A day after being unceremoniously transferred from the BMC chief's office, senior bureaucrat Praveen Pardeshi proceeded on a 14-day leave, instead of taking charge of the Urban Development Department at Mantralaya.

Sources said he applied for leave because his father is unwell and his wife is self-isolating herself, after having returned from London, where she works with an international organisation. Apart from the Urban Development Department, Pardeshi has also been asked to head the water resources department.

According to sources, the celebrated disaster management expert is also upset with the turn of events. He had been in the run for the Chief Secretary's post.

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

It seems that there is rampant poaching of pangolins taking place during the lockdown in the Konkan belt, and their scales are being illegally sold in the local black market. During the raids, the forest department recovered two kilograms of pangolin scales and six nails. The pangolin is one of the most trafficked wild animals across the world as there is a huge international demand for its scales.

Range Forest Officer (RFO), Vaibhav Borate, said, "Based on the tip-off received from our sources, our forest department team raided the house of Kalpesh Tukaram Balgude at Karanjali [Balgudewadi] village near Dapoli. During the search operation of the house, our team recovered one tortoise shell, one jungle hare, and 22 kg of pangolin scales and nails. We have taken the accused into custody and investigation is on."

As evidence related to wildlife trade have been found from the house of the accused, the forest department is exploring the possibility of him doing this regularly. The forest department team has registered an offence under various sections of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

According to the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) website, "Major threats to pangolins in India are hunting and poaching for local consumptive use and international trade. Another reason for hunting pangolin is its meat. There is now greater evidence of its inclusion in illicit international trade, in particular its scales, from India through Myanmar to China and South-East Asian countries as the most likely, final destinations. Inadequate information on population and distribution further accentuates the threats arising from hunting and poaching."

The Indian Pangolin is found sporadically throughout the plains and lower slopes of hills from south of the Himalayas to Kanyakumari, except the north-eastern region. The Chinese Pangolin is found in India in Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Assam, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram and the northern part of West Bengal.

Why Pangolins?

Pangolins are the most trafficked mammal in the world, for their scales [made of keratin], which are boiled off their bodies for use in traditional medicine. Their meat is a delicacy in Vietnam and China; and their blood, which is considered to be a healing tonic.

Pangolin could help find cure for COVID-19?

Soon after the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, there were many media reports that claimed that the endangered pangolin was linked to the initial outbreak of the disease in China. However, this hasn't been proven yet. Now, a research conducted by the Medical University of Vienna in Austria, has revealed that certain genes sense when a virus enters the body, and trigger an immune response in most mammals. They found that pangolins, which have been called the 'missing link' between bats and humans, lack two of those virus-sensing genes. This means that not only are the endangered animals carriers, but they also seem to be immune to it, via an unknown mechanism. This evolutionary advantage and its understanding may give way to possible treatment options for COVID-19.

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

An elderly lady walked into my consultation room with two girlfriends, chewing gum. Her Gucci shades were stationed over her salt-and-pepper hair and she wore a black dress. Her wrists and ankles were crowded with beaded trinkets.

"Hi!" she said, greeting me with a firm handshake and a brief introduction as I jotted her name. "And your age?"

"Twenty-six!" she blurted, followed by a big smile because it made me look up and stare at her intently.

"Okay, just reverse that," she reconciled before I could say anything. "Any diabetes, blood pressure?" I proceeded, smiling through the usual questions, still wondering in my head her fancy for playing the fool with me about her age.

"Any heart issues?"

"I keep falling in love, doctor!" she said bluntly, as two ladies accompanying her rolled their eyes, gesticulating for her to behave. I shook my head at them, hinting that they let her comfortably continue.

Some patients like to bring on a keen familiarity early on in their meetings with physicians or surgeons. Some may be suffering from a grim diagnosis and might want to appear like they are perfectly fine with it. Others might come with the idea that "since this is someone whose knife I'm going to go under, we might as well be friends first'" For some, it might simply be their personality or disposition. As surgeons, we refrain from judging atypical behaviour unless it helps with the diagnosis.
"What brings you to me?"

"I have this shooting pain in my right jaw. It's like an electric shock that sometimes goes into my cheek as well. I can't brush, eat, swallow or chew," she continued, wincing as she opened her mouth to remove the gum she was chewing with difficulty, wrapping it tidily in a tissue paper. Thinking it was tooth pain, she had visited the dentist but had eventually been told to see a neurosurgeon. The medication she had been prescribed was no longer helping and she had been living with the pain for close to two years. "Sometimes, I feel like jumping off the Bandra-Worli Sea Link."

