- S E G A L A_ M A C A M_ P E N Y A K I T -

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Removal of 60-year age limit on cadaveric donors welcomed
By Margaret Perry, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 22 July 2008 2223 hrs

SINGAPORE: Many have welcomed Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan's idea of removing the 60-year age limit on cadaveric kidneys. But the impact of the proposed amendment on the kidney transplant waiting list is not yet known.

25-year-old Rogayah Mahmud has had kidney failure for seven years. For the last two years, she has been on the waiting list for a kidney transplant.

"Since there is no one within our age group who is willing to donate, we have no choice but to push the age limit for 60 years and above," she said.

Removing the age limit of donors will help, said kidney specialists, but they warned that it would not result in a flood of kidneys for transplant.

The Human Organ Transplant Act (HOTA) was amended in 2004 to allow healthy organs to be taken from all brain-dead patients, not just accident victims.

But the number of kidney transplants from cadaveric donors only rose from 20 to about 50 cases a year. Older donors may also have more medical problems.

Dr Pary Sivaraman, a kidney specialist, said: "We may be getting kidneys that are not (of) good quality. In some places, they will tell the recipient that the kidney is coming from a not-so-good source and the recipient has the option to accept the kidney or not. Whether we would have that in place is difficult to say."

Dr Pary said a recipient normally receives just one kidney from a cadaveric donor, so that two people from the waiting list can benefit.

But if the quality of the kidney is not so good, then one option is to transplant both kidneys into just one patient or transplant older kidneys into older patients.

The Ministry of Health said the existing kidney allocation system will continue to be followed. However, there may be a need to refine the system to ensure that very old kidneys do not end up with very young recipients.


- CNA/so

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Aug 1, 2008         
Chikungunya strikes in Holland Road area
Housewife is 17th person to be infected here and not overseas
By Lee Hui Chieh


STEPPED-UP CHECKS: NEA officers using an anti-mosquito spraying machine in Teachers' Estate, off Upper Thomson Road, where two people came down with chikungunya in June. -- ST FILE PHOTO

CHIKUNGUNYA is back.

This time, it has hit a 60-year-old woman who lives in Jalan Jelita off Holland Road.

She is the 17th person to contract the mosquito- borne, dengue-like disease in Singapore, rather than having been bitten by an infected mosquito while overseas.

The housewife started running a fever and suffering joint pains and rash last Thursday. She went to a general practitioner the next day and recovered over the weekend.

Since neither she nor her family members had been overseas in the past month, health officers have concluded that she was probably bitten by an infected Aedes mosquito here.

The officers have since screened 39 people for the virus, beginning with her family and including the foreign workers in construction sites in her neighbourhood.

All tested negative.

Since the infection does not seem to have spread, the officers will not conduct mass screenings in the area for now, the Health Ministry said.

But it has advised those who have been in the area recently to see a doctor if they develop a fever, joint pains and rash.

Officers from the National Environment Agency (NEA) have also stepped up efforts to wipe out mosquitoes and their breeding sites in the area.

Sixteen officers have been deployed, 10 more than usual.

So far, they have checked 102 homes, sprayed insecticide in more than 80 of them and destroyed four mosquito breeding sites.

Before the first outbreak of chikungunya in Little India in January, the 13 people who had come down with the disease had been infected overseas.

The situation changed with the Little India outbreak, because the infected 13 living or working there had not left Singapore in the previous month.

Three more cases sprang up in June - a retiree and her maid living in Teachers' Estate off Upper Thomson Road, and an expatriate housewife in Farrer Road.

A further 31 people here were infected with chikungunya while overseas, bringing the total tally for this year to 48.

The Health Ministry noted yesterday that although the disease has cropped up locally, the majority of the cases remain imported.

It urges people to take precautions while overseas, especially in countries which have had outbreaks, including India, Indonesia and Malaysia.

To protect themselves, they should apply insect repellent, wear long-sleeved shirts and trousers, and use mosquito coils.

But while the number of chikungunya cases both local and imported is higher this year than in previous years, the rate at which people are coming down with dengue - a similar disease spread by the same mosquito and entrenched here - appears to be slowing.

