Santiago, DR.- The number of patients affected by dengue fever has increased among children in the last few days here, while among adults, the cases are sporadic and isolated, according to reports from the three most important public hospitals in this province.

Reports also indicate that private clinics continue to receive patients with symptoms of the disease transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

The director of the children’s hospital, Dr. Arturo Grullon, Dr. Mirna Lopez, reported that this health center handles an average of 15 to 20 patients affected by dengue daily, experiencing a slight increase in emergency and outpatient consultations of febrile patients.

Dr. Mirna López, director of the children’s hospital, Dr. Arturo Grullón.

She said that of the total number of children admitted, only one is in intensive care, and his health remains stable. So far this year, two patients have died from the disease.

López explained that most of those affected by dengue come from different sectors of Santiago, such as Pueblo Nuevo, Cienfuegos, Jacagua, San José de Las Matas, as well as Montecristi and other towns of the Cibao region.

Meanwhile, in the hospitals José María Cabral y Báez and Presidente Estrella Ureña, the cases of dengue fever are sporadic. For example, at the Cabral y Baez hospital, there have been six cases of dengue in the last 15 days; 4 of them were admitted and subsequently sent home, according to the medical director, Manasés Peña.

Only two patients had been admitted to the Presidente Estrella Ureña Hospital recently.

President Estrella Ureña Hospital
On the other hand, the provincial authorities of Public Health informed that they continue the fumigation and cleaning up of garbage in various sectors of Santiago as a prevention against dengue fever and other diseases transmitted by vectors.

The cleaning activities, orientation, and education to combat dengue are conducted in schools, colleges, and neighborhood councils.

Dengue mosquito (External source)

Dengue mosquito (External source)

Corominas Clinic

At the Corominas clinic, one of the traditional private health centers in Santiago, there are currently 16 hospitalized patients, 2 of whom are in the intensive care unit, none of whom have died.

All U.S. states have an obesity rate among their residents of higher than 20%, which is at least one in five adults — and many exceed that.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published its 2022 Adult Obesity Prevalence Maps on Thursday, detailing obesity rates for the 50 states, the District of Columbia and three U.S. territories.

The three states with the highest obesity prevalence among their residents were Louisiana, Oklahoma and West Virginia, all of which had a 40% or higher rate.

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Nineteen states had obesity rates between 35% and 40%, the report said.

Twenty-two states ranged from 30% and 35% for obesity rates, up from 19 states in 2021. 

These included Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Regionally, the Midwest had the highest rates of obesity at 35.8%, followed by the Southern states (35.6%), the Northeast (30.5%) and the West (29.5%).

The report drew data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a telephone interview survey conducted on an ongoing basis by CDC and individual state health departments.

"Our updated maps send a clear message that additional support for obesity prevention and treatment is an urgent priority," said Dr. Karen Hacker, director of the CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, in a press release from the agency. 

"Obesity is a disease caused by many factors, including eating patterns, physical activity levels, sleep routines, genetics and certain medications," she went on.

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"However, we know the key strategies that work include addressing the underlying social determinants of health, such as access to health care, healthy and affordable food, and safe places for physical activity."

Obesity rates were based on the share of adults who had a body mass index (BMI) equal to or greater than 30 based on their self-reported weight and height.

There was a wide variance among individual ethnic groups.

Among non-Hispanic Black adults, 38 states saw obesity rates of 35% or higher.

For non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native adults, 33 states or territories had obesity rates of 35% or higher.

Hispanic adults had at least that level of obesity in 32 different states.

For non-Hispanic White adults, 14 states had 35% or higher obesity.

Non-Hispanic Asian adults did not have that rate in any state or territory.

People with higher levels of education were less likely to have obesity, the CDC found.

Adults without at least a high school diploma had the highest obesity rates, at 37.6%.

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Those with some college education had 35.9% obesity rates, followed by high-school graduates (35.7%) and college graduates (27.2%).

Young adults between 18 and 24 years old had the lowest obesity rate at 20.5%, while adults aged 45 to 54 had the highest rates (39.9%).

Dr. Brett Osborn, a Florida neurologist and longevity expert, calls obesity a "gateway disease" to type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cancer and even Alzheimer’s — "the diseases that kill most Americans," he told Fox News Digital.

"Unlike [with] the COVID-19 pandemic, during which people were acutely ill — it was obvious — obesity kills you insidiously," Osborn said.

"Obesity is a primer for age-related disease and early death," he went on. "Being categorically obese is associated with a two- to 10-year reduction in life expectancy.

"This would translate to hundreds of thousands of years of life lost — in a single year — given the CDC’s reported increase in obesity incidence among Americans."

