Tag: health

  • Israeli soldiers getting infected with parasitic skin disease

    Israeli soldiers getting infected with parasitic skin disease

    Israeli newspapers have reported that dozens of Israeli soldiers serving near Gaza border are suspected to have been infected by a skin disease known as leishmaniasis.

    Anadolu Agency quotes Israeli newspaper Maariv stating that the infection results in skin lesions caused by the Leishmania parasite which leads to Rose of Jericho disease (leishmaniasis) because they have “ulcerative skin lesions”.

    The parasite is transmitted through a fly’s bite which results in an “inflamed and painful lesion that does not heal”. They are, however, not life-threatening, Anadolu Agency quotes an expert.

    According to an Israeli army spokesman: “Various actions to prevent Leishmania infection among the soldiers are (being) taken in various units.”

    “Explanatory sheets on the subject and mosquito repellent preparations were distributed to soldiers in field units,” the spokesman said.

    “All patients who suffer from suspicious symptoms are examined by a military dermatologist, receive appropriate treatment and are referred to a dedicated leishmania clinic as needed,” he added.

  • Saheefa Jabbar opens up about mental health struggles

    Saheefa Jabbar opens up about mental health struggles

    Model and actress Saheefa Jabbar Khattak has shared details of her ongoing struggle with poor mental health. In a heartfelt video, she talked about vulnerability, battles with depression, and how unkind the world can be. Saheefa stressed the importance of kindness and understanding.

    She bravely shared a distressing moment when she told a friend that she felt suicidal after taking 13 pills. Thankfully, her friend intervened and prevented a potential tragedy.

    During the emotional video, Saheefa tearfully recounted her feelings of despair, stating, “It is scary and painful. I thought when Khizer would come here, I would feel better, but nothing happened.”

    Saheefa highlighted the challenges of sharing personal experiences on a public platform. She emphasized the importance of breaking the silence on mental health issues in a world that can be disturbing and traumatizing.

    Fans and well-wishers flooded social media with messages of support for Saheefa, urging her to stay strong. Many expressed love and unwavering support, emphasizing the need for empathy and understanding when it comes to mental health issues.

  • Children are being lured by e-cigarettes, World Health Organization warns

    Children are being lured by e-cigarettes, World Health Organization warns

    The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that children around the world are being lured into using e-cigarettes through social media, leading to nicotine addiction.

    With more than 16,000 flavours of e-cigarettes available, WHO asserts urgent action to prevent children from becoming addicted to e-cigarettes.

    E-cigarettes are not helping in quitting smoking, and there is no age limit for the sale of e-cigarettes in 88 countries around the world, it added.

    Additionally, there is no law related to e-cigarettes in 74 countries of the world, WHO has highlighted, stressing that e-cigarettes can also cause cancer, heart, lung and mental diseases.

    The organisation has suggested that stricter legislation and enforcement is needed to stop the sale of e-cigarettes.

    “Urgent action is needed to control e-cigarettes to protect children, as well as non-smokers and minimize health harms to the population,” the WHO wrote in the release.

  • Girl aspiring to become a police officer made honorary in-charge for a day

    Girl aspiring to become a police officer made honorary in-charge for a day

    On the occasion of International Volunteer Day, a Factor VII patient, Aniqa, was made an honorary in-charge for a day in Sargodha city.

    Factor VII deficiency is a rare disorder that is born due to lack of protein. Lack of production of factor VII leads to inability to form blood clots that can result in excessive wound bleeding.

    As an aspiring police officer, she was given the opportunity to administer the Police Protection Center for the day.

    While she was on duty, Aniqa gave a lady constable a two-day leave, met DPO Faisal Kamran along with other office matters, and also expressed her desire to become SHO for a day.

    The District Police Officer (DPO) issued an order to depute Anika as an honorary SHO for a day

  • World Health Organization’s annual report highlights growing threat of malaria due to climate change

    World Health Organization’s annual report highlights growing threat of malaria due to climate change

    World Health Organization (WHO) has released an annual malaria report which includes, for the first time, a dedicated chapter focused on the intersection of the disease with climate change. “We are at the crossroads of opportunities and challenges,” says the report.

    As described in the report, climate change is one of many threats to the global response to malaria. Millions of people continue to miss out on the services they need to prevent, detect, and treat the disease. Conflict and humanitarian crises, resource constraints and biological challenges such as drug and insecticide resistance also continue to hamper progress.