Last week, 122 people were diagnosed with it, down from this year's highest weekly count of 175 in the first week of June.

In the first 30 weeks of this year, 3,427 people were hit by the disease, about a third fewer people than the 5,086 stricken in the same period last year.

huichieh@sph.com.sg

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Chikungunya 'not taken root here yet'
Viruses from local infections from three different strains so incidents aren't linked
By Lee Hui Chieh

THE number of people infected by chikungunya here continues to climb but, for now, the virus causing the mosquito-borne disease has probably not gained a foothold in Singapore.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) said its tests showed that the viruses that caused the first three incidents of local infection - in Little India, Teachers' Estate off Upper Thomson Road, and Farrer Road - belonged to different strains.

This means that the three incidents were not linked, said Dr Ng Lee Ching, head of the NEA's Environmental Health Institute, which conducted the tests.

Each time, the infection had probably been sparked by someone getting infected overseas bringing one particular strain of the virus here, she added.

And each time, the infection was stamped out so that strain did not spread further.

The institute's scientists established that the first three incidents had occurred separately by mapping the genetic code, or DNA, of the viruses in patients' blood samples. They found that the viruses were related to the one that caused huge outbreaks in islands in the Indian Ocean in 2006, where deaths were reported. But each was of a distinctly different strain.

It was unlikely that the second and third strains had mutated from the first in such a short time, Dr Ng said.

Public health officers have gone all out to track patients and destroy mosquito breeding sites. This is to ensure that chikungunya does not become as common here as dengue.

Having both similar diseases entrenched here will complicate diagnosis, treatment and containment.

Singapore is at risk as it hosts many travellers, the virus-transmitting Aedes mosquito flourishes here, and people here have no immunity against chikungunya.

It was spread for the first time in Singapore, when 13 people living or working in Little India contracted it in January.

In June, a retiree and her maid living in Teachers' Estate, and an expatriate housewife living in Farrer Road were infected.

Joining the list of local cases last month: A housewife living in Jalan Jelita off Holland Road, two foreign workers working and living in a site at Kranji Way, and a local delivery driver who went there.

Another 31 people here caught the disease while abroad this year; before that, 13 others had been infected overseas over 2006 to 2007.

The rise in the number of chikungunya cases here, both local and imported, mirrors a global trend, Dr Ng said.

Recently, outbreaks have been reported more often in Malaysia, Indonesia and India, and in previously chikungunya-free areas such as Italy.

The reasons for the upswing in infections are not known. But scientists believe that a contributory factor is the emergence of a certain strain of the chikungunya virus, which has mutated such that it can be carried by another sub-species of the Aedes mosquito - the Aedes albopictus.

Previously, the virus' main vehicle of infection was the Aedes aegypti, which is also behind most dengue cases.

The institute's scientists have yet to study virus samples

from this month's local cases but will be doing so.

Appealing to the public to help eliminate mosquitoes and their breeding sites, Dr Ng said: 'Chikungunya is not endemic here yet, so we still have a chance to keep it out. It is easier to do that than to try to get rid of it when it is established.'

huichieh@sph.com.sg

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Boy, 3, dies of suspected HFMD
By Lynlee Foo, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 07 August 2008 1737 hrs

  

SINGAPORE: A 3-year old boy has died of suspected Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD).

The Health Ministry said the boy, who had a fever, oral ulcers and rashes, was diagnosed with HFMD by a general practitioner on Sunday, August 3.

He was dehydrated and had high fever when he was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit at the KK Women's and Children's Hospital on Thursday. His condition deteriorated and he died on Thursday evening.

The Health Ministry said the boy attended Elias Kindergarten (Woodlands), where there is currently an active HFMD cluster.

The kindergarten has been ordered to close for 10 days with immediate effect (till August 17) and to carry out the necessary cleaning and disinfection work.

Authorities hope the closure will allow a break in the chain of transmission.

The Health Ministry said the number of HFMD cases notified in the week ending August 2 was 392, below the warning threshold level. This brings the total number of cases to 17,435 for the first 31 weeks of this year.

