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Pre-Christmas meat inspectors' strike may be good for turkeys
A planned strike by meat hygiene inspectors will "seriously disrupt" the supply of turkey and other meat in the run up to Christmas, Unison warns.
2008-11-21 08:26:07
Common Cures for Bad Breath Halitosis
Best Syndication News Bad breath is a common health problem in the society. Offensive smell...
2008-11-08 02:20:32
TERI organises 'Health Mela' to create awareness on Yamuna Action Plan-II
Gurgaon, Oct 24 ANI/Business Wire India: The Energy and Resources Institute TERI organised a 'Health Mela' as a part of their awareness programme on 'School Health and Hygiene Programme - Public Participation and Awareness component of Yamuna Action Plan II' launched in Gurgaon, Panipat and Sonepat. The programme was initiated with the support from the Public Health Department PWD, Water Supply and Sanitation Division, Government of Haryana and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. Present on the occasion were Sushil Batra, District Education Officer, Dr S S Dalal, Chief Medical Officer, Civil Hospital, Gurgaon and Ravi Chandra, SE, PWD Water Supply and Sanitation Department. The 'Health Mela' included various cultural activities like puppet show, magic show and street play to create interest and educate the students. Quiz and painting competitions were conducted to encourage them to learn and implement various health and hygiene measures at personal level and disseminate accurate information to their families and friends. Specialists from Civil Hospital, Gurgaon facilitated free health check-ups for children in dental, ENT, eyes, general health and skin. As an institute, TERI has dedicated itself to the task of creating an informed citizenry through children, as they are important stakeholders that hold the key to the future decision-making processes. The three-year programme was initiated in more than 50 schools in these towns in October 2006 with the following objectives: -- To assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices towards health, hygiene, and sanitation in schools -- To educate students on related problems -- To build the capacity of students and school staff on related issues -- To encourage the general public to follow the example of schoolchildren in adopting better health, hygiene, and sanitation practices Expressing her views on such an initiative by the institute, Ranjana Saikia, Fellow and Area Convener, TERI said, "We as an organisation have work towards social development and in areas related to environment. Under the present programme we are focusing on health and hygiene among children through interactive methods. This mela is a unique module to pass on the message to the school children and their families about various do's and don'ts in their daily routine. This would facilitate an increase in their participation in the programme and dissemination of correct information to the their communities." The project focuses on awareness and education on various issues concerning school health and hygiene like safe drinking water facility, provision of clean, safe and separate toilets for girls and boys, adequate dustbins for solid waste segregation at source. Programme was also aimed at studying the gaps in the health services provided-regular health checkups and referral services, immunization programme. Various activities include: waste segregation at school level, implementing the 3Rs of waste management reduction, reuse, and recycling at the school level, vermicomposting, water purification, water conservation and awareness on personal hygiene and sanitation through competitions and other hands-on activities. ANI
2008-10-24 08:00:00
Rwanda: In Support of Raising Hygiene Standards
Recently Kicukiro District authorities said enough is enough.
2008-10-18 11:04:22
Life without a toilet for 2.6 billion worldwide!