I told her friends to ensure that she didn't take that route on her commute for now.

She was pretty well-informed and knew enough about her condition, trigeminal neuralgia. It occurs when a blood vessel in the brain presses on the trigeminal nerve that supplies sensation to the face. The pain can sometimes be so severe that it pushes patients towards contemplating suicide. Some women patients have told me that it's infinitely worse than the pain of labour without an epidural. Owing to the location of the pain, most patients visit a dentist first, and when a root canal doesn't help, they are referred to a neurologist.

"Having a drink at night makes the pain a little better," she confessed.

"In the good, old days, they used to inject alcohol directly into the nerve to numb it," I said. She thought I was joking but it's a fact.

The current options were to inject glycerol or ablate the root of the nerve with some radiofrequency current. The drawback —the pain would be replaced by semi-numbness since it's a destructive procedure. Or, we could use the Gamma Knife, where a single dose of focused radiation could do the trick. And finally, there was surgery—a little more invasive, but offering the best chance of cure and the least chance of recurrence. I explained that we'd make a small hole in the skull behind the ear and place a pad of Teflon between the vessel and the nerve so that direct contact between the two was eliminated.

After understanding her options, she opted for surgery. "You just want to go back to drinking without pain," I said in jest.

At surgery, under the magnificence of the microscope, we could see the offending vessel deeply grooving her nerve. When it was lifted gently after meticulously dissecting tiny strands connecting the two, I could see how pale and beat up the nerve looked. I teased the strands of the padding material Teflon and interposed them in the right place, transposing the vessel away to avoid any contact. As we were closing, I told my surgical assistant that this was one of the most gratifying neurosurgical procedures he would ever do. The charming lady woke up completely pain free, and over the next few days, we managed to get her off all painkillers.

Two days after discharge, she sent me this text message: "For the first time in several years, I could brush my teeth and eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner without any pain. What's still better is that I could have the single malt, pain-free!"

"You are now permitted to use the Sea Link," I replied.

The writer is practicing neurosurgeon at Wockhardt Hospitals and Honorary Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at Grant Medical College and Sir JJ Group of Hospitals. You can reach him at mazdaturel@gmail.com

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

Five Air India pilots, who had undertaken cargo flights to China, have tested positive for coronavirus during the pre-flight COVID-19 test. Sources in the national carrier told ANI that all five pilots are currently asymptomatic and are based in Mumbai.

The pre-flight COVID-19 test is carried out 72 hours before the pilots are rostered for flight duties.

"All of them are asymptomatic and based in Mumbai. They had undertaken cargo flights to Guangzhou, China," sources said.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Panic gripped Kural village in Orissa's Nayagarh district after four persons died due from suspected chikungunya in the past four days, a health official told Sunday.

With nearly 30,000 people in south and central districts of Kerala hospitalised with chikungunya fever, an infection spread by the Aedes mosquito, the

About 94,000 people in Kerala have been affected by fever in the last one week while about 7,000 patients have been identified with mosquito-borne chikungunya

Kerala's status of having one of the best healthcare systems in India has received a severe blow in the past one year due to the outbreak of chikungunya viral fever in the state.

The Kerala Government has sanctioned funds for districts affected by the crippling Chikungunya fever in a bid to curtail the deadly virus. Chief

The Maharashtra health department Thursday said 22 cases of Chikungunya disease were confirmed in Kolhapur district of the sate. "Of the 20 villages

New Delhi, Health Minister A. Ramadoss Thursday said that all villages affected by chikungunya fever would get Rs.10,000 to prevent mosquito breeding

Nearly half the central government funds allocated to fight chikungunya last year remained unused - mostly in southern states that, ironically, were struggling

As Kerala staggers under the whipping rod of Chikungunya, the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) government has been cornered over its quest for a 'politically correct' low-cost health cover plan.

Chikungunya, a form of viral fever spread by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, has returned to Kolkata after 44 years with at least three people here testing positive for the virus that causes the disease.

Scores of people suffering with the crippling fever, Chikungunya, have been reported from West Bengal's North 24 Pargana District. Twenty-one of the

Italy's health authorities said Wednesday they had recorded more than 160 cases of the mosquito-borne chikungunya virus, in what one expert said could be the first outbreak outside the tropics.

