About 7% of Shanghai's hospitals and health facilities have been found to be in violation of new anti-smoking policies in an investigation by undercover 'smoker detectives'. Secret visits to 437 health establishments in the city found that 29 were not complying with the new rules that stipulate a series of anti-smoking measures be put in place. The three main areas of non-compliance were lack of anti-smoking materials such as posters and signs; staff allowed to be smoking unchallenged in non-smoking public areas such as doorways and stairwells, and the lack of indoor designated smoking areas.
Source: Guangming Daily
Thursday, 16 January 2014
Wednesday, 15 January 2014
Hospitals warned of disciplinary action for illegal organ transplants
translated by Michael Woodhead
All hospitals in China that do organ transplantation must follow new ethical guidelines or face being banned from doing transplants and losing their funding, a senior official has warned.
Hospitals will also be banned from making arrangements with courts to accept organs from executed prisoners.
Dr Huang Jiefu, director of the the National Health and Family Planning Commission Committee on Human Organ Transplant Clinical Application Management, said all 169 transplant centres will have to take part in a new organ donation supervision and inspection system that will ensure that the system for transplants is fair, open and ethical.
Speaking at China's annual meeting of organ transplantation specialists at Shanghai Jiaotong University, he said any hospital and any practitioner that does not adhere to the voluntary donation system and the shared organ program after the death of a patient will have their authority to do transplants revoked and also have funding removed.
Dr Huang said all hospitals must take part in the new computerised organ sharing database set up by the former Ministry of Health and the Red Cross Society. All organ transplants must be done according to the principles of the new system, which are based on clinical need and priority rather than financial payment, he said. Priority categories for organ donation should be region, condition , age, wait time and meeting screening requirements.
The new system also means that hospitals must sever all links with law courts to procure organs from executed prisoners, he added.
The new human organ donation regulations " strictly prohibit hospitals and transplant organs and the courts to have a direct link to use organs, and all organs sources should be traceable," said Dr Huang
With the support of the State Council , the National Health and Family Planning Commission and the Red Cross Society of China will jointly set up an Organ Donation and Transplantation Management Committee.
All hospitals in China that do organ transplantation must follow new ethical guidelines or face being banned from doing transplants and losing their funding, a senior official has warned.
Hospitals will also be banned from making arrangements with courts to accept organs from executed prisoners.
Dr Huang Jiefu, director of the the National Health and Family Planning Commission Committee on Human Organ Transplant Clinical Application Management, said all 169 transplant centres will have to take part in a new organ donation supervision and inspection system that will ensure that the system for transplants is fair, open and ethical.
Speaking at China's annual meeting of organ transplantation specialists at Shanghai Jiaotong University, he said any hospital and any practitioner that does not adhere to the voluntary donation system and the shared organ program after the death of a patient will have their authority to do transplants revoked and also have funding removed.
Dr Huang said all hospitals must take part in the new computerised organ sharing database set up by the former Ministry of Health and the Red Cross Society. All organ transplants must be done according to the principles of the new system, which are based on clinical need and priority rather than financial payment, he said. Priority categories for organ donation should be region, condition , age, wait time and meeting screening requirements.
The new system also means that hospitals must sever all links with law courts to procure organs from executed prisoners, he added.
The new human organ donation regulations " strictly prohibit hospitals and transplant organs and the courts to have a direct link to use organs, and all organs sources should be traceable," said Dr Huang
With the support of the State Council , the National Health and Family Planning Commission and the Red Cross Society of China will jointly set up an Organ Donation and Transplantation Management Committee.
Medical news from China: the Wednesday headlines
Non-smokers who working in restaurants in China have a much higher risk of serious disease and death from exposure to second hand smoke, researchers in Beijing have shown. In a study published in PLOS Medicine,
researchers showed that there were thousands of excess deaths among
non-smokers who worked as staff in restaurants and bars in China.
"These health risks and deaths can be prevented by banning smoking in restaurants and bars and effectively implementing these smoking bans," they said.
Two more cases of H7N9 influenza have been reported in Shanghai this week. A 58-year-old woman and a 56-year-old man shave been hospitalised with the infection, the Shanghai Health and Family Planning Commission said yesterday. It was not reported whether they had contact with live poultry.
