30 September 2026
A paper in Nature by Lövestam and colleagues, published on 30 September 2026, tested whether tau protein spreads like a prion.
Prions are shape-shifting proteins that act as templates, forcing normal functional proteins into a misfolded, aggregation-prone form.
Injecting human tau fibrils into mice caused mouse tau to take on the form of the injected structures.
The result bolsters the theory that tau, a feature of neurodegenerative disorders, propagates like prions.
Other proteins linked to neurodegenerative disease, such as amyloid-beta and alpha-synuclein, are also thought to spread in a prion-like way.
Journal:
Nature
Published:
30 September 2026
Animal model:
Mice
Why it matters for exams: Prions and protein misfolding in neurodegenerative disease are standard biology and health topics.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Prion Infectious misfolded protein — A protein that templates normal copies of itself into a misfolded form.
30 September 2026
The World Health Organization says deaths wholly attributable to heavy drinking in Latvia decreased by 27 per cent after new restrictions took effect. The measures reduce the times when alcohol can be bought, end instant deliveries on online purchases, and restrict promotions and sales in gambling venues. Mortality from alcohol poisoning, liver disease and acute pancreatitis fell significantly. WHO says alcohol use is responsible for approximately 800,000 deaths across Europe every year. Karina Zalite heads WHO's Country Office in Latvia.
Fall in deaths wholly attributable to heavy drinking:
27 per cent
Alcohol-related deaths across Europe each year:
approximately 800,000
Why it matters for exams: Public health policy evidence and WHO's alcohol work feature in health and governance questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
WHO World Health Organization — The UN specialised agency for international public health.
30 September 2026
UNICEF says children go to bed hungry in at least one in five households in Lebanon, and four in five households struggle to afford basic necessities. Its report An Enduring Nightmare says about 770,000 children have experienced psychological distress over the past six months. Since 2 March 2026 at least 261 children have been killed and 1,056 injured. A total of 436 schools have been damaged or destroyed. A Lebanon-Israel ceasefire agreement was reached on 17 April, but airstrikes and demolitions continue.
Children killed since 2 March 2026:
at least 261
Schools damaged or destroyed:
436
Children with psychological distress:
about 770,000
Why it matters for exams: Child welfare, conflict impact reporting and UNICEF's role are recurring exam themes.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
UNICEF United Nations Children's Fund — The UN agency that works for children's rights, health, nutrition and education.
OCHA UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs — The UN body that coordinates emergency humanitarian response.
30 September 2026
Justice Viju Abraham of the Kerala High Court ruled on 30 September 2026 that the one-year senior residency obligation of postgraduate doctors from government medical colleges starts from the date of publication of the result.
The period counts whether or not a posting is granted soon after.
The State had about 600 senior resident vacancies for roughly 1,000 postgraduates, as the 2021 and 2022 batches finished together.
The court called doctors sitting idle without service 'a national waste'.
The government must either create additional posts or release the petitioners from the bond within one month.
Bond period:
One year
Senior resident vacancies:
About 600
Postgraduates eligible:
About 1,000
Time given to State:
One month
Why it matters for exams: Tests knowledge of compulsory service bonds, writ jurisdiction of the High Court and Kerala's health manpower planning.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Senior residency Senior Residency — A period of service in a government hospital that postgraduate doctors complete after their course.
Writ petition WP(C) — A petition to the High Court under Article 226 seeking enforcement of a legal right.
30 September 2026
WHO published the Report of the Regional Director on the work of WHO in the Western Pacific Region on 30 September 2026.
It covers the period 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026 and carries the reference WPR/RC77/2.
The region serves more than 2.2 billion people.
It supports the regional vision Weaving Health for Families, Communities and Societies in the Western Pacific Region (2025-2029).
The report highlights strengthened primary health care, community and health system resilience, and progress toward universal health coverage.
Population served:
More than 2.2 billion
Reporting period:
1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026
Reference:
WPR/RC77/2
Why it matters for exams: WHO's regional structure and universal health coverage are standard questions on international organisations and health.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
UHC Universal health coverage — It means everyone can get needed health services without financial hardship.
Primary health care Primary health care — It is first-contact, community-based care close to where people live.
30 September 2026
A study by the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), formally released on 23 September 2026 at the 11th Ayurveda Day in Nagpur and publicised by the Ministry of AYUSH on 30 September 2026, estimates the AYUSH service sector at US$ 36.92 billion in FY 2024-25.
The sector has grown at 16.91% CAGR since FY 2022-23 and supports 1.76 million livelihoods.
Medical value travel brings in US$ 1.77 billion.
Ayurveda is the largest single system at US$ 17.73 billion, about 48% of the total.
Women make up 43% of the workforce overall.
The survey covered 15,914 institutions across all six AYUSH systems.
The sector could reach US$ 216-318 billion by 2047.
