If you have any InterPharma saline products you may want to think twice before using them.

Queensland Health distributes urgent patient safety alert over bacteria outbreak, contaminated saline products.

The death of a patient at a Sunshine Coast hospital is suspected to be linked to a contaminated saline product.

Queensland Health has told hospitals and clinics across the state to stop using two InterPharma sodium chloride products for patient care immediately, and to remove them from all clinical areas.

A patient safety alert issued by Queensland Health said the imported products were believed to be linked to a hospital outbreak of a dangerous bacteria, Ralstonia pickettii, in multiple states and territories.

Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard said at least 43 cases had been confirmed nationally, while three confirmed cases and three probable cases had been recorded in Queensland private hospitals.

Dr Gerrard said Ralstonia pickettii was a "common organism in the environment" and is commonly identified in rivers and lakes.

"It is usually harmless and cannot spread from one person to another," he said.

"The biggest risk is if a person is injected by some means into the blood with the organism."......

There are deadly consequences:


Thousands dying needlessly from cancer in UK...
wrote:

Thousands of people are dying needlessly from cancer because the UK lags behind comparable countries when it comes to survival rates, a damning report says.

Big strides forward have been made in treating the disease over the past 50 years, according to the study by Cancer Research UK, but slow and late diagnosis coupled with treatment delays mean the progress is “at risk of stalling”.

League tables drawn up by international researchers and cited by the charity show the UK has the worst survival rates in five out of seven forms of cancer...

... The charity’s report called for more action to speed up diagnosis, get people treated quickly and recruit a further 16,000 full-time cancer staff by 2029. The NHS has already set a target to diagnose 75% of cancers at the earliest stages of 1 or 2 by 2028 but the charity warned this would be missed.

The report said cancer was a “fixable problem”...

... “Across the UK, cancer waiting times are being consistently missed, and some have not been met for over a decade. While they wait for diagnosis and treatment, patients and their families face an anxious and worrying time"...

... “The late stage problem is a big one,” he said. “Nearly half of all patients with cancer are diagnosed at stage 3 and 4. They have poor prognosis compared to those in stage 1 and 2.

“We are not currently on target...

... The report also said four in 10 cancers in the UK were preventable, with thousands of cases caused by unhealthy lifestyles and smoking...

Stay healthy?...
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Now there's a different way of looking at things.

The countries that spent more on fighting COVID that Australia - but with worse results.

I guess that we can put a lot of that down to our isolation and having a pretty good healthcare system to start with.

... And due to the good open-air health of only ever socializing out in the open on the beach for a beach BBQ...!

;-)


Stay healthy!
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

The wave is growing apparently.

A number of European countries have reported a shocking rise of cases of pneumonia in children after kids in China started getting sick.

Several European countries have reported a sharp rise of cases of child pneumonia similar to those that have plagued mainland China.

Medics suspect mycoplasma pneumoniae, flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) to be behind the horror wave of pneumonia cases that has led to thousands of children being hospitalised in China.

Pediatric units have been swamped and many hospital wards are at capacity, with pictures of full waiting rooms being shared on social media.

Beijing Children’s Hospital is receiving up to 9378 new patients a day and has been at full capacity for two months, according to government newspaper The Global Times.

Last week the World Health Organisation (WHO) said it was monitoring “undiagnosed pneumonia in children’s hospitals in Beijing, Liaoning and other places in China”......

I just got my RSV vax and I haven't dropped dead.

---

Good stuff.

Live long and prosper!
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

The wave looks to be hitting the U.S. now.

Two states in the US have reported a large uptick in the number of children suffering from pneumonia amid a mysterious viral outbreak in China.

Massachusetts has become the second US state to report a large uptick in the number of child pneumonia cases amid a mysterious viral outbreak in China.

Doctors in the Bay State noticed the rise in cases as Ohio reported enough cases to meet that state’s definition of an outbreak.

But physicians in western Massachusetts believe it is mostly RSV, a respiratory virus that kills more than 10,000 Americans each year — mostly young children and the elderly, the New York Post reported.