Also in Shanghai, the rate of gallstones in the city has reached 10% due to unhealthy lifestyles such as high-fat diets, medical experts have said. Doctors from Shanghai Hongkang Hospital said they treated about 5,000 gallstone patients a year, two to three times the number of five years ago.
A novel bacteria has been found in China's water supply and it could pose a great threat to health, doctors from Guangzhou have warned. The tropical cyanobacterium Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii was found in most reservoirs for drinking water supply in Dongguan they report in the journal Environmental Monitoring and Assessment.
"These health risks and deaths can be prevented by banning smoking in restaurants and bars and effectively implementing these smoking bans," they said.
Two more cases of H7N9 influenza have been reported in Shanghai this week. A 58-year-old woman and a 56-year-old man shave been hospitalised with the infection, the Shanghai Health and Family Planning Commission said yesterday. It was not reported whether they had contact with live poultry.
Also in Shanghai, the rate of gallstones in the city has reached 10% due to unhealthy lifestyles such as high-fat diets, medical experts have said. Doctors from Shanghai Hongkang Hospital said they treated about 5,000 gallstone patients a year, two to three times the number of five years ago.
A novel bacteria has been found in China's water supply and it could pose a great threat to health, doctors from Guangzhou have warned. The tropical cyanobacterium Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii was found in most reservoirs for drinking water supply in Dongguan they report in the journal Environmental Monitoring and Assessment.
Nanjing Hospital - lack of trust means doctors carry pepper spray and perform defensive medicine
Doctors in Nanjing say the complete breakdown in trust between hospitals and patients means that clinical staff now carry pepper spray for their own protection against attacks, and carry out many unnecessary tests just to protect their own back.
In an article in the Guangming Daily doctors say that in the 'old days' before a routine procedure such as an appendix removal doctors would simply have nurses prepare the patient and ask them if they were allergic to penicillin. Now staff have to routinely test all patients for infectious diseases such as syphilis and HIV because otherwise they fear being accused by pateints with these infections that they were picked up in hospital. These additional tests mean patients have to pay more money, adding to the dissatisfaction. Doctors say that patients and their families now query every single action and intervention by the doctors, making their lives miserable and prolonging consultation times.
In an article in the Guangming Daily doctors say that in the 'old days' before a routine procedure such as an appendix removal doctors would simply have nurses prepare the patient and ask them if they were allergic to penicillin. Now staff have to routinely test all patients for infectious diseases such as syphilis and HIV because otherwise they fear being accused by pateints with these infections that they were picked up in hospital. These additional tests mean patients have to pay more money, adding to the dissatisfaction. Doctors say that patients and their families now query every single action and intervention by the doctors, making their lives miserable and prolonging consultation times.
Tuesday, 14 January 2014
Henan surgeons remove 0.5kg lump of hair from 12-year-old girl's stomach
Source: Dahe Bao
Medical stories from the Chinese language press: why won't people use community clinics?
EastDay.com has a story about why Chinese people still prefer to take all their ailments direct to a high level hospital rather than seek treatment in a local community clinic. The main reason, it seems, is 'peace of mind' for pateints and their families in getting the right diagnosis. If patients go to a community clinic and are told their illness is only minor, they feel a nagging sense of unease that the local doctor may have got the diagnosis wrong or the small clinic may not have had the best equipment to do diagnostic tests and scans. On the other hand, if the clinic decides the illness is serious and refers the patient to the 'big hospital' the patient then feels they have wasted their time at the local clinic and could have saved time and money going direct to the higher level hospital.
The article gives two case histories of patients who expressed frustration at their vague diagnosis and treatment at community clinics. One patient was told she might be having a heart attack, and only had this ruled out at the major hospital. Another patient believed her child had a congenital defect and was unable to have this checked properly at the local clinic and had to go to the Children's Hospital to have this ruled out.
The article says that around 70% of patients presenting at major hospitals have only minor illness and could be treated equally well at local clinics. However, for the time being there is little willingness among the public to rely on these clinics, it concludes.
The article gives two case histories of patients who expressed frustration at their vague diagnosis and treatment at community clinics. One patient was told she might be having a heart attack, and only had this ruled out at the major hospital. Another patient believed her child had a congenital defect and was unable to have this checked properly at the local clinic and had to go to the Children's Hospital to have this ruled out.
