By Emmanuel Joseph

Health authorities say food manufacturing and packaging plant, Hill Milling Company Limited is expected to get the green light to reopen shortly.

The news from Acting Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Arthur Phillips came on Friday afternoon, just over three months after environmental health officials closed the Haggatt Hall, St Michael company and dumped more than $500 000 in food items because of a rat infestation.

Although he declined to estimate a timeframe for the resumption of operations, Dr Phillips said he was comfortable Hill Milling was on track to get back to business soon.

He told Barbados TODAY that the dumping, which was done in stages, is now complete and the plant has done most of what it was required to do.

An inspection by health officers will be done to verify that all the recommended actions were completed.

“There is training, which must have been conducted yesterday. That is essentially it at this point. We would have had meetings with them and it helped to clarify that we were on the same page and we have the same goals,” health official stated.

“We are comfortable that they are improving and that they are on track to be back in business soon. I don’t have a timeframe. Our end goal is to ensure they are operating in a way that is safe to them and to the public and to public health standards. So, we believe that there is not much left to be done, and they are committed to doing all that is required.”

Dr Phillips said there would have to be a final sanitising of the plant, which will be done by Hill Milling staff under the supervision of environmental health officers, “once we have signed off on everything else”.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company Richard Ashby had complained that while waiting for the health authorities to give him the all-clear to reopen, staff had been sent on leave; his local and overseas customers were without products, which include rice, sugar, corn curls, oats, peas, beans and snacks; and the major revenue-earning portion of his business, exports, was in jeopardy.

“I sell to 4 000 shopkeepers…supermarkets, gas stations, minimarts…you know, people out in the country who sell from their windows, their back doors. But that’s not my big stuff, my big stuff is exports. So you are not only affecting small shops in Barbados but you are affecting the big shops in Guyana, Jamaica, St Lucia, Miami, New York and St Kitts,” the business owner had previously told Barbados TODAY, noting that the affected aspects of the plant included milling, packaging and producing.  emmanueljoseph@barbados.bb

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The Hugo Mendoza pediatric hospital beats its own record every day in the number of patients admitted with dengue fever; yesterday, it had 98 minors bedridden with the viral disease that affects children.

Meanwhile, the Roberto Reid Cabral Children’s Hospital registered 72 hospitalized patients.

The data were offered by the director of the National Health Service (SNS) hospital network, Yocasta Lara Hernandez.

Other hospitals maintain many occupied beds, which complicates the dynamics of these centers, which also attend to other children with various pathologies.

The Hospital General de la Plaza de la Salud is the third that attends the most patients; its authorities reported 18 admissions, and eight were waiting for beds in the emergency room.

The San Lorenzo de Los Mina hospital had 25 children hospitalized. Admissions are increasing, as this is where the disease outbreak is highest. Marcelino Velez Santana had 19 children in bed, and Jaime Mota de Barahona had 20. The Arturo Grullón in Santiago had 17,6, and the one in Boca Chica had 16.

Lara said that the Jacinto Mañon center has 11 children admitted with dengue, the Almirante,3 nine; Ciudad Juan Bosch, another nine; Felix2 Maria Goico, five and 15 at the Juan Pablo Pina.

Symptoms
Dengue has unique symptoms that can be confused with other diseases. Doctors and citizens should be alert to suspicions.

It produces sudden onset fever, headache, body aches, vomiting, diarrhea, nine, and rash. Doctors ask parents to be vigilant.

Guyana will by next year have its first specialty hospital whose focus will be on eye care with the aim of tapping into the medical tourism market, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Optique Vision Care, Dhani Narine said Friday. He made the announcement at a 10th anniversary observance, and later told Demerara Waves Online ...

A non-profit organisation in Barbados is one of three beneficiaries of a new climate-smart agriculture pilot project to address food insecurity in the Caribbean.

The Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator (CCSA) through funding from the Sony Music Global Social Justice Fund and the support of agriculture technology company Fork Farms has granted 12 vertical indoor hydroponics systems to the Walkers Institute for Regenerative Research, Education and Design (WIRRED) in St Andrew as well as to the governments of Anguilla and the Cayman Islands.

The CCSA pilot includes five Flex Farms for each of the two governments and two units for WIRRED, a non-profit organisation and charity born out of the regeneration of the 277-acre Walkers Reserve. 

