It is part of the second phase of the Ministry’s Build Them Out, Starve Them Out, Kill Them Out, rat reduction campaign. The partnership will see businesses adopt signs and garbage bins that would encourage members of the public to refrain from littering.

The bins are being placed along the south coast. The campaign also involves correcting the businesses’ garbage disposal methods to help “starve out” the rats.

Senior Environmental Health Officer at the Randal Phillips Polyclinic in Oistins, Trevor Taylor, explained that health officials discovered some deficiencies in the way businesses were storing garbage, which encouraged the proliferation of rats because these businesses became a food source.

“We engaged the business owners along the coast on how they should store garbage appropriately in bins and garbage houses and have it removed at appropriate times. We also found there was a lot of litter around the boardwalk coming from persons using that area,” Taylor stated.

He added: “It is not only about rats but about the outlook for Barbados as a clean destination and protecting the marine environment. I like spearfishing and the amount of litter you find in the sea is amazing. It is not just for businesses to get involved; it is for everybody. Just take your garbage and place it in bins.”

The Senior Environmental Health Officer said one aspect of the campaign, which started in August, last year, is to ‘rat proof’ the garbage bins, which is the “build out” component. However, he pointed out that this was still a work in progress.

Taylor noted that the bins health inspectors are aiming to have placed along the south coast will have a key, so business owners can open and lock the bins, when necessary, to keep out rodents. In the meantime, health inspectors continue to bait along the south coast, the “kill them out” phase of the campaign.

So far, he said two well-known businesses, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pirates Inn, have partnered with the Ministry to combat littering and rodents on the south coast, with a number of hotels expressing an interest in coming on board.

Businesses interested in partnering with the Ministry of Health and Wellness in its rodent reduction campaign may contact Taylor at the Randal Philips Polyclinic at telephone number 536-4314.

SOURCE: BGIS

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Vernessa Harford collapsed during the Republic Bank Intercol Championship (Intercol) on Thursday, 14 March and later died at The General Hospital

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Santo Domingo – The Dominican Republic managed a donation of 3,600 cm2 of Liolized Human Skin Tissue, donated by the Government of Mexico, to be used in caring for patients admitted to Dr. Thelma Rosario’s burn unit.

These are minors affected by severe burns during an explosion at the Salcedo carnival a week ago. This action will improve the health of patients who remain in critical condition and are admitted to the intensive care unit at the Arturo Grullón Regional Children’s Hospital in Santiago. The management was carried out through the Ministry of Public Health in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MIREX), the National Health Service (SNS), the National Institute for Transplant Coordination (INCORT), and the Embassy of the Dominican Republic in Mexico.

The coordination was made with the Ministry of Health, the Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks, and the Authorization Commission of Mexico. The liquefied tissues were transported by the airline Aeromexico and guarded by the minister counselor, Orlando Rodriguez. They were received by the Regional Director of North Central Health, Dr. Manuel Lora, and the referred health center authorities.

This type of freeze-dried tissue is used as a temporary cover for wounds caused by burns, diabetic ulcers, varicose veins, decubitus, leprosy, and others.

Current situation
Until yesterday afternoon, the four minors admitted to the Robert Reid Cabral Hospital were taken to the conventional operating room area to be treated. Although this hospital has no burn area, care is being maximized.

Of the seven minors who were admitted to the burn unit of the Arturo Grullón hospital, one was discharged, two died, and four are in critical health conditions. The information was given by Dr. Yocasta Lara, Director of Hospitals of the National Health Service. A state of mourning and grief affected the community of Salcedo, as 19 people were injured with burns.

“If you are diagnosed with chronic kidney disease, your water intake may differ from what is normally recommended”

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“The NNP Women’s Arm pledges to continue our work in creating safer spaces for women and girls”

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The agreement between both parties includes teaching and care programs linked to outpatient surgery, gastroenterology, preventive medicine, telemedicine, remote second opinions, nursing care and hospital management.

The agreement was signed by Dr. Alejandro Cambiaso, executive president of Médico Express and Carles Loran Constans, manager of Barna Clínic.

Médico Express San Isidro, is the first center in a network characterized by its design and avant-garde model of preventive, diagnostic, surgical, and emergency services; promoting accessibility, quality, internationalization, and digital transformation of the Dominican health sector.