The article says that around 70% of patients presenting at major hospitals have only minor illness and could be treated equally well at local clinics. However, for the time being there is little willingness among the public to rely on these clinics, it concludes.
Medical stories from the Chinese language press: H7N9 in Guangzhou
The Guangzhou Daily has a story about a local patient who developed H7N9 influenza, and how the family's ability to pay (or not) has influenced his treatment. A teacher called Pan has been hospitalised at the Nanfang Hospital after developing severe respiratory disease. The paper reports that Mr Pan and his wife ran a tofu staff in the Tianhe distrcit, and their stal was next door to a stall that sold live poultry, where they presume the H7N9 infection originated. Mr Pan's family say they took him to several hospitals in the days leading up to the 9th of January, but none suspected that he had H7N9 or tested him for it.
A spokesman for the health dept said hospitals can't test for H7N9 in every patient who presents with respiratory symptoms, and only suspect the infection if a person has close contact with poultry. The hospital said Mr Pan was now receiving the best treatment and was now out of danger. However, his family said they were having to spend 10,000 yuan a day on his treatment. The paper says the government has set up a 3 million yuan fund to pay for treatment of patients who have H7N9 infection.
A spokesman for the health dept said hospitals can't test for H7N9 in every patient who presents with respiratory symptoms, and only suspect the infection if a person has close contact with poultry. The hospital said Mr Pan was now receiving the best treatment and was now out of danger. However, his family said they were having to spend 10,000 yuan a day on his treatment. The paper says the government has set up a 3 million yuan fund to pay for treatment of patients who have H7N9 infection.
Medical stories from the Chinese media: girl dies after infusion to treat common cold
A four year old girl died at a hospital in Anshan, Liaoning after receiving an IV tonic infusion as treatment for a cold. The parents of the girl took her to the Angang Group Main Hospital when she had a cold. She received an IV infusion but started to gasp and feel short of breath and asked to have the drip removed. When the parents asked the doctor to do this he refused and said it was too much trouble and the girl should just try to sleep. The article says the patrents saw their daughter struggling for half an hour and begged the doctor to remove the infusion line, but he refused. The girl then lapsed into unconsciousness and died.
A spokesman for the hospital said everything was done to try save the child, but treatment was unsuccessful, and staff had not done anything wrong. He said an investigation was underway and would have to wait until results of the autopsy and tests on the drug infusion were available.
The article is published at Qianzhan.com
A spokesman for the hospital said everything was done to try save the child, but treatment was unsuccessful, and staff had not done anything wrong. He said an investigation was underway and would have to wait until results of the autopsy and tests on the drug infusion were available.
The article is published at Qianzhan.com
Chinese medical research ... from the journals
A text messaging scheme that sent lifestyle reminders to overweight adults in Beijing was effective in helping them lose weight. In a six months trial the texting service helped participants lose an average of 1.6kg and also reduced waist circumference, body fat and lowered their blood pressure by almost 2mmHg. The findings are published in Obesity.
Three out of every 10 Chinese children develop asthma, a major survey has found. A survey of almost 464,000 children found that the incidence of asthma was 3% overall, and slightly higher in males than in females. The highest rates were seen in preschool children (3-5 years old) and in East China. More than 60% of children with asthma had an attack in the previous year and went to hospital for emergency treatment. Bronchodilators were used by 71% of asthmatic children while 59% used an inhaled corticosteroid and 75% used antibiotic, according to the study by the National Cooperative Group of Childhood Asthma.
Dengue fever is on the increase in China and the risk is rising in line with temperatures, a study from Guangdong has found. Researchers at the Guangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that the rate of dengue fever had increased from 0.33 per 100 000 people in 2007 to 1.34 per 100,000 in 2012. The risk of disease increased with rises in temperature, humidity and wind, researchers report in Biomedical and Environmental Sciences.
Three out of every 10 Chinese children develop asthma, a major survey has found. A survey of almost 464,000 children found that the incidence of asthma was 3% overall, and slightly higher in males than in females. The highest rates were seen in preschool children (3-5 years old) and in East China. More than 60% of children with asthma had an attack in the previous year and went to hospital for emergency treatment. Bronchodilators were used by 71% of asthmatic children while 59% used an inhaled corticosteroid and 75% used antibiotic, according to the study by the National Cooperative Group of Childhood Asthma.
