island of Luzon.  Weeden said the launch appeared to be a failure of both space and missile objectives.  “The earlier it breaks up, the less data you’ve collected, so the less useful that test is likely to be,” he said. “It’s very likely that the U.S. and its allies probably gathered more information about this test than the North Koreans have” He said U.S. and other nations had been poised to keep close watch on the launch to gather intelligence about the state of North Korea’s rocket program.

Rocket Failure Disgrace

The failure could be a domestic and international public relations disaster and undermine the legitimacy of North Korea’s new leader, Kim Jong Un, who is still in his 20s. He took over in December 2011, after the death of his father, Kim Jong Il.  “North Korea’s provocative action threatens regional security, violates international law and contravenes its own recent commitments,” the White House said in a statement. “North Korea is only further isolating itself by engaging in provocative acts, and is wasting its money on weapons and propaganda displays while the North Korean people go hungry.”

An administration official who requested anonymity while discussing sensitive topics predicted that the failure “will have ramifications internally.”  The official credited tough economic sanctions with restricting North Korea’s access to advanced electronics and other crucial equipment.

Unlike previous occasions, North Korea acknowledged that the satellite had failed to reach orbit.  “Scientists, technicians and experts are now looking into the cause of the failure,” the official Korean Central News Agency reported.  Previous attempts to launch a satellite also failed, most recently in 2009 when a missile and its payload splashed into the Sea of Japan.  This current latest launch was designed not only to commemorate the birth of Kim Il Sung on April 15, 1912, but also to confirm the legitimacy of his grandson Kim Jong Un, the third generation of the dynasty.

International Reactions after the Satellite Launch

Republic of Korea ROK-(South Korea)

The Republic of Korea condemned the rocket launch as a provocative threat to peace and stability in Northeast Asia and pressed Pyongyang (North Korea’s Capital city) to take full responsibility for any repercussions, Yohnap News quoted ROK Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan as saying on Friday. Kim and United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged to take “resolute” action against the launch and agreed to refer the issue to the UN Security Council, according to Yohnap. During a 10-minute conversation, Kim and Clinton “shared the view that the international community should send a clear and strong message” to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Yohnap quoted an ROK official as saying.

United States of America

Despite the failure of its attempted missile launch, Pyongyang’s provocative action threatens regional security, violates international law and contravenes its own recent commitments, said White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, in a statement in Washington. “While this action is not surprising, given North Korea’s pattern of aggressive behavior,” Carney said, “any missile activity by the DPRK is of concern to the international community. The US remains vigilant in the face of the DPRK’s provocations and is fully committed to the security of US allies in the region”, he said.

The White House Office of the Press Secretary issued a statement, which said: “Despite the failure of its attempted missile launch, North Korea’s provocative action threatens regional security, violates international law and contravenes its own recent commitments.  While this action is not surprising given North Korea’s pattern of aggressive behavior, any missile activity by North Korea is of concern to the international community. The United States remains vigilant in the face of North Korean provocations, and is fully committed to the security our allies in the region.”  In response to the launch, Washington announced it was suspending plans to contribute food aid to the North in exchange for a rollback of its nuclear programs.  The launch of the satellite, even though it failed, also put a question mark on an agreement between the US and North Korea; Washington had agreed to ship 40000 metric tonnes of food if Pyongyang put its nuclear and missile testing on hold.

Group of Eight

The G8 group consists of the United States, Canada, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Japan and Russia.  The G8 foreign ministers condemned the launch by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and blamed the launch as a violation of UN Security Council Resolutions 1695, 1718 and 1874, said a statement from the US Department of State in Washington. “Sharing the view that the launch undermines regional peace and stability, we call on the DPRK to abstain from further launches using ballistic missile technology or other actions which aggravate the situation on the Korean Peninsula,” said the statement.

“We are ready to consider, with others, taking measures responding to all activities of the DPRK that violate UN Security Council Resolutions, and calling for an appropriate response by the UN Security Council,” said the statement. The ministers urged the DPRK “to abstain from further launches using ballistic missile technology or other actions which aggravate the situation on the Korean Peninsula”.