The last HFMD-related death was in 2001. A total of seven children died in the 2000-2001 epidemic.

- CNA/ir

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Five new chikungunya infection cases reported
By Lynlee Foo, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 13 August 2008 1735 hrs


The Aedes aegypti mosquito biting human flesh. (credit: US Department of Agriculture)

SINGAPORE: Five more people have caught the chikungunya virus in Singapore, said the Health Ministry (MOH), and none of them have travelled overseas recently.

They include two foreign workers at Kranji Way

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Nine new locally-transmitted chikungunya fever cases reported
By May Wong, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 16 August 2008 1912 hrs



SINGAPORE : Nine new locally-transmitted chikungunya fever cases have been reported in Singapore.

This brings to 117 the total number of cases so far, which includes imported ones.

Of these, 54 were imported cases with history of travel to places like Johor, Malacca, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

Three of the new cases were found at the Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre.

A 61-year-old man and his 32-year-old daughter who worked at the centre caught the chikungunya fever virus.

The father is still hospitalised while the daughter has been discharged.

They did not travel overseas prior to their illness.

After screening blood samples of 184 workers at the centre, authorities found another victim - a 44-year-old employee.

The other six cases of chikungunya fever were found at Kranji Way, Sungei Kadut, Queen Street, Segar Road and Jalan Berjaya.

Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said: "(We've) been fighting mosquitoes for several decades now and I know these are very formidable enemies. They'll try to survive and I think there's no other way except just make sure our environmental hygiene is of very high standards."

He added: "It's a little bit like dengue several decades ago. If we did to dengue what we're doing to chikungunya today, we might have prevented dengue becoming permanent residents here.

"But once they're out there, then you try to eliminate every single case, it's tough...As Health Minister, I'm worried about so many other things. But worrying is one thing...(we should) try to do our best." - CNA/ms

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Business hurt by Chikungunya cluster at Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre
By Teoh Kheng Siong & Hoe Yeen NIe, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 18 August 2008 2214 hrs


Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre

SINGAPORE : Some stall owners at Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre saw business drop by as much as 30 per cent, after three cases of Chikungunya fever were reported there last week.

Two of the victims - a 61-year-old man and his daughter - have recovered, and the daughter has since returned to work at the market.

Still, customers are shying away from the market, raising concerns among some stall owners, who said it will take about a month for business to recover.

Officers from the National Environment Agency (NEA) have been making thorough checks at the premises, and so far they have discovered four mosquito-breeding sites.

NEA officers are also distributing posters warning of the dangers of the disease. - CNA /ls

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HSA says blood supply safe after recall of substance used to test donated blood
Posted: 20 August 2008 1748 hrs



SINGAPORE: The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) said Singapore's blood supply is safe. The assurance comes after the recall of a chemical substance used to test donated blood.

Some batches of reagents for the Nucleic Acid Test (NAT) were recalled by its supplier, Chiron, on August 15.

The NAT is one of two tests used by the HSA's Blood Services Group (BSG) to detect HIV, Hepatitis B virus and Hepatitis C virus in human blood.

Chiron recalled the reagents after it found out that they were stored in a freezer which had inconsistent temperature.

It said that the reagents have a shelf-life of 30 days upon thawing, while the affected ones were effective up to the twelfth day post-thaw.

Chiron is still trying to determine the stability of the affected reagents past the twelfth day.

BSG's investigations into the recalled batches confirmed that 99 per cent of donations were tested with reagents that fall within the acceptable 12-day storage period identified by Chiron.

The remaining one per cent was tested with reagents used within 22 days.

A BSG spokesperson said all blood donations undergo stringent checks and there is no evidence to show the affected reagents have affected the safety of the national blood supply. - CNA/vm

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HFMD cases up again
By Lee Hui Chieh


The weekly count crossed the warning level of 402 two weeks ago and continues to grow. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND LIM

THE number of children coming down with hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is on the rise again.

The weekly count crossed the warning level of 402 two weeks ago and continues to grow.

Last week, 553 people were diagnosed with the disease, up from 415 in the previous week.

