Health

He added that the recent flare-up is largely due to entrenched traditional beliefs which make it difficult for people not to touch or bathe their dead relatives. “We even noticed secret burials are still ongoing in Grand Cape Mount County,” Nyenswah stated. The Ebola epidemic has so far claimed the lives of over 7,500 people all around the world, with nearly 3,400 of the fatalities in the West African country of Liberia. The virus has been also devastating in Sierra Leone and Guinea.

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Ngwa Bertrand

29.Dec.2014

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“If they do not give us the latest generation medicines, we will die,” said one sufferer. The Platform for Hepatitis C Sufferers, which organized the protest, says 12 people die of hepatitis C in Spain every day. It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of people in the country are infected with the virus. On December 23, the Spanish Health Ministry said it was consulting experts “to ensure access for patients to the treatments they need in line with clinical criteria.”

The Platform, however, accuses the authorities of blocking access to the new hepatitis drug, sofosbuvir, to save money. “This is a very serious problem with a very simple solution. It is an economic matter,” Fernandez said. The Spanish economy, the fourth largest in the 18-nation eurozone, is suffering from the aftershocks of a real estate bust that has devastated not just banks but families as well.

Battered by the global financial downturn, the Spanish economy collapsed into recession in the second half of 2008, taking with it millions of jobs. Spain’s health sector has been hit hard by the austerity policies introduced by the right-wing government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, which are aimed at bringing down the country’s fiscal deficit to more manageable levels.

Culled from Presstv

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Ngwa Bertrand

28.Dec.2014

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No immediate information was available as to the amount of money the health workers demand or the number of patients who have been denied care at hospitals. The manager of the Mabenteh Hospital board, Ibrahim Bangura, said he was working “to resolve the issue with the authorities so that patients’ lives will not be at risk.” Ebola has killed more than 7,500 people over the past year - almost all of them in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone has recently registered 9,004 cases of infection and 2,582 deaths, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its latest update.

Culled from Presstv

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Ngwa Bertrand

26.Dec.2014

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The disease has taken at least 7,708 peoples’ lives around the globe including eight in Nigeria, which was declared free of Ebola in October, six in Mali, and one in the United States, the organization said. There were no deaths in Spain and Senegal, which have both been declared Ebola-free; however, one infection case was reported in each country, according to the world body.

The WHO said Sierra Leone as the country with the most infections has overtaken Liberia. Liberia, which was known as the hardest-hit country, recorded 7,862 cases and 3,384 deaths on December 20, showing a clear decrease in transmission, the WHO said. The outbreak started a year ago in Guinea, where the tally counted 2,630 Ebola cases and 1,654 deaths as of December 24.

Ebola is one of the deadliest viruses known to man. It is a form of hemorrhagic fever with diarrhea, vomiting, as well as internal and external bleeding as its symptoms. The virus spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person. Those who care for the Ebola-infected patients or handle their bodies are particularly exposed and endangered. According to the WHO, as of December 21, a total of 666 healthcare workers were infected by the virus, 366 of whom died.

Culled from Presstv

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Ngwa Bertrand

26.Dec.2014

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THE HIGH COURT has ruled that the life support for a clinically dead pregnant woman can be withdrawn – at the discretion of her medical team. The judgement was handed down by Justice Nicholas Kearns at noon today. The court had been asked by the HSE to issue a declaration that discontinuing treatment for the woman would be lawful. Justice Kearns said that the court “is satisfied, in the circumstances of this case, that in the best interest of the unborn child, it should authorise at the discretion of the medical team the withdrawal of ongoing somatic support being provided… in this tragic and unfortunate case”. It will accordingly make a declaration and order to that effect.

Representatives for the unborn had argued against the move, stating that the right to life was greater than the right to dignity in death. The woman’s family – and the father of the unborn – wished for the current treatment to be stopped so they could lay her to rest. In his judgement, Justice Kearns said to “maintain and continue the present somatic support for the mother would deprive her of dignity in death and subject her father, her partner and her young children to unimaginable distress in a futile exercise which commenced only because of fears held by treating medical specialists of potential consequences”.

She was declared dead on 3 December when she was 15 weeks pregnant and doctors said they needed legal clarification on what they were allowed to do because of the 8th Amendment. The High Court had been told there was “no reasonable” prospect the baby would be born alive. It is currently at 17-18 weeks gestation.

The judgement noted that the court accepts the evidence of the medical witnesses that “from a medical viewpoint… there is no real prospect of maintaining stability in the uterine environment, having regard to the degree of infection, the fluctuating temperatures in the body of the mother, the difficulty in maintaining a safe blood pressure and the amount of toxic medication being administered to the mother which is not licenced for pregnancy. No appeal will be lodged by representatives for the unborn and Justice Kearns said he hopes the family will be given some comfort now that court proceedings have come to an end.

Costs will be paid by the Court for both sides given the case raised issues of “great public importance”. Commenting after the case, Health Minister Leo Varadkar said, ”I wish to convey my heartfelt sympathies to the family and partner of the woman at the centre of this case at this most difficult time – particularly given the season. “This case and the judgement will need to be carefully examined before I can make any further comment on it. In the meantime, I would ask that the privacy of this family is respected, at this so difficult and challenging time.”

Culled from Journal.ie

 

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Ngwa Bertrand

26.Dec.2014

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According to a UN statement on Wednesday, Ebola killed two UN members in the United Nations Mission in Liberia three months ago. “This is the fourth case of Ebola in the mission and UNMIL personnel continue to mourn the deaths of two colleagues who died from the disease only three months ago,” the statement read, adding that the mission is increasing surveillance "to ensure that all people who came into contact with the staff member while symptomatic are assessed and quarantined.”

"The confirmation of an additional Ebola case in UNMIL at the start of the holiday period is a stark reminder that we must all remain vigilant until there are no cases in Liberia or West Africa," it added.

Culled from Presstv

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Ngwa Bertrand

25.Dec.2014

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