In today’s interconnected world, where information spreads like wildfire, a concerning incident unfolded in Bengaluru, highlighting the perils of misinformation. It all began when Hemant, a 29-year-old man from Vidyaranyapura, found himself at the center of a controversy for creating and uploading a misleading video. This video, which falsely portrayed an individual’s unusual behavior as the effect of a new ‘zombie drug,’ quickly gained traction on social media platforms, causing unnecessary panic and fueling baseless rumors. During questioning, Hemant admitted that on April 7, while returning from work, he noticed a man behaving strangely on the main Bagalur road. Assuming…

In 1987, at the height of the HIV pandemic, a wise doctor named Professor Robert Douglas peered into the future and saw a glaring problem. He wrote in the Medical Journal of Australia that our disease control efforts were a mess – “fragmented, inadequate, and poorly coordinated.” He yearned for a national game plan, a shared strategy between states and the federal government to tackle diseases head-on and lessen their impact. Fast forward almost four decades, through outbreaks of swine flu, mpox, and even our annual seasonal sniffles, experts and medical bodies consistently echoed his call: Australia needed a dedicated…