While these figures still fall short of the epidemic level of 565 for now, they are expected to keep increasing because traditionally, more HFMD cases crop up during Aug to Oct every year.

But this peak - the second one in the year - usually affects fewer people than the first peak from March to May, said Dr Lyn James, director of the Health Ministry's communicable diseases division.

Still, it was during last week that Singapore registered its first death from HFMD since a severe outbreak in 2000-2001 killed seven children here.

Three-year-old Marzuk Adi died on Aug 6, probably from encephalitis or inflammation of the brain, brought on by a severe form of HFMD caused by a virus called enterovirus 71, or EV71.

Elias Kindergarten in Woodlands, which Marzuk attended, has reopened on Monday after a 10-day closure to clean up.

Dr James was speaking on the sidelines of a regional forum on HFMD, organised jointly by the Health Ministry and the Regional Emerging Disease Intervention (Redi) Centre.

At the forum, Singapore vaccine company SingVax, Chinese vaccine company Sinovac Biotech and Taiwan's Centers for Disease Control - which are all racing to be the first to come up with a HFMD vaccine - also gave updates on their progress.

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5 new cases of chikungunya fever found at Lim Chu Kang area
By Lynda Hong, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 25 August 2008 2054 hrs

SINGAPORE: A new cluster of chikungunya fever has been identified in the Lim Chu Kang area.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) said the index cases are a 25-year-old Bangladeshi and a 41-year-old Singaporean.

They were working in the vicinity of the Lim Chu Kang Agro Technology Park, located at Lim Chu Kang Lane 2.

Thirty workers were screened as part of active case detection and three more workers were found to be positive for chikungunya virus.

They are a 23-year-old Malaysian, a 21-year-old Chinese national and a 31-year-old Myanmar national.

The Health Ministry said the total number of cases linked to Lim Chu Kang now stands at five.

Investigations are continuing.

Separately, one new case was identified at the Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre, two at Kranji Way, three at Sungei Kadut, and one each at Yishun and Tuas.

To date, a total of 150 cases of chikungunya fever have been notified to MOH this year.

MOH has advised persons who develop symptoms of chikungunya to consult their doctors immediately. These include fever, joint pain and rashes.

Chikungunya fever, like dengue fever, is a mosquito-borne disease. Persons infected with chikungunya fever should be isolated from further mosquito bites so as to reduce the risk of further transmission of the virus. - CNA/vm

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80% of imported chikungunya cases visited Johore recently
By Lynda Hong, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 27 August 2008 1806 hrs

SINGAPORE : The large number of travellers between Singapore and Johore is a major reason for the recent surge in the number of chikungunya fever cases here, said Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan in Parliament on Wednesday.

Mr Khaw said about 80 per cent of the 61 imported cases here had recently travelled to the southern state of Johore in Malaysia, where cases have been on the rise.

While his ministry is working closely with the National Environment Agency to eliminate breeding sites locally, Mr Khaw stressed that the public also had to play their part.

He said: "At this point in time, Johore is a major problem area, and it also coincides with the durian season, and I know many Singaporeans go to durian plantations. So if you do, I think you should just protect yourself... mosquito repellents may help." - CNA/ms

[ Last edited by  fatz2 at 1-9-2008 07:19 AM ]

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Visitors still at Lim Chu Kang farms despite chikungunya virus
By Ca-Mie De Souza, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 31 August 2008 1931 hrs

  
A farm at Lim Chu Kang                                                           Ivy Singh Lim

SINGAPORE: Visitors are still enjoying the countryside in the Lim Chu Kang area, even though part of it has been hit by the chikungunya virus.

Touted as the last bastion of an authentic Singapore countryside, the Lim Chu Kang area has been linked to five recently reported cases of chikungunya fever. Some farm operators said fogging does not help with the situation.

Ivy Singh-Lim, president of the Kranji Countryside Association, said: "How do you fog the entire Singapore countryside? The answer is not about fogging, the answer is to understand eco-friendly practices.

"Instead of doing things like fogging, which actually creates an even more dangerous situation because you are eliminating the natural predators, stem the disease before it enters our country."

