Clade I case comes after World Health Organization declares a global public health emergency
Sweden confirmed its first case of the more contagious variant of mpox, a viral infection that spreads through close contact, marking the first time it has been found outside Africa.
The person was infected while in a part of Africa where there was a large outbreak of the disease, Olivia Wigzell, director-general at the Swedish public health agency, told a press conference.
Continue reading...Agency says long-running investigation into company run by Tory peer Michelle Mone’s husband will be concluded as quickly as possible
The National Crime Agency has said it is “not scared” of lawyers acting for PPE Medpro, the company led by the Conservative peer Michelle Mone’s husband, Doug Barrowman, and is progressing an investigation into it “as fast as we can”.
The NCA is conducting a long-running investigation into suspected criminal offences committed in the procurement by PPE Medpro of £203m of government contracts to supply personal protective equipment during the Covid pandemic.
Continue reading...ACT government organisation deletes video that said endometriosis and arthritis were not conditions appropriate for emergency department
Canberra Health Services has removed a video it acknowledged was “not well executed and open to misinterpretation” after “appalled” advocates of endometriosis accused the government organisation of diminishing the acute pain of people living with endometriosis and arthritis.
The video, intended to provide an overview of how emergency departments worked as part of a larger health literacy campaign, has since been deleted from Canberra Health Services’ Instagram account. It is still visible on ABC News.
Continue reading...Outbreak resembles early days of HIV, say experts, urging accelerated access to vaccines and testing
An outbreak in Africa of mpox, the disease formerly known as monkeypox, resembles the early days of HIV, scientists have said, as the World Health Organization declared it a public health emergency.
The declaration must accelerate access to testing, vaccines and therapeutic drugs in the affected areas, medical experts urged, and kickstart campaigns to reduce stigma surrounding the virus.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Mark Dreyfus cites strong support from states and territories to update human tissue laws last reviewed almost 50 years ago
Australia’s definition of death is holding organ transplantation back from using the most up-to-date technology and achieving the best outcomes.
On Thursday the government will announce it will establish an Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) inquiry looking to modernise human tissue laws last comprehensively reviewed almost 50 years ago.
Continue reading...Insecure employment, climate crisis and social media are driving ‘dangerous’ decline, research finds
Intergenerational inequality, unregulated social media, wage theft, insecure employment and the climate crisis are driving a “dangerous” and “alarming” global surge in mental ill health among youth, a consortium of health experts has warned.
There is an urgent need to address these driving factors and improve mental health treatments to stymie rates of premature death, disability and lost potential, all of which have escalated over the past two decades, the research from The Lancet Psychiatry Commission on youth mental health found.
Continue reading...Wes Streeting says victims ‘might still be alive’ if health service had recognised Valdo Calocane’s risk to others
The health secretary said “three innocent people might still be alive” if the NHS had “done its job” in treating Valdo Calocane in the years running up to the Nottingham attacks.
Wes Streeting said the deaths of Grace O’Malley-Kumar, Barnaby Webber and Ian Coates were “preventable if the NHS had been there when it should have been”.
Continue reading...These 70 items meet WHO standards for nutrients such as protein and do not exceed limits for sugar, salt and fat, researchers say
Infant and toddler foods are a rapidly expanding market in Australia – but a study this week found none of the infant or toddler food products stocked in Australian supermarkets meet World Health Organization standards.
The entire category of toddler foods has been accused of being an unnecessary marketing exercise as nutritional guidelines say children do not require special foods once they are 12 months old and can eat the same as the rest of the family.
Continue reading...One in four practices capping number of patients they see to 25 a day amid first action in 60 years
Almost half of GP surgeries in England are staging industrial action for the first time in 60 years amid a row over funding, with one in four capping the number of patients they see to 25 a day, a survey suggests.
Family doctors voted overwhelmingly in favour of collective action earlier this month in protest at the last government increasing their budget by only 1.9% this year. The new government has pledged to increase funding for 2024-25 to 6%.
Continue reading...Family share medical records of Calocane’s mental illness with BBC that they say show missed opportunities to prevent attacks
A doctor warned that Valdo Calocane’s mental illness was so severe he could kill someone, three years before he stabbed three people to death in Nottingham, his medical records reveal.