According to Josh Mahlik, partnership development director of Fork Farms, a Flex Farm is a mobile hydroponic farm that can grow lettuce, greens, herbs and a variety of other foods on-site, quickly, efficiently, affordably and all year long.  

One Flex Farm can grow 25 pounds of lettuce every 28 days. The farm requires only nine square feet of space and a standard electrical outlet for operation. Compared to traditional agriculture, the Flex Farm requires zero food miles to be travelled, provides 45 times more food production, and uses 98 per cent less water and land.

Both units for WIRRED will be housed at Walkers Reserve, a former sand quarry that is now the largest regeneration project of its kind in the region and a model for climate adaptation and resilience. Training will be done with members of the Walkers Reserve’s team and community stakeholders, increasing their knowledge of and skills in regenerative agricultural techniques.

WIRRED and the other two beneficiaries of the pilot project will receive support to operate the Flex Farms and will monitor production yields for a one-year period. 

Racquel Moses, chief executive officer of the CCSA noted that The World Food Programme and Caribbean Livelihoods Survey – May 2023 shows that 52 per cent of the population in the English-speaking Caribbean remains food insecure. 

“Everyone should have access to fresh, nutritious, locally grown food, especially in the global South and for vulnerable groups like youth and women. This is a climate and social justice goal we hold in common with Fork Farms and the Sony Music Global Social Justice Fund,” she said.

“We applaud these islands for their leadership and ongoing efforts to bolster food security and are delighted to support them with this initiative.”

The CCSA plans to expand the project to other countries and has called on individuals, organisations, and stakeholders to join them in promoting food security, sustainability, and social inclusion in the Caribbean. (PR/BT)

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Caribbean ministers of health have been urged to utilise collective action to strengthen their healthcare systems, adopt sustainable practices that protect the environment and promote healthy living, as well as prioritise equity in healthcare delivery.

Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) Director Dr Jarbas Barbosa made this call at the opening of the 45th meeting of the Council for Human and Social Development (Health). 

He restated PAHO’s commitment to supporting member states in recapturing the immunisation gains of the past, confronting the emigration of health workers out of the Caribbean, reversing the growing epidemic of non-communicable diseases, and mitigating the health effects of the changing climate.

“The challenges we face are too great for any one nation to bear alone.  The pandemic made this glaringly apparent: only through unity and collective action can we overcome the public health trials of our times.  CARICOM was founded with this understanding,” Dr Barbosa noted.

While highlighting that during the pandemic the Caribbean and other Small Island Developing States relied solely on imports for these essential health goods, he acknowledged the aspirations of some Caribbean countries to produce their own medicines and medical supplies. 

The PAHO director pledged the organisation’s support to facilitate access to affordable medicines, vaccines, and health technologies, in approaching partners and prioritising technical cooperation on the regulatory aspects and demand planning. He noted that PAHO’s revolving funds could also be used to leverage regional production.

While turning his attention to reversing the rates of NCDs despite the “entrenched commercial and financial interests that hinder progress”, he pledged the organisation’s support for measures like front-of-package warning labels, the banning of trans fats and the creation of a smoke-free Caribbean.

“As we continue to advocate for the implementation of the Octagonal Warning labels, we are joined by the University of the West Indies, CARICOM, CARPHA, the Healthy Caribbean Coalition, UNICEF, the Food and Agriculture Organisation, the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, and many others, who believe that Caribbean people deserve to have the facts about what they are eating. We will persist, with our partners, to confront the main drivers of non-communicable diseases – tobacco use, unhealthy diets, alcohol use and lack of physical activity,” Dr Barbosa emphasised.

The Caribbean is poised to advance with the elimination of key communicable diseases and conditions. In 2023, eight Caribbean countries and territories, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominica, Montserrat, and St Kitts and Nevis, were revalidated as achieving the mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis. 

Dr Barbosa shared that Belize had now joined this list of countries certified by the World Health Organisation as having eliminated EMTCT earlier this year.  

“I am pleased to announce that in partnership with the UN Office for South-South Cooperation, and through the India-UN Partnership Development Fund, PAHO has secured funds to support CARICOM Countries in their efforts to achieve and sustain the elimination of mother-to-child transmission (EMTCT Plus) of HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis B. In the coming weeks we will be conducting consultations to build the path forward together,” he said.