“This is the season for RSV and we’re seeing a whole lot of it… a lot of kids with upper viral respiratory infections, cough, runny nose, some fevers,” Dr. John Kelly, from Redwood Pediatrics in East Longmeadow told Western Mass News......

This is no way to run a health service:


Junior doctors plan nine days of strikes, after talks collapse



There are ongoing consequences...

Stay healthy???
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Is there something in Florida's water or is there some other reason that there are so many nutters there?

Florida Official Raises Alarms About DNA in COVID-19 Vaccines.

Or is it a reflection on the education level? Lead pipes?

They learned that click bait works

How can the UK be so badly unhealthy?!


See some very sad numbers:

ONS: Winter Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection Study, England and Scotland

In extreme brevity, we have about 1.2% of the population sampled testing positive for covid, yet only half reported any symptoms. That's unfortunately very good for further spread regardless of how conscientious they might hope to be...

But more startling are the statistics that for their personal health (not necessarily covid related), 21% of that sampled population report that they are "Unable to do usual or daily activities", and that 12% are "Absent from work or education"! Ouch!!


How have we made people so unhealthy?

Stay well folks!
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Consequences - What about Christmas?:


Flu and Covid levels are rising: what does it mean for Christmas in the UK?

Figures show a sharp rise in flu infections and hospital admissions in England in the past week...

... “Influenza infections always rise in the winter, usually peaking some time about December to February. The only uncertainty is how high infections will rise and exactly when the peak will happen,” said Prof Paul Hunter of the University of East Anglia. “At present, flu trends look like most years prior to Covid.”...

... the national influenza and Covid-19 surveillance report reveals an increase in case rates and positivity in pillar one (largely hospital testing), with a small increase in Covid hospitalisations...

... urged all those eligible for Covid or flu jabs on the NHS to make sure they get vaccinated to protect themselves from serious illness...

... “Also if you have been offered the pneumonia (pneumococcal) vaccine, take up that,” said Hunter. “Often flu doesn’t kill directly but triggers people into developing pneumococcal pneumonia, which is what kills.”...

...the advice this winter will be familiar: wash hands, maintain good ventilation, consider wearing a mask in crowded spaces, and if you are feeling rough it is best to stay tucked up and away from others, particularly those who are more vulnerable.

Stay healthy folks!

And a Happy Festivities wherever you are!!

Be Excellent to One Another!
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Well it seems that COVID is still keeping our death rate up here down under. :-(

Australia's mortality rate is more than 6pc higher than expected, new Australian Bureau of Statistics report reveals.

COVID-19 is still a "key contributor" to higher death rates as new data reveals Australia's nationwide mortality rate is sitting at more than six per cent higher than expected.

The national excess mortality rate for the first eight months of 2023 shows deaths are estimated at 6.1 per cent above expected levels.

It marks a drop from 14.1 per cent higher than expected mortality rates during the same period in 2022, according to data released this week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

There were 14,654 deaths in September 2023, 6.8 per cent fewer than in the same time frame in 2022, according to a second report on Australia's mortality statistics.......

Consequences as our Government abandons the health of our Nation:


NHS given warning about infection control as Covid cases rise
wrote:

The Royal College of Nursing has warned of an increase risk of Covid among hospital staff and patients due to the NHS’s failure to follow World Health Organization advice about infection control during a current spike in cases.

The most recent figures showed one in 24 people in England and Scotland had Covid on 13 December, up from one in 55 two weeks before...

... the WHO advised that all health facilities “implement universal masking” and give health workers “respirators and other PPE”...

... “I am mindful of the current unsustainable pressures on the health service, with … a rise in cases and hospitalisations with Covid-19, alongside other respiratory viruses in general circulation. I am concerned that without proper protections ill-health and sickness will continue to rise in nursing staff and impact on their ability to deliver safe and effective patient care.”

She added: “We are also concerned about the increased risks to patients from hospital-acquired respiratory infections.”...

... “We also have concerns about the [in]adequacy of ventilation in general ward and outpatient areas within hospital buildings and believe that action must be taken to assess and improve this.”...