An unnamed chikungunya-infected tourist from south India is responsible for the spread of the tropical disease in a small north Italian town, according

The first animal model of the chikungunya virus (CHIKV), linked with large-scale epidemics that spread to Italy and India in 2007 has been developed by Researchers at the Institut Pasteur and INSERM.

An Asian breed of mosquito capable of carrying the risk of a potentially fatal disease that can be passed from one person to another is poised to invade Britain.

An experimental vaccine provided 100 percent protection against the mosquito-borne chikungunya virus in primates and mice, offering hope it will work for humans too, according to a study.

Scientists claim that delayed appearance of IgG3 antibodies (a naturally-acquired antibody) serves as a specific biomarker that increases the risk of the more severe form of Chikungunya.

According to a new Cornell University computer model, global travel and climate warming could be creating the right conditions for outbreaks of a new virus in this country.

A new method of vaccine creation for Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) using a technique called large scale random codon re-encoding was developed by researchers.

Mass slaughter of poultry was done at a market by the authorities in Shanghai after the H7N9 bird flu virus claimed the lives of five people. The

For the first time chikungunya, the mosquito-borne disease has spread in the western hemisphere confirms the World Health Organisation (WHO) Tuesday,

Peru reported its first cases of the chikungunya virus in two people who recently traveled to the Dominican Republic. Health ministry director Henry

Nearly 200 confirmed cases of the chikungunya virus in Puerto Rico and the first two cases of the mosquito-borne disease in Florida have been reported, say health authorities.

Chikungunya is mosquito-borne viral disease that causes fever, headache, severe joint pain and rash on the body. A study published in the iNew England

The National Health Institute has reported that 25 people have succumbed to chikungunya virus in Colombia, South America, in less than a year. Since

A new assay developed in the United States helps to detect the virus that causes chikungunya (CHIKV) within an hour. This is expected to cut down the

The first case of the mosquito-borne viral disease chikungunya has been detected in Spain. A 60-year-old man in the eastern province of Valencia,

Chikungunya and Dengue fever have been the two most distressing disease outbreaks for the past two months in Delhi NCR. By now every must be aware

Homeopathy treatment may offer a promising relief to the mosquito-borne viral disease,chikungunya. Its a form of viral fever caused by an Alpha virus

Delhi has recorded another 3,829 cases of dengue and 502 cases of chikungunya so far this year said the civic agencies on Monday. While the national

Chikungunya causes chronic joint pain after infection. However, the virus that was thought to be present in the synovial fluid of the joints was not detected

A molecule that exhibits antiviral activity against the chikungunya virus, raising hopes of finding a new way to combat the mosquito-borne viral disease,

High-resolution pictures or atomic-level detail of chikungunya virus interacting with a protein found on the cell surface in the joints was snapped by

''Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months,'' said Oscar Wilde. Th

In the beginning was the Word The Word was with God The Word was God. - from The Bible The power of words-wri

In a developing country like India, where majority of the population resides in the rural areas, it is essential that h

Wearing high heeled shoes make you look fashionable with a stylish walk and oodles of oomph. Stilettos can give your l

It can be seen as part of human nature that over a period of time, people become bored with routine activities, such as eating, drinking and repetitive...

Ice creams are one of the most preferred deserts as well as one of the most widely consumed dairy products. There are different types of ice creams with different types of flavors available in the market. Though in most of the cases ice...

Publicity galloped, feel sharp cold air from ear roared and had, Blaster beyond, listening noisy glitz from inside waved bulk far to, in a a people of dynamic world in the, understanding new of life,...

In the range of commercial coffee machines, Espresso is a name which is worth to rely. This Italian flavor rules the heart of the coffee lovers’ right from its origin. Considering its charm throughout the world, Espresso comes...

The word cake is of Viking origin “kaka”. The differentiation between breads and cake has been difficult.

The Greeks used to make cheesecakes with goat’s milk.

In Rome...

The society has drastically changed from what it was several decades back, and so has the outlook of people towards women....

Home lighting decoration becoming a part of modern living environment has drawn increasing attention. Home lighting can render a good home environment and outstanding design features for our lives to create a warm ambience. It is easy when...

For most of us, life is completely hectic with the families, jobs and homes, taking most of our time and leaving us with no time to relax. That leaves the little time to enjoy the outdoors or look for peaceful natural surroundings for...

A lot of parents think it is alright to give their children smartphones, however, these devices can leave them...