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Bahrain reports first swine flu death
Bahrain has reported yesterday its first fatality case from the swine flu virus, the Gulf Daily News has reported. Health officials have said the victim, a 30-year-old Filipina, had died at the Salmaniya Medical Complex where she was admitted with acute respiratory failure.
UAE buys swine flu testing lab
The UAE's Ministry of Health has signed an agreement with Citomed, a biotechnology company, to buy a virology laboratory that can conduct H1N1 tests within 24 hours. The lab will be built in Al Qasimi Hospital in Sharjah and be operational within 60 days, the ministry said.
Lifestyle illnesses boost Hikma sales
Jordan-based Hikma Pharmaceuticals has said that sales of drugs to treat lifestyle-related chronic diseases now account for more than half of its sales in the Middle East, where it makes more than two-thirds of its annual turnover, the Financial Times has reported. Increasingly westernised lifestyles amongst people in the Middle East have led to rising sales of hypertension and diabetes drugs, Said Darwazah, Hikma's chief executive said. "Countries such as the UAE, Bahrain and the Gulf countries are having serious problems with diabetes, so we are launching a big portfolio of anti-diabetic products."
SKMC relocates pre-employment med exams
Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC) managed by Cleveland Clinic has announced it has relocated all of its pre-employment medical exams from Al Ettihad Center to the Outpatient Speciality Clinic at SKMC Campus. Pre-employment medical exams at the new location will be performed by physicians who are trained and specialized in occupational medicine and will be managed by Environment Health and Safety Division of SKMC.
Qatari to rethink H1N1 plans
The Qatari Supreme Council of Health has said that with the fast spread of the H1N1 virus across the globe, it is going to change its plans to deal with the latest developments. It had been focusing on people entering Qatar from countries where there had been a large number of swine flu cases, but the large number of people gathering in places such as mosques and shopping malls during Ramadan has prompted it to rethink its plans.
Lifestyle diseases create Saudi healthcare boom
According to a research by India-based research firm RNCOS, the Saudi Arabian healthcare market is experiencing rapid growth. Due to the prevalence of lifestyle diseases, such as obesity, diabetes and hypertension, the healthcare sector in the kingdom is growing faster than in other countries in the Middle East. Over the coming years, the report - called Saudi Arabian Healthcare Market Forecast to 2012 - said healthcare would see double digit growth. "The pharmaceutical market and medical device market in Saudi Arabia are forecast to grow at a CAGR of around 12% and 7%, respectively," the report said.
Jordan cancer centre to set up stem cell bank
Jordan's King Hussein Cancer Centre (KHCC) is setting up a stem cell bank to support its stem cell transplantation programme, which handles up to 100 cases every year, the Jordan Times has reported. "The stem cell bank will be established as part of a 2,000-square-metre expansion of the KHCC and it will be a public bank not a private one," KHCC Director General Mahmoud Sarhan said.
Heart Centre to open soon
Qatar-based company Hamad Medical has said its Heart Centre will open before the end of the year. The hospital, which is built within the Rumailah Hospital campus, will have a built-up area of 25,000sqm and have 120 beds at the opening.
Amgen, DuBiotech explore expansion plans
Dubai Biotechnology and Research Park, a major life sciences hub in the Middle East and a member of Tecom Investments, announced that it discussed expansion plans with Amgen International during a meeting of senior management. Amgen is the world's largest biotechnology company with an estimated market capitalization of $65bn. It was one of the first biotech companies to establish operations in the Middle East. (Mac Capital Advisors)
Kuwait warns against online H1N1 drug sales
Kuwait's Pharmaceutical Services Office and Poison Centre has warned the public not to buy antiـviral drugs to treat swine flu via the internet without a doctor's prescription. By using such drugs, patients may increase the risk of weakening their resistance towards the virus, the Centre's Director Issam AlـBaho said. He urged people to ensure an online pharmacy is legitimate before buy medicines, particularly from countries where online sales are not licensed.
New immigrants face medical tests
New workers entering Saudi Arabia must undergo medical checkups and tests soon after their arrival, the National Recruitment Committee in the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce has said. Although workers must first undergo medical tests in their own countries, Chairman of the group Saad Al-Baddah said they might be exposed to infectious diseases during their travel to the kingdom.
Mobile phone to measure health
A research team at Jordan's Princess Sumaya University for Technology has developed a system that measures oxygen level concentration in the blood using infrared rays, conducts electrocardiography and measures body temperature - all using a patient's mobile phone. Based on Bluetooth technology, the results can be displayed on the phone, saved and sent to a medical specialist. The project's main aim is help those living in remote areas.
HoldiPharma opens cold chain pharmacy in Egypt
Egypt's Holding Company for Pharmaceuticals has opened its EGP3.5m cold chain pharmacy, in Bab El Louk, for biological products. It can store products at temperatures ranging between 2°C and 8°C from the point of manufacturing to administration, the company said. "As biologics outnumber ordinary drugs, cold chains will be an integral part of storing and delivering drugs," Dr Magdy Hassan, Chairman of HoldiPharma and the Pharmaceutical Cosmetics & Appliances' Chamber said.
Makkah hotels to provide doctors for flu
Hotels in Makkah will be provided with resident doctors by Umrah companies as a precautionary measure to contain a potential swine flu outbreak, Arab News has reported. Saad Al-Qurashi, chairman of Haj and Umrah Committee at Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry has said that resident doctors would be provided through the Health Affairs Committee at the chamber. The doctors would detect cases of diseases among pilgrims and treat them.
Al Ain opens maternity ward
Al Ain Hospital has announced the launch of its renovated Labour and Delivery Section. The new section features include six specialised Stryker birthing beds, a self-contained hi-tech operating table, blood gas analyzer, CTG machines that enable continuous electronic fetal monitoring of baby's heart rate and the mother's labour contractions, top-of-the range anaesthetic and ultrasound machines and iLED cold lights that eliminate the patient discomfort resulting from high energy surgical lights. Al Ain Hospital is managed by VAMED and the Medical University of Vienna and is owned and operated by the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company.
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