Health / Drugs : Interpol announces 10 tonnes of counterfeit medical products seized in Africa
A vast police operation coordinated by Interpol in East Africa has led to the seizure of 10 tonnes of counterfeit medical products and more than 80 arrests, Interpol said Thursday. Operation Mamba III targeted crimes in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda under the umbrella of the World Health Organization’s International Medical Products Anti-Counterfeiting Taskforce (IMPACT). “The two month-long operation saw some 300 premises checked or raided across the participating countries and investigations are still on-going... Lire la suite
Health : Concerns as obesity surgery soars in Britain
British health campaigners warned Friday that surgery was being seen as an easy option to tackle obesity after new figures showed weight-loss operations have soared here in the past five years. Figures from the state-run National Health Service’s Information Centre showed 4,246 procedures for obesity were carried out in England in 2008-9, up from 480 in 2003-4 — an increase of 785 percent. “These figures just show how bad things have got with the obesity epidemic,” said Tam Fry of the National Obesity Forum, which seeks... Lire la suite
Health: New Zealand still experiencing ‘significant’ swine flu
New Zealand is still experiencing a significant level of swine flu, health authorities said Wednesday, despite the World Health Organization’s declaration that the global pandemic was over. “While some countries have seen H1N1 virus decline or crowded out by other strains, this is not the case in New Zealand,” the deputy director of public health, Darren Hunt, said. Four people are believed to have died from swine flu in New Zealand this year. Hunt said there had been “significant outbreaks” in some areas of New Zealand,... Lire la suite
Health insurance: 656 swine flu deaths in Turkey
Swine flu has killed 656 people in Turkey since October, the health ministry said Thursday. The death toll was given in a statement issued to deny reports that Turkey bought but did not use about 40 million doses of vaccine against the(A)H1N1 virus. “A total of 656 people, confirmed by laboratories (to have been infected), have lost their lives as of July 29, 2010,” the statement said. The death rate reached a peak in November and the toll had stood at 627 in January. Turkey, which has a population of over 70 million, initially ordered... Lire la suite
Health insurers win concession on kids’ coverage
The health insurance industry has won a concession from the Obama administration on insurance coverage for children. The Health and Human Services Department said Wednesday that insurers can set limited sign-up periods for a new kind of guaranteed coverage that is available to children regardless of medical problems. Insurers were concerned the new health care law would allow parents to sign their kids up in emergency rooms while the child is in the middle of a health crisis. The administration now says insurers can limit the sign-up to an “open... Lire la suite