The PAHO director also used the opportunity to congratulate Belize on being certified by the WHO as having eliminated malaria in June. (PR)

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“On World Contraception Day 2023, let us commit ourselves to breaking down barriers that hinder informed and empowered choices”

View the full post World Contraception Day, 26 September 2023 on NOW Grenada.

Amid the outbreak of dengue fever currently sweeping Jamaica, health experts are warning about the dangers of the mosquito-borne illness.

Jamaica’s Ministry of Health & Wellness announced the outbreak on Saturday. As of Friday, the country had recorded 565 suspected, presumed and confirmed cases of dengue. 

A majority of the confirmed cases in the Caribbean nation have been in Kingston, Saint Andrew, Saint Catherine and Saint Thomas.

Six deaths are being investigated, but they have not been confirmed as dengue-related.

JAMAICA DECLARES DENGUE FEVER OUTBREAK WITH HUNDREDS OF CONFIRMED AND SUSPECTED CASES

Dengue fever is caused by one of four different types of dengue viruses, according to Mayo Clinic's website.

The fever is spread by mosquito bites and cannot be transmitted directly from person to person.

Women who become infected while pregnant may spread the dengue virus to the baby during childbirth, however.

In rare cases, dengue fever can be transmitted through organ transplant, blood transfusion or needle stick injury, per the CDC.

Dengue occurs primarily in tropical and subtropical regions. 

Although it is most concentrated in Latin America, Southeast Asia, the Western Pacific Islands and Africa, it has been emerging in parts of Europe and the southern U.S., according to Mayo Clinic.

Up to 400 million people worldwide get infected with dengue each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Approximately 100 million people experience illness from the infection, and 40,000 die from severe effects.

In mild cases, dengue fever causes flu-like symptoms (nausea, vomiting, body aches) and high fever, Mayo Clinic states.

About one in 20 people will develop a more severe form, called dengue hemorrhagic fever.

DENGUE FEVER CASES COULD REACH NEAR-RECORD HIGHS THIS YEAR: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE TROPICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASE

Symptoms of severe dengue include belly pain, frequent vomiting, bleeding from the nose or gums, fatigue, irritability, restlessness, and blood in vomit or stool, per the CDC website.

In these cases, symptoms can include serious bleeding, a sudden drop in blood pressure and organ damage, which can sometimes be fatal.

"On occasions, the illness can progress to severe dengue, which can result in organ failure as well as bleeding (hemorrhage), and severe fluid depletion that can lead to shock and death," Dr. Jacquiline Bisasor McKenzie, chief medical officer of Jamaica’s Ministry of Health & Wellness, said in a statement on the Ministry of Health & Wellness website.

DENGUE VIRUS SPREADS ACROSS FLORIDA COUNTIES, HEALTH OFFICIALS SAY

"Persons experiencing fever, vomiting, severe abdominal pain, bleeding under the skin (petechial rash), feeling very weak or getting confused, are to seek immediate medical attention," she added.

Those who experience symptoms and have been in an area where dengue fever is common should see a health care provider right away, as severe effects can develop quickly, states the CDC.

Infected people should take acetaminophen for pain relief and fever control, drink hydrating fluids and rest, the agency said on its website.

A blood test is the only way to confirm dengue fever.

People who are infected with dengue fever develop long-term immunity to the type of virus that initially caused the infection, but they will still be susceptible to the other three types.

Those who have had dengue fever in the past are at a higher risk of contracting severe symptoms if they get it again, according to Mayo Clinic.

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In regions where dengue fever is prevalent, a vaccine called Dengvaxia is available to people between the ages of 9 and 45 who have previously been infected.

For people who have not previously had dengue fever, the vaccine has been shown to actually increase the risk of severe symptoms and hospitalization upon infection, Mayo Clinic states.

For those who cannot receive the vaccine, the best method of prevention is to protect against mosquito bites.

On its website, Mayo Clinic offers these recommendations for people who live in or travel to areas where dengue fever is common:

For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health. 

Jellyfish could be much smarter than scientists previously thought, asserts a new study published in the journal Current Biology.

Poisonous Caribbean box jellyfish can learn at a far more complex level than ever imagined, despite only having 1,000 nerve cells and no centralized brain, according to new research from the University of Copenhagen.

