Act early to stop leprosy, Guizhou expert urges

translated by Michael Woodhead
Leprosy is still a problem in some parts of China, but it can be controlled if detected and treated early enough, an infectious diseases expert from Guizhou has said.
Speakin in International Leprosy Action Week, Dr Li Jinlan of the Guizhou Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said leprosy is still present in poor districts parts of southern China where hygiene standards were low. He said leprosy needed warm and humid conditions to thrive, but it could be controlled if the symptoms were detected early and chemotherapy give. According to Guangming Daily, he urged Chinese citizens to remember the 'Three roots' to leprosy.  The first root is awareness of the the possibility of leprosy, especially in people who have a long-lasting rash, skin lumps, white spots and numbness of the skin. The second factor is to have experienced clinics that can recognise and treat leprosy in a timely way. The third root is to be not afraid of seeking diagnosis and treatment due to stigma. Dr Li said leprosy was often transmitted within families and relatives should arrange for anyone they suspect to have leprosy to be checked out.

Today's China medical links

An inside look at a Guizhou hospital 
What's it really like getting treatment at a Chinese hospital? How much does it cost, how do patients pay and what happens when you run out of money? Ashish Jha, an associate professor of health policy and management, Harvard School of Public Health, has a great blog post at KevinMD on the nitty gritty of patient care. How do pateints get seen? How doctors manage patients (much more conservatively and slowly) - all based on a visit to the Huaxi District People’s Hospital in Guiyang.

Blood supplies drying up
In the China Daily, blood donations in Beijing have been falling slightly for three consecutive years, and legislation is needed to ensure supplies, according to Ge Hongwei, director of the testing department of the Beijing Red Cross Blood Center. She says the amount of blood used has been increasing by about 15 percent annually in China, widening the gap between supply and demand.

Get me out of here!
A British traveller, Sammy Corfield, blogs about his nightmare experience with various hospitals and doctors  in Zhejiang, when he went seeking treatment for chronic diarrhoea.

China's medical news headlines for Sunday 19 January

Hepatitis B vaccine given the all clear

The Shenzhen Bio Kangtai hepatitis B vaccine that was linked to the deaths of 17 infants has now been given the all clear by the Chinese state drug authorities. After an investigation the China Food and Drug Administration and the National Health and Family Planning Commission said the vaccine could be used again as no problems have been found with the hepatitis B vaccine. Authorities tested more than 1300 vaccine samples from six batches that were under suspicion. According to the People's Daily, the CFDA said all samples met the quality standards. The NHFPC said the 17 infant deaths were due to other problems, including severe pneumonia, kidney failure and suffocation.

In Guizhou, retired doctors asked to work in rural clinics

Retired medical specialists in Guizhou are being urged to lend their expertise to rural area clinics, according to China Daily. Professor Sun Fa of Guiyang Medical University told a meeting of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Committee that there were about 600 retired doctors from the province's five top hospitals of whom half were healthy enough to work in rural clinics.
He said they could help the more than 40,000 medical staff in township clinics, many of whom have only medical qualifications from secondary colleges or no degree at all.

Guangdong plans for baby boom

The new two-child family planning policy will not pose a big challenge to public services such as medical care, a top health and family planning official from Guangdong province has said.
Zhang Feng, the former director of the Guangdong population and family planning commission, said 1.1 million to 1.2 million babies are  born in the province each year. and the new policy will see about 130,000 more babies each year. "The baby boom will bring little social impact," he said at the province's annual legislative meeting.

China's smoking ban is unrealistic, says NBC report

A report by Ed Flanagan of the American NBC News says that the recent anti-smoking measures announced by the Chinese government may be as unsuccessful as previous attempts. The article says China has 350 million smokers and the habit is deeply ingrained in society. Previous attempts to curb smoking resulted in "No Smoking' signs being put up but they were widely ignored, says Flanagan. He says the Chinese media have given no details of how the new policy will be enforced. The move also face resistance from the powerful tobacco industry in China, he adds.

 New Yorker profiles China's gene factory BGI in Shenzhen

The New Yorker has an in-depth profile of the gene factory B.G.I., (Beijing Genomics Institute), which is said to be the world’s largest genetic-research centre, located in Shenzhen. The report by Michael Specter says BGI has 178 machines to sequence DNA, and produces at least a quarter of the world’s genomic data. This could help provide new solutions to disease and other areas such as agriculture, he writes.

Pregnancy screening program set up in western and inland provinces

A program to help pregnant women get better healthcare and prevent birth defects has been launched.
The program plans to establish 22 training centers in 11 central and western provinces to improve ultrasound diagnosis, especially by doctors in far-flung areas.
Initiated by the China Medical Foundation and Samsung Electronics, the program was launched in Guiyang, capital of Guizhou province, in early November.
Pregnant women in these areas will have better facilities and diagnosis, said He Pijie, director general of the China Medical Foundation.
Statistics from China's Birth Defects Prevention Report in 2012 shows that nearly 150 out of every 10,000 infants had congenital defects in China. The report also indicates that birth defects not only cause disability but also become a leading cause of death among Chinese infants.
"Especially in China's central and west regions, the lack of fundamental equipment and doctors with proper experience are causing even higher death rates for infants," He explained.
Source: Peoples Daily

Avian H5N1 flu death in Guizhou

One of two people confirmed by the China Ministry of Health to have contracted highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 died in a hospital in southwestern city of Guiyang Wednesday morning.
The patient, a 21-year-old woman, died of multiple organ failures in Guizhou Provincial People's Hospital at 9:41 a.m. Wednesday.
Source: Xinhua

Two cases of human H5N1 avian influenza in Guiyang

Two human cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 have occurred in the southwestern city of Guiyang, the Ministry of Health has announced.
A 21-year-old woman and a 31-year-old man, who developed symptoms on February 2 and Feb 3, respectively, tested positive for H5N1 virus on Sunday, the ministry said, citing local health authorities.
"They are in critical condition and medical workers are carrying out emergency treatment," the ministry said in a statement. "No epidemiological connections have been found between the two cases."
An investigation did not find the two had contacts with fowls before they fell ill, it said.
People who had close contacts with the two patients have been put under medical observation, but none of them has been found ill so far.
The human-infected highly pathogenic avian influenza is an acute respiratory infectious disease mainly caused by the deadly H5N1 subtype virus. The main symptoms include high fever and pneumonia.
The human case of bird flu is mainly transmitted from poultry to humans and there are no reported outbreaks of sustained human-to-human transmission.
Source: China Daily

Guizhou to screen poor kids for congenital heart disease

A campaign to screen poverty-stricken ethnic minority children for congenital heart disease and provide those diagnosed with the condition with free corrective surgeries has been launched in southwest China's Guizhou Province.
Sponsored by the China Charity Foundation (CCF) and organized by the Press Volunteer Charity Promotion Committee under the CCF, the campaign will enlist the help of medical experts from Beijing's General Hospital of Armed Police Forces, Guangzhou General Hospital of Guangzhou Military Command, Guizhou People's Hospital, and several other local hospitals. The children will be sent to Beijing and Guangzhou, capital city of south China's Guangdong Province, to receive free surgeries.
The effort is part of a wider campaign launched in February 2011 to provide treatment to poverty-stricken children with congenital heart disease. So far, 1,615 children from various western and southwestern provinces in the country have received corrective surgeries and are recovering well.
There are still approximately two million children with the disease in China who have yet to receive medical treatment, while each year sees an additional 120,000 babies born with the condition. With corrective surgeries and medical treatment, 90 percent of these children are able to lead normal lives.
Source: Women of China