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More bird flu in Egypt
Two new cases of the H5N1 strain of bird flu have been reported in people in Egypt, following the North African country's 16th fatality from the disease last week, reported Reuters. The two fresh cases have been detected in Damietta and in Menoufia, with the latter believed to be a woman in her twenties. A health ministry official said Egypt has now had a total of 41 human bird flu cases.
UAE unaffected by recall
The recall of diabetes test strips by pharmaceutical firm Bayer should not affect patients in the UAE as the product is not sold in the country, reported Gulf News. The strips are used with Bayer's Contour TS blood glucose metre and they were found to give falsely high readings of up to 17%. It is possible expatriates from the likes of the US, Turkey and India may have acquired the strips.
Moorfields Dubai checks
Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai has rolled out a vision screening initiative at the Jumeirah English Speaking Schools (JESS) for children aged between five and seven. The check-ups included testing for distance and near visual acuity, stereopsis (binocular depth perception), eye muscle balance and movement as well as retinal or red reflex. The screening commenced in the Arabian Ranches development and ended at the JESS Jumeirah School.
Six water brands found unsafe in Egypt
Egypt's Consumer Protection Agency found six locally produced brands of bottled water, unfit for human consumption, agency chairman Said el-Alfy said on Wednesday, reported Reuters.
Egypt reports new bird flu death
An Egyptian woman has died from the bird flu, the 16th person to get the virus in Egypt, the health ministry said on Wednesday, reported AFP. Oula Yunes Ali, 25, died on Tuesday after being admitted to hospital on Friday with a high fever, ministry spokesman Abdel Rahmane Shahin said in a statement carried by the official MENA news agency. Egypt and Indonesia remained high-risk because of the permanent contact that many people in both nations have with domesticated birds.
Food safety cartoons in UAE
The Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA) is to develop a number of cartoon characters to help make children more aware of food safety, reported Gulf News. Six one hour films are planned and the characters will all have traditional local names and will reflect UAE culture. But the ADFCA is keen to reach out to other communities and the films will be produced in Arabic, English and Urdu.
Panacea to QSTP
US based pharmaceutical firm Panacea is planning to set up a centre at the Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP), reported The Peninsula. The firm is looking to make a multi million dollar investment on a vaccine therapy laboratory for breast cancer and prostate cancer. It is hoped initial work on the centre will get underway in the new year.
Pharmacovigilance workshop held
The first national pharmacovigilance (PV) workshop has been hosted by the Health Authority Abu Dhabi in association with the UAE's Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation, reported Gulf News. The three day event focused on the need to assess the safety of drugs and medicines in use in the UAE through building a new national PV policy, which will include the establishment of a national committee.
Al Mafraq in Thai tie-up
Abu Dhabi's Al Mafraq Hospital is to build a new facility in the capital costing $544m in partnership with Thailand's Bumrungrad International Hospital, reported Gulf News. The decision was taken after the UAE's health authorities discovered that as many as 70,000 nationals travelled to Bangkok last year for treatment at the Bumrungrad Hospital. The new facility should be ready in 2012 and among the services offered will be morbid obesity surgery.
10,000 beds for UAE by 2025
Faisal bin Juma Belhoul, the Vice Chairman of Belhoul Lifecare and the Founder and Managing Partner of Ithmar Capital, has told Meed's Healthcare Projects 2007 conference that a 'major structural revolution in the healthcare industry is inevitable' and he predicted that 10,000 more hospital beds will be needed in the UAE alone by 2025. Belhoul added that the private sector needed to provide much of the required funding.
Eid rules for UAE doctors
The UAE's Ministry of Health has warned the country's doctors that they are meant to be 'on call 24 hours a day' during the upcoming Eid holidays and if they wish to take any days off they must first find a substitute before submitting a written leave request, reported Gulf News. The ruling cuts across all disciplines including GPs and any doctor who flouts the procedure could have their licence withdrawn.
Bahrain advises Hajjis
Health authorities in Bahrain are advising pilgrims who are set to leave the kingdom to undertake Hajj to see a doctor before their departure, reported the Gulf Daily News. The country's Hajj Medical Mission Head Dr Ahmed Al Omran said 15,000 Hajjis from Bahrain are expected to visit Saudi Arabia. The mission is sending a team of 45 health experts to set up clinics in Mecca, Medina and Arafa.
No vaccine worries for UAE
The decision last week by pharmaceutical firm Merck and Company to recall haemophilus influenzae type B (HiB) vaccines in the US due to contamination concerns, will not have any impact on supplies in the UAE, reported Gulf News. The vaccines guard against meningitis, pneumonia and other infections but the UAE receives its drugs from another pharmaceutical company, Sanofi-Aventis. The UAE also has enough supplies of these vaccines to last a year.
New bird flu cases in four countries
Poland, Russia, Vietnam, and Saudi Arabia reported new outbreaks of the deadly H5N1 avian influenza in birds today, reported CIDRAP News. In Saudi Arabia, the agriculture ministry today announced an H5N1 outbreak at an egg production farm south of Riyadh. The ministry said the farm, in the Alsahba area in Al-Kharj governorate, has about 400,000 hens. Saudi Arabia has had a series of avian flu outbreaks in the Riyadh vicinity that began Nov 12.
Dubai group to invest $250m
Dubai-based healthcare service provider Dr. Moopen's Group plans to invest about $250m in the healthcare service industry by 2012, reported Khaleej Times. Chairman Dr. Azad Moopen said that the group's expansion plans cover the entire Middle East and India. The group will launch several hospitals, Medcentres and Medshops in the next five years.
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