China

China urged “calm and restraint” from all sides after Pyongyang’s failed rocket launch drew strong condemnation from the US, ROK and Japan. “We hope all relevant parties can maintain calm and restraint, and refrain from acts that would harm peace and stability on the peninsula and in the region,” foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said in a statement. He also called on all sides to maintain “contact and dialogue” in the brief statement.

Japan

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura also condemned DPRK’s satellite launch, said AFP. “Even if it was a failure, it is a grave provocation to our country and other countries concerned and violates UN Security Council resolutions,” he said. According to a Reuters report, Japan may consider economic sanctions against the DPRK, depending on the response of the international community, Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi said. “It’s become clear that they launched a flying object so I’ll consider, if necessary, how to respond to it while taking into account movements in the international community,” he said, when asked about whether Japan will seek new economic sanctions against the DPRK.

Tokyo, which was prepared to shoot down any rocket flying over its territory, also confirmed a launch from North Korea.  “We have confirmed that a certain flying object has been launched and fell after flying for just over a minute,” Japan’s Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka said. He said there was no impact on Japanese territory.

Germany

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, who was at the United Nations, said the launch “will increase tensions on the Korean Peninsula”, and the Security Council “must give a strong answer”, AFP reported.

Russia

The DPRK’s launch of a rocket contradicted a Security Council resolution restricting the use of ballistic technology – the Interfax news agency cited an unidentified Russian foreign ministry official as saying. “UN Security Council resolutions voice unambiguous calls not to conduct such launches.  This approach is shared by the participants in the six-party negotiations,” Interfax cited Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying.

The United Nations Response

Reuters reported that the U.N. Security Council will convene on Friday to discuss a response to the launch, according to council diplomats.  ”The North Korea rocket launch is a clear provocation and a violation of U.N. Security Council Resolutions which prohibit this activity,” Kap-soo Rim, First Secretary of the Republic of Korea Mission to the U.N., told CBS News. “The Security Council should act decisively, and strongly,” Rim said, “the Ambassador is waiting for instructions from Seoul.”  CBS News foreign affairs analyst Pamela Falk said that the launch “is unlikely to provoke more than a statement of alarm from the U.N. in the short term, and perhaps more extensive sanctions in the long term, particularly since the launch failed.”

China’s Reply to Japan’s Reaction

Chinese Foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said: “China stresses that the maintenance of peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and in northeastern Asia is a common responsibility of, and in the interests of, all sides.”  China had expressed concern after the Communist regime announced its plan to launch the satellite.  ”We have kept close communications with the DPRK, Russia, the United States, the Republic of Korea and Japan for a while,” Liu told a press conference. “Under the current circumstances, we will continue to coordinate with all sides in an effort to jointly maintain regional peace and stability,” he added.

While expressing concern ahead of the launch, China has also said Japan for one was using the launch as the pretext to reinvent its armed forces as more proactive rather than defensive one.  “Japan hopes to use the DPRK’s satellite launch to examine its missile defense capabilities under simulated conditions. But its high-profile response to the launch – deploying seven ground-based Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles on Okinawa, Ishigaki and other areas and stationing three destroyers with Aegis combat systems and Standard Missile-3 interceptors in the Sea of Japan and in waters around Okinawa – underscores the transition of its exclusively defense-oriented policy to a proactive policy aimed at containing China and reinforcing its hold on islands it seized from China,” the government-controlled China Daily newspaper said on Friday, 13th April, 2012.

India’s Reaction

India noted this attempted rocket launch by North Korea with concern.  Noting with serious concern the attempted rocket launch by Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), India asked that country not to undertake action which is in violation of international law.  New Delhi also said that such attempts by DPRK adversely impacts peace and stability in the Korean peninsula.

“India notes with serious concern the attempted launch of a rocket by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) which violates United Nations Security Council Resolution 1874 and adversely impacts peace and stability in the Korean peninsula.  “India calls on DPRK not to undertake actions in violation of UNSC Resolutions,” an official spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs said.

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The H1N1 Flu and its Worldwide Impact

Thursday, April 12th, 2012

K. Bharath Kumar, M.S.(USA)

Swine influenza (H1N1)

Swine influenza (also called swine flu, or pig flu) is an infection by any one of several types of swine influenza virus. Swine influenza virus (SIV) is any strain of the influenza family of viruses that is endemic in pigs. As of 2009, the known SIV strains include influenza C and the subtypes of influenza A known as H1N1, H1N2, H3N1, H3N2, and H2N3.