Dengue fever is on the increase in China and the risk is rising in line with temperatures, a study from Guangdong has found. Researchers at the Guangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that the rate of dengue fever had increased from 0.33 per 100 000 people in 2007 to 1.34 per 100,000 in 2012. The risk of disease increased with rises in temperature, humidity and wind, researchers report in Biomedical and Environmental Sciences.
Monday, 13 January 2014
Beijing female doctor jailed for 6 months for bomb scare attempt to stop boyfriend flying with other women
Dr Yang Liu, the head of the health protection department for Beijing's Haidian district has been jailed for 6 months for staging a fake bomb alert at Beijing Capital airport in September. A Beijing court heard that Dr Yang acted out of jealousy against her boyfriend, who was a tour guide who often went away on trips with tour groups.
When her boyfriend told Dr Yang he was taking a group to Australia, Dr Yang became suspicious and believed he would be travelling with a mistress. Her suspicions grew when she was unable to contact her boyfriend by phone after he left. She then hatched a scheme to make him miss his connecting flight to Australia by delaying his flight from Beijing to Shanghai, where he would board the plane for Australia.
According to Xinhua, She phoned in a recorded message that announced there was a bomb on the Beijing to Shanghai flight. The message caused a major security alert at Beijing airport including mobilisation of 16 police cars, 4 police trucks and a 64-strong SWAT team.
The security alert caused major disruption at the airport and large economic losses.
Dr Yang was arrested a short time afterwards and when she was brought to court she hid her face and cried, looking very depressed. She confessed her guilt and asked for leniency, saying she had not realised how much trouble her scheme would cause. She said she was very remorseful and asked to be given a second chance. the court sentenced her to the standard six month jail sentence for staging a fake terrorist activity.
When her boyfriend told Dr Yang he was taking a group to Australia, Dr Yang became suspicious and believed he would be travelling with a mistress. Her suspicions grew when she was unable to contact her boyfriend by phone after he left. She then hatched a scheme to make him miss his connecting flight to Australia by delaying his flight from Beijing to Shanghai, where he would board the plane for Australia.
According to Xinhua, She phoned in a recorded message that announced there was a bomb on the Beijing to Shanghai flight. The message caused a major security alert at Beijing airport including mobilisation of 16 police cars, 4 police trucks and a 64-strong SWAT team.
The security alert caused major disruption at the airport and large economic losses.
Dr Yang was arrested a short time afterwards and when she was brought to court she hid her face and cried, looking very depressed. She confessed her guilt and asked for leniency, saying she had not realised how much trouble her scheme would cause. She said she was very remorseful and asked to be given a second chance. the court sentenced her to the standard six month jail sentence for staging a fake terrorist activity.
China's paediatrician shortage reaches crisis point
by Michael Woodhead
An article in Dalian's local paper the Peninsula Morning News has highlighted the real world impact of China's chronic shortage of paediatricians.
The paper notes that local children's hospitals have been unable to recruit paediatricians for some time, and currently had no replies to the latest 'situations vacant' ad for child doctors. In addition, many existing staff have resigned.
The "Bandao Chenbao" says the paediatric workforce problem is due to the familiar reasons of low pay, low status, high stress, long and inconvenient working hours and danger of being assaulted by the public.
With starting salaries of little more than 4000 yuan a month, few are attracted to paediatrics when a similar income can be made from working as a 'baomu' (childminder) in Guangzhou. Insiders ask why would anyone go through 5 years of medical school then another three years of a masters degree and internship to do a job that pays so little and requires so much input in terms of paperwork and bureaucracy? In addition to the long period of study, paediatricians have a heavy burden of exams and also a huge amount of medical file paperwork to keep up with. And dealing with children, they are often the target of assaults and abuse from parents and family members when things don't go according to their expectations. Those who know the job say that it requires a lot of night shift work and working long unsociable hours.
The root cause of the problem is under-investment in the medical system and the low fees charged to patients. This means that there are few resources to support doctors and thus doctors must deal with a high number of patients each day. Inevitably with such as high throughput and scant resources, mistakes occur, and it is the doctor on the front line who gets the blame. It is a vicious circle as more doctors leave, so the remainder face even greater pressures.