Sector size, FY 2024-25:
US$ 36.92 billion
Growth since FY 2022-23:
16.91% CAGR
Livelihoods supported:
1.76 million
Institutions surveyed:
15,914
Why it matters for exams: Sector-size figures from national studies and the role of AYUSH in the economy are asked in economy and health papers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
30 September 2026
On 30 September 2026 WHO published the 120-page manual 'Prevention and management of heat-related illness at mass gatherings: considerations for implementation'. It treats extreme heat as a growing health, safety and operational risk for large public events. It sets out three health risk management phases: preparation, impact mitigation and recovery. A separate Risk Assessment Tool spreadsheet accompanies the manual. It applies where access to safe water, cooling, transport or medical care is limited.
Manual length:
120 pages
Risk management phases:
3
Why it matters for exams: Climate-linked health risks and WHO guidance are frequent in health and environment questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
30 September 2026
On 30 September 2026 the World Health Organization published 'Reducing alcohol-related harm: SAFER implementation handbook'. It gives practical guidance for countries, communities and institutions that want to put WHO's SAFER initiative into practice. SAFER sits under the Global alcohol action plan 2022-2030. The handbook covers the five SAFER intervention areas and the connected strategies of Implement, Monitor and Protect.
Action plan period:
2022-2030
SAFER intervention areas:
5
Why it matters for exams: WHO programmes and action-plan periods are common in health and international organisation questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
Background
Kerala's Indian Systems of Medicine department functions under the Department of Ayush Kerala.
A director oversees it, with 14 District Medical Officers managing field administration in the districts.
Kerala is described as the first state in India to classify the traditional systems separately as Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, Yoga and Naturopathy.
The department's stated vision is comprehensive and cost-effective health care through Indian Systems of Medicine.
Idukki district alone has 67 institutions under it: 3 Ayurveda hospitals, 45 Government Ayurveda dispensaries, 5 Government Ayurveda tribal dispensaries, 10 NHM dispensaries, 3 NHM Siddha dispensaries and 1 Government Siddha dispensary.
District Medical Officers:
14
Idukki institutions under the department:
67
Government Ayurveda dispensaries in Idukki:
45
Why it matters for exams: Administrative structure of the Ayush department and Kerala's 'first state' claims are recurring Kerala PSC health-sector questions.
Kerala PSC
29 September 2026
A key transit centre for Ebola patients burned down in Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Tuesday evening, the UN reports.
It stood in the Kigonze camp, which had sheltered some 19,000 people fleeing violence and now lies abandoned.
Thousands fled Kigonze after reports that soldiers entered the site searching for weapons.
More than 3,000 people also fled the Rhoe displacement camp in Djugu territory after clashes intensified on 27 September.
Fighting in Masisi in North Kivu has displaced more than 24,000 people since mid-September.
A UN response official said losing a centre means losing capacity and investment, and that patients do not get the care they need.
Province:
Ituri
People sheltered at Kigonze:
some 19,000
Fled Rhoe camp:
more than 3,000
Displaced in Masisi since mid-September:
more than 24,000
Why it matters for exams: Disease outbreaks in conflict zones and humanitarian access are common themes in international and health current affairs.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Ebola Ebola virus disease — A severe, often fatal viral disease spread by contact with body fluids.
OCHA UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs — The UN body that coordinates emergency humanitarian response.
29 September 2026
A Bench of Justice Shekhar B Saraf and Justice Abdhesh Kumar Chaudhary dismissed a batch of connected petitions filed by hookah bar operators and restaurants.
The court held that Rule 4(3) of the Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places Rules, 2008, as amended in 2017, prohibits any service being provided in a designated smoking area, which bars the serving of hookah.
The rules are framed under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003, generally called COTPA.
The petitioners had argued their right to trade under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution.
The Bench said the right of a non-smoker to breathe clean air in a public place is a fundamental right that cannot be abridged by commercial interest, reading it with Article 21.
The effect of the ruling is that hookah bars cannot operate anywhere in Uttar Pradesh.
Rule applied:
Rule 4(3), Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places Rules, 2008 (as amended in 2017)
Parent Act:
Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003
Outcome:
All connected petitions dismissed
Why it matters for exams: COTPA and the 2008 smoking rules appear in health and polity questions, and the judgment is a clear example of a fundamental right being read against a trade right.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
COTPA Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003 — The central law regulating tobacco advertising, sale and smoking in public places in India.
29 September 2026
WHO's report on global trends in cholera, meningitis and plague covers 2025.
47 countries reported 451,499 cholera cases and 7,870 deaths to WHO, with deaths up 30 per cent on 2024.
Angola, Bangladesh, DRC, Nigeria, South Sudan, Sudan and Yemen accounted for about 90 per cent of cases and deaths.