Swine influenza virus is common throughout pig populations worldwide. Transmission of the virus from pigs to humans is not common and does not always lead to human influenza, often resulting only in the production of antibodies in the blood. If transmission does cause human influenza, it is called ‘zoonotic swine flu’. People with regular exposure to pigs are at increased risk of swine flu infection.  Pigs experimentally infected with the strain of swine flu that is causing the current human pandemic showed clinical signs of flu within four days, and the virus spread to other uninfected pigs housed with the infected ones. Symptoms of zoonotic swine flu in humans are similar to those of influenza and of influenza-like illness in general, namely chills, fever, sore throat, muscle pains, severe headache, coughing, weakness, and general discomfort. The recommended time of isolation is about five days.

The pandemic virus is a type of swine influenza, derived originally from a strain which lived in pigs, and this origin gave rise to the common name of “swine flu”. This term is widely used by mass media. The virus has been found in American hogs and Canadian as well as in hogs in Northern Ireland, Argentina, and Norway. Leading health agencies and the United States Secretary of Agriculture have stressed that eating properly cooked pork or other food products derived from pigs will not cause flu. Nevertheless, on 27 April, Azerbaijan imposed a ban on the importation of animal husbandry products from America. The Indonesian government also halted the importation of pigs and initiated the examination of 9 million pigs in Indonesia. The Egyptian government ordered the slaughter of all pigs in Egypt on 29 April 2009.

History

In June 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the new strain of swine-origin H1N1 as a pandemic, moving the alert level to ‘Phase 6’, marking the first global pandemic since the 1968 Hong Kong flu.

On October 25, 2009 U.S. President, Barack Obama officially declared H1N1 a national emergency. This novel virus spread worldwide and had caused about 17,000 deaths by the start of 2010. On August 10, 2010, the World Health Organization declared the H1N1 influenza pandemic as officially ‘over’, saying that the worldwide flu activity had returned to typical seasonal patterns.

As of 26 April 2011, an H1N1 pandemic preparedness alert has been issued by the WHO for the Americas.  The affected areas have included the Chihuahua region of Mexico where its severity and work load have been high.  As of May 30, 2010 worldwide update by WHO stated that more than 214 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including over 18,138 deaths.

The virus was first reported in two U.S. children in March 2009, but health officials have reported that it apparently infected people as early as January 2009 in Mexico. The outbreak was first detected in Mexico City on 18 March 2009; immediately after the outbreak was officially announced, Mexico notified the U.S. and World Health Organization, and within days of the outbreak Mexico City was “effectively shut down”.  The new strain was first identified by the Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), USA, in two children, neither of whom had been in contact with pigs.

2009 Flu Pandemic Data

Area

Confirmed
deaths
Worldwide (total)

14,286

European Union and EFTA

2,290

Other European countries and Central Asia

457

Mediterranean and Middle East

1,450

Africa

116

North America

3,642

Central America and Caribbean

237

South America

3,190

Northeast Asia and South Asia

2,294

Southeast Asia

393

Australia and Pacific

217

Source: ECDC  – January 18, 2010 (ECDC stands for European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control)

H1N1 Transmission

Spread of the H1N1 virus is thought to occur in the same way that seasonal flu spreads. Flu viruses are spread mainly from person to person through coughing or sneezing by people with influenza. Sometimes people may become infected by touching something – such as a surface or object – with flu viruses on it and then touching their face.  The basic reproduction number (the average number of other individuals whom each infected individual will infect, in a population which has no immunity to the disease) for the 2009 novel H1N1 is estimated to be 1.75. A December 2009 study found that the transmissibility of the H1N1 influenza virus in households is lower than that seen in past pandemics. Most transmissions occur soon before or after the onset of symptoms.  The H1N1 virus has been transmitted to animals, including swine, turkeys, ferrets, household cats, at least one dog and a cheetah.  Thermal imaging can detect elevated body temperature, one of the signs of swine flu.

