Ahead of World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) Day, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) on Friday called for increased efforts to eliminate these diseases, which affect more than 50 million people in the Americas.

PAHO said leprosy, dengue, Chagas disease, leishmaniasis, rabies, scabies, schistosomiasis and trachoma are among the more than 20 diseases that primarily impact vulnerable populations with limited access to safe water, basic sanitation and health-care services.

“Addressing this group of diseases requires a comprehensive and multifaceted approach,” PAHO director Dr Jarbas Barbosa said.

He emphasised the importance of implementing strategies such as surveillance, mass drug administration, expanded vaccination coverage, vector control, and increased awareness and education.

Historically, these diseases have had a limited presence on the global public health agenda, receiving little attention and funding.

However, in recent years, it said NTDs have gained greater visibility due to various strategies, such as PAHO’s Disease Elimination Initiative, which aims to eliminate more than 30 communicable diseases and related conditions by 2030, including 12 from the NTD group.

As of December 2024, PAHO said 54 countries worldwide had eliminated at least one NTD.

In the Americas, 11 countries have achieved at least one elimination target.

World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day is observed on January 30. This year’s theme, “Acting Together. Putting Communities at the Heart of the Fight Against NTDs,” underscores “the importance of amplifying community voices, strengthening their capacities, and ensuring people are at the centre of actions while respecting their ways of life to ensure the sustainability of these efforts.”

Leprosy, part of the neglected tropical diseases group, is a chronic infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae, which primarily affects the skin and peripheral nerves.

If untreated, it can lead to progressive and permanent disabilities.

However, leprosy is curable through multidrug therapy (MDT), “an accessible and effective treatment.”

Early diagnosis plays “a crucial role in the fight against the disease and timely treatment can prevent disabilities and deformities, and stop transmission,” it said.

In 2023, PAHO said 182,815 new cases of leprosy were reported globally, 13.6 per cent of which were in the Region of the Americas.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, about 30,000 new cases were reported annually in the Americas.

However, this figure dropped significantly during the pandemic but rose again in 2023 to around 25,000 cases.

PAHO said World Leprosy Day, observed on the last Sunday of January, “aims to raise awareness about the disease and end discrimination, stigma and prejudice against patients.”

SOURCE: CMC

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The Barbados Cancer Society (BCS) has sounded the alarm on the increasing incidence of colon cancer in the country, attributing it largely to Barbadians’ current diet.

This urgent health concern was highlighted during the society’s annual raffle prize-giving ceremony, where campaigners called for immediate action to address the growing crisis.

The Cancer Society president, Professor David Rosin, emphasised the urgent need for dietary improvements to curb the trend.

“The [second] most common cancer [here] is colon cancer [and] it’s probably due to diet,” he explained. “It’s another cancer that is also more commonly passed down through families. Why it is increasing here [however] is because of the diet. Your parents and grandparents ate a much healthier diet with high fibre, lots of breadfruit, etcetera, whereas nowadays, I’m afraid to say, it’s a lot of fast food and food which is low in fibre.

“Really, we have to impress upon people and also the young people in the schools that they should eat healthy.”

The professor also highlighted the prevalence of prostate cancer, with over 300 cases reported annually.

Professor Rosin said: “Here in Barbados, the commonest of cancer is still – despite it being half the population [men] – prostate cancer.

There are in fact 320 new cases every year out of a population of 285 000 people. That is about 45 per cent of all cancers [reported locally]. It’s really something to worry about.

“The anxiety here is not only is it the commonest cancer, but it is also unfortunately more aggressive and occurring in younger men.”

Shelly-Ann Forde, the society’s administrative director, added that recent community outreach efforts have seen rising interest among some men in coming forward for the necessary testing.

She said: “At a recent outreach event sponsored by [the Bureau of] Gender Affairs, we were doing free screenings and we even had to turn back some of the men. We already had the initiative to go out into the community before that, but that kind of reinforced the fact that men do want to be screened, and if there is an opportunity they do come out and try to be screened.”

