Anchored on the theme "Ngiting Matatamis, Ngiping Malilinis, Dala ay Pag-asa, Tunay na Ligaya", the EHCP program was part of the celebration of Dental Health Month this February.

The Provincial Health Office and the Department of Education spearheaded the program that highlighted the distribution of health care packages that consist of toothpaste, toothbrushes and soaps to the pupils.

The children were also taught the proper way to brush teeth using pollypaste toothbrush and washing of hands with soap.

Sangguniang Panlalawigan member and Association of Barangay Councils Federation president Amadeo T. Espino, in behalf of his brother ,Gov. Amado T. Espino, Jr., expressed the importance of proper hygiene among children to prevent diseases and the cost of treating these.

“The governor said that a difficult situation to be in would be if one has a financial problem and still gets sick,” the SP member said.

He reiterated the governor’s message for leaders and educators to raise health standards through the creation of programs, such as the EHCP, to sustain a healthy Pangasinan.

The EHCP aims to reduce childhood diseases by 30 to 50 percent and dental cavities by 40 to 50 percent through simple but powerful interventions like hand washing with soap, brushing of teeth with fluoride toothpaste and bi-annual deworming.

Moreover, by applying these in their daily routine, children can have better school attendance and improved school performance. (PNA)

LAP/lvm/lvmicua/rma

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A memorandum of agreement was signed Friday, February 10 between Guingona, Western Visayas Medical Center chief Dr. Jose Fermin and West Visayas State University Medical Center chief Dr. Ramon Guerra for a P1.5 million assistance each hospital will receive.

The funding assistance was taken from the senator’s priority development assistance fund (PDAF) to help in the various social services program of both hospitals.

Guingona said the government should make an investment in priority areas such as health care and education. The poor and marginalized sector should get direct, immediate and substantial assistance from the government.

On the other hand, Guingona, a staunch good governance advocate, said that transparency and accountability in governance must be the main focus under the present Aquino administration.

As chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee investigating graft and corruption in the government, the senator said the committee had started investigating the graft cases of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez that led to her resignation, the investigation of former First Gentleman Miguel Arroyo on the purchase of chop-chop and second hand helicopters, the alleged misuse and pocketing of intelligence funds of the Department of Justice and the alleged misuse of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes funds.

As a member of the Senate impeachment court, Guingona also said that the Senate court must not be compared with the Supreme Court as these are two different courts with different functions.

The Senate impeachment court is a special court and the Supreme Court must not interfere with the Senate court as the high tribunal’s main function is judiciary in nature, the senator said.

Actually, the public is not interested in legal technicalities during the impeachment trial but only the truth, the senator added. (PNA) LAP/AJP/LCPendon/vlo

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Iloilo Provincial Administrator Raul Banias said during the 3rd Provincial Rabies Control Summit Friday at the capitol that they have the police as participants because of their crucial role in the ART program.

He said that under the ART program, the provincial government through the provincial veterinary office intends to reduce the dog bite cases to 50 percent by 2014 as well as to zero incidence of human and animal rabies cases.

He said that to attain the objectives of the ART program this year they intend to establish Stray Dog–Free Zone in public plazas, public markets, public schools and similar public places in the 42 towns and one component city of Iloilo province.

By 2013, the Stray Dog–Free Zone will be extended to whole of town proper and further expand this to all barangays in a municipality/component city by 2014.

Iloilo provincial veterinary officer Dr. Silvino Teodosio has devised strategies to encourage all dog owners through their mayors and their barangay chairmen to comply on their duties and responsibilities as pet owners; municipalities to establish and maintain dog pound; mayors/provincial Philippine National Police Director to direct their personnel to implement field control of stray and unwanted dogs; and to penalize dog owners who failed to comply with their duties and responsibilities.

The penalties for dog owners are P2,000 for failure to have their dogs vaccinated; P10,000 for failure to have their dogs put under observation after it has bitten an individual; and, P500 for failure to put leash on their dogs every time they are brought outside their house (per incident).

Iloilo Provincial Police Office Dir. Gil Lebin said that with Republic Act 9482 or the Anti-Rabies Act of 2007 and the approved 2008 Iloilo provincial anti-rabies ordinance, the residents have a clear mandate to help in the anti-rabies campaign of the province. (PNA)

FFC/AJP/vlo

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Dr. Conrado Brana, South Cotabato provincial hospital chief, said Friday they have formally adopted PhilHealth’s “no balance billing” policy to facilitate the full availment of insurance benefits by indigent patients in the area.