    The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted malaria services, leading to a surge in both incidence and mortality rates, exacerbating already stalled progress against the disease. The world is in danger of losing the fight against malaria, as cases of the disease rose by around 5 million year-on-year in 2022, exceeding global targets to contain it, a new World Health Organization (WHO) report.

    Pandemic-related disruptions and extreme weather events linked to climate change have hindered the fight against malaria in recent years.
    Cases surged in areas where weather was most extreme.

    Floods in Pakistan last year, for example, led to a five-fold increase in malaria cases in the country, the report showed.
    Two new malaria vaccines, both of which are due to be available next year, provide some hope.

    But the report also showed a significant funding gap in the response. While $4.1 billion was invested in the global effort to tackle malaria in 2022, roughly $7.8 billion was needed, it said.

    Globally there were an additional five million malaria cases in 2022 over the previous year and five countries bore the brunt of these increases. Pakistan saw the largest increase, with about 2.6 million cases in 2022 compared to 500 000 in 2021.

  • World AIDS Day: More than 9,000 new HIV cases reported in Pakistan this year

    World AIDS Day: More than 9,000 new HIV cases reported in Pakistan this year

    December 1 is marked as World AIDS Day with people and communities around the globe showing solidarity with those living with HIV, raising awareness, while also remembering the ones who lost their lives battling the illness.

    According to the Ministry of Health, 9,284 new HIV patients have been diagnosed in Pakistan in 2023.

    About 900 to 1,000 new cases of HIV are reported every month, whereas earlier in 2022, more than 10,000 cases of HIV were reported.

    Most of the cases are reportedly documented in Punjab and Sindh, while people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan are also diagnosed positive for HIV.

    Additionally, around 40 to 50 new cases are being reported every month from Islamabad and surrounding areas, including Kashmir.

    Most cases of HIV infections are found accidentally during routine tests, indicating that Pakistan needs to increase specific HIV testing.

  • Mysterious pneumonia outbreak: WHO asks China for more data on respiratory illness

    Mysterious pneumonia outbreak: WHO asks China for more data on respiratory illness

    Beijing (AFP) – The World Health Organization has asked China for more data on a respiratory illness spreading in the north of the country, urging people to take steps to reduce the risk of infection.

    Northern China has reported an increase in “influenza-like illness” since mid-October when compared to the same period in the previous three years, the WHO said.

    “WHO has made an official request to China for detailed information on an increase in respiratory illnesses and reported clusters of pneumonia in children,” the UN health body said in a statement on Wednesday.

    China’s National Health Commission told reporters last week that the respiratory illness spike was due to the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions and the circulation of known pathogens, namely influenza and common bacterial infections that affect children, including mycoplasma pneumonia.

    The Chinese capital of Beijing, located in the north of the country, is currently experiencing a cold snap, with temperatures expected to plummet to well below zero by Friday, state media said.

    Temperatures plummeted as the city “entered a high incidence season of respiratory infectious diseases”, Wang Quanyi, deputy director and chief epidemiological expert at the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told state media on Wednesday.

    Beijing “is currently showing a trend of multiple pathogens coexisting”, he added.

    Calls for transparency

    Over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, the WHO repeatedly criticised Chinese authorities for their lack of transparency and cooperation.

    More than three years after cases were first detected in Wuhan, heated debate still rages around the origins of Covid-19.

    Scientists are divided between two main theories of the cause: an escape from a laboratory in the city where such viruses were being studied and an intermediate animal that infected people at a local market.

    Earlier this year, WHO experts said they were sure that Beijing had far more data that could shed light on the origins of Covid, and called it a moral imperative for the information to be shared.

    A team of specialists led by the WHO and accompanied by Chinese colleagues investigated China in early 2021, but there has not been a team able to return since and WHO officials have repeatedly asked for additional data.

    WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has stressed that getting to the bottom of the mystery could help avert future pandemics.

  • Lockdown restrictions revised in Punjab

    Lockdown restrictions revised in Punjab

    The Punjab government on Thursday revised the terms of the lockdown imposed in multiple districts of the province as major cities grapple with crippling fog.

    In its amended notification, the Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department of the province notified that call centres and international information technology companies will be allowed to operate during the lockdown.

    While markets in the eight smog-hit districts will be allowed to operate today and tomorrow; however, shopping malls and markets will be closed on Saturday and Sunday.