However, Professor Rosin said the current number of men coming forward remains inadequate and urged families to encourage testing.

He said: “I would ask their wives, sisters, brothers, to come forward and say to them ‘be sensible; go and have a PSA test’. If you can [diagnose] a cancer at the beginning, the treatment is much less aggressive, and you won’t need radical surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, all that. It’s really almost stupid not to be screened.”

During the event, the first-place winners of the 2024 BCS raffle, Raymond and Sheena Gill, represented by Shauntel Rock, received a $25 000 prize. They donated $5 000 of their winnings to the Cancer Society.

shamarblunt@barbadostoday.bb

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Blind and visually impaired persons are urging the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) to implement audio alerts for medication collection, highlighting a significant accessibility gap in healthcare services.

Their calls come in the wake of repeated challenges members of that community encounter while accessing certain services at the island’s lone public general hospital.

On Thursday, a caller on the radio call-in programme Down to Brass Tacks complained that while audio alert indicators were put in place to accommodate persons with disabilities in at least two of the island’s polyclinics, more could be done at the hospital.

The caller, who identified himself as blind, said: “What I am calling about is something that I experience every time I go to the pharmacy at the QEH and I hoping that the director of the QEH and the minister is listening to me very carefully. I am blind, let me make that clear first. When I go to Winston Scott Polyclinic or the Edgar Cochrane Polyclinic to get medication, there is a device at the pharmacy that tells you the number and you then would go up to the pharmacy and hand in your prescription and get your medication. But what I have observed is that when I got to the eye clinic at the hospital and I have to go and get medication from the pharmacy, they have that same device but it doesn’t talk. So anybody that goes to the pharmacy at the QEH that is blind or visually impaired they have to depend on somebody to tell them when their number is up on the screen. I would like the director of the hospital or the minister to look into that and make sure that they put one of the ones that talk.”

Failing that, the caller suggested that a teller terminal system be set up in which people could pull numbers and an automated audio caller would announce the number.

Vice-president of the Barbados Council for the Disabled, Ambassador Kerry-Ann Ifill, confirmed that her organisation had received numerous complaints about the situation over the years.

Ifill told Barbados TODAY that there were technologies such as vibrating buzzers that could be used.

“They could use the same system that the restaurants are using, the buzzer system, which would make better sense because they flash and vibrate and use them for people who only have disabilities. That way, when you go and you are blind or deaf, nobody would have to tell you when your number [is] called. That is a simple solution and yes, it is a big issue that we face with the hospital,” she said.

Asked how persons with disabilities get around the issue, she said: “With a lot of frustration and there are some good people out there that will tell you your number called or ask you what number you have and monitor it for you. Some nurses also assist but it doesn’t lend to an independent experience.”

Ifill added that people with disabilities wanted to be independent and feel empowered and issues such as this were a major setback.

When contacted, the QEH promised a response to the concerns highlighted, but no statement was provided up to press time. (SZB)

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The Vector Control Unit will concentrate its fogging exercise in St Lucy and St Peter for most of this week.

On Monday the team will visit communities in St Lucy, including Trent’s Road, Hannays Road, Swampy Town, and Hope Bridge Road.

The Unit will focus on areas in St Peter on Tuesday when it goes into Speightstown, Queen Street, Bovell Road, Mango Lane, Chapel Street, Gooding Alley, Major Walk, Sand Street, Church Street, Golden Mile with avenues, and environs.

Wednesday will see the team return to St Lucy, where the following areas will be sprayed: Pie Corner, Little Bay, Upper Salmond, Josey Hill, Rock Hall, Mount View, Chance Hall, Cave Hill, and Bishops.

It will be the turn of Graveyard, The Risk, Date Tree Hill, Boscobelle, Collins, Diamond Corner, Moore Hill, Castle, and Gays in St Peter, on Thursday.