The article says the situation is not confined to Dalian, but is a national problem that needs to be addressed by training more doctors but more importantly by putting more resources into the system to support doctors and reduce the number of patients seen per day.
An article in Dalian's local paper the Peninsula Morning News has highlighted the real world impact of China's chronic shortage of paediatricians.
The paper notes that local children's hospitals have been unable to recruit paediatricians for some time, and currently had no replies to the latest 'situations vacant' ad for child doctors. In addition, many existing staff have resigned.
The "Bandao Chenbao" says the paediatric workforce problem is due to the familiar reasons of low pay, low status, high stress, long and inconvenient working hours and danger of being assaulted by the public.
With starting salaries of little more than 4000 yuan a month, few are attracted to paediatrics when a similar income can be made from working as a 'baomu' (childminder) in Guangzhou. Insiders ask why would anyone go through 5 years of medical school then another three years of a masters degree and internship to do a job that pays so little and requires so much input in terms of paperwork and bureaucracy? In addition to the long period of study, paediatricians have a heavy burden of exams and also a huge amount of medical file paperwork to keep up with. And dealing with children, they are often the target of assaults and abuse from parents and family members when things don't go according to their expectations. Those who know the job say that it requires a lot of night shift work and working long unsociable hours.
The root cause of the problem is under-investment in the medical system and the low fees charged to patients. This means that there are few resources to support doctors and thus doctors must deal with a high number of patients each day. Inevitably with such as high throughput and scant resources, mistakes occur, and it is the doctor on the front line who gets the blame. It is a vicious circle as more doctors leave, so the remainder face even greater pressures.
The article says the situation is not confined to Dalian, but is a national problem that needs to be addressed by training more doctors but more importantly by putting more resources into the system to support doctors and reduce the number of patients seen per day.
Lancet welcomes China's new anti-smoking laws but questions whether they will be implemented
An editorial in the Lancet has welcomed the Chinese government's recent announcement of increased anti-smoking measures to be led by government officials. However, the medical journal queations whether the new rules will be effectively implemented given the large number of smokers and the way that smoking is embedded in everyday life in China. It also questions whether the Chinese government will be willing to forfeit the huge revenues from tobacco.
The next step is to introduce a full ban on smoking in indoor areas and increase taxes on tobacco, the journal says.
The next step is to introduce a full ban on smoking in indoor areas and increase taxes on tobacco, the journal says.
Bayer enters three year research partnership with Peking University
Bayer HealthCare and Peking University (PKU) have signed a collaboration agreement on a three-year strategic partnership to promote translational research for drug discovery. The two partners will establish a joint research center at Peking University under the name Bayer HealthCare/Peking University Center of Translational Research for Drug Discovery (BPC/TRDD).
According to Bayer, the collaboration will focus on applying basic research to drug discovery in the therapeutic areas of cardiology, oncology, hematology, and gynecological therapy, as well as technological research along the drug-discovery and -development value chain.
Bayer HealthCare will provide funding for collaborative research projects and sponsor a Bayer Professorship and Bayer Investigator Awards.
According to Bayer, the collaboration will focus on applying basic research to drug discovery in the therapeutic areas of cardiology, oncology, hematology, and gynecological therapy, as well as technological research along the drug-discovery and -development value chain.
Bayer HealthCare will provide funding for collaborative research projects and sponsor a Bayer Professorship and Bayer Investigator Awards.
Recommended reading: Zhang Lijia on the mental health of migrant workers
Migrant workers suffer from a wide range of mental disorders, caused by their working situation, according to Zhang Lijia at the CNN-website. Her findings are based on recent research by Yu Cheng,Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou. "We just have to pay more attention to mental diseases as they can lead to suicide," said Cheng.
He recommends compulsory mental health testing in the workplace and a practice he calls "positive psychological intervention" -- setting up hotlines and counseling services and providing workers with more opportunities to socialize.
China Herald.
He recommends compulsory mental health testing in the workplace and a practice he calls "positive psychological intervention" -- setting up hotlines and counseling services and providing workers with more opportunities to socialize.
China Herald.
The medical news headlines from China
From the English-language media:
Parents of dead girl unhappy at being unable to donate corneas
The parents of a 2-year old girl who died in a Hunan hospital say they were unable to donate her corneas because the local Red Cross didn’t answer its phone.