Scientists say their findings change the fundamental understanding of the brain — and could reveal more about human cognitive functions and the process of dementia.

BOOST BRAIN HEALTH AND SLOW MENTAL AGING WITH 10 INTRIGUING TIPS FROM LONGEVITY EXPERTS 

Jellyfish have been around for over 500 million years — yet until now, they've been thought of as simple creatures with very limited learning abilities.

The prevailing scientific opinion is that more advanced nervous systems equate with elevated learning potential in animals.

Jellyfish and their relatives, collectively known as cnidarians, are considered to be the earliest living animals to develop nervous systems.

Neurobiologist and professor Anders Garm has been researching box jellyfish — a group commonly known for being among the world's most poisonous creatures — for more than a decade, the study noted.

WASHINGTON FISHERMAN CATCHES MASSIVE RECORD-BREAKING MAHI MAHI: 'PRAYED FOR THAT'

The fingernail-sized species lives in Caribbean mangrove swamps; there, they use their impressive visual system, including 24 eyes, to hunt for tiny copepods (small crustaceans) among the roots, as SWNS reported on the background of the research.

Garm of the University of Copenhagen in Denmark said, "It was once presumed that jellyfish can only manage the simplest forms of learning, including habituation — the ability to get used to a certain stimulation, such as a constant sound or constant touch," according to SWNS.

"Now, we see that jellyfish have a much more refined ability to learn — and that they can actually learn from their mistakes… [and] modify their behavior."

One of the most advanced attributes of a nervous system, he said, is the ability to change behavior as a result of experience — to remember and learn.

As the tiny box jellyfish approach the mangrove roots, they turn and swim away. If they veer off too soon, they won’t have enough time to catch any copepods. Yet if they turn away too late, they risk bumping into the root and damaging their gelatinous bodies, the study noted.

Assessing distances is crucial for them, Garm said — and the research team discovered that contrast is the key.

"Our experiments show that contrast — how dark the root is in relation to the water — is used by the jellyfish to assess distances to roots, which allows them to swim away at just the right moment," he said, as SWNS noted.

"Even more interesting is that the relationship between distance and contrast changes on a daily basis due to rainwater, algae and wave action," the professor continued. "We can see that as each new day of hunting begins, box jellyfish learn from the current contrasts by combining visual impressions and sensations during evasive maneuvers that fail."

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"So, despite having a mere 1,000 nerve cells — our brains have roughly 100 billion — they can connect temporal convergences of various impressions and learn a connection, or what we call associative learning," Garm said. "And they actually learn about as quickly as advanced animals like fruit flies and mice."

The findings contradict previous scientific perceptions of what animals with simple nervous systems are capable of, the study indicated.

"For fundamental neuroscience, this is pretty big news," Garm said. "It provides a new perspective on what can be done with a simple nervous system."

"This suggests that advanced learning may have been one of the most important evolutionary benefits of the nervous system from the very beginning."

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The research also indicated where the learning is happening inside the box jellyfish. The team said the discovery has given them unique opportunities to study the precise changes that occur in a nerve cell when it's involved in advanced learning.

Said Garm, "We hope that this can become a supermodel system for looking at cellular processes in the advanced learning of all sorts of animals," as SWNS noted.

"We are now in the process of trying to pinpoint exactly which cells are involved in learning and memory formation," he said. 

"Upon doing so, we will be able to go in and look at what structural and physiological changes occur in the cells as learning takes place."

If the team is able to pinpoint the exact mechanisms involved in jellyfish's learning functions, the next step will be to find out whether those apply only to them or if they can be found in all animals, Garm noted.

"Understanding something as enigmatic and immensely complex as the brain is in itself an absolutely amazing thing," he said. "But there are unimaginably many useful possibilities."

"One major problem in the future will undoubtedly be various forms of dementia," he added, as SWNS also reported. 

"I don’t claim that we are finding the cure for dementia — but if we can gain a better understanding of what memory is, which is a central problem in dementia, we may be able to lay a building block to better understand the disease and perhaps counteract it."

For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health. 

Health officials in Jamaica have declared an outbreak of the dengue fever Saturday with at least 565 suspected, presumed and confirmed cases in the Caribbean nation. 

