BY now, you’ve probably read a lot of news about the swine flu spreading around the world at an alarming rate. At this point, it is best to know what it is to help us prepare. We’ve collated some news and information we think would be useful

Information culled by Reuters:

Q&A: How serious is swine flu?

Excerpt:

WHAT KIND OF FLU IS IT AND HOW IS IT SPREADING?

The virus is influenza A virus, carrying the designation H1N1, but it contains DNA from avian, swine and human H1N1 viruses. It appears to have evolved the ability to pass easily from one person to another, unlike most swine H1N1 viruses which only very occasionally infect people and usually only infect one person and then stop there.

Flu viruses are all passed on by sneezing, coughing or when people pick up the virus on their hands. This one likely originated in pigs, but the Mexican government and the World Health Organization have ruled out any risk of infection from eating pork.

HOW SERIOUS IS IT?

The Geneva-based WHO has declared the flu a “public health emergency of international concern” and raised the threat level for a pandemic, a global epidemic of new disease. H1N1 swine flu poses the biggest risk of a large-scale pandemic since avian flu re-emerged in 2003, killing 257 out of 421 infected in 15 countries.

It is not clear yet whether this virus could actually become a pandemic.

Poynter Institute has also tracked a growing pool of information from the Internet. In fact, the Internet is now abuzz with swine flu talk in Twitter and blogs.

Here’s another interesting step-by-step way to track news and information about the Swine Flu on the Internet from Mashable.

By Dr. Kenneth Hartigan-Go

CONGRESS has recently allocated P100 million for the deployment of a National Telehealth System. It is about time we do this because the technology is available and its application in health care can improve the health status, indicators and track the outcomes. It addresses the various health inequities that we currently observe.

Telehealth may be as simple as two health professionals discussing a case over the telephone as a referral or mentoring call, or as complex as using satellite technology and video-conferencing equipment to conduct a real-time consultation between medical specialists in two different locations.

Telemedicine is a general term for the use of communications and information technologies for the delivery of clinical care.

Telehealth addresses the lack of human health resources in remote areas. It can bring limited clinical expertise to areas where the expertise absent and is badly needed to save lives. Furthermore, the system can save cost of travel and unnecessary expenditures in poverty stricken areas or in facilities with inadequate expertise.

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By Anna Valmero
INQUIRER.net

MAKATI CITY, Philippines — Watch that sugar!

Diabetes is one of the most common non-communicable killer disease in the world especially in developing countries, a medical expert warned.

Death from the disease among people above 20 years of age will hit 301 million by 2025, of which 226 million will come from developing countries like the Philippines.

Diabetes ranks as the eighth common killer in the world and is the fourth leading cause of death in the Philippines, Dr. Rosa Sy who is an expert on endoctrinology, metabolism and nutrition during a recent forum on Diabetes Mellitus and Pre-diabetes.

Good news is diabetes is preventable.

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By Izah Morales
INQUIRER.net

HOW can eco-friendly paint reduce air pollution in Metro Manila?

The Manila Observatory and the Pacific Paint Philippines, Inc (PPI), manufacturer of Boysen paint, will have the walls of the Guadalupe MRT station painted with paint containing nano-sized titanium oxide in February 2009 to see if this eco-friendly paint will deliver upon its promise.

PPI vice president Johnson Ongking noted the Guadalupe station has the most number of commuters, most number of vehicle traffic and the largest surface area. They chose the station as the first trial site for the eco-friendly paint.

“The focus of eco-friendly paints has been to minimize paint’s negative effect on human health and the environment through limiting levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and prohibiting the use of hazardous chemicals,” said Ongking.

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By Izah Morales
INQUIRER.net

EVERY year, three million people die of pneumonia. Of that number, 29 percent are children under the age of five, according to the University of the Philippines Manila-National Institute of Health (UPM-NIH).

In 2004, pneumonia ranked third in the 10 leading causes of infant deaths based on the 2004 Philippine Health Statistics.

With that, UPM-NIH and the Philippine Foundation for Vaccination have unveiled the “Strike Out Pneumonia” campaign which aims to reduce cases of deaths due to pneumonia.

“I hope that the public will know that there are ways that they can do to avoid getting sick and to prevent illnesses. Aside from good nutrition, breastfeeding and battling pollution, the most effective way of fighting pneumonia is vaccination. Vaccination is the first step to getting protection,” said UPM Vice Chancellor for Research Dr. Lulu Bravo.

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