Public health england

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin And then there were three. That’s three reported cases of monkeypox within a week in London. And three more than you typically see in a year in England. The first case was confirmed about a week ago, which I covered for Forbes on May 8 . And on Friday, May 13, the U.K. Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed two more cases of this rare viral illness caused by the monkeypox virus. These latter two cases appear unrelated to the first case but are closely connected with each other, having come from the same household. One of them is currently hospitalized in the expert infectious disease unit at St Mary’s Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, whereas the other is isolating at home. Obviously, the announcement of two new monkeypox cases shouldn’t be followed with words like “awesome” or “cool.” But it shouldn’t be followed with flapping your arms in a panic. The latest UKHSA announcement quoted Colin … [Read more...] about Monkeypox Update: 2 New Cases In London, England, Unrelated To First Case

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin More patients than ever before are waiting for elective procedures in England, with the number in line for treatment hitting 6.36 million according to the latest figures. The data , which represents the size of the waiting list for surgeries and other planned treatments in March, is an increase of 180,000 on February's results . The overall waiting list has grown every month since May 2020, when it stood at 3.85 million. That figure isn't a perfect representation of the number of people waiting for treatments, as some patients will be counted more than once if they're on the list for multiple procedures. Planned care — which covers all manner of procedures from cataract surgery to hip replacements — continues to be hard-hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. Hospitals across the country have been forced to pause and reconfigure elective care during times of particular pressure. But despite continued growth in the … [Read more...] about England’s Hospital Waiting List Grows Again To 6.36 Million

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Monkeypox is not the type of thing that you see every day. Or even every year for that matter. It’s a very rare viral infection that can spread from person-to-person via close contact and could result in severe illness, even death. That’s why someone recently being diagnosed with monkeypox in England has prompted the U.K. Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to issue an announcement on Saturday . And the UKHSA tends to reserve such announcements for significant news that the general public needs to know rather than things like, “Person has pimple, can’t go to prom.” So before you try to use, “sorry I have monkeypox,” as an excuse to get out of work or a date, keep in mind that others may then call the public health authorities to get you placed in isolation. The infected person is indeed currently under isolation and receiving treatment at the expert infectious disease unit at the Guy’s and St Thomas’ National Health Services … [Read more...] about Monkeypox Case Confirmed In United Kingdom, Here’s What This Rare Infection Can Do

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin When something goes from being of interest to being a concern, it’s usually taken a turn for the worse. That would apply to a date, something in your refrigerator, and Covid-19 variants and subvariants. On May 12, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) reclassified the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants of the Covid-19 coronavirus as variants of concern (VOC), up from being variants of interest (VOI). This shouldn’t be a cause for panic, as public health authorities will rarely say, “OK, everyone, it’s time to panic. Here’s how you should flap your arms.” However, as the label implies, these new variants should indeed be of concern and a reminder to maintain Covid-19 precautions such as wearing face masks while in indoor public areas. This recent leveling up of BA.4 and BA.5 occurred because these two Omicron sub-lineages seem to be spreading more readily and rapidly than earlier versions of the … [Read more...] about European CDC Calls Omicron BA.4, BA.5 Covid-19 Variants Of Concern

Tony Gamal-Gabriel (AFP) Baghdad, Iraq   ● Tue, May 17, 2022 2022-05-17 00:52 0 e16ff64e7ecc29b417414912230c6080 2 Environment Iraq,sandstorm,hospitalized,people,environment,health Free Another sandstorm that descended Monday on climate-stressed Iraq sent at least 4,000 people to hospital with breathing problems and led to the closure of airports, schools and public offices across the country. It is the eighth dust storm since mid-April to hit Iraq, which has been battered by soil degradation, intense droughts and low rainfall linked to climate change. The last one earlier this month led to the death of one person, while more than 5,000 others had to be hospitalised for respiratory problems. On Monday, a thick cloud of dust enveloped the capital Baghdad in an orange glow and blanketed many other cities including the Shiite shrine city of Najaf to the south, and Sulaimaniyah in the northern Kurdish autonomous region, AFP correspondents said. Yellow … [Read more...] about Thousands hospitalised as latest sandstorm brings Iraq to standstill

