health
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Ebola survivors’ blood to treat deadly disease
Anastassia Cunningham, Health Coordinator The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that the blood of patients who recover from the deadly Ebola virus could be used to treat those still suffering from the disease. Like other infections, infected humans produce antibodies in the blood in an attempt to fight off an Ebola attack. According to scientific theory, those antibodies can…
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St. Lucia prepares to deal with possible threat of Ebola virus
CASTRIES, St.Lucia, Oct. 2, CMC – Senior Medical Officer in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Sharon Belmar-George says the country is improving its readiness and ability to respond, to a possible threat of the Ebola virus . Belmar says Ministry of Health has taken an approach approved by both regional and international standards. This includes education and sensitization for health…
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CARICOM Leading Charge against Chikungunya, Ebola Threat
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) continues to be at the forefront of efforts to deal with the Chikungunya epidemic and the Ebola threat. CARICOM Secretary General Ambassador Irwin LaRocque held discussions on the weekend with representatives of the governments of Brazil and Argentina on assistance for the Region, particularly in the fight against Chikungunya. The discussions with the Brazil’s Vice-Minister for…
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Jamaica reeling under Chikungunya virus
KINGSTON, Jamaica, Sept 29, CMC – The Jamaica government has acknowledged that the outbreak of the mosquito-borne Chikungunya virus is taking a toll on the country's education system with reports of a significant increase in student and teacher absenteeism. While unable to give exact figures, Education Minister Ronald Thwaites, said schools in the Corporate Area and eastern parishes were the…
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PAHO to launch mobile app to measure cardiovascular risk
WASHINGTON, Sep. 28, CMC – The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) will on Monday launch a new app for mobile devices and computers that calculates the risk of cardiovascular disease among Caribbean nationals. The launch will take place in recognition of World Heart Day, celebrated yearly on September 29. The app is based on a World Health Organization (WHO)…
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CARICOM strengthens Chikungunya, Ebola response
(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is formalizing recommendations to deal with any possible incidence of the Ebola virus and is ramping up efforts to respond to the Chikungunya epidemic. On Friday, 12 September, Chief Medical Officers and other technical health experts from CARICOM Member States met via video conference to rationalise the Region’s response to…
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Statement by Ambassador Irwin Larocque, Secretary-General Caribbean Community (CARICOM) on the Occasion of Caribbean Wellness Day 13 September 2014
The celebration of Caribbean Wellness Day continually reminds us of that historic moment when our Heads of Government pioneered that significant policy initiative known as the Declaration of Port-of-Spain on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs). On the basis of scientific facts they raised their voices acknowledging that NCDs could imperil our economies like no other known health issue. The Declaration has the…
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Health Minister notes impact of diabetes, hypertension, and obesity
Health Minister Dr. Fenton Ferguson says the national burden posed by non-communicable diseases (NCD) constitute a major public health challenge, which undermines the country's social and economic development. Dr. Ferguson said recent national surveys showed an increase in the major behavioural risk factors and NCDs, such as hypertension, obesity and diabetes, among adults. The Minister emphasised that it is in…
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Caribbean urged not to be complacent about Ebola
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad, Friday September 12– No case of the deadly Ebola virus has yet been detected in the Caribbean. However, this is no reason for complacency. This is the word from Dr. James Hospedales , Executive Director of The Trinidad-based Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), as he addressed journalists at a regional press conference in Port-of-Spain Trinidad and Tobago. “The…
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Guyana’s investment in HIV/AIDS battle paying off- NAPS Director
Guyana’s prevalence rate of HIV has increased but that now indicates that more people are living rather than dying of the disease due to aggressive public education and greater access to treatment and care, Head of the National AIDS Programme Secretariat, Dr. Shanti Singh said. Singh said latest research shows that the prevalence rate is 1.4 percent or 7,700 persons…
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