Oral cholera vaccine production more than doubled from about 30 million doses in 2022 to about 80 million in 2025.
In the African meningitis belt of 26 countries, 24 reported 21,526 suspected cases and 971 deaths in 2025.
For 2019 to 2025, 10 countries reported suspected plague, with DRC and Madagascar reporting most cases.
Cholera deaths in 2025:
7,870
Cholera cases in 2025:
451,499
Countries reporting:
47
Meningitis belt countries:
26
Why it matters for exams: WHO disease surveillance figures and vaccine facts are regular questions in health and current-affairs papers.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
29 September 2026
Health, AYUSH and Devaswom Minister K. Muralidharan inaugurated the district-level 11th Ayurveda Day observance at Nanthancode Swaraj Bhavan. He said government Ayurveda hospitals will be raised to a better standard, like allopathy institutions, and the shortage of therapists will be addressed. He acknowledged that inpatient facilities are fewer in the government sector than in the private sector. Local Self-Government Minister K. M. Shaji inaugurated mega screening medical camps at the function.
Occasion:
11th Ayurveda Day, district-level inauguration
Venue:
Nanthancode Swaraj Bhavan
Why it matters for exams: Health-department announcements and AYUSH observances are common in Kerala PSC general-knowledge sections.
Kerala PSC
Background
Arogya Keralam is the Kerala unit of the National Health Mission, with its office at General Hospital Junction in Thiruvananthapuram.
Dr. Renu Raj IAS is the State Mission Director, and Dr. Sharmila Mary Joseph IAS is the Principal Secretary of the Health and Family Welfare Department.
The Health and Devaswom portfolio in the state is held by Minister K. Muraleedharan.
Programmes run through the mission include Aardram, Sampushta Keralam, the Family Health Centres and eSanjeevani, the teleconsultation service.
The mission also implements quality frameworks such as the National Quality Assurance Standards and the Mother and Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative.
It is this network of government health institutions that will deliver the free Troponin T test announced for Below Poverty Line families.
State Mission Director:
Dr. Renu Raj IAS
Teleconsultation service:
eSanjeevani
Office:
General Hospital Junction, Thiruvananthapuram
Why it matters for exams: Names the office-holders and programme names behind Kerala's public health delivery, which the current free-test announcement runs through.
Kerala PSC
29 September 2026
Kerala Health Minister K. Muraleedharan announced on 29 September 2026, World Heart Day, that the Troponin T test will be given free of cost to Below Poverty Line families from 1 October 2026.
The facility will be available at government health institutions ranging from primary health centres to district hospitals and general hospitals.
The Troponin T test helps detect heart-muscle injury and aids in diagnosing a suspected heart attack.
The minister said the test is particularly useful when ECG findings are inconclusive.
The stated purpose of the measure is to ensure that the cost of the test does not delay treatment.
Test:
Troponin T
Free from:
1 October 2026
Beneficiaries:
BPL families
Why it matters for exams: A new state health measure with a clear start date, beneficiary group and diagnostic test name.
Kerala PSCUPSC
29 September 2026
The Supreme Court on 29 September 2026 raised concern over steep markups on cancer medicines at private hospitals and described the practice as carnage.
The Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta suggested a uniform 16 per cent margin on all medicines.
The Bench asked the Centre to examine whether corporate hospitals require patients to buy medicines only from their own or designated pharmacies, and observed that such practices can impose a burden on patients and taxpayers, particularly when treatment is covered under government schemes.
It also questioned the pricing of non-scheduled medicines, which constitute a substantial share of the market, and said the issue would be examined thoroughly.
The petitions concern regulation of medicine prices, generic prescriptions and medical devices under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013.
The matter was posted for further hearing on 12 October.
Margin suggested:
16 per cent
Next hearing:
October 12
Why it matters for exams: Drug price control under the DPCO and the role of the NPPA are recurring health and governance questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
29 September 2026
Speaking on 29 September 2026, WHO said early access to care and reliable oxygen are decisive for the survival of Ebola patients in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The outbreak, declared in May 2026, is caused by Bundibugyo virus and has reached 8,067 confirmed cases and 3,901 deaths, a case fatality rate above 48 per cent.
It has spread to seven of the DRC's 26 provinces and 63 health zones, with Bunia, capital of Ituri province, as the epicentre.
Treatment capacity has been expanded to more than 1,600 beds across 50 treatment centres, with plans to exceed 2,000 beds.
Nearly 400 health workers have been trained, including through a training hub set up in Bunia.
20,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine, which is effective against Ebola Zaire, have been allocated for a research vaccination programme in Ituri; there is no approved vaccine against Ebola Bundibugyo.
Dr Janet Diaz of WHO's Health Emergencies Programme said oxygen remains unavailable or unreliable in many health facilities, especially in emergency settings.