Boulder County, Colorado announced Thursday that it is banning all gatherings of young adults between the ages of 18-22 for 2 weeks. The order, which went into effect Thursday at 4 p.m., prohibits both indoor and outdoor gatherings and includes a list 36 addresses where residents “have repeatedly violated orders,” NBC reported. Those who violate the order could be fined $5,000 or receive a jail sentence of up to 18 months. “We must take stronger action to stop the spread of this virus in our community,” Boulder County public health director Jeff Zayach said in a news release . “We have researched the actions we can take that would be effective while minimizing the burden on those who have not been the source of increased transmission. We believe this strategy can achieve both goals.” The order applies to all people within the age group regardless of whether they attend the University of Colorado. Under the order, they are allowed to study and exercise if they are alone, and … [Read more...] about Boulder Bans Young Adult Gatherings For Two Weeks

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin There’s exciting news in the world of phage therapy and antimicrobial resistance! Jerry Nick, MD, of National Jewish Health, and Graham Hatfull, PhD, University of Pittsburgh, announced a patient’s cure from a Mycobacterium abscessus lung infection with phage therapy. What are phages? They are viruses that infect bacteria and can lyse (or kill) them without the need for antibiotics. While their use goes back more than a hundred years , they fell out of favor with the discovery and growth of antibiotics—which are flashier and more profitable. As antibiotic resistance is a growing problem globally, interest in phage therapy has been renewed. More than 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections occur in the US alone each year, with 35,000 deaths. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is considered one of the top 10 global public health threats by the World Health Organization. The stagnant drug development pipeline compounds … [Read more...] about Bacteria-Killing Viruses Are Successful In Treating Antibiotic-Resistant Infections

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline North Korea reported 15 new Covid-19 deaths along with hundreds of thousands of new patients with “fevers,” as the country pledges to mobilize millions of health and other workers to fight its first officially acknowledged coronavirus outbreak. Key Facts According to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the country reported 296,180 new infections on Sunday, pushing the country’s official case count to 820,620. The staggering surge in new cases has come after North Korea reported its first-ever Covid-19 outbreak on Thursday. Since the start of the current outbreak, North Korea has reported 42 fatalities linked to the coronavirus. The speed of the outbreak has raised concerns of a humanitarian catastrophe in the country as most of its residents are believed to be unvaccinated and its public health system is reportedly in a poor state. To help tackle the outbreak, all … [Read more...] about Covid Rips Through North Korea As 15 More Deaths And Nearly 300,000 New Cases Reported

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Whether you’re a manager at a company with 3,000 employees or three, something that leaders across industries have learned in the past two years is that giving employees more flexibility is key to retention and recruiting of new hires. The pandemic forced the majority (~70%) of the US workforce to adapt in a plethora of different ways to keep everyone healthy while still continuing to work efficiently. Companies that previously had 0% of their employees working remotely had to figure out how to seamlessly transfer all operations to a 100% digital environment. While obviously a ton of bad things came from the pandemic, that’s not to say there weren’t learnings and lessons discovered across the board. The reality is that more talent in every part of the country, and the world, now has access to greater opportunities because of the increased normalization of remote work. Gone are the days where you have to live in San Francisco … [Read more...] about 30 Executives’ Perspectives On Remote, Hybrid, And In-Office Work

Editor's note: Below you'll find the week 87 release of the NYC Recovery Index, originally published May 3, 2022. Visit the NYC Recovery index homepage for the latest data. New York City’s economic recovery index declined in the week ending April 23, 2022, falling just over a point to close at 74 out of 100, with all major components of the index recording a weekly decline. COVID-19 hospitalization rates continued to rise, along with an uptick in unemployment insurance claims. Home sales, rental vacancies, subway ridership, and restaurant reservations all declined compared to the week of April 16. On a positive note, home sales and UI claims remain fully recovered, with pending home sales still considerably above pre-pandemic levels. New York City’s economic recovery stands at a score of 74 out of 100, according to the New York City Recovery Index, a joint project between Investopedia and NY1 . Over two years into the pandemic, New York City’s economic recovery is just … [Read more...] about The New York City Recovery Index: May 2