INT6International/HealthLife without a toilet for 2.6 billion worldwide!Toronto, Oct 18 IANS A controversial exhibition has opened at the world famous McMaster University at Hamilton near here to raise the taboo topic of toilet whose lack is taking a huge toll on humanity each year.The exhibition, Sanitation is Dignity, cries for global attention to millions of deaths caused annually by poor water, sanitation and hygienic conditions.Apart from the exhibition, the university is also organizing an international workshop - with the support of the UN University International Network on Water, Environment and Health UNU-INWEH - to raise awareness about the United Nations International Year of Sanitation, and offer solutions to the global problem.“Where would we go if we didn't have access to a toilet For 2.6 billion people - more than 40 per cent of the world's population - it is a daily reality,” a statement by the organizing university said.Citing UN figures, it said poor water, sanitation and hygiene claims more than 3.5 million lives annually.Diarrhea alone accounts for 1.4 million preventable child deaths each year, it said.The controversial exhibition shows life-size, two-dimensional figures defecating in the open, trying to ``preserve their privacy and dignity'' behind backpacks and garbage bins.These figures will be placed throughout the campus to raise awareness and empathy for billions of people who don't have access to a toilet, the university statement said.“We see this initiative as part of our commitment to bring to campus engaging projects that respond to both current and critical issues,” the statement quoted Carol Podedworny, director and curator of the McMaster Museum of Art, as saying.“It is an exhibit that will provoke discussion, and inspire the teaching and research interests of students, of faculties, and of the general public.”During the exhibition, experts from around the world will participate in a workshop “Sanitation: Innovations in Policy and Finance” to examine why the world is falling behind the UN's sanitation coverage goals, and what needs to be done to change the situation.“We can imagine hunger or thirst, but the idea of living without a toilet is unimaginable for most of us,” says McMaster University professor Susan Elliott who is a senior research fellow at UNU-INWEH.The exhibition, which runs till Nov 1, has already been shown throughout the world, including New York's Central Park.-Indo-Asian News Servicegs/tb421 Words*18100743
2008-10-18 00:04:05
Namibia: Who's Responsible for Health of 'Struggle Children'
The demonstration of the 'children of the liberation struggle' outside the Ministry of Veterans' Affairs continues unabated, while health and hygiene conditions continue to worsen, without municipal intervention.
2008-10-17 09:39:39
One in four British commuters don't wash hands after toilet use
INT19International/HealthOne in four British commuters don't wash hands after toilet useBy Venkata VemuriLondon, Oct 15 IANS Many Britons don't wash their hands properly after a visit to the washroom, the latest hygiene survey reveals.The unsanitary statistics come on the very day, Wednesday, which is observed as Global Hand-washing Day to coincide with 2008 being the UN International Year of Sanitation.Ironically, the Day is meant to promote clean hands to ward off infections, specifically in developing countries.The Global Had-Washing Day website says its "guiding vision" is "a local and global culture of hand-washing with soap. Although people around the world wash their hands with water, very few wash their hands with soap at the critical occasions”.Truer words were never uploaded, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, which undertook the survey on Britons' hand-washing habits, would say.Researchers approached 409 commuters waiting at bus stops outside major train stations in five British cities. Swabs of their hands were sent back to a laboratory, where any bacteria on them were grown and identified.Some may say the sampling is small, but the results are big on surprise.Overall, 28 percent of people who agreed to a swab tested positive for faecal bacteria, such as Enterococcus, E coli, Klebsiella and Panteoa, according to The Guardian. The types of bacteria rarely cause serious infections, but their presence has alarmed scientists none the less.Among men, the percentage of the unclean fell with latitude, from north to south, with 34 percent of Liverpudlian men testing positive for faecal bacteria, 21 percent in Birmingham, 15 percent in Cardiff and six percent in London.The study, which is preliminary and yet to be published, finds that female hygiene is more consistent than that of males. On average, 27 percent of women had faecal bacteria on their hands, with Londoners again the cleanest at 21 percent and Liverpudlians the dirtiest at 31 percent.The study finds that people who used the bus were nearly twice as likely to test positive for faecal bacteria than train commuters. Bacteria can live for two to three hours on surfaces after being touched by a contaminated hand.Val Curtis, director of the school's hygiene centre, says: “I was expecting to find around five to 10 percent of people with faecal bacteria on their hands, so I was flabbergasted at the number. It means people aren't washing their hands after using the toilet, that they are contaminated and leave their bugs on surfaces where other people pick them up.”Mike Catchpole, director of the Health Protection Agency's Centre for Infections HPA, says: “Hand washing is one of the most important ways of controlling the spread of infections, especially those that cause diarrhoea and vomiting, colds and flu.”Figures with HPA suggest that cases of norovirus, the winter vomiting bug, are rising and that the annual norovirus season is likely to have begun already. The norovirus is the most common cause of gastrointestinal disease in the Britain, with the number of cases peaking between October and March. Between 600,000 and a million people in Britain are affected each year.--Indo-Asian News Serviceven/jg552 Words15101042
2008-10-15 01:02:07
Hygiene horror in commuter study
More than one in four commuters have bacteria which come from faeces on their hands, an investigation finds.