Jamaica’s Ministry of Health and Wellness says the outbreak comes as its National Surveillance Unit "advised that Jamaica has surpassed the dengue epidemic threshold for July and August and is on a trajectory to do the same for the month of September." 

"The dominant strain is Dengue Type 2, which last predominated in 2010," it said. "There are no dengue-related deaths classified at this time, however, six deaths are being investigated." 

Health officials say there currently are at least 78 confirmed cases of the mosquito-borne disease in Jamaica. 

MOSQUITOS, FEARED FOR SPREADING DENGUE, NOW BEING BRED TO FIGHT THE DISEASE 

"Meanwhile, approximately 500 temporary vector control workers have been engaged and deployed across the island to high-risk communities along with 213 permanent workers," the Ministry of Health and Wellness also said. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says dengue viruses are "spread to people through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito." 

About one in four people infected will get sick, with mild symptoms including nausea, vomiting, rash, aches and pains, according to the CDC.

Recovery takes about a week. 

DENGUE FEVER CASES COULD REACH NEAR-RECORD HIGHS THIS YEAR 

Around 1 in 20 people infected will develop severe dengue, which the CDC says "can result in shock, internal bleeding, and even death." 

"The Ministry and Regional Health Authorities have made the necessary preparations for a possible outbreak," said Christopher Tufton, the Minister of Health in Jamaica. 

The Ministry is warning the public in Jamaica that the Aedes aegypti mosquito "breeds in any containerized environment" that can hold water, such as drums, tires, buckets and animal feeding containers. 

"Persons are urged to play their part in ensuring that the cases are minimized by monitoring water storage containers for mosquito breeding, keeping surroundings free of debris, destroying or treating potential mosquito breeding sites, wearing protective clothing, using mosquito repellent and, as much as possible, staying indoors at dusk with windows and doors closed," it also said. 

Santo Domingo.- The Vice Minister of Collective Health, Eladio Perez, has no fixed date for the dengue epidemic to decline. He thinks that the country is now facing a plateau. If there is no drop in cases, the disease affecting the Dominican Republic could continue its impact until the end of the year, according to infectologists.

The official has the perception that in the coming weeks if the current behavior continues, the disease could go down. He believes that there is a slight drop in patient admissions.

You can read Ariel Henry to the UN: “The Republic of Haiti is not at war with anyone.”

There will always be cases because the disease is endemic. The cessation of the high incidence will depend on the pattern; if it continues now, there will be fewer cases in the coming weeks, said the official who manages the country’s collective health.

“We need a little more time, if the disease continues to go down the country would be in improvement,” said the epidemiologist. In his opinion, the final phase of the disease cannot be determined by the behavior of a week.

Clinics to attend
The director of the National Health Service (SNS) hospital network, Yocasta Lara, asked the directors of the National Association of Private Clinics (Andeclip) to provide more beds.

In the public sector, the clinics refer patients to them, most of whom are under 19 years of age.

Almost all the cases are being attended by two large public hospitals and one of a patronage hospital.

The Hugo Mendoza pediatric hospital leads in admissions, followed by the Robert Reid Cabral and the General Hospital of the Plaza de la Salud in third place.

The Santiago Clinic, Unión Médica, and the Arturo Grullón hold the fourth place in the same city. The Jaime Mota de Barahona also has cases of children and adults.

Behavior
The end of this epidemic outbreak, as the authorities have called it, will depend on the behavior of the vector through which the disease is transmitted, the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

The hospitals
Dr. Yocasta Lara, director of the SNS hospital network, reported yesterday on the number of patients admitted with dengue fever.

She also reported that the Robert Reid Cabral hospital had 64 children admitted. Three children remain in intensive care at this center.

The Marcelino Vélez Santana hospital has 21 admissions, the Juan Pablo Pina, 10, the Arturo Grullón, 13, and 12 at the San Lorenzo de Los Mina. Lara indicated that the Jaime Mota hospital in Barahona has 26 patients admitted: Jacinto Mañón, seven; El Almirante, six; Boca Chica, 19; and Félix María Goico, three admissions.

Plaza de la Salud
At the Plaza de la Salud General Hospital (HGPS), where many patients, mostly children, have been treated, 17 patients were admitted yesterday and are still waiting.