Withdrawal of Haitian football team was unavoidable, says Spencer

BY ALICIA DUNKLEY Senior staff reporter dunkleya@jamaicaobserver.com

Thursday, February 24, 2011

HEALTH Minister Rudyard Spencer says the circumstances that led to the withdrawal of the Haitian Under-17 football team from the CONCACAF championships on the weekend was “unavoidable and necessary in order to safeguard public health” and not out of any ill will towards Haiti.

According to Spencer, members of the contingent were screened by public health personnel — as required by international standards — on their arrival at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay on Friday. He said health officials were informed by Jamaica Football Federation doctors the following day that six members of the contingent were displaying symptoms of malaria.

According to Spencer, the individuals were taken to the Cornwall Regional but said all six left the hospital without the permission of the medical team. He said following dialogue between the various officials, five persons were admitted to the Falmouth Hospital, while one person refused to be admitted. three cases were subsequently confirmed and another eight persons identified as exhibiting fever symptoms.

The health minister said every effort was made to ensure that the contingent was taken care of, but noted that there was “resistance and lack of co-operation from members of the contingent and others who discharged themselves from the hospital before completion of their treatment”.

Spencer said the Ministry of Health made the recommendation to CONCACAF that the team be withdrawn from the competition in the interest of the well-being of the other teams involved. The majority of the Haitian team departed the island on February with the remainder following the day after.

Tuesday, Prime Minister Bruce Golding said the “misunderstanding” which sparked much anger in the Haitian community that viewed the team’s discharge as an affront was due in part to “a language challenge”.

Golding expressed “regret” over the extent to which the matter was “sensationalised and exaggerated in Haiti”, leading to protests in which the Caribbean Community flag was burnt. He said Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Kenneth Baugh had established contact with his peers in Haiti, noting that there was “far better understanding at that level”, leading to the arrival of a Haitian delegation in the island on Monday for further discussions.

Golding said that he had also had dialogue with Haitian President Rene Preval in which it was explained that Jamaica’s procedure for dealing with persons diagnosed with illnesses such as malaria was far different from the approach in Haiti.

He said there was no doubt in the president’s mind as to Jamaica’s support for that country, adding that it was “unfortunate that the misunderstanding arose”.

PETALING JAYA: the public has been urged to continue practising good personal hygiene to prevent being infected with Influenza A(H1N1).

Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai also urged all principals and school heads to follow the H1N1 management manual due to the high frequency of cluster cases at schools.

“Students and staff who are infected with the disease or showing influenza-like illness (ILI) symptoms should be sent home.

“they should also get treatment from the nearest health facilities and their condition must be reported to the nearest health office,” he said.

He added that screening must also be carried out to detect students with ILI symptoms at schools with cluster cases or those with abnormally high number of absentees.

Liow also urged those in the high-risk groups (children, senior citizens and those suffering from chronic diseases) to get vaccination.

Liow said that from Jan 1 until Wednesday, there had been 679 confirmed H1N1 cases with three deaths.

One victim was a SMK Bandar Baru Sungai Long student, who tested positive for the virus and died on Feb 24.

Liow said the Hulu Langat district health office had investigated the school on Tuesday and found that 15 of the 42 classmates of the deceased were having either cough or flu without fever.

He said that during the investigation, eight teachers were screened but none of them had ILI symptoms.

On Wednesday, the school decided to close until next Thursday when two of its teachers took medical leave due to fever, cough and flu and 149 out of its 1,600 students in the morning session were absent.

Health Ministry deputy director-general (public health) Datuk Dr Hasan Abdul Rahman said that as of yesterday, 21% of 263 ILI cases had tested positive for H1N1.

Meanwhile, Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong said state education departments and district education officers had been put on alert to look out for any sign of Influenza A(H1N1) cases.

He said his ministry had “activated the mechanism” needed to monitor the situation and urged parents not to worry.

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26 January 2011 last updated at 18:05 ET Share this page Cholera is spread by contaminated food or water

More than 20 Venezuelans have contracted cholera after visiting the Dominican Republic, the Venezuelan health ministry has said.

The patients were taken to hospital in Caracas after showing symptoms and were being kept in quarantine.

They had travelled to the Dominican Republic for a wedding.

Cholera reached the Dominican Republic last November from neighbouring Haiti, where an epidemic has killed almost 4,000 people.

A number of other Venezuelans are also thought to have the disease.

"the people must remain calm because all those infected had attended a family gathering in the Dominican Republic," said Venezuelan Health Minister Eugenia Sader.

She added that Venezuela had sufficient medical supplies to treat 10,000 cholera cases.

The Dominican Republic has recorded 238 cases of cholera and registered its first cholera death last Sunday. the victim was a 53-year-old Haitian man.

In Haiti, almost 200,000 people have been infected since the epidemic broke out in October, but aid agencies say the rate of infection has slowed.

For Haiti and the Dominican Republic, which share the island of Hispaniola, it is the first cholera outbreak in more than a century.

Venezuela, in contrast, has suffered occasional outbreaks in recent decades.

Cholera is a bacterial disease spread by contaminated drinking water or food, but is treatable with oral or intravenous rehydration and antibiotics.

8 November 2010 Last updated at 19:29 ET Share this page some 19 million people logged on for swine flu information

An NHS website which encourages people to self-diagnose saves the health service millions of pounds a year, a study suggests.

Last year there were more than 100 million visits the NHS Choices site, a 10% increase compared with 2009.

The site offers patients a quick reference guide to illnesses, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment.

A separate study from Imperial College London found 70% of patients used the internet to search for information.

‘Trusted information’

A third of these then decided there was no need to visit their GP.

Reductions in avoidable and unnecessary consultations among young people could amount to savings of about £44m per year, the university's report said.

The NHS Choices annual report found some 19 million people logged on to the site for information on swine flu, while overall there were on average 200,000 visits a day.

The site has space for patients to write comments about hospitals and GP surgeries, and more than 40,000 have been posted so far.

Health minister Simon Burns said: "every day we use the internet and technology to organise our lives, and increasingly when it comes to our health.

"for example, more and more people are taking the information they have found online with them when they consult their GP. It is important they can find accurate, trusted information from sources such as NHS Choices.

"It is vital that every penny spent on the NHS counts, and the Imperial College research shows that tools like NHS Choices can help deliver savings."