Medical costs related to obesity totaled nearly $173 billion in 2019, the CDC reported.

Said Osborn, "Unless we fix the obesity problem — and referring to it as a ‘problem’ is an understatement — the population en masse will be at an increasing risk for a reduced health span and foreshortened lifespan."

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

For Jacques, it was obvious she had to leave a housing situation that was putting her family’s health at risk. Black mold was growing on the walls of the trailer in which Jacques and her family had lived for five years. The mold caused everyone — Jacques, her husband, and her three younger daughters — to get more frequent headaches and stomachaches. It also impacted Jacques’ breathing because she is immune-compromised. “My ability to function as a normal human got worse and worse,” she said. Meanwhile, there were gaping holes in the trailer’s floor; Jacques fell through them in the bathroom twice.

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There are different causes of stroke, but the most common is a blockage of blood flow to part of the brain, which is called an ischemic stroke. 

Transient ischemic attacks, or TIAs — sometimes also called mini-strokes — are also ischemic attacks, but they only last for a few minutes before blood flow is restored. 

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That doesn’t mean they’re any less serious than a full-fledged stroke, though, noted Dr. Karishma Patwa, a cardiologist with Manhattan Cardiology, which provides cardiac testing and preventive treatment in New York.

Patwa shared with Fox News Digital the most important things to know about identifying and preventing mini-strokes. 

"Every second that the brain goes without oxygen increases the likelihood of serious and permanent brain damage," Patwa said. 

"Just like a stroke, a TIA deprives the brain of oxygen and should be treated with the same urgency."

There are several possible causes of a TIA. 

A clot could form in the brain itself, or a clot from another part of the body can break loose and make its way through the bloodstream until it becomes lodged in the brain, Patwa said. 

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"In order to best treat a TIA and prevent a future stroke, doctors will want to determine the exact cause of the TIA," the doctor said. 

"The longer a person goes without examination, the less likely doctors will be able to determine the cause, leading to a diagnosis of cryptogenic TIA — which means TIA of unknown origin."

Once someone has had a mini-stroke, the risk of having another stroke event is between 5% and 10% within the first seven days, Patwa warned.

"This number actually goes up to about 15% in the first month after a TIA and up to 35% over the course of a patient’s lifetime," she said. "That’s why early recognition and treatment of a TIA is extremely important — to prevent the more devastating complications of a large stroke."

The symptoms of a TIA are the same as symptoms of stroke, Patwa noted. 

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The symptoms can include:

"Symptoms tend to appear suddenly and without any obvious cause," Patwa said. 

"In the case of a TIA, the symptoms will last for less than a day, and often just a matter of minutes or even seconds, but it should still be treated as a medical emergency."

It’s important to act quickly as soon as the symptoms begin, she said.

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"At that time, there’s no way to know whether an ischemic attack will be transient or not. Don’t wait to find out — call 911 immediately," she advised.

The doctor recommends using the FAST acronym, a common tool for remembering symptoms and action steps when someone is suspected of having a stroke or TIA.

"It’s important to stress that someone who just experienced a TIA should not get behind the wheel of a car," Patwa also said. 

"Calling 911 and requesting an ambulance would be the best course of action, and in lieu of that, the closest responsible adult should drive the person to the emergency room," she added.

For people who have had a TIA, prompt diagnosis and aggressive treatment are the best route to an improved outlook, Patwa said.

"People who delay or refuse examination and treatment are much more likely to experience a stroke during the next 90 days."

In most cases, a mini-stroke is diagnosed with a physical and neurological examination, medical history and imaging tests such as an MRI, CT scan or X-ray. 

"Depending on what is found during diagnosis, a treatment plan could include medication, the use of stents, angioplasty or surgical procedures," said Patwa. 

"There are also steps a person can take to help prevent a TIA, or to help prevent a stroke after having a TIA," said Patwa.

These preventative steps can include:

People who are at risk for stroke or coronary artery disease are at higher risk for transient ischemic attacks, Patwa said.

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"This includes the elderly, smokers and patients with diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol," she noted. 

The highest risk factor for a TIA is a previous TIA or stroke, Patwa added.

"The most important thing is to not treat a TIA like a one-and-done anomaly," she said. 

"A TIA is a warning that a stroke is not only possible but likely, and in the near term."

She added, "Anyone suspected of experiencing a TIA should seek medical attention immediately."

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

The Best-dos Santos Public Health Laboratory could soon become a World Health Organisation (WHO) collaborating centre for Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) detection and surveillance.

