Category Archives: ALC Travel News

Mass-vaccination campaign against yellow fever in Chad

The Ministry of Health of Chad is launching an emergency mass-vaccination campaign against yellow fever from 22 February 2013, following laboratory confirmation of two cases in the country in December 2012. The two cases from Goz Beida and Guereda districts, were laboratory confirmation by a WHO regional reference laboratory for yellow fever, Institut Pasteur in Dakar, Senegal.  They were identified through the national surveillance programme for yellow fever, following intensive surveillance which was triggered in response to the outbreak of yellow fever in neighbouring Sudan’s Darfur region.  The intensive surveillance in Chad also reported 139 suspected cases and 9 deaths. Continue reading Mass-vaccination campaign against yellow fever in Chad

Dealing with Stress – it may change your life

We all seem to have stressfull lives nowadays, but there is an answer. Take a lesson from the following story, it may change your life. A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress management to an audience. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they’d be asked the “half empty or half full” question. Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired: “How heavy is this glass of water?” Continue reading Dealing with Stress – it may change your life

Winter sports holiday? Make sure your insurance has you covered

As the January blues set in, many people look to up coming holidays to lift their mood. With winter breaks often incorporating sports such as skiing, skating, snowboarding and sledging, a robust insurance plan is essential. Snowboarding causes approximately 100,000 wrist fractures a year, and knee ligament injuries are the most common among both skiers and snowboarders. It isn’t just amateurs that are affected. At least 1 in 10 athletes at the 2010 winter Olympic Games was injured training or competing, according to a report published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. The most common injuries occurred to the head, spine or knees. Continue reading Winter sports holiday? Make sure your insurance has you covered

Affordable health care challenges for expats living and working in the Middle East

Expat workers in Gulf countries are increasingly limited in their options for affordable health care. Labourers from countries such as India are particularly affected as governments focus more on the local population. Dr Azad Moopen, speaking at the Global Healthcare Summit in Kochi, Kerala, warned that the GCC countries are facing huge challenges in accessibility as there aren’t enough health care facilities for expat workers. Continue reading Affordable health care challenges for expats living and working in the Middle East

Increase in seasonal flu across Europe

The activity of seasonal influenza continues to rise in some countries of Europe, especially western Europe. Experts advise there is still time to protect yourself and those around you by getting the flu vaccination. France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Norway have all reported a medium intensity of flu transmission. However, influenza was reported to be widespread geographically by five countries – Belgium, Denmark, France, Norway and England. Nine countries have reported increasing trends. Continue reading Increase in seasonal flu across Europe

Weather patterns could help predict disease outbreaks

More and more experts are using the weather to help predict disease patterns. In a recent study, two scientists claimed they could predict when New York City’s flu season would peak using a computer model of weather data reports expathealth.org. With some fine-tuning these types of predictions could be used to maximise vaccination and disease prevention programmes. Experts do acknowledge, however, that human behaviour plays a large part in affecting disease outbreaks. Continue reading Weather patterns could help predict disease outbreaks