Category Archives: healthcare

Humans of New York

Source: Humans of New York

“I’m graduating from Columbia with a Masters’ in Public Health. I want to stay in New York for another few years, but then I want to go back to Texas. My family is from a ‘drive-through’ town off Route 66. It’s tempting to stay here in New York because there are better opportunities. The Department of Health is very developed, and there’s so much funding from the government, and the services are so extensive. I feel like there’s so much I can learn here. But then I feel like I need to bring it back home. Texas is a big ole place. People are spread out. And so many of them don’t have access to the services they need.”

CDC analysis concludes Zika causes microcephaly | CIDRAP

Despite urgent pleas from top federal health officials for Congress to approve Obama’s $1.9 billion emergency request to battle Zika virus earlier this week, House Republicans said they’ll probably grant part of it, but perhaps not until September, the Associated Press reported today. Federal health officials have said the money is needed to help states boost mosquito surveillance and control, to assist efforts in Puerto Rico and other US territories where the disease is already spreading, and to follow through on countermeasure development.

Source: CDC analysis concludes Zika causes microcephaly | CIDRAP

Studies show Zika brain damage; feds express deep concern | CIDRAP – Pandemic politics = loss of life

On Apr 8, however, former Republican presidential candidate and Florida Senator Marco Rubio said he supported Obama’s $1.9 billion request to fight Zika virus, according to a Miami Herald report. He added, though, that he wanted to make sure the money was appropriately spent on the targeted goals, with funding prioritized for rapid diagnostic tests, state and local mosquito control, and vaccine development.

Source: Studies show Zika brain damage; feds express deep concern | CIDRAP

Attawapiskat: ‘This community needs help right now’ | Ottawa Citizen

“There is no single suicide that can occur in a community like that that doesn’t ripple through the entire community,” said Manion, who is director of the youth mental health research unit. Manion and others who study suicide say clusters such as the one that occurred over the weekend in Attawapiskat, where 11 people attempted suicide in a single day, can be contagious. That is, they can make other members of the community more vulnerable to attempting suicide themselves. On Monday, the situation took another grim turn, as police detained 13 young people after learning they had a suicide pact, according to Anna Betty Achneepineskum of Nishnawbe Aski Nation, the umbrella organization for northern Ontario reserves. Achneepineskum said the youth were sent to the local hospital to remain under watch. “It is very tense,” she said. There are no specialized mental health workers in the community of 2,000, according to the chief, where more than 100 people have tried to take their lives in the past seven months. One Attawapiskat family, whose 13-year-old niece died last fall after hanging herself, said they fly to Timmins once a month for counselling to help deal with her death and another suicide in the family.  “This community needs help right now,” said Attawapiskat resident Wayne Fireman, a father of young children who says he is worried for their future. Suicide clusters can become normalized without positive intervention, Manion said

Source: Attawapiskat: ‘This community needs help right now’ | Ottawa Citizen

Spices Of Life: Health Benefits Of Ginger. | Rebelle Society

Ginger has been found to prevent motion sickness, lower blood cholesterol, stimulate respiratory function, thin blood, reduce inflammation, raise low blood pressure and may help to prevent cancer. Additional actions of ginger may include helping to return the uterus to normal size after childbirth, treat rheumatism, relieve post-operative and chemotherapy-related nausea, and increase bile production to aid in digestion. Ginger is also believed to have topical analgesic properties when applied directly to the skin. The use of ginger in treating infectious and inflammatory illnesses, such as colds, flu, food poisoning and malaria, has been widely noted, and ginger root may be active against infectious agents such as E. coli, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Salmonella, Pseudomonas and Candida.

Source: Spices Of Life: Health Benefits Of Ginger. | Rebelle Society

Avian Flu Diary: UK PHE: Scarlet Fever Still Rising – And Tories still want to cut NHS – duh!?!

