• 15
  Oct
  2011

• Eradicating TB Once and For All … or Not?

  
  Filed Under: Blogging
  Author: YourGuy
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The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that cases of tuberculosis (TB) are decreasing worldwide. The drug used to eradicate the virus is successful but more funds are needed to bring the drug to impoverished countries. For travelers, this should be fantastic news even if they have their international medical insurance to protect them. TB is contagious and the international travel health insurance will not be able to stop a person from getting infected unless he has taken the preventive drug.

WHO announced also that 8.8 million people got sick with TB last year, 2010. This is lower than the 2005 figure of 9 million cases. But guess what? At the same time that WHO was having its press conference; researchers were revealing in a study published by the British Medical Journal that TB can be caused by too much smoking. And these researchers reveal that is smoking is not controlled and allowed to grow at its current rate, there will be at least 18 million new cases of TB!

Translated, this means smokers are at risk for TB and the expected deaths from TB by 2050 computed at the current number of smokers in the world will reach 40 million. They say that according to WHO statistics, about 20% of the world’s population smokes tobacco, and the numbers are rising especially in poorer countries. These are the very same countries that cannot afford the drugs to treat TB. On a more frightening scenario based on the most pessimistic analysis, it is possible for the world to experience more than 34 million cases and over 114 million deaths from TB caused by smoking. The link between smoking and TB is that smokers have weaker lungs and cannot fight off the infection well.

• 07
  Oct
  2011

• Canada Issues Warning To Its Citizens about Use of Mobile Phone To Prevent Cancer

  
  Filed Under: Blogging
  Author: YourGuy
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Is it really possible to get cancer from using the mobile phones? This appears to be the stance of Health Canada as they release guidelines to its citizens to help safeguard against possible cancer problems. They did this in spite of no verifiable data that using a cell phone can cause cancer to develop. What influence, if any, will advice this have on global health insurance? Is it possible that international health insurance could become more expensive for heavy mobile phone users?

Health Canada has stressed that heavy mobile phone users and children are at risk much more than adults because they are more sensitive.  They also based their warning on a report released in May by WHO about possible carcinogens from exposure to radio frequency and electromagnetic fields. This exposure could result in a form of brain cancer known as Glioma.

Their efforts to warn are more preventive since they admit that conclusive data has yet to be established even if there are cases linking heavy users to brain cancer. They said in a press conference, “There are a small number of epidemiology studies that have shown brain cancer rates might be elevated in long term/heavy cell phone users. Other epidemiology studies on cell phone users, laboratory studies and animal cancer studies have not supported this association.” In short, it’s possible which is why they are being cautious as well. Furthermore, these are just guidelines to reduce use until new data is expected to be released in 2012.

• 01
  Oct
  2011

• Food Poisoning Strikes 7 Subway Customers in BC

  
  Filed Under: Blogging
  Author: YourGuy
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The Subway outlet in the Vancouver International Airport apparently served bad tuna to 7 of its customers who ended up in the hospital. Most of them were employees of Subway’s franchise owner but imagine what a nightmare it would have been if those were travelers?  While things like this happen, it does put more emphasis on the need of travelers to get international health insurance. If this happens to someone en route to the US or another country, the expenses incurred would have been huge. Without international health insurance, one would have to spend unexpectedly even if medical expenses were covered by company that sold the tainted food.

Such expenses would be the time and opportunities lost as well as the costs of baggage that may have gone on to the intended destination. The whole situation would have been a nightmare happening while experience nausea, and trauma.

As for the 7 employees, 6 of those were able to leave almost immediately. One person had to stay in the hospital for further observation and treatment.

This is what is hard about being on the go all the time. You have to make do with the available food choices, and if your immune system is weak from all the traveling, your body will not be able to fight off any germs or bacteria you may ingest.

Subway is an excellent food choice, and this incident is a fluke that normally does not happen. It will serve as a reminder to the company to be more careful about hygiene, sanitation, and food care. This particular Subway branch is cooperating with authorities. Hopefully, measures will be put in place to avoid a repeat of this incident especially in a high foot traffic area.

• 21
  Sep
  2011

• WHO Issues Travel Warning To China And Pakistan

  
  Filed Under: Blogging
  Author: YourGuy
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The World Health Organization (WHO) has just released a travel warning of a deadly polio strain that has been detected in both Pakistan and China. Travelers planning to visit any of these two countries should get shots and international medical insurance. According to WHO this polio strain is known to be a wild polio virus originating from Pakistan, and the potential for the virus to infect many is very high because of the Muslim Haj pilgrimage to Mecca. Without international travel health insurance, travelers to these countries could end up sick and not have the proper medical care or treatment. With the international medical insurance you have better chance of dealing with situation should it happen to you.

One of the main concerns of WHO is the fact that the pilgrimage is done in areas where there is insufficient access to clinics and doctors. This could aggravate the problem and cause a major headache if anyone brings in the virus.

They further said that the strain in China has a genetic link to that in Pakistan which means someone from Pakistan brought it into China. The reason for the high risk alert level that WHO is placing on this wild virus is the potential to become paralyzed, as well as the swiftness that it happens.

Right now, Pakistan has 84 reported cases, and 9 confirmed cases in China. Unfortunately, these 9 cases in China is not the official count so the numbers could go higher. 

Without the immunization, one could get the virus through body fluids, contact with feces that contain the virus, through sneezing or contact with infected mucus, or by something as simple as drinking from a glass previously used by an infected person with the wild polio virus.