The National Environment Agency (NEA) said fogging is an important part of its two-pronged approach to control the mosquito population. The other strategy is to remove as many mosquito-breeding habitats as possible.

NEA said its officers have found more than 60 breeding sites in the area

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USTAZ PASUNI DIRAWAT SAKIT BENGKAK PANKREAS

Oleh
Nadzri Eunos

PENGERUSI Lembaga Pentadbir Madrasah Aljunied Al-Islamiah, Ustaz Haji Pasuni Maulan (gambar), kini dirawat di Hospital Tan Tock Seng (TTSH) kerana mengalami bengkak pankreas.

Beliau, yang juga mantan Pendaftar Pejabat Pendaftar Pernikahan Orang Islam (ROMM), telah dikejarkan ke hospital selepas mengadu sakit, Isnin lalu.

'Sakitnya datang secara mendadak. Tak ada sebarang tanda-tanda awal. Mulanya saya hanya ke klinik dekat rumah, tetapi dikejarkan ke hospital atas arahan doktor,' jelas Ustaz Pasuni, 63 tahun, dengan nada suara lemah ketika dihubungi di TTSH, semalam.

Menurut beliau, keadaannya kini bertambah pulih selepas menjalani rawatan yang antara lain melibatkan pengambilan ubat antibiotik.

Namun, buat masa ini Ustaz Pasuni berkata beliau masih belum dibenarkan makan seperti biasa.

'Kalau tak ada apaapa, saya dijangka dibenarkan pulang tidak lama lagi.

'Bagaimanapun, saya minta maaf kerana undangan untuk menyampaikan kuliah dan mengimamkan solat terawih sempena Ramadan terpaksa saya batalkan dan saya harap pihak penganjur dapat cari pengganti,' ujar beliau.

Ustaz Pasuni juga mengucapkan terima kasih kepada mereka yang telah mendoakannya supaya cepat pulih.

Selain tugasnya di Madrasah Aljunied, Ustaz Pasuni juga merupakan salah seorang anggota Majlis Tertinggi Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (Muis).

Beliau juga telah dilantik sebagai Ketua Delegasi Misi Haji Singapura untuk musim Haji tahun lalu.

Antara lain Ustaz Pasuni telah dipertanggungjawab memimpin sekumpulan 28 relawan terdiri daripada doktor perubatan, jururawat dan pegawai yang bertanggungjawab memastikan keperluan asas pentadbiran dan perubatan jemaah terjaga semasa di Tanah Suci.

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PLATELET MANSOR SUKAIMI MENCUKUPI

MANTAN Anggota Parlimen, Haji Mansor Haji Sukaimi, 65 tahun, yang menghidap leukemia, kini menerima bekalan darah dan platelet yang mencukupi.

Menurut Palang Merah Singapura (SRC), keperluan perubatan beliau berkaitan produkproduk darah telah dapat dipenuhi Bank Darah, Penguasa Sains Kesihatan (HSA).

Jumaat lalu, Berita Harian melaporkan Haji Mansor memerlukan darah jenis B+ kerana kerap memerlukan pemindahan sel darah platelet.

Menurut SRC, pihaknya telah memastikan keperluan Haji Mansor dapat dipenuhi pihak hospital. Beliau dirawat di Hospital Besar Singapura (SGH) sejak 16 Ogos lalu.

SRC berharap orang ramai yang ingin menderma darah dapat berbuat demikian semasa acara menderma darah bergerak.

Mereka juga boleh menderma darah di Bloodbank@HSA..

Untuk maklumat lanjut, sila hubungi Palang Merah Singapura di talian 6220-0183 atau lungsuri laman www.donorweb.sg

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Sep 1, 2008
Coffee may lower risk of uterus cancer


Researchers at Japan's National Cancer Centre found the group of women who drank more than three cups of coffee every day were more than 60 per cent less likely to develop uterine cancer. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

TOKYO - WOMEN who drink a lot of coffee may have less risk of developing cancer of the uterus, a Japanese study said on Monday.