Confirmed cases:
8,067
Deaths:
3,901
Case fatality rate:
over 48 per cent
Treatment beds:
more than 1,600 in 50 centres
Why it matters for exams: Ebola virus species, case fatality rates and the Ervebo vaccine are frequently tested health-in-news topics.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
Background
In 1988, the World Health Assembly adopted a resolution for the worldwide eradication of polio, marking the launch of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), a global public-private partnership. Cases due to wild poliovirus have decreased by over 99% since 1988, from an estimated 350 000 cases in more than 125 endemic countries, to two endemic countries. Endemic transmission of wild poliovirus is continuing in areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Polio is a highly infectious viral disease that invades the nervous system; it is transmitted mainly through the faecal-oral route and multiplies in the intestine. Polio mainly affects children under 5 years of age, one in 200 infections leads to irreversible paralysis, and among those paralysed 5–10% die when their breathing muscles become immobilized. There is no cure for polio, it can only be prevented, and two vaccines are available: oral polio vaccine and inactivated polio vaccine. The WHO Region of the Americas was certified polio-free in 1994, followed by the WHO Western Pacific Region in 2000 and the WHO European Region in June 2002; on 27 March 2014 the WHO South-East Asia Region was certified polio-free, a bloc of 11 countries stretching from Indonesia to India, and in 2020 Africa became the fifth region to be certified wild poliovirus-free. Eradication would make polio the second human disease eradicated globally, after smallpox in 1980.
Initiative launched:
1988, by a World Health Assembly resolution
Fall in cases:
over 99% since 1988, from an estimated 350 000 cases
Endemic countries:
areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan
Vaccines in use:
oral polio vaccine and inactivated polio vaccine
Only disease eradicated so far:
smallpox, in 1980
Why it matters for exams: Examiners ask which diseases have been eradicated, which regions are certified polio-free, which two countries still report endemic wild poliovirus and the difference between the oral and inactivated vaccines.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
Background
Governance of WHO takes place through the World Health Assembly, which is the supreme decision-making body, and the Executive Board, which gives effect to the decisions and policies of the Health Assembly. The World Health Assembly is attended by delegations from all WHO Member States and works on a health agenda prepared by the Executive Board. Its main functions are to determine the policies of the Organization, appoint the Director-General, supervise financial policies, and review and approve the proposed programme budget. The Executive Board is composed of 34 technically qualified members elected for three-year terms. The annual Board meeting is held in January/February, when the members agree upon the agenda for the World Health Assembly and the resolutions to be considered by it. The Director-General is appointed by the Health Assembly on the nomination of the Executive Board, and is the chief technical and administrative officer of the Organization. The Constitution of WHO was adopted by the International Health Conference held in New York 1946 and entered into force on 7 April 1948. Regional Committees meet separately for Africa, the Americas, the Eastern Mediterranean, Europe, South-East Asia and the Western Pacific.
Governing bodies:
World Health Assembly, the supreme decision-making body, and the Executive Board
Executive Board:
34 technically qualified members elected for three-year terms
Board meeting:
the annual Board meeting is held in January/February
Constitution adopted by:
International Health Conference held in New York 1946
Constitution entered into force:
7 April 1948
Regional Committees:
Africa, the Americas, the Eastern Mediterranean, Europe, South-East Asia, the Western Pacific
Why it matters for exams: The size and term of the Executive Board, and the fact that it nominates while the Health Assembly appoints the Director-General, are standard one-mark facts that are easy to confuse with the membership figures of other United Nations bodies.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
Background
Section 100 of the Patents Act, 1970 deals with the use of a patented invention for the purposes of government. Deciding a suo motu petition titled In Re Exorbitant Pricing of Life Saving Patented Medicines, the institution now interpreting that provision, the Kerala High Court, held that a notice under Section 100 also includes the entitlement of the government to use the patent or invention for manufacturing the medicine covered by the patent and sell the same to a person, including a needy patient, on a non-commercial basis. The court held that Section 100 is required to be invoked in circumstances where the government is required to intervene, such as an instance where the medicine manufactured on the basis of a patent is being sold at an exorbitant price. It also held that the government requires to collate the required data and arrive at a decision as to whether a particular medicine is affordable or not before proceeding under Section 100. Compulsory licensing is a separate route, provided for in Sections 84 and 92 of the same Act. The proceeding arose from the pricing of the patented breast cancer medicine Ribociclib. Justice Harisankar V. Menon delivered the verdict.
Provision for government use:
Section 100, Patents Act, 1970
Compulsory licensing provisions:
Sections 84 and 92
Case:
In Re Exorbitant Pricing of Life Saving Patented Medicines
Judge:
Justice Harisankar V. Menon
Why it matters for exams: Examiners test the difference between government use of a patent and compulsory licensing, and a High Court reading of Section 100 fixes which section does which.
Kerala PSCUPSC