MUMBAI: News broadcaster CNN’s chief medical correspondent and practicing neurosurgeon Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes a look at the world of medicine in Vital Signs.

This is a new monthly, half-hour programme on CNN International. From China to Peru and Jerusalem to Japan, Dr. Gupta travels the globe looking for important medical breakthroughs, secrets to aging well, and clues that might solve medical mysteries.

CNN International senior VP Katherine Green says, “We are excited about this new program and the wealth of knowledge that Dr. Gupta can bring to our viewers regarding the field of medicine and its significance around the world”.

The first episode which airs on 27 November at 7:30 pm with repeats on 29 November at 1:30 pm and on 30 November at 9:30 am, 2 pm and at 8 pm looks at tuberculosis, one of the world’s most easily transmittable diseases. Dr. Gupta reports from Lima, Peru, a place that has become a surprising success story in the fight against drug-resistant tuberculosis.

Tokyo correspondent Kyung Lah also reports from Okinawa on a very active aging population in their ‘90s and 100’s defying the physical odds of old age. While the 100–year old crowd is healthy, their children are dying younger and at the highest rate anywhere in Japan. Vital Signs goes to find out just why this is.

Gupta says, "I'm really looking forward to talking to our global viewers about some of the major global health issues that impact us all in our rapidly shrinking world -- as well as hearing from viewers about what concerns them most through our interactive Q&A opportunities via CNN.com and NNmobile".

Regular segments in the programme that feature Dr. Gupta include ‘Doc Talk’, where he shares the buzz in the medical community; ‘Medical Myth Busters’, where he identifies medical myths that some doctors believe to be true; and ‘On the Frontlines’, where he and a number of CNN contributors report from the field on a specific issue.