Calocane’s family, who were shown the records only after he was sentenced to indefinite detention in a high-security hospital for the attacks, have criticised the missed opportunities they believe could have prevented the killings.
Continue reading...Schools’ investment in social-emotional support appears to pay off, especially for girls, but work is ‘far from complete’
A recently released study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows levels of sadness and hopelessness are improving in some US teenagers, and notably among girls.
However,, the survey and experts said, challenges remain, as some metrics worsened in the most recent report. Of particular concern is a growing group of students who missed school because they did not feel safe.
Continue reading...Lord Falconer reveals that Keir Starmer will not block Commons vote on giving terminally ill people choice of ending their lives
Parliament is facing a once-in-a-generation chance to hand the terminally ill a choice over ending their life, the Labour peer championing a change in the law has said.
Charlie Falconer, the former lord chancellor whose bill was introduced into the House of Lords last month, revealed he had been reassured by Downing Street that it would not stand in the way of a historic Commons vote on assisted dying should its advocates secure one.
Continue reading...Where are you Tommy and Elon? Marina Hyde finds that those provoking the race riots are far, far away; the dead hang delight – how this quick, surprisingly simple exercise can change your life; and ‘A bolt of lightning struck my plane’ – one woman’s incredible story of survival
Continue reading...Patient says pharmacists she went to were suspicious because Vyvanse is a stimulant, causing her the ‘most dehumanising medical experience’ of her life
Emma* says she was made to feel “like a drug addict” for simply trying to access medication for her ADHD.
When she was prescribed Vyvanse in June, she was relieved to realise she had found a treatment that would make it easier to live with the developmental disorder that affects the brain’s executive functioning.
Continue reading...Experts say addiction patients are being treated as second-class citizens as ‘essential’ Pabrinex is withdrawn
Doctors have warned that a severe shortage of an “essential” medicine used to help protect alcoholics from degenerative brain conditions could disproportionately affect “some of the most vulnerable” in society.
Pabrinex, a multivitamin injection, is used to protect heavy drinkers from conditions such as Wernicke’s encephalopathy and Korsakoff syndrome, which can have symptoms similar to dementia. Doctors are concerned the incidence of these debilitating conditions may increase as a result of the shortages.
Continue reading...This blog is now closed.
Budgets running on fumes as car costs outpace inflation
High transport costs are fuelling household budget concerns, AAP reports, with research revealing a surge of more than 10% over the course of a year.
Continue reading...Another report found pesticide levels posing ‘significant risks’ in 20% of tested fruits and vegetables
A new scientific report lends weight to consumer concerns about pesticide residues on food, presenting fresh evidence that washing fruit before eating does not remove various toxic chemicals commonly used in agriculture.
The paper, published on Wednesday in the American Chemical Society’s journal Nano Letters, comes amid ongoing debate over the extent of pesticide contamination of food, and the potential health risks associated with a steady diet that includes pesticide residues.
Continue reading...African disease control centre urges ‘collective and collaborative approach’ after cases rise by 160% in a year
The head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said the agency is likely to declare a continental public health emergency over the growing mpox outbreak.
The Africa CDC’s director general, Dr Jean Kaseya, said on Thursday that because of the increase in mpox cases and its continued spread across borders, he had resolved to start “active engagement” with African Union member states to prevent the outbreak from becoming “another pandemic”.
Continue reading...Follow the day’s news live
The prime minister was asked about criticism that increased public spending is fuelling inflation.
Anthony Albanese pointed to two budget surpluses and said this, plus cost-of-living measures, are applying downward pressure:
Fee-free Tafe, cheaper childcare, energy price relief – all of these measures are aimed at making sure we look after people but do so in a way that’s designed to see inflation continuing to moderate, which is what we want to make sure happens.
Continue reading...Premier Jacinta Allan says reduction of 76 services to 11 ‘not in the best interests of patient care’ despite lure of reduced costs
The Victorian government will ignore a central recommendation of an expert panel to forcibly merge hospital services – which was expected to improve patient care and reduce costs – but has vowed to find savings in other ways.
The premier, Jacinta Allan, and health minister, Mary-Anne Thomas, on Thursday released a long-awaited report on the Victoria’s public health system.
Continue reading...