Shanghai Daily
Shanghai not affected by hepatitis B vaccine scare
Health authorities in Shanghai say there has been no scare in the city over hepatitis B vaccination following fatalities linked with the vaccine and no noticeable drop in the rate of hepatitis B vaccinations.
Shanghai Daily
China opens up health service sector to overseas investors
China will allow some foreign investors to set up hospitals in all parts of the country and will streamline approval procedures for health-related institutions. Investors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan now can run their own hospitals in cities at prefecture level or above, not just provincial capital cities. Investors from foreign countries can now set up solely funded medical institutions in the newly established Shanghai Free Trade Zone or certain other regions.
Peoples Daily
Taiwan investors not interested in Chinese healtcare secotr
The new market-opening measures announced for Chinese healthcare have been met with a lukewarm response from Taiwan's healthcare community. Medical sources said that unless manpower recruitment and health insurance coverage issues can be resolved, the new opening policy is not likely to attract further Taiwanese investment in China's hospitals.
Focus Taiwan
Nursing home fees vary widely
Average monthly fees for a nursing home in urban Beijing are 3,300 yuan whereas in the suburbs it is 1,800 yuan per month, a survey shows. Of the 56 institutions surveyed, the most expensive charges 7,000 yuan per month.
Beijing Daily
Five new H7N9 cases
Five new human cases of H7N9 influenza have been reported from Fujian, Guangdong and Zhejiang yesterday reported a total of five new human cases of H7N9 bird flu, including one death.
Shanghai Daily
Parents of dead girl unhappy at being unable to donate corneas
The parents of a 2-year old girl who died in a Hunan hospital say they were unable to donate her corneas because the local Red Cross didn’t answer its phone.
Shanghai Daily
Shanghai not affected by hepatitis B vaccine scare
Health authorities in Shanghai say there has been no scare in the city over hepatitis B vaccination following fatalities linked with the vaccine and no noticeable drop in the rate of hepatitis B vaccinations.
Shanghai Daily
China opens up health service sector to overseas investors
China will allow some foreign investors to set up hospitals in all parts of the country and will streamline approval procedures for health-related institutions. Investors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan now can run their own hospitals in cities at prefecture level or above, not just provincial capital cities. Investors from foreign countries can now set up solely funded medical institutions in the newly established Shanghai Free Trade Zone or certain other regions.
Peoples Daily
Taiwan investors not interested in Chinese healtcare secotr
The new market-opening measures announced for Chinese healthcare have been met with a lukewarm response from Taiwan's healthcare community. Medical sources said that unless manpower recruitment and health insurance coverage issues can be resolved, the new opening policy is not likely to attract further Taiwanese investment in China's hospitals.
Focus Taiwan
Nursing home fees vary widely
Average monthly fees for a nursing home in urban Beijing are 3,300 yuan whereas in the suburbs it is 1,800 yuan per month, a survey shows. Of the 56 institutions surveyed, the most expensive charges 7,000 yuan per month.
Beijing Daily
Five new H7N9 cases
Five new human cases of H7N9 influenza have been reported from Fujian, Guangdong and Zhejiang yesterday reported a total of five new human cases of H7N9 bird flu, including one death.
Shanghai Daily
Sunday, 12 January 2014
Zhejiang researchers identify the two greatest risk factors for H5N1 avian flu infection
After analysing an outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza in Zhejiang in 2011-12, researchers have the two main risk factors for infection as being in close proxiity to poultry and being somewhere wehere large numbers of birds are bred.