Public Areas (Airports): On 7 May 2009, the WHO stated that containment was not feasible and that countries should focus on mitigating the effect of the virus. They did not recommend closing borders or restricting travel. U.S. airlines had made no major changes as of the beginning of June 2009, but continued standing practices which include looking for passengers with symptoms of flu, measles or other infections, and relying on in-flight air filters to ensure that aircraft were sanitized. Masks were not generally provided by airlines and the CDC did not recommend that airline crews wear them. Some non-U.S. airlines, mostly Asian, including Singapore Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Mexicana Airlines, took measures such as stepping up cabin cleaning, installing state-of-the-art air filters and allowing in-flight staff to wear face masks.

Schools: U.S. government officials have been especially concerned about schools as the H1N1 flu virus appears to disproportionately affect young and school-age people, between six months and 24 years of age. The H1N1 outbreak led to numerous precautionary school closures in some areas. Rather than closing schools, the CDC recommended that students and school workers with flu symptoms should stay home for either seven days total, or until 24 hours after symptoms subsided, whichever was longer. The CDC also recommended that colleges should consider suspending fall 2009 classes if the virus began to cause severe illness in a significantly larger share of students than the previous spring.  In California, school districts and universities were on alert and working with health officials to launch education campaigns. As of 28 October 2009, about 600 schools in the United States had been temporarily closed, affecting over 126,000 students in 19 states.

Prevention

The H1N1 vaccine was initially in short supply and in the U.S., the CDC recommended that initial doses should go to priority groups such as pregnant women, people who live with or care for babies under six months old, children six months to four years old and health-care workers. In the UK, the NHS recommended vaccine priority go to people over six months old who were clinically at risk for seasonal flu, pregnant women and households of people with compromised immunity. Although it was initially thought that two injections would be required, clinical trials showed that the new vaccine protected adults “with only one dose instead of two”, and so the limited vaccine supplies would go twice as far as had been predicted.

Health officials worldwide were also concerned because the virus was new and could easily mutate and become more virulent, even though most flu symptoms were mild and lasted only a few days without treatment. Officials also urged communities, businesses and individuals to make contingency plans for possible school closures, multiple employee absences for illness, surges of patients in hospitals and other effects of potentially widespread outbreaks. In February 2010, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted for “universal” flu vaccination in the U.S. to include all people over six months of age. The 2010–2011 vaccine will protect against the 2009 H1N1 pandemic virus and two other flu viruses.

Treatment and Drug Resistance: As of December 2010, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported 314 samples of the 2009 pandemic H1N1 flu tested worldwide have shown resistance to oseltamivir (Tamiflu). This is not totally unexpected as 99.6% of the seasonal H1N1 flu strains tested have developed resistance to oseltamivir. No circulating flu has yet shown any resistance to zanamivir (Relenza), the other available anti-viral.

A Wisconsin study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in September 2010, reported that findings showed that the 2009 H1N1 flu was no more severe than the seasonal flu. “The risk of most serious complications was not elevated in adults or children”, the study’s authors wrote.  Children infected in the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic were no more likely to be hospitalized with complications or get pneumonia than those who catch seasonal strains.

CDC illness and death estimates from April 2009 to April 2010 are as follows:

  • CDC estimates that between 43 million and 89 million cases of 2009 H1N1 occurred between April 2009 and 10 April 2010. The mid-level in this range is about 61 million people infected with 2009 H1N1.
  • CDC estimates that between about 195,000 and 403,000 H1N1-related hospitalizations occurred between April 2009 and 10 April 2010. The mid-level in this range is about 274,000 2009 H1N1-related hospitalizations.
  • CDC estimates that between about 8,870 and 18,300 2009 H1N1-related deaths occurred between April 2009 and 10 April 2010. The mid-level in this range is about 12,470 2009 H1N1-related deaths.

H1N1 in India

With around 400 people getting infected from the disease (as on April 10, 2012), India is looking at another pandemic like the one that hit way back in 2009. At that time the country was unprepared but now the situation was expected to be under control. After six months of absence, Swine Flu was first reported in Maharashtra in the month of March 2012. Four people had died in just 15 days.  In less than a month, Maharashtra is back again with the highest number of patients suffering from the H1N1 virus with 130 reported cases.  Around three more have died since the March impact.

