Blog 10: Polio in Equatorial Guinea

The article, “Polio hits Equatorial Guinea, Threatens Central America”, is about how polio has become apparent again in Equatorial Guinea. Polio has been out of the picture for about 15 years now and there have been two cases of polio in Guinea. Two children were paralyzed on the opposite parts of the country, so this disease could be widely spread in Equatorial Guinea. It is presumed that the disease came from Cameroon, where seven children have been diagnosed and paralyzed since October. Last week, the United Nations approved sending 12,000 peacekeepers over to Equatorial Guinea to prevent any more outbursts from occurring. Nigeria has been the one country that has failed to get rid of this virus, because the primary reservoir resides there, but this year they have seemed to stray from this virus. They have gotten rid of a lot of the cases there and they have done an excellent job at preventing the disease from occurring in more people. Whenever polio is on a move in Africa, it is detrimental and dangerous.

This article is very important to note because polio is a disease that affects many people and it can have very serious side effects if not treated appropriately. It is important to note of this globally because it can affect and reach people all around the world. This outbreak in Guinea is dangerous because Equatorial Guinea has the worst polio vaccination rate in the world, so if it starts to spread it can hurt and affect many people. They have sent 12,000 peacemakers there to relieve stress and prevent the disease so other countries do not come into contact with it. Even though they are trying to prevent it, we need to be aware and follow the polio vaccine so that we can keep it clear of America and other countries worldwide. We should have faith that this disease will not reach us or others though, because Nigeria, a country that was full of polio viruses, is starting to stray from the virus and the environment is starting to become polio-free. We need to do everything we can to prevent polio and treat those that have it with effective vaccines.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/04/17/303403242/polio-hits-equatorial-guinea-threatens-central-africa

Blog 9: Hepatitis C Guidelines

The article, “Africa: UN Health Agency Issues First Hepatitis C Treatment Guidelines” talks about how the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) made the first Hepatitis C guidelines at the beginning of 2014. This new guidance focuses on improving the treatment and care for hepatitis. These guidelines also aim to make hepatitis C treatments available and more affordable because most treatments are not affordable to most people. These guidelines focus on improving the access for this treatment, which will create a demand for the treatment. They have focused on testing more people for hepatitis and the United Nations WHO states that people who are at high risk of infection should have screen testing done to establish whether there condition is chronic or not. There is also great emphasis on alcohol and patients’ affiliation with that because alcohol is closely related to liver problems, such as Hepatitis C. 

It is very important to be aware of the New Guidelines that the United Nations World Health Organization has made because Hepatitis C has killed 130-150 million people in the world, so it affects many people across the world. There are also 5 forms of Hepatitis, with Hepatitis B and C being the most severe and affecting the most amount of people. These two forms of Hepatitis can lead to cirrhosis or liver cancer, which can both be fatal. If these guidelines can create positive treatment in these patients, then we can reduce the amount of people with this disease, and therefore decrease the number of deaths around the world. Also if we can make this treatment more accessible and affordable, people around the world will be able to purchase it, which can in turn create people with healthier lives.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201404100284.html

Blog 8

The article “GE Recalls Hundreds of Baby ‘Warmers’ in China Over Safety Fears” is about how baby ‘warmers’ have been tested by the healthcare unit, General Electric Company, and have been proven to be unsafe for babies. This company has tested and realized that the company that made these products made and sold many faulty ones and they are now affecting babies. This company noticed that one of the faulty pieces of this device was the oxygen supply and air filters box on the back of the warmer. Some of them had been turned the wrong way, so oxygen and air was not properly getting to the babies; they either got too little or too much oxygen, which is a serious health risk. 

These warmers are used to regulate babies’ body temperature that are unable to do so for themselves because of their lack of body fat. They also regulate air flow and vital signs.

It is important to be aware of the malfunction of this warmer because warmers are used for many babies around the world that cannot regulate their body temperature. If there are malfunctions in this device, babies can lose their body temperature, record vital signs wrong, or limit oxygen and air flow to the baby, which will all result in the death of the baby. Even though they only found this in China, as of now, it is important to be aware so that our hospitals in America and around the globe won’t buy faulty warmers for our babies. It is important to maintain the health of all our citizens, whether they be babies or elders, so we need to make sure we monitor our machines and buy warmers/equipment that are not faulty so that we can continue to improve our citizens’ lives.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/01/us-general-electric-china-recall-idUSBREA300HJ20140401#