This was revealed by PAHO/WHO Representative for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Countries (ECC) Dr Amalia Del Riego during the opening ceremony of a training workshop for laboratory technologists who work in public health laboratories in Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Haiti, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Suriname.

The workshop is taking place at the Best-dos Santos Public Health Laboratory from September 19 to 22.

Entitled Training on Molecular Detection and Diagnosis of Carbapenemase Genes in Gram-Negative Bacteria, the training forms phase two of the Cooperation among Countries for Health Development (CCHD) project on AMR detection and surveillance.

WHO collaborating centres assist WHO support countries to build capacity to develop and implement AMR surveillance.

Dr Del Riego said of the training: “This and many other multi-country trainings that have happened just this year in the Best-dos Santos Laboratory demonstrate the interest this laboratory and the Government of Barbados have in fostering south-to-south collaboration. We hope this soon translates into Best-dos Santos becoming a WHO collaborating centre on AMR.

“We appreciate the support provided by the Government of Argentina in the past, and currently for antimicrobial resistance detection and surveillance across the Caribbean. We wish to acknowledge the support of Malbran Institute (Buenos Aires, Argentina), a WHO collaborating centre for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance,” she added.

Molecular training provides countries with the capacity to diagnose AMR, one of the most important emerging threats. The training involves the detection of disease-causing organisms which are virtually resistant to all known antibiotics.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Kenneth George reiterated that AMR training is a priority for Barbados, noting that AMR diseases are becoming more prevalent.

He therefore thanked the Government of Argentina for continuing support for training. 

“Your support, both technically and financially, through the Malbran Institute is designed to support and promote antimicrobial stewardship across the Caribbean,” Dr George said.

The CMO recalled that in 2019, the World Health Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution calling for continued high-level commitments to implement multisectoral national action plans. 

“Barbados is in the process of developing a framework to achieve this goal,” he said.

Dr George also expressed his appreciation to PAHO for providing its technical expertise to the Best-dos Santos Public Health Laboratory. 

PAHO was credited with providing influenza surveillance and laboratory testing support, “with a view to establishing the Best-dos Santos Laboratory as a recognised influenza testing site in the subregion”. 

Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of the Argentine Republic in Barbados, Vanesa Romani, recounted that in 2018 Argentina, PAHO and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) signed a commitment establishing the Cooperation among Countries for Health Development (CCHD) project. This made it possible for two technicians from the Best-dos Santos Laboratory to attend training in Argentina.

Romini said the training received has improved the ability to deal with emergencies. (PR)

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By Sheria Brathwaite

The number of patients backed up in the Accident and Emergency Department (AED) of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) on Tuesday is now significantly reduced, but Barbadians are still being urged not to go there unless their conditions are life-threatening.

Communications specialist Shane Sealy said on Wednesday that medical personnel had been able to reduce the number of people waiting for treatment by more than half.

However he said, people with minor issues should continue to seek care at polyclinics and private health care providers, as advised on Tuesday.

“I can tell you that today, the situation has significantly improved. Yesterday, we were still waiting to see about 50 patients. I can tell you that number has been cut in half. So from 50 it’s gone to around 22. So we have made significant strides but we want to continue to appeal to the public if your situation is not an emergency, if it’s not life-threatening, you can seek alternate medical accommodation or treatment,” Sealy said.

“We’ve been seeing a number of patients coming there with elevated blood pressure levels, elevated sugar levels as well. And I just want to say that you can go to your medical doctor to have your situation assessed before deciding to come to the emergency department because in those cases, you will have to wait a bit longer to be assessed.

“We have been able to cut down the waiting times as well. But again, we don’t want to be inundated like what we saw yesterday and over the past 48 to 72 hours. But we have been able to address that significantly.”

Sealy added that the wait was long since priority was given to people in critical condition.

“Through the triage system, there is a priority list. Categories one and two are those gunshot victims, those people with heart attacks and resuscitation; they will be seen immediately. So then in those cases, it would push back those other patients who would have to wait a bit longer for care,” he said.
sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb

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Staff shortages, ageing equipment, an increase in people requiring eye care and a backlog of patients in need of operations are some of the major issues impacting the Ophthalmology Department at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH).

Head of the department Mr David Callender said that section of the hospital had the busiest outpatient clinic, with more than 20 000 patients annually “but that number has been increasing yearly”.

He said the department was in need of more hands to operate effectively.

“We don’t have enough staff; we still have a shortage of staff. We are working on getting some more junior doctors on staff. We have, on any given day, one or two consultants in the clinic and five junior doctors,” he said on Wednesday at the Lions Eye Care Centre as his department received a donation of four slit lamps from the Barbados Canada Foundation.