In a study of 3,453 environmental samples, 3% tested positive for H5 avian influenza virus and 4.7% of 1,169 people tested seropositive for anti-H5N1 antibodies. The H5N1 virus detection rate was highest in poultry slaughtering and processing plants (14.6%). and the most common sources of infection were sewage (4.5%), drinking water (3.1%), faeces (2.3%), cage surface (2.0%), and slaughtering chopping boards (7.0%). The two main risk factors for infection were direct or close contact with poultry (five fold higher risk) and breeding numerous poultry (four-fold higher risk). Source: Journal of Thoracic Diseases
In a study of 3,453 environmental samples, 3% tested positive for H5 avian influenza virus and 4.7% of 1,169 people tested seropositive for anti-H5N1 antibodies. The H5N1 virus detection rate was highest in poultry slaughtering and processing plants (14.6%). and the most common sources of infection were sewage (4.5%), drinking water (3.1%), faeces (2.3%), cage surface (2.0%), and slaughtering chopping boards (7.0%). The two main risk factors for infection were direct or close contact with poultry (five fold higher risk) and breeding numerous poultry (four-fold higher risk). Source: Journal of Thoracic Diseases
Saturday, 11 January 2014
"Corridor doctor" becomes whistleblower hero in official media for exposing waste and corruption in hospital
by Michael Woodhead
A Sichuan doctor who was banished from her office and had to practice in a hospital corridor for two years after exposing waste and corruption has been portrayed as a hero in China's national media.
According to a major report in Xinhua, Dr Lan Yuefeng was removed from her post as head of the imaging department at Mianyang Renmin Hospital two years ago after she queried overtreatment of patients and the hospital's obsession with income from commissions on drugs and procedures.
Despite losing her work office, Dr Lan is said to have continued coming into work at the hospital, where she stood in a corridor, occasionally consulting patients for minor illness. The media reports say she was shumnned by other staff and nobody would talk to journalists about her case.
When interviewed by a journalist, Dr Lan said she had been fired for questioning the system that encouraged overtreatment. The final straw was when she vetoed a recommendation for a patient with stable cardiovascular disease to have a pacemaker fitted. After that the hospital administration stood her down from her post.
Dr Lan said the hospital had become driven by a profit mentality, and each department had been set quotas for patients treated and targets for operations and procedures that made the most profits. She said the commission system was like a sickness and equivalent to theft from the patients. Not only was it causing waste, financial burden and uncessary treatment, it was also harmful for patients, she said.
The director of the hospital refused to comment on the case, and referred enquiries to the city's propaganda department. A spokesman for the department did not refute the allegations.
A Sichuan doctor who was banished from her office and had to practice in a hospital corridor for two years after exposing waste and corruption has been portrayed as a hero in China's national media.
According to a major report in Xinhua, Dr Lan Yuefeng was removed from her post as head of the imaging department at Mianyang Renmin Hospital two years ago after she queried overtreatment of patients and the hospital's obsession with income from commissions on drugs and procedures.
Despite losing her work office, Dr Lan is said to have continued coming into work at the hospital, where she stood in a corridor, occasionally consulting patients for minor illness. The media reports say she was shumnned by other staff and nobody would talk to journalists about her case.
When interviewed by a journalist, Dr Lan said she had been fired for questioning the system that encouraged overtreatment. The final straw was when she vetoed a recommendation for a patient with stable cardiovascular disease to have a pacemaker fitted. After that the hospital administration stood her down from her post.
Dr Lan said the hospital had become driven by a profit mentality, and each department had been set quotas for patients treated and targets for operations and procedures that made the most profits. She said the commission system was like a sickness and equivalent to theft from the patients. Not only was it causing waste, financial burden and uncessary treatment, it was also harmful for patients, she said.
The director of the hospital refused to comment on the case, and referred enquiries to the city's propaganda department. A spokesman for the department did not refute the allegations.
Scrub typhus - a growing problem for China and it's spreading to Beijing
by Michael Woodhead
A study by Beijing researchers has shown that life threatening scrub typhus remains an important public health problem in China, and action is need to curb its spread into areas such as Beijing.
Scrub typhus is a serious infection for which there still no effective and reliable vaccine and no point-of-care diagnostics available.
Dr Zhang Wen-Yi and co-workers from the Institute of Disease Control and Prevention, Academy of Military Medical Science, Beijing analysed surveillance data and found that there has been a sharp increase in cases of the disease, with 27,391 confirmed cases of scrub typhus reported in China during 2006–2012
Scrub typhus cases were mainly located in areas of high population density in southeastern and southwestern China, "indicating that many millions of people are at risk of infection," they report in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.
Most scrub typhus cases occurred between July and November, which may be associated with increased exposure to infected chigger mites during the harvest season. The disease was common in elderly farmers and in rural children, perhaps due to exposure during outdoor play .
