The remaining four cases are imported and pertain to Haitian nationals, two men aged 47 and 31, a woman aged 72, and a 9-year-old girl.

There are 31 confirmed positive cases of the disease in the country, in addition to these six. The patients were admitted between January 18 and 20, according to a press release, after presenting with whitish watery diarrhea and vomiting. “When they were treated at the health center, they were hydrated and stabilized before proceeding immediately to take stool samples, which turned out to be positive for cholera this Sunday,” according to the Ministry of Health.

He adds that the medical report confirms that the patients have been without bowel movements for more than 24 hours, that they are stable and in good spirits, and that they will be discharged in the next few hours.

Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Nearly four months after its reappearance in Haiti, the number of cholera victims has risen to 496 dead, the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP) reported Saturday.

The country has already registered 25,182 suspected cases and 21,407 hospitalized, 73 new, while 312 of the 496 deaths occurred in health institutions and 184 in the communities.

In a bulletin, the health authorities state that the average age of those infected is 19 years, and the positivity rate is 37.25%.

56.60% of the accumulated suspected cases are men, and the remaining are women. The most affected age group is 1 to 4 years old, with 374 confirmed cases out of more than 3,000 suspected cases.

The most affected department is the West, where Port-au-Prince is located and where more than one-third of the population lives, with 1,155 confirmed cases for 16,408 suspected cases.

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned last week that the world is suffering unprecedented cholera outbreaks in countries affected by climate disasters and other crises. As a result, vaccines to prevent this disease have become “extremely scarce.”

During the meeting, the president of the Health Cabinet also evaluated the implementation of the “Malaria Elimination Strategy” carried out by the technical team of epidemiologists of the San Juan Provincial Health Directorate and presented by Dr. Rosa Alvino, focused on projecting and reinforcing strategies that can reduce the indicators of the disease.

“Today we are here to kick off a strategic program carried out by epidemiological team, since this province has the highest number of cases registered in the country; no one has died from the disease, but we have to focus on reducing cases,” the official said.

He suggested visiting the transmission centers two or three times a week to keep control of the situation and continue with the prevention strategies in the area, “it is very important to work on the operational part, taking into account the specific points of transmission, we have to go to the field where the active focus is,” he recommended.

Before the meeting, Dr. Rivera visited the facilities of the company Maguana Tropical, where he spoke with its production manager, Edwin Ordas, about the safety and hygiene measures that are being carried out to prevent malaria, cholera, and other diseases.

He also held a meeting with the director of the Centro Universitario Regional Oeste Curo- UASD, Carlos Manuel Sánchez, with whom he discussed health issues and analyzed the support to students of different careers in the prevention of viral diseases and other types of operations carried out by the Provincial Health Office.

He also went to the call of the bishop, Monsignor Tomas Concepción of the church Diocese of San Juan de la Maguana, along with the priest Pedro Pablo Mateo, to agree to expedite the process of requesting medicines; so that they arrive on time when requested by the episcopate.

“Those processes can be expedited through Habilitation and Accreditation; it is neither difficult nor impossible; besides, for us, the church should always be given priority,” concluded Dr. Rivera.

Santo Domingo
This Friday, another person died in the Villa Liberación sector, in El Almirante, Santo Domingo East, presumably from cholera, but laboratory tests will be needed to confirm this.

This death occurs amid the concern generated in this sector by the spread of cholera, which according to community members, has left at least five dead.

At least six cases have been confirmed, and others are awaiting test results.

The Public Health authorities intervened in the sector to stop the disease, installing a mobile hospital in the Center for Diagnosis and Primary Attention of the Villa Liberation sector to treat suspected cases.

Among the actions they carry out is searching for suspected cases to provide immediate Attention. In addition, they have asked those with diarrheal symptoms not to waste time and seek assistance.

Since the first case of cholera was registered in the country, following the increase in cases in Haiti, the authorities have set up a cordon in La Zurza, Capotillo, and other sectors near the banks of the Isabela River, where the presence of the bacteria that causes cholera has been confirmed.

The Ministry of Public Health and the Santo Domingo Water and Sewage Corporation (Caasd), among other government institutions, are involved in the actions.

The subject was brought up by Dr. César José Herrera, director of the Cardiovascular Center of Diagnostic, Advanced Medicine, and Telemedicine Centers (CEDIMAT). Herrera was accompanied by executives from the University of Bologna, Italy, with whom a collaboration agreement in the field of education was recently signed.

Herrera explained that young people with athletic bodies and even well-trained quads come to the services, but they have a history of using steroids and are suffering from the aortic disease. In that order, he and the European university’s directors both emphasize the importance of conducting research and gathering data to aid decision-making. The Dominican Republic ranks fourth in the Caribbean region in terms of cardiovascular mortality, trailing only Haiti, Guyana, and Suriname, indicating a public health issue.

As a result, the Centers for Diagnosis and Advanced Medicine and Medical Conferences and Telemedicine (CEDIMAT) received a visit from directors of the University of Bologna, Italy, as part of their efforts to promote cardiovascular health, and an important agreement was recently signed to develop joint projects in everything related to cardiovascular surgery.

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For the first time in the history of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), the top interns are all females.

On Thursday, during a ceremony in the QEH Auditorium, Dr Sabeehah Nana was named Intern of the Year 2021-2022, while her colleagues Dr Jacinth Mayers, Dr Rheanne Sandiford, Dr Kinelle Gill, and Dr Davinia Bostic were outstanding interns. 

They were chosen from the 36 interns at the hospital.