“So that’s also a limiting factor. We are hoping to get another two junior doctors on staff.”

Consultant ophthalmologist at the QEH Dr Dawn Grosvenor said the University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill campus’ recent capability to train doctors locally would assist in this regard in the future.

“A big part of being able to maintain our staffing is that we can now train our doctors in the department locally. We didn’t [always] have the opportunity and we had to go overseas to train, and inevitably you would lose some people through brain drain. So it means that we can train staff here, retain them more and then those persons then feed back in and continue to give back locally and continue to train other people.

“So we’ve been doing that through the university’s postgraduate training programme . . . and that started in 2016. And since about 2020/2021, we’ve been producing graduates from that programme who now contribute as consultants at the hospital and they then will train more junior doctors. So, that is really helping us to retain more staff. And now we’re starting to attract very high-level applicants,” she said.

Regarding the eye surgery backlog, Callender said the department was working to reduce patients’ wait time to three months.

“We still have a backlog again. We had an issue with our operating theatre – the cooling system and the equipment challenges because of humidity in the operating theatre. So we couldn’t do as many surgeries as we would like during that period a few months ago,” he said.

The surgeon said the cooling system has been fixed and surgeries have increased but the department was still limited given the current staff numbers, which have also been affected by vacation leave for consultants and nurses.

“We try to do what we can in between, but when we have everybody on staff again, I guarantee we’ll get our numbers back up to at least a minimum of 80 cataract [surgeries] a month. Currently, the number is at 60 per month,” he explained.

“In terms of the [overall] backlog, we have hundreds of patients who are getting cataract surgery. We will never clear the backlog. There’s a constant addition to the waiting list . . . . We are trying to make patients wait for a shorter time so that we can have a short wait time for surgery, but there will always be a waiting list so our aim is to do as many cataracts as we can so that as patients are added, we take them off within about three months. So we are aiming for three months’ wait time for surgery. That’s a long-term goal, but it would take a while to get there.”

The ageing equipment in the department has also impacted the medical staff’s ability to assess patients in a timely manner. However, Callender said the donation of the slit lamps – machines that use a bright light to examine the eyes – would improve that situation.

The department head expressed concern about the increasing number of people, especially those with non-communicable diseases, presenting for treatment.

“I think that we are seeing more patients coming through the hospital for financial reasons rather than going to a private doctor. So that number has increased because of that. We are seeing more patients with diabetes who have eye problems – a lot of them present with diabetic eye disease – and you have a lot of patients with glaucoma. So even though we focus on cataracts a lot, we still have to share theatre time with other specialists who need to deal with those problems.

“More patients are referred from doctors . . . . Especially now we have more equipment, they are going to send more patients here. We try to keep pace with the workload and manage that but we still try to deliver other services. So it is a work in progress and we need all hands on deck to help us achieve our goals,” Callender said.

sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb

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View the full post Republic Bank announces completion of Hillview Home project on NOW Grenada.

By Sheria Brathwaite

The Barbados Diabetes Foundation has launched a new programme aimed at detecting vascular issues that could further deteriorate the health of people living with non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

During a launch ceremony on Tuesday at the Maria Holder Diabetes Centre in Warrens, St Michael, consultant physician and clinical director at the foundation Dr Diane Brathwaite told the media that the foundation acquired an Ankle-Brachial Index (ABI) machine to screen for vascular diseases more than a year ago and after intensive training, it was ready to roll out a national screening programme.

Having an NCD such as diabetes can increase the risk of developing atherosclerosis, which occurs when arteries harden or narrow from a build-up of plaque. People who have diabetes are also more at risk of getting a vascular disease because their blood sugar levels can be poorly controlled.

Dr Brathwaite said it was recommended for people over the age of 50 with diabetes or hypertension to have a vascular screening as part of their regular health checks. She added that younger people who have had an NCD for more than ten years should also get screened, as well as other people, especially young men, who smoke often and those who have a family history of NCDs.

“Another important point is that in our population in Barbados and the Caribbean, for some reason we are seeing severe peripheral artery disease in people at younger ages and when you have diabetes, that peripheral artery disease (PAD) can be very extensive. It means that it doesn’t block off one segment but it blocks off the whole length of the artery.  

“Rates of arterial insufficiency are relatively high in the ulcer patients that we see here. We just did an audit and PAD was present in about 60 per cent of our patients with diabetic ulcers so we advised all of our patients who come for ulcers, to do screening,” Dr Brathwaite said.

She said screening would take about 20 to 30 minutes and it was not painful. If an individual is symptomatic, a management treatment would be prescribed; and if a person was in critical condition, they would be referred to the vascular unit at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) for further evaluation.

