Tag Archives: health
Business Focus week 7
Business Focus week 7 Watch KTN Streaming LIVE from Kenya 24/7 on http://www.ktnkenya.tv Follow us on http://www.twitter.com/ktnkenya Like us on http://www.f… Continue reading
Precautions in place as UAE reports first Mers virus case
Precautions in place as UAE reports first Mers virus case Olivia Olarte-Ulherr / 12 July 2013 Those closest to an 82-year-old Emirati man who has become the second UAE resident to be diagnosed with the deadly novel coronavirus are being tested, the Abu Dhabi Health Authority says. The patient has multiple myeloma as a result of the coronavirus, also known as the Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (Mers-CoV), and is currently in the ICU at one of the hospitals in Abu Dhabi. This is the second case of the Mers-CoV infection in an Abu Dhabi resident but the first case to be diagnosed within the UAE. In March, a 73-year-old Abu Dhabi man died in a German hospital from the Sars-like virus. Last month, the Lancet medical journal reported that the deadly disease had its origins in the UAE and Qatar after tests showed that the Abu Dhabi man died of similar strain of the virus to the Doha man who was treated in Germany six months prior. Health Authority — Abu Dhabi (HAAD) customer service and corporate communications director Dr Jamal Mohammed Al Kaabi told Khaleej Times the authority was doing tests on “everybody around the patient”. “Since December last year, we requested hospitals to monitor the situation and it is through this monitoring that we found out about this patient,” he said. The HAAD was coordinating with the Ministry of Health (MoH) and other authorities in the country and had taken the necessary measures as per the international standards and recommendations of the World Health Organisation (WHO). “We are doing everything required by the WHO,” Al Kaabi stressed. In December 2012, the HAAD issued a circular to all healthcare providers on the necessary notification and reporting mechanisms of any suspected coronavirus cases. That included clinical assessment, isolation and collection of specimens for laboratory tests. Samples taken from suspected cases, such as bronchoalveolar lavage, tracheal aspirate, pleural fluid or sputum, should be kept on ice and sent to the Shaikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC) laboratory for analysis. SKMC is the testing centre for the Sars-like virus in the emirate. Any suspected cases of coronavirus infection should be notified to HAAD, Al Kaabi said. MoH officials Khaleej Times spoke with on Friday said they were not able to make further comment at this stage, but state news agency Wam reported the MoH had made an assurance the virus was not presently a public health concern and did not require a travel ban. The ministry also added that it was “monitoring the situation closely to ensure the health and safety of everyone,” Wam said. The new case brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases of Mers-CoV infection worldwide to 80. — olivia@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
Out in the heat without a shade
Out in the heat without a shade Staff Reporter / 12 July 2013 Commuters waiting at bus stops, carrying bags and shielding their faces with sunglasses and scarves is not an unusual sight. But, what is being done about the lack of bus shelters at key traffic junctions in the city? Air conditioning of all shelters has not yet been achieved, and most stops do not have tinted glass to shield them form direct sunlight. When Khaleej Times asked the Roads and Transports Authority why there were neither sunshades nor a place to sit at many stops — including the one opposite Deira City Centre which is used by hundreds of passengers daily — acting director of planning and business development Essa Al Hashemi said: “We are currently installing shades in most of the heavy passenger generation points. Waiting platforms at bus stations will be totally sun-protected during hot months.” He assured Khaleej Times that “robust criteria has been developed to ensure effective utilisation of current shades and many reallocation and installments have occurred to cover the main bus stops including Al Ghubaiba, Al Qouz, Al Karama and Gold Souq.” Miriam Khan, a 32-year-old receptionist at the head office of a beverage distillery in Deira says she faces a problem getting buses because her office was away from the main route. She said she took the metro to work from her Karama home. “But I have to change to the bus. At one stop, the bus comes to the metro station at Baniyas, so I don’t feel the heat … it’s alright because of the air conditioning in the metro, but my neighbour who has to go to office in Ghusais says she has to be even careful about what she carries for lunch, as waiting for a bus in the heat ruins the food.” While the RTA has in the past promised to expand the number of air conditioned shelters, Al Hashimi said: “superior design and technology are adopted for the AC shelters and more than 650 such shelters are located across Dubai. RTA has planned to expand this project to cover other bus stops categorised by passenger volumes and availability of infrastructure.” Dubai buses The Dubai bus fleet consists of 1,574 buses that operate on 22 Dubai Metro Feeder routes out of the 86 inner routes covering 85 per cent of Dubai’s urban districts. The Dubai bus fleet covers over 5,759,116 kilometres (as of February 2013). Service volumes are adjusted on Fridays and public holidays in relation to the passenger demand. Around 309,992 passengers travel per day. The bus fleet made of custom-built and equipped with comfortable seats dedicated for ladies and children, air-conditioning, special needs facilities, electronically operated destination display system and computerised fare equipment. nivriti@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
