Santo Domingo, DR
The Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance (MISPAS) confirmed four new cases of Cholera, corresponding to men of 50, 30, 23, and 4 years of age, respectively, all of Dominican nationality and residents of the La Zurza sector of the National District.

The patients were admitted last Thursday, 15 of this month, after presenting with watery diarrhea accompanied by vomiting and dry mouth. They were hydrated and stabilized at the health center, and they immediately proceeded to take stool samples, obtaining a positive result for Cholera on Saturday 17th.

The report certifies that the four patients have not had bowel movements for more than 24 hours; all of them are stable, in good spirits and appetite, and remain in the hospital for observation purposes, with possible discharge in the next few hours.

Likewise, the Health Area IV Directorate, together with the Vice Ministry of Collective Health and the Risk Management and Epidemiology Directorates, is maintaining the epidemiological surveillance, with close relatives, in addition to a permanent intervention in this locality, to detect, prevent and investigate any suspected case of the disease.

At the same time, it is reported as part of the continuous monitoring carried out in vulnerable areas. Specifically, a study of water samples taken at different points of the La Isabela River confirmed the presence of the bacterium Vibrio cholerae.

In this regard, the authorities of the Ministry of Health urged the population not to be alarmed, to remain attentive to reports, and follow preventive measures such as frequent hand washing, washing food properly, eating well-cooked food, drinking only potable water, and if you present any diarrheal event go to your nearest health center for investigation and timely treatment.

Santo Domingo, DR
The predominant symptoms of the omicron subvariant of Covid 19 circulating in the country in recent weeks are characterized by a clinical presentation very similar to that of a flu-like process, but in some cases, can end up causing pneumonia.

The sensation of coughing, sore throat, general malaise, nasal congestion, tearing, and the feeling of congestion of facial bones can often be accompanied by gastrointestinal manifestations, ranging from nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, among the main characteristics of the symptoms presented by patients.

This is explained by the pulmonologist Evangelina Soler, former president of the Dominican Society of Pneumology and Thoracic Surgery, who points out the importance of the patient going to the doctor to make an accurate and differential diagnosis since it can be confused with other circulating viruses such as influenza, syncytial, adenovirus and dengue.

Lumbar pain

He said that other symptoms that Covid-19 currently presents are that the patient may have a fever or fever that occurs on one or two occasions, chills, and may have pain in the lumbar region.

The specialist explained that these characteristic symptoms occur in three to four days. After the cytokine storm, which appears on the seventh or eighth day after the onset of the symptoms, the patient may develop pneumonia, with cough and sensation of respiratory difficulty. However, she clarified that this is in the minority of cases.

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The National Nutrition Centre has offered some advice to help Barbadians successfully navigate the buffet table this Christmas season by making healthier food choices.

Community Nutrition Officer 1, Carla Ramsay, explained that while this time of year was usually one of indulgence, the basic rules of good nutrition still obtained.

“Include a variety of nutritious foods, such as fruits and vegetables in your daily diet or on your holiday menu. Also, use less salt in your meal preparations. When you are seasoning your meats, instead of lime and salt, just use lime or vinegar. Use low sodium seasonings and beware of the additional salt that may add up from certain packaged seasonings,” Ramsay advised.

While it was customary for persons to throw caution to the wind during the holiday period with the hopes of getting back on track in the New Year, she pointed out that this approach was not a particularly good idea.

“This is not advisable because a lot of damage can be done in a short period of time. Usually, people are shocked when they see their blood results early in the New Year. It is a season that all of us can enjoy. We are not stopping anyone from having their favourite foods but be mindful of how much and how often you are going to have them. You can eat nutritiously, even in December,” she emphasised.

Ramsay offered a few tips to help persons, especially those with non-communicable diseases (NCDs), to choose wisely when at family gatherings or corporate events:

Eat before you leave so you don’t over indulge on the wrong foods. Don’t save up calories by eating less throughout the day, so you can indulge at a party or event. That generally doesn’t work out well for most people.