“Based on the guidelines set by PhilHealth, sponsored program members and their dependents will not have to worry anymore for any excess payments when getting treatment in accredited government hospitals,” he said.

Brana said the provincial hospital prioritizes indigent patients but noted that they should be admitted in service or ward sections.

He said indigent patients may only be admitted to higher accommodation like the private rooms if all service beds are already occupied.

The health official pointed out that the “no balance billing” policy will not be applied if the sponsored member and their dependents would request admission to private rooms and avail of the services of a private doctor.

It would not covers patients initially admitted to service wards but later transferred to private rooms and those who were admitted to private rooms but transferred to a ward bed, he said.

Under the new system, Brana said beneficiaries may avail of subsidies for hospital room and board; drugs and medicines; x-ray and other laboratory tests; operating rooms; and, professional fees of medical practitioners, among others.

The other free services for sponsored members when admitted to accredited government hospitals and accredited non-hospital facilities are tests and treatment for cases of dengue, pneumonia, cerebral infarction, cerebro-vascular accident with hemorrhage, essential hypertension, acute gastroenteritis, asthma, typhoid fever, and the newborn care package.

For surgical procedures, he said it will include outpatient radiotheraphy, outpatient hemodialysis, maternity package for spontaneous delivery, caesarean section, appendectomy, cholecyctectomy, dilation and curettage, thyroidectomy, mastectomy, herniorrhaphy and cataract surgery.

In rural health units, Brana added that indigent may of avail free services such as doctors’ consultation; preventive care such as breast examination, blood pressure exam, prostate exam, and healthy lifestyle advises; and, diagnostic and laboratory examination such as chest x-ray, sputum examination, visual acetic acid screening for cervical cancer, urinalysis, fecalysis and complete blood count.(PNA)

FFC/AVE/HST

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This was bared Friday during a press conference by the PhilHealth Regional Office in Dagupan City coinciding with the agency’s 17th anniversary.

Madonna Valdez, chief of the membership section of the PhilHealth regional office, said that as of the first week of February this year, enrolment to PhilHealth in Pangasinan reached 702,086 families with beneficiaries totaling 2,216,795.

A PhilHealth card issued to ensured families covers the husband and wife, and their children who are below 21 years old.

Those insured included government and private sector workers whose premiums are deducted monthly by their employers, individual paying program (IPP) members, Overseas Workers Program (OWP), sponsored beneficiaries and lifetime members.

In the whole Region 1, including Batanes province, the enrollment totaled 1,319, 501 with 4184,158 estimated total beneficiaries.

Pangasinan’s sponsored beneficiaries, courtesy of the provincial government headed by Governor Amado Espino Jr., municipal and city governments, including congressmen, totaled 106,455 families or 384,303 beneficiaries.

However, the sponsored beneficiaries of the Department of Health (DOH) who are covered by the Pantawid Pampamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) registered more enrollees, numbering 128,862 or 384,303 beneficiaries.

La Union is second with 248,582; Ilocos Sur, P194,407; Ilocos Norte, 170,579; and Batanes, 3,847. (PNA)

FFC/LVM/rma

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Vigan City headed by Mayor Eva Marie Singson-Medina topped in the annual National Nutrition Council (NNC) regional inter-agency Monitoring and Evaluation of Local Level Plan Implementation (MELLPI) among all cities in the region.

Mayor Singson–Medina received the latest regional green banner award for the city in a simple ceremony hosted by the NNC in Region 1 held at the Hotel Ariana, Paringao, Bauang, La Union.

The award was the result of the evaluation conducted by NNC in 2010.

Vigan City first received the regional green banner award in 2009 as outstanding regional nutrition program implementer.

“I would like to share this most coveted award we recently received to our constituents and all sectors who gave their all – out efforts for the excellent implementation of our nutrition programs that ultimately aim to reduce malnutrition and to eliminate poverty incidence within the city,” she said.

“Despite being awarded the Green Banner in 2009, we continue to be vigilant in our efforts to make our citizens strong and healthy,” she added.