The fogging exercise for the week will conclude on Friday in the following St Michael and Christ Church districts: Deighton Road, Gooding Road, Brathwaite Gap, Dayrells Road, Plum Close, Rockley New Road, Ventnor Gardens, and Golf Club Road.
Fogging takes place from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. daily. Householders are reminded to open their windows and doors to allow the spray to enter. Children should not be allowed to play in the fog.

Members of the public are advised that the completion of scheduled fogging activities may be affected by events beyond the Unit’s control. In such circumstances, the Unit will return to communities affected in the soonest possible time.

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Santo Domingo.- Pro Consumidor’s executive director, Eddy Alcántara, announced that as of Wednesday, October 30, all companies involved in the distribution, marketing, and bottling of drinking water, as well as small businesses, will be prohibited from displaying water bottles in direct sunlight. This decision comes after scientific studies demonstrated the health risks posed by such exposure.

Alcántara emphasized that the measure aligns with agreements made with water bottling associations to prevent further exposure of this essential product to harmful conditions. Businesses are urged to store water properly to ensure it remains safe for consumption.

Pro Consumidor had previously warned of “drastic” sanctions against companies that fail to comply with this regulation due to the risks associated with sun exposure.

Santo Domingo.- The Dominican Medical Association (CMD) submitted a draft law to the National Congress aimed at decriminalizing medical acts where there is no intent to cause harm. The proposal, presented by Deputy Dr. Monserrat Santana to the Chamber of Deputies, emphasizes that the doctor-patient relationship is based on good faith, with medical procedures focused on patient well-being, and should not be criminalized without proof of malicious intent.

The CMD bases its proposal on several constitutional principles:

• The right to health as a fundamental right in the Dominican Constitution.
• Protection of human dignity as a core function of the state.
• Presumption of good faith in medical procedures aimed at preserving life and health.
• A need for clear legal criteria to ensure health professionals are penalized only when malicious intent is proven.

The CMD believes this reform is crucial for providing legal security to doctors while upholding patients’ fundamental rights. The organization hopes Congress will favorably consider the proposal, as it would reduce unjustified legal risks for medical professionals and strengthen the Dominican health system. The project seeks a balance between responsible medical practice and legal protection for both doctors and patients.

That’s the thinking of advocates and state legislators across the country, who also see it as a way to pull in more revenue. But at virtually every turn — including in Nebraska, Colorado, Oregon and New Mexico — efforts to raise taxes on alcoholic beverages have been thwarted by the alcohol industry, a vast and powerful coalition of corporate conglomerates, mom-and-pop producers, retail stores, hospitality workers, trade associations and their lobbyists. The result is a population with mounting alcohol-related woes and an ever-cheaper, more accessible supply of drink. 

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In observance of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, First Lady Arya Ali has partnered with the Dr. Balwant Singh Hospital to provide sponsorship of 1,000 mammograms for women across Guyana, her office said in a statement on Wednesday. The initiative aims to raise awareness about the importance of early detection in the fight against breast cancer, ...

“I remember a young Grenadian girl with long braids and a colourful beaded bracelet that spelled “Smile.” I was surprised when she told me she wanted to be a dentist”

View the full post Don’t give up, give back on NOW Grenada.

Does anyone here listen to Who Weekly? They sort celebrities into “Whos” (the not-as-famous) and “Thems” (the universally-well-known). So, like: RFK is a Them, while Casey and Calley Means are Whos. The study below on sense of smell and breathing made me think: What’s the Who-to-Them ranking of the five senses? First I thought smell was the Whoiest, but my editor wisely suggested touch as the sense people most often forget. Sight is the Themiest, obviously.

(Please tell me this makes sense to someone?)

A major study on infant survival and physician race is called into question

In 2020, a high-profile study in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science found that Black infants were half as likely to survive to their first birthday when cared for by white doctors compared to Black ones. But a new analysis published in the same journal upends those results. Researchers found that the survival difference in the original study was almost entirely attributable to infants’ very low birth weights. Physician race still appears to play some role in infant survival, but not a statistically significant one.

Continue to STAT+ to read the full story…