The covid pandemic is still a thing, with added flu and pneumonia to give everyone that extra kick...

There are Consequences...


Stay healthy folks!
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Burger Recall Over Potentially Deadly Bacteria Found in Beef Products.

An Illinois meat producer has issued a recall of 6,768 pounds of ground beef products including ready-made burger patties after samples were found to contain E. coli, a potentially deadly bacteria, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has said.

In an alert issued on Sunday, the federal agency announced that Valley Meats—a Coal Valley beef and pork products wholesaler that markets mainly to the foodservices industry across 27 states—was recalling seven different types of beef product over concerns they may have been contaminated.

The FSIS said it was "concerned that some product may be in institutional or restaurant refrigerators or freezers." It urged anyone who had bought the products under the recall to not serve them, and either throw them away or return them to where they had been purchased......

Well I'm certainly not going to plan a trip out west of here as problems build.

Mosquito bite virus detected in far-west NSW as residents warned to protect themselves.

Health authorities are warning people to protect themselves after a mosquito-borne virus was detected in NSW.

Mosquito populations are thriving in NSW right now after persistent wet, warm weather over the holiday period.

A positive result for Japanese encephalitis (JE) was detected during routine testing in the Menindee in late December.

NSW Health Acting Director of Environmental Health Paul Byleveld said as more people spend time outdoors, it’s important to take steps to reduce mosquito bite risk.

“People should take extra care to protect themselves against mosquito bites and mosquito-borne disease, particularly after the detection of JE in a sentinel chicken in Far Western NSW,” he said......

Those nasty bastards.

Bring on the jackhammers.

How scientists used nanomachines to discover a new form of cancer treatment.

An entirely new form of cancer treatment has been discovered that could possibly eradicate tumours and act as a possible alternative to chemotherapy.

Scientists at Rice University in Texas called the method a “new generation” of molecular machines, known as “molecular jackhammers” (MJH).

It occurs by using a cyanine dye, similar to those used in medical imaging, which is then attached to a cancer cell and stimulated using infra-red light, which can penetrate deep into a human without damaging them.

This vibrates the cell, causing its membrane to tear open and destroy the cancer.....

As if COVID wasn't bad enough. :-O

Chinese lab crafts mutant COVID-19 strain with 100% kill streak in ‘humanised’ mice.

Chinese scientists are experimenting with a mutant Covid-19 strain that has a 100 per cent kill streak in “humanised” mice.

The deadly virus — known as GX_P2V — attacked the brains of mice that were engineered to reflect similar genetic makeup to people, according to a study shared last week out of Beijing.

“This underscores a spillover risk of GX_P2V into humans and provides a unique model for understanding the pathogenic mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2-related viruses,” the authors wrote.

The deadly virus is a mutated version of GX/2017, a coronavirus cousin that was reportedly discovered in Malaysian pangolins in 2017 — three years before the pandemic, The NY Post reports.

All the mice that were infected with the virus died within just eight days, which researchers noted was a “surprisingly” rapid death rate.

GX_P2V had infected the lungs, bones, eyes, tracheas and brains of the dead mice, the last of which was severe enough to ultimately cause the death of the animals.

In the days before their deaths, the mice had quickly lost weight, exhibited a hunched posture and moved extremely sluggishly.

Most eerie of all, their eyes turned completely white the day before they died.......

Those antivaxers here had better watch out.

A health alert has been issued for measles after a confirmed case of measles in the Australian Capital Territory was infectious while transiting through Sydney.

A traveller infected with measles has travelled into Australia and moved around cities, with a health alert now issued for the highly infectious disease.

The case is an adult who recently returned from Asia, where there has been ongoing outbreaks of measles in several countries including Pakistan and India.

Those who travelled on an Air India flight AI302 from Delhi to Sydney arriving on Saturday January 20 at 8.10am have been told to watch out for symptoms.

Anyone at Sydney Airport Terminal 1 International Arrivals, including baggage claims and customs, and bus and coach bay 9 that morning were also exposed.

Passengers travelling from Sydney to Canberra with on Murrays Bus company, departing the airport at 10.30am on January 20, should also be alert.....