During her speech, Dr Nana described her experience as an intern as a never-ending year consisting of long days and many sleepless nights which triggered various emotions. 

However, she also stated that her experience was rewarding and caused her to appreciate the value she could give to patients. 

Dr Nana added that as she made her rounds through various departments shadowing leading consultants and their team of doctors, she gathered valuable experience.

“My advice to all upcoming doctors is to stay focused on your goals despite the many challenges you will face, as the reward will be greater than the test you will face. 

“A strong support system, teamwork, commitment and dedication are key to your success. I would like to close by first thanking the Almighty Allah for my success. On behalf of my colleagues and I, we would like to thank the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for selecting us as recipients for these awards,” the top intern said.

Internship Coordinator Dr Clyde Cave said the outstanding interns demonstrated, during the practical exercise, the characteristics of young doctors at the top of their field.

He said they had not only performed well but showed “all the potential of being outstanding doctors in our community”. 

Dr Cave stressed that merely showing up for work was not enough, and those who excelled should be recognised.

“When we had the meeting to finalise the discussion, all these young doctors brought different profiles to being successful. Most important, it was caring for their patients, it was also reliability and dependability to their team,” he said. 

“The biggest compliment you can pay to an intern is for their supervisor to say ‘when I am away, I am fully confident that our patient is in good hands’, and all outstanding interns rose to that level. 

“There were some whose personal style and caring was exemplary, there were some whose efficiency and reliability was an outstanding trait, there were some that their knowledge and desire to grow in academia was an important characteristic,” Dr Cave said, stressing that “there are many dimensions to being a successful physician”.

Executive Director of Clinical & Diagnostic Services Dr the Most Honourable Corey Forde commended the young doctors for excelling thus far in their careers.

He encouraged them to treat each patient “as though they were your family member”. 

“Take a very patient-centred approach . . . throughout your entire career, irrespective of the career of the individual, irrespective of the class of the individual, irrespective of the religion of the individual, irrespective of the sexual orientation, or irrespective of religious belief. I think this is strategically important for your entire career,” Dr Forde advised. (AH)

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Only licensed doctors have the authority to prescribe medicinal cannabis in Barbados and only pharmacists are legally allowed to dispense it.

This reminder came from Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Barbados Medicinal Cannabis Licensing Authority (BMCLA) Senator Shanika Roberts-Odle at Wednesday’s National Council on Substance Abuse (NCSA) panel discussion themed, Cannabis: Medicinal and Recreational: What really is the Difference? 

“If you take your doctor’s prescription and go to the very helpful neighbourhood man that happens to hang on the corner, you have now entered the illegal realm. Please turn back. It has to be prescribed by a doctor and then dispensed by a pharmacist,” the BMCLA boss cautioned.

“Your doctor, if you have gone to them for a while, knows your history – knows your medical history, knows your history potentially with narcotics or any other kinds of drugs. 

“Your doctor is the best to decide if your condition is best served with medicinal cannabis,” she added.

Roberts-Odle further informed those who attended the discussion held at the National Union of Public Workers headquarters in Dalkeith Road, St Michael, that the BMCLA has been continuing conversations with tourism stakeholders to link medicinal cannabis and Barbados’ bread and butter industry.

She explained that currently, like locals, tourists must be seen by local doctors to have medicinal cannabis prescribed. 

“So we are working on how to bring about medical tourism while working with the rules that are established and to continue that. 

“And we are also doing international outreach. We will be going to several international conferences throughout the year to be able to make sure we are ahead of what’s going on internationally. We may be late to the game, but we don’t intend to be staying behind,” Roberts-Odle asserted.

Recognising that the BMCLA needs to facilitate training and certification for the industry, she said that within the next two months, it would be announcing the educational institution tasked with providing level two training in cannabis cultivation developed with the TVET Council.

“And we have developed that with international partners, regional partners and local legacy growers who understand how to grow cannabis in Barbados,” she said.

Roberts-Odle said the BMCLA currently has a memorandum of understanding with the University of the West Indies (UWI) to facilitate research and development related to the cannabis industry. (AH)

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Eladio Pérez, Vice Minister of Collective Health, provided the information, describing the acquisition of biologicals through the Pan American Health Organization’s (PAHO) Revolving Fund as “very positive.” Pérez explained that, despite the lack of confirmed cases in the country, the international organization was asked if the Dominican Republic would have vaccines due to its proximity to Haiti, where there are already more than 24,000 cases.

Gina Estrella, the Ministry of Health’s director of Risk and Disaster Management, confirmed six new positive cases of cholera, bringing the total to 25 since the outbreak began. “They are all from Villa Liberación (El Almirante, Santo Domingo Este),” said Estrella. Meanwhile, Yocasta Lara, the director of Hospital Centers of the National Health Service (SNS), stated that only nine of the 289 beds available throughout the country for cholera management are currently occupied, accounting for 3% of the total. Five adults and four minors are among the nine suspected patients awaiting confirmation of their diagnosis.

According to Estrella, the health authorities intervened “quite forcefully” in the Villa Liberación sector of El Almirante, Santo Domingo Este, after suspected cases of cholera were discovered within a family nucleus. So far, more than 90 houses have been visited looking for other possible infected people and, together with the Santo Domingo Aqueduct and Sewerage Corporation (CAASD), the water wells in the aforementioned sector are being evaluated, since “they have never been given treatment”. Similarly, the doctor stated that a mobile hospital has been in place since yesterday “to maintain active surveillance and attack (cholera) as we did in La Zurza.”