2008-10-14 19:28:11
Sunlight, low anti-oxidant levels likely to damage vision
INT30International/Health/ScienceSunlight, low anti-oxidant levels likely to damage visionLondon, Oct 14 IANS The combination of low antioxidant levels and exposure to sunlight may damage certain kinds of vision. It is also linked with age-related macular degeneration AMD.Animal and lab studies suggest that blue light or short-wavelength light may damage the retina and contribute to the development of AMD, which occurs when the area of the retina macula responsible for sharp vision deteriorates. "The retina is vulnerable to the damaging effects of light," the authors of the study wrote. "While wavelengths in the UV ultra violet radiation range are largely absorbed by the cornea and lens, the retina is exposed to visible light, including blue light".Antioxidant enzymes - including vitamins C and E, the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin and zinc - may protect against the harmful effects of blue light on the retina, according to a release of American Medical Assocation. Astrid E. Fletcher of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and colleagues measured levels of these nutrients in the blood of 4,753 older adults average age 73.2 who were part of the European Eye Study. Participants also were interviewed about their lifetime sunlight exposure and had photographs taken of their retinas to detect AMD.Of the 4,400 participants with complete information available, 2,117 did not have AMD, 101 had neovascular advanced, involving the formation of new blood vessels AMD and 2,182 had early-stage AMD. Overall, there was no association between blue light exposure and early AMD. However, blue light exposure was associated with neovascular AMD in the one-fourth of individuals with lowest antioxidant levels. The study was published in the October issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.--Indo-Asian News Servicest/pb/dg304 Words14101324
2008-10-14 04:03:06
Goa Police sitting on SMS complaint against minister's son: German mother
NAT18National/CrimeGoa Police sitting on SMS complaint against minister's son: German motherPanaji, Oct 12 IANS A German woman who had complained that her daughter was being sexually harassed by the Goa education minister's son, now claims that the police would "prefer" her to withdraw the complaint. Speaking to the media Sunday, Fadella Fuchs alleged that the police were sitting on her complaint filed on Oct 2. "They said it is up to you to decide what to do. It seems they prefer that I withdraw the complaint," Fuchs claimed, adding that she was contacted by the Goa Police supervisory officer to fix an appointment to discuss the case only on Oct 11, nine days after the complaint was filed. Fuchs, a researcher on Indian mythologies, in her complaint to the Calangute police had claimed that Education Minister Atanasio Monseratte's son Rohit Monseratte had been sexually harassing her daughter by sending her lewd SMSes. "After I learnt who the person was, I was shocked. I knew this would be very difficult. If he was someone else, the police would have registered an offence. Now I know they will try to attack my daughter's character. It's not my fault that the boy happens to be a minister's son. I had to do this to protect my child," Fuchs told the media. She claimed that she had been through an emotional ordeal in the last few days. "My daughter has been sexually used. Her mental hygiene has been ruined. What she is going through is hard enough. Sooner or later I thought I would find my child dead. I have seen it in the recent past," claimed Fuchs, hinting at the sordid murder of British teen Scarlett Keeling. She claimed that on Oct 3, one day after the complaint was filed against Rohit, his mother Jennifer Monseratte had visited her, imploring her to withdraw the complaint. "Rohit knew my daughter was a minor. She became 14 in July. You cannot allow youngsters to be used by adults, who they love and treat like friends," she claimed. The complaint which is lying unattended with the Goa Police even quotes some messages which Rohit sent to the victim. While most messages are vulgar in content, there are others which coax the girl to make sure that she drinks and smokes excessively. Another says: "Please make sure you do not get pregnant". Goa, which has been a favourite tourist destination for the international traveller, has been rocked by scandals involving foreign nationals in the recent past, resulting in the coastal state dropping off the popularity charts. This coupled with global recession has resulted in a dip in the number of international tourists visiting Goa this tourist season. --Indo-Asian News Servicemaya/rn/dg488 Words*12101451
2008-10-12 05:05:05