Walk with a healthy snack, especially when out shopping. This could be a banana, apple, nuts, etc.

Scan the buffet or food table ahead of eating time.

Choose one or two splurges instead of items you can have any other time of year.

Aim to make the plate look festive by including colourful fruits and vegetables.

Water is still a viable option. Be mindful that most drinks will be sweetened so you can choose a smaller glass.

If you choose to drink alcohol, do so in moderation and alternate each alcoholic beverage with water.

A polite ‘no thank you’ can work. Eat until you are satisfied, not stuffed.

Don’t overfill your plate. You may also choose a smaller plate and remember to eat slowly. Half of your plate should be fruits and vegetables, a quarter of it should be high fibre or complex starches and another quarter could be your lean protein or a vegetarian source.

Also check your fullness level while eating.

“For persons with NCDs, be mindful of what you are eating. The same things that we talk about from January to November
hold also in December. Make sure you have your fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, high fibre and your complex carbohydrates or starches. 

“Make sure you monitor your blood sugar and blood pressure throughout the season. Like I said, it is not that you don’t have the special treats but how much and how often. They should fit into what is considered a healthy day for you,” Ramsay stated.

For further information, persons may download the National Nutrition Centre’s Healthy Eating Guide at this address.

https://gisbarbados.gov.bb/blog/healthy-eating-guide-available-for-download (BGIS)

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However, “the coronavirus will not disappear; it will continue, and countries will have to learn to manage it alongside other respiratory problems such as the flu,” Tedros said, adding that the 90% drop in mpox cases encourages hope for a quick resolution to this health crisis.

Tedros recalled that the criteria for determining whether the covid pandemic is no longer an international emergency will be discussed at the next meeting of the committee of experts, which has met quarterly since 2020 to analyze the evolution of the health crisis.

The WHO chief emphasized that, while the number of cases in both the covid and mpox crises is declining, the world still faces numerous health challenges, citing the cholera outbreaks currently declared in 29 countries, including the one that has killed 280 people in Haiti.

By Anesta Henry

Executive Chairman of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) Dr Juliette Bynoe-Sutherland has given the assurance that even though a cyber security incident affected a number of the hospital’s services on Tuesday, swift measures were implemented to protect patient privacy.

Bynoe-Sutherland said the disruption caused the suspension of all internet-dependent services which she described as extensive.

“The IT [Information Technology] experts have taken all precautions to protect the integrity of our system and the privacy of all of our patients. We do apologise for the inconvenience that may be experienced by all of our users, but rest assured we will continue to keep the public informed as we seek to restore services here at the hospital,” Bynoe-Sutherland said.

MIST (Ministry of Industry, Innovation Science and Technology) and cyber security specialists have been working with the QEH’s IT department to rectify the issue. 

In addition to the temporary precautions being taken to protect the integrity of systems and patient privacy, the hospital chief indicated that the Ambulance Service continues to function as normal, the Blood Collecting Centre continues to welcome blood donations. Members seeking further information have been encouraged to contact the Patient Liason Service (Help Desk), at 536-4800.

The Executive Chairman told Barbados TODAY she could not say exactly when the matter will be resolved. 

anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb

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The Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) on Tuesday indicated that its concerns about food vending on New Market Street date back to several years and records show that official complaints to the Georgetown Mayor and City Council stretch from 2015 to 2022, but little has been done resulting increased risks to gravely ill patients who ...

But research presented at the American Society of Hematology meeting in New Orleans suggested that a second-generation drug called zanubrutinib from BeiGene is about to unseat ibrutinib as “the king on the block” for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia, said Catherine Diefenbach, medical director of the lymphoma program at the NYU Langone’s Perlmutter Cancer Center.

Continue to STAT+ to read the full story…

Health authorities are warning Barbadians to be extra cautious during the busy Christmas season amid a double whammy of a lingering COVID-19 pandemic that has resulted in another death in recent days, and a highly infectious flu virus.

Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Kenneth George said in a recorded statement on Monday that both viruses were presenting some challenges, as he noted that the true extent of COVID-19 cases may not be known since testing has declined.

He disclosed that just below 20 per cent of COVID-19 tests performed were positive while the RE – the number of people in a population who can be infected by a COVID-19-positive individual at any specific time – was above one.

“And those two metrics together indicate that we are still having COVID spread in our communities. In addition, what we also note is that the number of persons coming to be tested has fallen off and, therefore, the number of persons having COVID in our communities may not be a true reflection of what it really is,” Dr George cautioned, as he urged the most vulnerable groups to “go the extra mile” to protect their health.

“And, therefore, I ask that you be cautious around the Christmas period.”

The CMO noted that while the hospitalisation rate has remained low, and those who were hospitalised were having milder forms of illness, “we, unfortunately, within the last seven days have had a single death”.

“We continue to monitor hospitalisation and deaths as a metric to determine how severe the infections are,” the Government’s chief medical advisor said.

“We are indeed facing a double whammy because we have COVID circulating and we also have flu circulating. The flu virus has been typed – it is H3N2 that has been circulating and that has also increased steeply within the last two months. We continue to monitor both for flu and for COVID…. Fortunately…we have not had any hospitalisation or deaths associated with the flu virus,” Dr George added.

He said the Health Ministry would continue to examine the information and report to the public any changes in that trajectory.

“But it is important to note that the flu in some countries does cause significant sickness and even death. The good thing is that there are similar ways to prevent COVID as you can prevent flu,” Dr George pointed out.

“The viruses circulating are certainly not as deadly or causing severe illness as when we were in the throes of Delta. The virus circulating is very infectious, so the likelihood of transmission is high but the outcomes appear to be a bit better.”

The CMO assured the public that the Ministry had not taken its eye off COVID-19.

“We don’t come to the public as often as before, but we continue to run the EOC [Emergency Operations Centre], [and] have several systems in place in the background to make sure that the national response continues,” he assured.

However, Deputy Chief Environmental Health Officer and former head of the now defunct COVID-19 Monitoring Unit, Ronald Chapman promised Barbadians that the Government would not go back to the tight restrictions that were imposed at the height of the pandemic.

“The Ministry of Health has no intention at this present time to return to the heavy-handed approach that we had during COVID. You can see that with the relaxation of the protocols and also with the dissolution of the COVID-19 Monitoring Unit. So, we are at a place where we believe that persons can act responsibly, that persons can take stock of their own risks, they can look and see how they can protect themselves as opposed to having persons police every movement that they make,” he said.

“That was important during the period of time because we knew very little about the disease and we had a lot of hospitalisations and we were dealing with highly infectious strains at that point in time. Now we have a better handle on it and it is time that we get a return to some sense of normalcy.”

He encouraged Barbadians to protect themselves from both COVID-19 and the flu.

“As international travel ramps around this time of the year, it is extremely important that we pay attention to our preventive measures which are mask-wearing, which is still probably the best if not the best method of preventing the spread of respiratory illness; continue to ensure your hand hygiene is up to scratch, and if you are not able to wash your hands still use your hand sanitisers,” Chapman stressed.

“The whole idea of physical distancing, those things are still important. However, we recognise that there has been a relaxation in the directives, and because of that relaxation, we expect persons to take responsibility for themselves…. If you are not feeling well, it is wise to put on a mask. You may not have COVID, you may be suffering from the flu, or maybe just a common cold, but all respiratory diseases can be fought by the use of masks,” he suggested.

Data released by the Ministry of Health on Monday showed that the country recorded 528 new COVID-19 cases between November 26 and December 9, this year.

Altogether, 104 944 people contracted the disease since it was discovered here on March 17, 2020, and 568 of those died.

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb

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