Public Health England (PHE) has reported a continued increase in cases of scarlet fever across England with 1319 new cases between 21 to 27 March, the highest weekly total recorded in recent decades (data available from 1982 onwards).  A total of 10,570 cases of scarlet fever have now been reported since the season began in September 2015.  Scarlet fever is a seasonal illness which should be treated with antibiotics and cases of the illness usually peak at this time of year. An increase in invasive disease caused by the same bacterium group A streptococcus (GAS) which causes scarlet fever has also been seen in England. A total of 593 cases of invasive GAS infection, such and bloodstream infection or pneumonia, have been notified so far for 2016 compared to 440 cases for the same period last year (January to March). This year GAS seasonal activity coincides with the seasonal influenza activity owing to the late flu season. Influenza and invasive GAS co-infection is a rare but well-recognised occurrence.  Whilst the elderly remain most at risk of invasive GAS infection, increased levels of disease compared to last year have been seen in young adults and children less than 5 years old, the age groups most affected by influenza in recent weeks. There’s no suggestion of an increase in invasive GAS infection in patients diagnosed with scarlet fever. This is the third season in a row in which elevated scarlet fever activity has been  noted. A total of 15,637 notifications were made in England and Wales in 2014, rising to 17,590 in 2015. Weekly activity so far this season has been similar or slightly above for that last year.

Source: Avian Flu Diary: UK PHE: Scarlet Fever Still Rising

Early reports show mumps on the rise in 2016, including on campuses | CIDRAP Adult mumps = risk of male infertility – get vaccinated!

Recent headlines about US college mumps outbreaks appear to herald the start to a busy year for the disease and underscore the ongoing challenges that campuses face. While mumps hit a low point of 229 cases in 2011, in the past 2 years, the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recorded more than 1,000 cases annually. In updating its numbers yesterday, the CDC said that, as of Apr 1, public health departments have reported 467 mumps cases already this year. Although mumps cases have seen a sharp decline since the CDC began recommending a two-dose vaccine prevention plan in 1988, outbreaks are still prevalent, particularly in high-contact social settings like college campuses. Mumps is transmittable through the air or by touching unwashed, contaminated surfaces, and the rising cases bring into question vaccination practices, waning immunity, and college healthcare.

Source: Early reports show mumps on the rise in 2016, including on campuses | CIDRAP

‘Antivaxxer’ tells of ‘nightmare’ after passing whooping cough onto baby daughter – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GP8HMbwEkU

A mother who refused to be vaccinated against whooping cough has changed her firm stance after she contracted and passed the serious disease onto her newborn baby.First-time mother Cormit Avital has explained the agonising experience of watching her new daughter Eva suffer with pertussis in a video posted online.”If I could turn back time I would protect myself,” the young mother said.”It’s been a nightmare.”Ms Avital, who owns a health beverage company, rejected the whooping cough vaccine she was offered in week 28 of her pregnancy believing she “didn’t need this crap”.She described herself as a very healthy, organic and fit woman who had no complications during her pregnancy and no deficiencies.

Source: ‘Antivaxxer’ tells of ‘nightmare’ after passing whooping cough onto baby daughter – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Eurosurveillance – View Article – Measles from Philippines to Netherland and UK on one flight! Vaccines are important!

This report describes a joint measles outbreak investigation between public health officials in the United Kingdom (UK) and the Netherlands following detection of a measles cluster with a unique measles virus strain. From 1 February to 30 April 2014, 33 measles cases with a unique measles virus strain of genotype B3 were detected in the UK and the Netherlands, of which nine secondary cases were epidemiologically linked to an infectious measles case travelling from the Philippines. Through a combination of epidemiological investigation and sequence analysis, we found that measles transmission occurred in flight, airport and household settings. The secondary measles cases included airport workers, passengers in transit at the same airport or travelling on the same flight as the infectious case and also household contacts. This investigation highlighted the particular importance of measles genotyping in identifying transmission networks and the need to improve vaccination, public health follow-up and management of travellers and airport staff exposed to measles.

Source: Eurosurveillance – View Article