A vascular check should be done yearly and the centre screens for a fee of $100.

Senior medical officer responsible for NCDs with the Ministry of Health Dr Arthur Phillips said the partnership between the QEH and the diabetes foundation since 2014 has borne fruitful results over the years. 

He said the hospital financed the care of about 225 people annually and they received six to nine months of care. 

sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb

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A puppy recently tested positive for rabies and was euthanized in New Mexico, according to a news release from the state’s health department.

The animal, located in Bernalillo County, had shown signs that included tremors, lack of coordination and agitation. 

Health officials said the pup might have contracted the virus while in Texas, the news release stated.

Six people exposed to the puppy were treated with post-exposure rabies shots as a precautionary measure. This was New Mexico’s first canine rabies case in 10 years, according to the release.

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"Young puppies are especially vulnerable to various infectious diseases, including rabies, parvovirus and distemper, until they've completed their full vaccine series," said Erin Phipps, the state public health veterinarian, in the release. 

"It's worth noting that rabies has a prolonged incubation period, often lasting weeks or months from infection to symptom onset, and animals become contagious only after symptoms appear," she added.

The puppy had not yet received its rabies vaccine due to its young age, the release stated.

Several other rabies cases have recently been reported throughout the United States. 

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On Sept. 6, Caldwell County Animal Care Enforcement in North Carolina reported the county’s third case of rabies this year, after a bat that encountered dogs was sent to be tested by the North Carolina State Laboratory. 

On Sept. 11 in Wisconsin, the Racine County Public Health Division reported its second rabies case of this year after a bat tested positive for rabies.

In New York, the Dutchess County Department of Behavioral & Community Health warned residents about a rabid raccoon that was captured in Hopewell Junction in August.

Each year, nearly 60,000 people die from rabies around the world.

Approximately a quarter of those deaths reported in the U.S. resulted from dog bites that the victims sustained during international travel, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated on its website. 

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Rabies is a "100% preventable disease" through the vaccination of pets, the CDC said.

"The best way to prevent an outbreak of rabies is to vaccinate," noted Dr. Jeffrey Krasnoff, a veterinarian at Brookville Animal Clinic on Long Island, New York.

Rabies is a highly contagious virus that is transmitted through the saliva of infected animals through a bite, Krasnoff told Fox News Digital.

"The most obvious signs that an animal has rabies are aggressive behavior and excessive salivation," he said. "In wild animals, signs can include being out and about during the day, as well as exhibiting abnormal behavior, aggressive behavior and excessive salivation."

Rabies poses a threat not only to pets, but can also prove deadly in humans if not treated in a timely manner, health experts told Fox News Digital.

The virus can be transmitted to a human through a bite, or by the infected animal’s saliva getting into a person's eyes, nose, mouth or a break in the skin. 

WHAT TO DO IF A RABIES-INFECTED ANIMAL BITES YOU?

"Symptoms of rabies infection include fever, headaches, excessive salivation, muscle spasms, confusion and even paralysis," Dr. Fred Davis, associate chair of emergency medicine at Northwell Health on Long Island, New York, told Fox News Digital.

"The key is to seek treatment before such signs develop, as there is no specific treatment to stop the infection, and only vaccination can help prevent the infection from occurring," he added.

Typical treatment includes a series of rabies shots.

Anyone who has been in contact with the saliva of such animals as dogs, bats, coyotes, foxes, skunks or raccoons — especially if the encounter occurred during the day, when most of these animals are nocturnal, or if the animal in question is acting erratic — should seek immediate emergency treatment, Davis said.

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Krasnoff explained that when an animal bites a human, it is recommended that the veterinarian call the state’s Department of Health for instructions, which may include a 10-day quarantine and testing of the animal. 

It is also important for pet owners to check with their vet to ensure that the animal is up-to-date with rabies vaccinations.

Health agencies said that if an animal tests positive for rabies, it is usually euthanized.

"Due to rabies being so contagious to animals and humans, the course of action is euthanasia of a suspected rabid animal," Krasnoff told Fox News Digital.

Currently, the World Health Organization (WHO) is working on a collaborative global effort called Zero by 30, with the goal of eliminating dog-mediated human rabies deaths by 2030. 

The agency designated Sept. 28 as World Rabies Day to help raise awareness of how to prevent rabies and to help ensure that post-exposure prophylaxis (preventive medical treatment) is available to everyone.

"The world has the vaccines, medicines, tools and technologies to break the cycle of one of the oldest diseases," WHO says on its website. 

"Together in unity, we can eliminate rabies, leaving no one behind."

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