UK nurse Pauline Cafferkey, diagnosed with Ebola after returning from Sierra Leone, is now in a critical condition, the Royal Free Hospital says.
Source : BBC News
Category Archives: ALC Travel News
Experimental drug for UK Ebola nurse
Ebola patient Pauline Cafferkey is receiving an experimental anti-viral drug and blood from survivors of the disease, doctors in London have said.
Specialists at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, where the nurse is being treated, did not name the drug.
Dr Michael Jacobs said Ms Cafferkey was in isolation and was sitting up in bed, talking and reading.
As the disease has no known cure and is unpredictable, Dr Jacobs said they would know more in a week’s time.
He said Ms Cafferkey had agreed to all the treatments and her family had been to see her.
SOURCE BBC World
ALC Health CEO awarded MBE in New Year Honours List
Sarah Jewell, founder and Chief Executive Officer of International Medical Insurance provider ALC Health has been awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in The Queen’s New Year Honours list in recognition of her services to entrepreneurship in the Medical Health Industry.
Ms. Jewell commented. “This was an unexpected but a great honour. Having been involved in the medical insurance industry for over 20 years, I have been privileged to meet and work with some quite amazing people whose support and guidance has played a great part in the success that I have enjoyed”.
For further press information contact Andrew Apps at andrew.apps@alchealth.com or telephone +44 (0)1903 817970
Universal health coverage – Ebola reveals the gaps
West Africa’s Ebola epidemic has cruelly exposed the weaknesses of health systems in the countries where it struck. It was understandable that they were not prepared for Ebola, which has never been reported in the region before, but the director of the World Health Organization (WHO), Margaret Chan, says what they lacked was a robust public health infrastructure to deal with the unexpected.
“This requires good background data on the usual,” she says, “so that the unusual stands out. [It means] making good quality care accessible and affordable to everyone, and not just to wealthy people living in urban areas; having enough facilities available in the right places with enough well trained staff and uninterrupted supplies of essential medicines; diagnostic capacity that returns rapid and reliable results; and information systems that pinpoint gaps and direct strategies and resources towards unmet needs.”
SOURCE : IRIN
Ebola diagnosed in Healthcare worker returning to Scotland
A healthcare worker returned to Glasgow, Scotland this Sunday from Sierra Leone and has been diagnosed with Ebola. The patient has been transferred to a specialized care unit at the Royal Free Hospital in London.
New Ebola test approved
A new Ebola test named LightMix Ebola Zaire rRT-PCR, made by the company Roche, has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and can generate results in three hours. The current test called RT-PCR, which stands for reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, takes six hours. LightMix testing has not been approved for general use yet.
SOURCE : Healix International
Life choices ‘behind many cancers’
More than four in 10 cancers – 600,000 in the UK alone – could be prevented if people led healthier lives.
Latest figures from Cancer Research UK show smoking is the biggest avoidable risk factor, followed by unhealthy diets.
The charity is urging people to consider their health when making New Year resolutions.
Limiting alcohol intake and doing regular exercise is also good advice.
According to the figures spanning five years from 2007 to 2011, more than 300,000 cases of cancer recorded were linked to smoking.
A further 145,000 were linked to unhealthy diets containing too much processed food.
Obesity contributed to 88,000 cases and alcohol to 62,200.
Sun damage to the skin and physical inactivity were also contributing factors.
Source : BBC World
Sierra Leone declares Ebola lockdown
Sierra Leone has declared lockdown of at least three days in the north of the country to try to contain the Ebola epidemic reports BBC World News
Shops, markets and non-Ebola related travel services will be shut down, officials said.
Sierra Leone has already banned many public Christmas celebrations.
More than 7,500 people have died from the outbreak in West Africa so far, the Word Health Organization (WHO) says, with Sierra Leone the worst hit.
Sierra Leone has the highest number of Ebola cases in West Africa, with more than 9,000 cases and more than 2,400 deaths since the start of the outbreak.
The other countries at the centre of the outbreak are Liberia and Guinea.
State of emergency
Alie Kamara, resident minister for the Northern Region, told AFP news agency that most public gatherings would be cancelled.
“Muslims and Christians are not allowed to hold services in mosques and churches throughout the lockdown except for Christians on Christmas Day”, he said.
No unauthorised vehicles would be allowed to operate “except those officially assigned to Ebola-related assignments” he added.
The lockdown would operate for at least three days but this could be extended if deemed necessary, officials said.
Sierra Leone has been in a state of emergency since July.
The outbreak began a year ago in the West African country of Guinea, but only gained international attention in early 2014.
When five a day may not be good for you
For years we have been told that a glass (150ml) of unsweetened fruit juice counts as one of our recommended ‘five a day’, however this advice can be confusing as many fruit juices contain more than 6 teaspoons of sugar. Even smoothies can be deceiving and when fruit is juiced or blended, sugars are released which may lead to tooth decay as well as weight gain.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has now issued guidelines recommending that we cut the limit by half, and that sugars should make up no more than 5% of our daily calorie intake.
Public Health England advise that we should limit our fruit juice consumption to the recommended limit of 150ml a day. They also advise that to help reduce tooth decay, fruit juices should be consumed alongside meals and, for children, fruit juices should be seen as an occasional treat.
Fruit juice should no longer be considered a routine drink and for hydration purposes water is always the better option.
Ebola update : Guinea now “stable”.
More than 5,400 people have now died as a result of the Ebola outbreak with Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia the worst hit, however the World Health Organisation has reported that for Guinea at least, the outbreak is now “stable”.
There remain a few areas particularly in the South East of the country where flare ups continue to be reported but elsewhere conditions are starting to improve.