Category Archives: healthcare

Superbug linked to 2 deaths at UCLA hospital; 100 potentially exposed – LA Times

Weak as water excuse – “it’s not our fault because we depended on other people.”

UCLA said it immediately notified public health authorities after discovering the bacteria in one patient and tracing the problem to two endoscopes. The university said it had been cleaning the scopes “according to standards stipulated by the manufacturer” and it changed how it disinfects the instruments after the infections surfaced.

UCLA said it immediately notified public health authorities after discovering the bacteria in one patient and tracing the problem to two endoscopes. The university said it had been cleaning the scopes “according to standards stipulated by the manufacturer” and it changed how it disinfects the instruments after the infections surfaced.

Dale Tate, a university spokeswoman, said “the two scopes involved with the infection were immediately removed and UCLA is now utilizing a decontamination process that goes above and beyond the manufacturer and national standards.”

via Superbug linked to 2 deaths at UCLA hospital; 100 potentially exposed – LA Times.

Measles makes its mark all over again: One of humanity’s oldest foes is back on the increase – Features – Health & Families – The Independent

Since al-Razi first carefully documented it (about 900 AD), this little strand of RNA tucked in a protein envelope has enjoyed a rare kind of notoriety, even in the shock-and-awe world of infectious diseases. In 1529, the Spanish introduced it to Cuba, killing two out of three natives. Over the next decade or so, the virus ravaged Central America, decimating many populations and killing up to half of all Hondurans. And, in 1693, in colonial America, Virginia governor Edmund Andros issued a proclamation for a “day of humiliation and prayer” in the hope of waylaying the virus.

It’s not like that today, but the disease is no slouch either. In 2013, according to the World Health Organisation, there were 16 deaths from the virus each hour, around the world, for the entire year. It is one of the leading causes of death among young children, despite our ability to safely vaccinate against it. It is estimated that between the years of 2000 and 2013, vaccination has prevented 15.6 million deaths. Do you recognise it yet?

via Measles makes its mark all over again: One of humanity’s oldest foes is back on the increase – Features – Health & Families – The Independent.

Stiffer Tax Penalties Used to Spur Insurance Enrollment – NYTimes.com

President Obama and his team are making a final, urgent push to boost government health insurance sign-ups in the next two days, in part by making sure people know that tax penalties for remaining uninsured have risen significantly.

After the enrollment deadline passes on Sunday, every adult without insurance will be subject to a minimum penalty of $325 when filing taxes next year. The fee will rise the following year to $695 per adult, more than seven times the $95 penalty for being uninsured in 2014.

via Stiffer Tax Penalties Used to Spur Insurance Enrollment – NYTimes.com.

Mass Rapes Reported in Darfur as Conflict Escalates | Inter Press Service

Several hundred Sudanese government troops were said to have looted the town, severely beat men and boys, and sexually assaulted women and girls.

via Mass Rapes Reported in Darfur as Conflict Escalates | Inter Press Service.

Would the message get though, if several hundred troops had their “manhood” removed!

Tests reveal H5N1 in Israeli turkeys, four countries report other strains | CIDRAP

{Will resist joke about Israeli turkeys and their upcoming elections – but too many have been looking the other way or have had heads in sand hoping that global trade in live chicks of ducks, turkeys, geese, chickens, quail did not

blow up in their our faces. Problem has now come home to roost and attempts to “blame” wild birds will not fly!}

Israel outbreak details

Israel’s agriculture ministry said tests have confirmed H5N1 as the cause of an outbreak at a turkey farm in Haifa, the largest city in the northern part of the country, according to a Jan 18 report to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). The event began on Jan 14 at a fattening facility, with deaths occurring in 5 of the farm’s 13 pens. Of 141,000 susceptible birds, the illness sickened 30,000 of them, killing 15,000.

via Tests reveal H5N1 in Israeli turkeys, four countries report other strains | CIDRAP.

The killing of earth begins in India: Chandigarh avian flu: Authorities begin to cull birds | Read Health News & Articles at TheHealthSite.com

No cases of lethal bird flu from wild birds to human have ever been recorded – only from those raising birds for profit. And so the killing of wild birds as “something to do” to “protect profits” not people has begun. Avian influenza is a product of intense human cultivation of poultry and the disease is sometimes passed on to wild birds. But by killing wild birds, government can pretend to be protecting humans but if industrial poultry industry is not changed, the new pandemic will still get us while the environment is damaged in ways that may harm us even more. May God have mercy on us, because, we certainly have none for ourselves!

Chandigarh, Dec 18: Authorities in Chandigarh Thursday evening started culling of all birds in and around the city’s famous Sukhna lake after a dead goose was confirmed with the H5N1 (avian influenza or bird flu) virus. ‘On communication received from the central government, culling of all birds in the vicinity of Sukhna lake — ducks and geese, live or dead — will be done and buried as per the action plan and bio-security measure set up by the WHO,’ said a spokesman of the Chandigarh administration. ‘The operation started at 4 p.m. with the help of all the concerned departments, primarily animal husbandry, wildlife and Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh, director health services and engineering department. The operation will go on till midnight and no bird will be left unburied,’ the spokesman said. The area around the lake was cordoned off by police and the forest department.

‘At this stage, public is advised not to panic and cooperate with the administration. The administration has taken all possible steps to ensure the containment of virus and will continue to monitor the situation closely. The lake and its vicinity “shall remain out of bounds for general public till further orders’, he said. ‘At present, there is no assessment regarding any outbreak of bird flu in Chandigarh. The situation is, however, being very closely monitored,’ he said

via Chandigarh avian flu: Authorities begin to cull birds | Read Health News & Articles at TheHealthSite.com.

Woman Says She Lost Her Fingers And Toes Because Of Hospital Infection: LAist

Garner said that she was received a bone marrow transplant at the City of Hope National Medical Center in 2004. According to the Garners’ lawyer, Moseley Collins, the hospital staff “chose to ignore their own written procedure and did not give her the required pneumococcal vaccinations following the transplant.”

via Woman Says She Lost Her Fingers And Toes Because Of Hospital Infection: LAist.

Avian influenza case confirmed in Guangdong, China | Vaccine News Daily

A 31-year-old woman from Dongguan in the Guangdong Province of China was diagnosed with avian influenza A (H7N9), Hong Kong’s Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health (DH) announced on Friday.

The patient is currently in critical condition at a Guangzhou hospital.

via Avian influenza case confirmed in Guangdong, China | Vaccine News Daily.

More Competition Helps Restrain Premiums In Federal Health Marketplace | Kaiser Health News

In Clark and Harrison counties in southern Indiana, where only one insurer offered coverage this year, four more are jumping in. Monthly premiums for the cheapest silver plan are decreasing by 25 percent, with 40-year-olds paying $197 for the Ambetter plan from a Medicaid-managed care company, MHS.

“As a direct result of those new players being part of the market, they displaced what had been the lowest-cost silver plan,” said Brian Liechty, an Indiana insurance agent. “So it changed the dynamics.”

via More Competition Helps Restrain Premiums In Federal Health Marketplace | Kaiser Health News.