In 2009, it was Pune which had become like a breeding ground for the killer virus. In 2012, this city alone has recorded 125 infected people with four succumbing to the virus. Andhra Pradesh has reported around 100 people getting affected and 10 deaths. Karnataka reported two deaths while Rajasthan, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu (at least 29 infected) reporting 1 death each. In just 15 days Madhya Pradesh has reported three deaths.  H1N1 claimed another life in Bangalore on April10, 2012, taking this year’s toll from the disease to six in the city.

In New Delhi, the national capital, at least six cases of Swine Flu has been reported.  In 2012, three cases were registered in January, two in February and one in March.  Swine Flu killed 81 people in Delhi in 2009 and 56 in 2010.  In 2011, only two deaths were reported from Delhi. Swine flu cases have been reported from at least 10 states in 2012. Across the country, the disease claimed more than 2,700 lives from May to December, 2011.

Health ministry figures pegs the numbers of people affected by the virus at above 46,000 from May to December 2011. Doctors contend that there is nothing to worry now because a majority of the population has developed antibodies to fight the virus. They warn that only the high-risk patients, i.e., elderly, people with diabetes, kidney problems, cancer patients and pregnant women are the ones at risk.  Occasional cases in H1N1 infection are likely to occur along with seasonal changes, said Avdesh Kumar, assistant director general, Union ministry of health and family welfare. A team of experts from New Delhi, headed by Kumar, are in Pune to study the pattern of swine flu virus infection currently prevailing in the city and surrounding areas.  Compared to the swine flu pandemic scenario in 2009, the virus is not as active now and there is no significant mutation, he added.  Among the team’s members were the chief medical officer and the consultant epidemiologist of the Integrated Disease Surveillance Program.

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TNPSC dispenses with manual applications, adopts online mode

Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012

Candidates will have to register once and obtain unique identity

The Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) on 2.04.2012 dispensed with the system of manual applications and embarked on an online mode where candidates will have to register once and obtain unique identity.

The initiative aimed at easing the burden on candidates by simplifying application processes came into effect immediately after the commission’s re-designed website was launched.

Briefing journalists, TNPSC Chairman R. Nataraj said that candidates seeking employment through the commission would now have to visit ‘www.tnpsc.gov.in’ or ‘www.tnpscexams.net’ and register online by attaching their recent photograph and signature in digital format. They should pay Rs.50 at the time of registration valid for five years. No application fee would be charged during the period.

“The candidate need not enclose any certificate while registering though he/she has to enter the reference number, name of the qualifying certificate, issuing authority etc. On completion of the registration process, the system will generate unique identity/password and send it via email/SMS to the candidate. Candidates will have the option to edit/update their particulars except certain critical fields.”

Mr. Nataraj said that candidates should mention the unique identity in all applications sent to the commission. Facilitation centres would come up at 500 locations, at least two in each taluk, across the State to enable candidates register. District Collectors were empowered to open new counters based on the demand.

“The facilitation centres to be established on a permanent basis in about a week’s time will be equipped with computers, internet connectivity, scanners etc to assist the candidates to register and apply to various recruitments online. All the 285 Post Offices where TNPSC applications were hitherto available and about 200 branches of Indian Bank will have facilitation centres located on their premises,” he said.

Besides the designated post offices and all branches of Indian Bank in the State, the one-time registration/examination fee can be paid through net banking, credit card and debit card, Mr. Nataraj said. Candidates need not pay any fee at the facilitation centres.

Redesigned Website

Explaining how the official website that was revamped and developed into a knowledge portal, TNPSC Secretary T. Udayachandran said the history and heritage page provided information on events of historical significance with rare photographs.

He said two reputed software firms were involved in the development of TNPSC systems that included the process of evaluation and data management.

“There will be a record for every manual entry and the changes made therein. The security parameters would be judged and periodically certified through the Information Security and Management Systems (ISMS) audit.”

Mr. Udhayachandran said candidates registering online would receive acknowledgement by email or SMS within 10 seconds.

Online registration would be mandatory for all posts called for from mid-April,2012.

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