"Importantly, this study identified a primary cluster located in 176 counties of Guangdong Province, Fujian Province, Jiangxi Province, and Guangxi Province, which is considered the main persistent foci of scrub typhus in China. These areas should be targeted by policy-makers and local service providers for the establishment of refined disease control guidelines, including local vector control, health education, and promotion campaigns."
Their study also identified other newly-identified high-risk clusters of scrub typhus, including some cases in the capital Beijing, that resulted from the importation of infection from other provinces in 2007.
A study by Beijing researchers has shown that life threatening scrub typhus remains an important public health problem in China, and action is need to curb its spread into areas such as Beijing.
Scrub typhus is a serious infection for which there still no effective and reliable vaccine and no point-of-care diagnostics available.
Dr Zhang Wen-Yi and co-workers from the Institute of Disease Control and Prevention, Academy of Military Medical Science, Beijing analysed surveillance data and found that there has been a sharp increase in cases of the disease, with 27,391 confirmed cases of scrub typhus reported in China during 2006–2012
Scrub typhus cases were mainly located in areas of high population density in southeastern and southwestern China, "indicating that many millions of people are at risk of infection," they report in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.
Most scrub typhus cases occurred between July and November, which may be associated with increased exposure to infected chigger mites during the harvest season. The disease was common in elderly farmers and in rural children, perhaps due to exposure during outdoor play .
"Importantly, this study identified a primary cluster located in 176 counties of Guangdong Province, Fujian Province, Jiangxi Province, and Guangxi Province, which is considered the main persistent foci of scrub typhus in China. These areas should be targeted by policy-makers and local service providers for the establishment of refined disease control guidelines, including local vector control, health education, and promotion campaigns."
Their study also identified other newly-identified high-risk clusters of scrub typhus, including some cases in the capital Beijing, that resulted from the importation of infection from other provinces in 2007.
Friday, 10 January 2014
Stop fudging measles figures, health authorities told
Local health authorities have been given a stern warning to improve their reporting of measles cases and to ensure they do not under-report or ignore measles outbrekas.
The National Health and Family Planning Commission has issued the warning in an effort to contain what is says is an increasingly worrying resurgence in measles in China.
The NHFPC says all local health departments must take active steps to ensure that measles monitoring and reporting system are in place and are operating effectively. It warns against under-reporting or cases or of failing to report outbreaks of the infectious disease.
It is increasingly clear that the resurgence of measles is a very grim situation. Infection prevention, monitoring and control networks must be implemented, the NHFPC said.
The National Health and Family Planning Commission has issued the warning in an effort to contain what is says is an increasingly worrying resurgence in measles in China.
The NHFPC says all local health departments must take active steps to ensure that measles monitoring and reporting system are in place and are operating effectively. It warns against under-reporting or cases or of failing to report outbreaks of the infectious disease.
It is increasingly clear that the resurgence of measles is a very grim situation. Infection prevention, monitoring and control networks must be implemented, the NHFPC said.
Doctors and hospitals ordered to forfeit bribes paid by insulin manufacturer Ganli Pharmaceuticals
Doctors and hospitals in Hubei have been ordered to forfeit and repay millions of dollars in bribes they received from insulin maker Beijing Ganli Pharmaceuticals.
The provincial Health Deaprtment and Law Courts have orederd doctors to repay monies paid by the insulin maker following a police investigation that saw seven executives charged with corruption.
In September, Beijing Ganli, which makes third generation insulins, was embroiled in a major corruption scandal involving bribes to doctors and hospitals exceeding 300 million yuan.
According to 21st Century magazine, the case has been classed as a major economic crime by provincial authorities, and those who received bribes have been ordered to forfeit the money. According to the magazine, the bribes were not confined to Wuhan but included doctors and hospitals in other cities of the province.
The provincial Health Deaprtment and Law Courts have orederd doctors to repay monies paid by the insulin maker following a police investigation that saw seven executives charged with corruption.
In September, Beijing Ganli, which makes third generation insulins, was embroiled in a major corruption scandal involving bribes to doctors and hospitals exceeding 300 million yuan.
According to 21st Century magazine, the case has been classed as a major economic crime by provincial authorities, and those who received bribes have been ordered to forfeit the money. According to the magazine, the bribes were not confined to Wuhan but included doctors and hospitals in other cities of the province.
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