The study led by Japan's health ministry monitored some 54,000 women aged 40 to 69 over about 15 years, during which time 117 women developed cancer in the womb, according to the medical team.

The researchers at Japan's National Cancer Centre divided the women into four groups by the amount of coffee they drank.

They found the group of women who drank more than three cups of coffee every day were more than 60 per cent less likely to develop uterine cancer than those who had coffee fewer than two times a week, the study said.

'Coffee may have effects in lowering insulin levels, possibly curbing the risks of developing womb cancer,' the study said.

The medical team also studied the effects of drinking green tea, but did not find any link to uterine cancer.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control, uterine cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women. -- AFP

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Singapore researchers develop new stem cell therapy for heart disease
By Hoe Yeen Nie, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 01 September 2008 2202 hrs



SINGAPORE: Researchers at Singapore's National Heart Centre have successfully used adult stem cells to treat cardiac disease in lab rats by changing the stem cells into heart-like cells.

This breakthrough can reduce the need for heart transplants in humans.

When humans injure themselves, the body抯 healing mechanism will automatically send stem cells to mend the damage and change these cells into the required cell-types needed to repair the organs.

But in a heart attack, these repairs are not carried out fully and in severe cases, the patient may need a transplant or even die.

After six years, researchers at the National Heart Centre have discovered a potentially effective alternative by first turning a patient's adult stem cells into those similar to heart muscle cells in the lab over two to three weeks, before injecting them into the damaged area.

In contrast, researchers elsewhere have focused on using undifferentiated stem cells.

The findings, which were presented at a conference in Munich, have met with positive response.

Dr Philips Wong, head of Research & Development at the National Heart Centre, said, "We have shown that in the rat model, these cells are more effective (and superior) than those used worldwide."

"It increases the pumping action of the heart and secondly, it decreases the swelling of the heart which has long-term detrimental effects on the patient."

Dr Wong said the treatment is not targeted at the treatment of congenital heart disease, but rather, aimed at those who suffer from coronary heart disease, a major killer in Singapore.

"One major advantage of using your own adult stem cells is that there is no risk of rejection by your own body, and therefore no need to take immuno-suppressants. While it can't promise to be a cure for cardiac disease, the treatment can alleviate symptoms and give patients a better quality of life," said Dr Wong.

Preliminary tests on animals have been successful, and the team hopes to conduct human clinical trials within two years.

-CNA/yt

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Ekstra! : 2 September 2008         
  
RENTAK

ATASI STRES

STRES dirasai oleh semua insan, termasuk kanak-kanak.

Stres biasanya timbul ekoran tekanan yang dirasai kanak-kanak daripada punca luar (keluarga, rakan, sekolah).

Ia juga wujud sebagai tekanan yang lahir daripada naluri kita (hendak capai markah terbaik, dahaga kasih sayang dan sebagainya)

Secara am, stres wujud apabila harapan atau jangkaan yang dipikul seseorang tidak sejajar dengan kemampuan seseorang itu memenuhi jangkaan tersebut.

Minggu ini, adik-adik bercuti daripada sekolah. Namun cuti seminggu ini akan diikuti dengan tempoh akademik yang mungkin paling stres untuk murid-murid sekolah.

Bagaimana untuk mengurangkan stres? Kami memberi beberapa pilihan:

1) Hela nafas panjang

Tarik nafas panjang setiap kali adik berasa tekanan, misalnya sebelum menduduki peperiksaan. Ia akan membantu adik-adik berasa lebih tenang.

2) Bersenam

Alihkan tumpuan daripada buku dengan melakukan senaman mudah. Satu cara adalah berlari-lari anak di padang sekolah atau lebih baik lagi, ajak rakan-rakan bermain bola sepak atau bola jaring.

3) Berbual dengan rakan

Jangan simpan emosi di dalam hati sahaja. Berbual-bual dengan seorang rakan sebaya untuk bertukar pendapat. Jangan pula segan bertemu dengan guru untuk berkongsi pendapat.

