metro india news  I hyderabad

The Miss World 2025 contestants, who have been visiting various tourist destinations in Telangana, toured AIG Hospital here on Friday. The hospital is known for its specialised medical care across various disciplines.

While they had been introduced to India’s rich heritage and culture through visits to the historic Charminar, the Nizam-era Chowmahalla Palace, and the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Ramappa temple over the past few days, the contestants were briefed on advanced research in gastroenterology and other medical sciences at AIG Hospital.

The contestants also had a unique opportunity to pose for photographs alongside life-sized cutouts of themselves, which they signed. AIG Hospital Chairman Dr D Nageshwar Reddy, who recently received the Padma Vibhushan award, spoke to the contestants about developments in gastroenterology and the research initiatives undertaken by the hospital. He noted that AIG is working with a Nobel laureate in its gut microbiome lab.

A gut microbiome lab specialises in researching the diverse community of microorganisms—mainly bacteria—that reside in the human digestive tract. He also spoke about the stool bank—a specialised facility that collects, processes, and distributes stool for faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), a treatment for persistent or severe infections like Clostridium difficile—and about smart toilets that use chips to immediately analyse gut microbiomes.

"In the future, there will be no more antibiotics, no more drugs. Treatments will be a combination of a good diet, synthetic microbes, and capsules. This is the future," he said. Responding to the presentation, several Miss World contestants praised the hospital for “widening the horizons” with its insights into medical advancements. The delegate from Nigeria said such technological advancements would be immensely helpful if introduced in her country.

The contestants also visited child patients undergoing treatment at the hospital. Telangana Health Secretary Christina Z Chongthu spoke about the state’s healthcare infrastructure and noted that the average cost of quality healthcare in Telangana is nearly 50 per cent lower than in the US and the EU.

Hyderabad’s medical tourism sector has seen remarkable growth, with foreign patient inflows more than doubling over the past decade. From just over 75,000 foreign patients in 2014, Telangana attracted 1.55 lakh international medical tourists in 2024, according to a release from the organisers.

On the domestic front, nearly 8.82 crore patients from other Indian states sought medical care in Telangana last year alone. Strategic investments from both the government and private equity have transformed Telangana into a highly accessible and affordable healthcare destination, the release added.