BarnaClinic encompasses a group of entities led by the “Hospital Clinic of Barcelona”, a renowned university center for biomedical care, teaching, and research, aimed at providing highly specialized and complex clinical and surgical medical services, considered one of the best centers of European assistance.

The modern outpatient center, Médico Express, will provide consultation services, surgery, an international department, adult and pediatric emergencies, a clinical laboratory, and advanced imaging studies.

About Medical Express
It is an innovative outpatient health center designed under international standards, offering high-quality medical services to the local population and tourists,  to make the best specialists, high technology, and cutting-edge treatments available to the eastern area.

The notion that twins do everything together has met a new standard.

Identical twin brothers Pablo and Julio Delcid, 21, underwent matching heart surgeries on the exact same day following their diagnosis of Marfan syndrome.

The duo, of Dover, New Jersey, had been alerted to their risk of Marfan syndrome because a majority of their family members also have it, the twins told Fox News Digital in an on-camera interview.

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"We're a family of five. I have two older sisters who have it," Julio Delcid said. "My older brother doesn't have it as much ... But I also have other family members who have it, too — pretty much through my whole family on my mom’s side."

"It's very genetic," Pablo Delcid added. "When we were younger and were first diagnosed with it, nobody knew what it was." 

He added, "Nobody knew they even had it until tests kept coming in, and they were like, ‘Yeah, it's pretty genetic. Everyone should get tested.'"

Fox News Digital spoke with Dr. Benjamin Van Boxtel, surgical director at the Atlantic Aortic Center at Morristown Medical Center, in a separate interview about the condition; he performed the twins’ surgeries.

The cardiovascular surgeon said that while Marfan syndrome is mostly genetic, it can also occur at random. It's a defect of the gene that creates connective tissues in the human body, he said.

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"Because it's a broad defect in these connective tissues, it can affect many different parts of the body," he said. "So, this could be anywhere from the eyes to the spine and … the heart."

"The most dangerous symptom you could develop with Marfan syndrome is a dilation of the aorta, specifically in the root," he added.

Van Boxtel said the aortic root in Marfan syndrome can become dilated or enlarged, which can cause an "immediately fatal" tear or rupture.

"Or it can cause something called an aortic dissection, which is also potentially very fatal, and becomes a surgical emergency," he said. "That's unfortunately how a lot of people who have Marfan syndrome pass away."

Many of those people don't even know they have the syndrome, Van Boxtel noted.

A valve-sparing root procedure performed before a dilated aorta dissects can be a life-saving operation.

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Marfan syndrome can be difficult to spot, according to Van Boxtel, as it's often marked by common symptoms such as chest pain, poor vision — or being tall and having long limbs.

"When you have an aneurysm [from a] dilated aorta, it's generally asymptomatic, meaning you feel absolutely nothing," he said. "You feel completely fine … Aneurysm disease is silent, it's asymptomatic — which can be really dangerous."

Pablo Delcid, for his part, said there’s "not much you can feel when you're growing into the condition."

He added, "What we didn't know was that our bodies were changing … obviously with height, vision, the length of our arms, feet, legs, even with our chest."

The twins’ mother, Betulia Miranda, had an emergency procedure on Oct. 8, 2023, after experiencing an aortic dissection, which the boys described as "excruciating" for her.

After their mother's surgery was a success, the twins decided to seek preventative surgery performed by Dr. Van Boxtel – but their one request was that they do it together.

"Of course they’re like, ‘Can we go at the same time?’" the doctor said with a laugh.

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Van Boxtel, a father of twins himself, said the double surgery was like "nothing I've ever done before." 

He said, "I've done this procedure hundreds of times. But to do it back-to-back on twin brothers — it was an experience, that's for sure."

It was decided that Pablo Delcid would go first, since he was born five minutes before his brother, followed by Julio Delcid several hours later.

"We always do everything together," Pablo Delcid said. "We live together, go through everything together … We didn't think we could get the operation done together, but everything [was] successful."

The twins agreed that they felt "safer" knowing they were going through the procedure together.

"You kind of feel like you're not going to lose that person," Julio Delcid said. "They're sticking with you, side by side."

Pablo Delcid added, "It’s like your gut’s telling you, ‘All right, if I make it, he's going to make it.’"

On surgery day, Jan. 5, 2024, Van Boxtel and his team distinguished the twins from one another using color-coded ankle bracelets.