4) Jangan tumpu kepada perkara negatif

Sekiranya adik-adik mempunyai masalah memahami sesuatu konsep dalam sesebuah subjek misalnya, jangan berputus asa. Sebaliknya, pelajari konsep lain yang lebih senang dipelajari dahulu. Selepas itu kembali kepada konsep yang tadi dengan minda yang lebih segar.

5) Dengar muzik

Muzik mempunyai fungsi menenangkan fikiran kita. Namun, pilih muzik yang tidak terlalu kasar liriknya atau mempunyai rentak yang terlalu laju jika ingin menenangkan fikiran.

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Sep 3, 2008
Get vaccinated against flu
DON'T underestimate the flu bug.

A study conducted by the Ministry of Health and Singapore General Hospital has shown that almost 600 people die from influenza-related conditions every year.

That's why the Health Promotion Board is launching a media campaign - which starts on Wednesday - to encourage Singaporeans to get themselves vaccinated.

This year's drive goes beyond the on-going education that encourages people to practice good hygiene habits like covering one's mouth when coughing.

This time round, it will focus on getting parents of young children aged between six months and five years old, as well as people with elderly parents aged 65 years and above to get their loved ones vaccinated yearly.

This is because the influenza virus changes and flu vaccination needs to be renewed so as to be protected from the 'latest' virus.

In general, influenza vaccination lasts between six and 12 months.

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Singapura : 3 September 2008         
  
PENYELIDIK HASILKAN SEL OTOT UNTUK PULIHKAN JANTUNG

PARA penyelidik Pusat Jantung Kebangsaan (NHC) telah berjaya menghasilkan sel-sel otot yang dapat memulihkan jantung yang rosak.

Penemuan ini bermakna pesakit jantung mungkin tidak lagi perlu menjalani pemindahan jantung untuk menyelamatkan nyawa mereka.

Pengarah Unit Penyelidikan dan Kajian NHC, Dr Philip Wong, berkata hasil penemuan tersebut merupakan pencapaian besar bagi pusat tersebut.

'Kajian yang pertama kali dilaksanakan di dunia menunjukkan prosedur yang kami hasilkan lebih berkesan dalam memulihkan jantung,' katanya dalam satu kenyataan.

Prosedur itu mengunakan sel-sel otot jantung yang disemai daripada sel tangkai (stem cell) pesakit jantung.

Sel-sel otot jantung itu kemudian di proses di makmal sebelum dipindahkan kepada jantung pesakit.

Hasil kajian selama enam tahun itu didedahkan secara terperinci dalam Kongres Persatuan Kardiologi Eropah di Munich, Jerman, kelmarin.

Menurut kajian yang dijalankan ke atas 43 pesakit, sel-sel otot tersebut berjaya meningkatkan kuasa tekanan jantung pesakit.

'Memandangkan prosedur itu menggunakan sel pesakit itu sendiri, perubatan jenis immunosuppressants, yang sering digunakan untuk mengekang tubuh daripada menolak kemasukan sel-sel baru, kini tidak lagi diperlukan,' kata Dr Wong.

Menurut NHC, sejauh ini kajian tersebut menelan belanja $3 juta dan melibatkan seramai 16 kakitangan NHC.

Selain menguatkan kuasa tekanan jantung, sel-sel otot itu juga didapati berupaya memasuki ruang-ruang jantung yang sudah rosak, di samping menghalang jantung daripada menjadi bengkak.

NHC berkata, kajian itu memberi nafas baru kepada pesakit jantung.

Ia kini dalam peringkat akhir dan para penyelidik sekarang sedang mencari cara terbaik untuk memindahkan sel-sel itu tanpa menggunakan proses pembedahan.

fatz2

Sep 5, 2008
Manage your health for free
By Ang Yiying

A NEW website, the first of its kind here, will make it easier for locals to self-manage their health at no cost.

Developed by Changi General Hospital, www.myhealth.sg allows users to obtain personal health profiles and to receive suggestions on weight management, fitness and mental well being.

While many weight management programmes are available online, they are designed for the caucasian diet and based on caucasian standards, said the hospital's chief executive officer Mr T K Udairam.

The website's differentiating feature is its customisation for the Singaporean diet and lifestyle.