    The notification also states that cinema halls, restaurants and gyms will remain open today as per routine.

    The decision will remain in effect in Lahore, Nankana Sahib, Sheikhupura, Kasur, Gujranwala Narowal, Hafizabad and Sialkot.

    Previous Notification

    A day earlier, an environmental and health emergency had been declared in Lahore, Gujranwala, and Hafizabad divisions for four days due to the prevailing smog conditions.

    Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi made the announcement during a press conference on Tuesday when the air quality index (AQI) in the city measured 390, falling under the category of hazardous.

    At this AQI level, the city maintained its position as one of the most polluted cities with citizens experiencing a hazy and smoggy atmosphere throughout the day. The air quality was severely poor, making it nearly impossible to breathe normally outdoors.

    Notification issued on Tuesday detailed that from Thursday to Sunday i.e., November 9, 2023, to November 12, 2023, all markets, shopping malls, restaurants, cinemas, gymnasiums, schools (public and private), and offices (public and private) will remain closed in Lahore, Nankana Sahib, Sheikhupura, Kasur, Gujranwala Narowal, Hafizabad and Sialkot.

    Also, the movement of people will be limited to and from these areas by public and private transport.

    The following will be exempted from closure:

    • Pharmacies/ Medical Stores
    • Medical Facilities and Vaccination Centers
    • Petrol Pumps
    • Oil Depots
    • Tandoors
    • Bakeries,
    • Grocery / Karyana stores
    • Milk / Dairy Shops
    • Sweet Shops,
    • Vegetable / Fruit Shops
    • Chicken / Meat Shops
    • E-commerce
    • Postal / Courier Services
    • Utility Services (Electricity, Natural Gas, Internet, Cellular Networks /Telecom.

    Large departmental stores will only keep their grocery /pharmacy sections open while all other sections will remain closed.

    It has been suggested by the government that people buy groceries and medicines within the vicinity of their residence.

  • Punjab imposes partial smart lockdown for four days

    Punjab imposes partial smart lockdown for four days

    The Government of Punjab, after approval from the Chief Minister, has ordered “restricted movement” in some areas of Punjab to combat smog. 

    The areas of Lahore Division (District Lahore, Nankana Sahib, Sheikhupura, Kasur), District Gujranwala, District Hafizabad, and District Narowal, have the worst Air Quality Index (AQI), becoming potential hotspots for Conjunctivitis, and will go under lockdown.

    From Thursday to Sunday i.e., November 9, 2023, to November 12, 2023, all markets, shopping malls, restaurants, cinemas, gymnasiums, schools

    (public and private), and offices (public and private) will remain closed in these areas.

    Also, movement of people will be limited to and from these areas by public and private transport.

    The following will be exempted from closure:

    •           Pharmacies/ Medical Stores

    •           Medical Facilities and Vaccination Centers

    •           Petrol Pumps

    •           Oil Depots

    •           Tandoors

    •           Bakeries,

    •           Grocery / Karyana stores

    •           Milk / Dairy Shops

    •           Sweet Shops,

    •           Vegetable / Fruit Shops

    •           Chicken / Meat Shops

    •           E-commerce 

    •           Postal / Courier Services

    •           Utility Services (Electricity, Natural Gas, Internet, Cellular Networks /Telecom.

    Large departmental stores will only keep their grocery /pharmacy sections open while all other sections will remain closed.

    It has been suggested by the government that people buy groceries and medicines within the vicinity of their residence.

  • PMA refuses to appoint military officials at public hospitals

    PMA refuses to appoint military officials at public hospitals

    The Islamabad chapter of Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) on Monday recommended to the federal health ministry to not appoint serving military officials as executive directors for Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) and Federal Government Polyclinic Hospital.

    According to Geo News, the PMA condemned the letter of appointment of serving military officials sent by the federal health ministry.

    In response to a letter, PMA officeholders warned the federal health ministry about appointing serving military officers to manage public sector health institutions.

    The officials expressed strong disapproval of replacing federal government officials with military personnel, emphasising that such a move would be unacceptable under any circumstances. Furthermore, they mentioned that even military authorities would be unwilling to endorse the action initiated by the federal health ministry.

    On the other hand, a spokesman of federal health ministry said earlier that the appointment will be conducted as per recruitment rules, adding that the government believes in merit.

    The health ministry’s spokesman further stated that the government believes in providing best health facilities to Pakistanis by appointing competent officials.