The surgeon emphasized the rarity of double heart surgery on twins, especially at such a young age of 21. "This is like the ultimate twin study," he said. 

Van Boxtel said it was "freaky" when he realized that the brothers' hearts were also identical.

"I knew they could be different on the inside, but it ended up that they were the exact same," he said.

Julio Delcid said he was "shocked" that a surgeon like Van Boxtel could take on both surgeries back to back.

"He did the best he could," he said. "He successfully saved our aortic valves, replacing the aneurysm … We were very appreciative."

Marfan syndrome affects about one in 5,000 people, according to Van Boxtel, and impacts men and women equally.

"About 75% of those cases are genetic," he said. "But about 25% of Marfan cases are actually not inherited. They're not from a parent. They're a spontaneous mutation."

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Along with a dilated aortic root (enlarged aorta) or narrow dissection (tear in an artery), patients also run the risk of having a leaky valve, which can lead to heart failure symptoms like shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness and inability to perform normal exertional activity, Van Boxtel said. 

Since Marfan syndrome is often hard to spot on the surface, the Delcid twins emphasized the importance of getting tested, especially for those within the Latin and Hispanic communities.

"It's pretty lethal," Pablo Delcid said. "We almost lost our mother, and that was a traumatic experience."

People with symptoms or with a family history of Marfan syndrome should educate themselves on how best to prevent an aneurysm and connect with a cardiology team, Julio Delcid reiterated.

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"It’s just very important to take the time and the opportunity to get the best treatment that they could possibly get, because if they wait, consequences will happen later," he said.

"Don't fear anything. Just take the time to get yourself checked out and get the help that you need to live a better life."

With the stresses of heart surgery behind them, the twins said they're looking forward to getting outside, playing sports and exercising more than they could before.

"Both their valves were saved," Van Boxtel said. "They weren't leaking at the end. All the things that we look for in a very successful repair they had, and they're going to go on and live normal, healthy lives."

He said he hoped that "these valves last a really, really long time, if not the rest of their lives. They're much better off now than they were walking around with aneurysms."

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Van Boxtel thanked his team for handling the complex, same-day operations on young men with their "whole lives ahead of them."

The Marfan Foundation has various resources for patients at all stages of the condition, the doctor noted.

"I can't underscore how important it is for patients with aneurysms to be seen by a surgeon or a team who is comfortable performing that," he said.

"It's a very, very serious problem … but there's prevention available, and if you get it at the right time, it can be very successful."

For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health.

Speaking Saturday at Ross University’s Obesity Symposium at The Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, Chief Medical Officer Dr Kenneth George said considering the mounting issues of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and illnesses associated with unhealthy lifestyles, commercial players’ rights must not be permitted to jeopardise the nation’s health.

“Historic, cultural, and commercial issues have occasionally caused dissension between the health sector on one hand, and the commercial sector on the other hand. While this is regrettable, we must ensure that the work that is of public health interest is not sacrificed at the altar of profits,” he said.

“In this context, let me clearly state, the Ministry of Health is opposed to the overt and covert marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages to children. Whether it be through the sponsorship of social events, or school sports. We continue to advocate for and work towards a commercial sector that contributes not only to financial growth of the economy, but also to its health and wellness.”

Dr George further noted that in 2022, there were an estimated 2.5 billion overweight adults worldwide; 890 million of whom were people living with obesity, and there were 400 million children who were overweight. These figures, in Dr George’s view, pale in comparison to the starling statistics facing the region, and Barbados in particular.

“We are aware of the alarming statistics and modelling projections for obesity in the region of CARICOM. More than 35 per cent in the school age population are either overweight or obese, and upwards to 60 per cent of the adult population being overweight and or obese. Again, I say the time for action is now,” he said.

“In Barbados, 74.2 per cent of our women, and 57.5 per cent of our men are overweight based on a Health of the Nation study. Alarmingly, the highest percentage of morbid obesity was seen in adults of the 25-44 age group.Obesity is not just a cosmetic concern, it is a medical and public health challenge of the 21st century that increases the risk of ill-health and death. It is imperative to create a society that facilitates decisions and implementation of policies that protect health and wellness.”

Back in 2022, the then Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Dr Sonia Browne, said some policy decisions would have to be taken to address the marketing of unhealthy products to children, especially given the high rate of childhood obesity.

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