Among the nutrition’s impact programs that contributed to the winning of the regional award by the city were the continuing searches for the most nutri –functional school canteen in public and private schools and for having the best school in a garden in public and private elementary and high schools.

The city also topped in bio–intensive gardening, home and community food production program, micro-nutrient supplementation, food fortification, food assistance program, maternal and child health care services, and intensified nutrition education program.

"On top of these, the city government is now also providing assorted multi-vitamins to pre–schoolers and school children to maintain their good health as well as distributing livelihood assistance to poorest of the poor Vigan residents through our prosperity program: Pagsapulan: Raniag ti Masakbayan,” the mayor said.

Through the implementation of these nutrition programs, Vigan City had the smallest number of undernourished children in the whole Region 1 during the 2009 and 2010 annual nutrition evaluation.

“Now, we are aiming for “zero malnutrition incident in the city,” she added.

For her part, Region 1 Nutrition Program Coordinator Victoria N. Manes disclosed that Vigan City is now qualified for the Consistent Regional Outstanding Winner in Nutrition (CROWN).

The Green Banner Award is given to a municipality, city or province, which has shown very satisfactory performance in implementing its nutrition program.

A Local Government Unit (LGU) awarded the Green Banner for three consecutive years as outstanding regional winner automatically is awarded the CROWN Award. (PNA)

LAP/lvm/Freddie G. Lazaro/rma

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According to a study published by the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research Inserm, 145 million packets of Mediator were sold on the French market before it was withdrawn in November 2009, French broadcaster RFI reported.

Some 3,100 people had required hospitalization during the 33 years the drug was sold on the market, mostly as a weight-loss pill.

The Mediator case came to light following a scandal involving a similar type of anti-obesity drug, fenfluramine, in the late 1990s, the RFI said. It was pulled from the European market after it emerged that the drug could damage heart valves and cause pulmonary hypertension.

Its French manufacturer, Servier, is being probed on suspicion of dishonest practices and deception, according to RFI. (PNA/Xinhua) DCT/ebp

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The new system features Claim Eligibility Web Service (CEWS) and Electronic Claims Submission (ECS) that provides convenience to both patient and health care provider.

Using the CEWS, PhilHealth Benefit Administration Section chief Dr. Royce Reyes said the hospital can verify the eligibility of the applicant who wanted to avail of benefit direct from PhilHealth’s database.

The parameters of eligibility which can be viewed using the CEWS are the member’s name, date of birth, declared dependents, contribution, 45-day limit for room occupancy, among others.

ECS, on the other hand, helps shorten the processing of claims as long as there are no discrepancies in the applicant’s form and their eligibility to claim is established.

Reyes said the project helps reduce the return-to-hospital claims and out-of-pocket expenses of PhilHealth members.

To avail the services of e-claims, interested hospitals must have existing hospital information system before they can be qualified, he said. (PNA)

FFC/AJP/JAN/vlo

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A report reaching the 10th Civil-Military Operations Battalion Friday morning said the medical mission started on Monday in Barangays Tubo-tubo, Babag, Union and Naboc.

The mission include minor surgeries such as circumcision, medical and dental check-up to include tooth extraction.

Lt. Col. Cesar A. Molina, commanding officer of the 25th IB, lauded the contribution of the Municipal Health Office (MHO) of Monkayo, 10th Infantry Division’s Medical and Dental Team and the Eastern Mindanao Command’s Dental and Medical Team.

“This is a joint effort with our partners who never fail to provide assistance in delivering basic services to the residents of far flung areas,” he said.

Molina said there will be more concerted efforts that will be pushed through the Peace and Development Outreach Program (PDOP) in their area of responsibility.

He said more communities are lined up in the first quarter of 2012 for consultation and ventilation of problems which all branches of government might address. (PNA) FFC/JSGD/ldp

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MANILA, Feb. 9 -– The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has identified six water bodies contaminated with paralytic poison or red tide toxins.

Based on its shellfish bulletin no. 3 as of January 27, 2012, shellfish collected from those areas were found in their laboratory tests to be positive of paralytic poison that is beyond regulatory limit.

BFAR named the contaminated areas as Dumanquillias Bay in Zamboanga del Sur; Murcielagos Bay affecting Zamboanga del Norte and Misamis Occidental; Masinloc Bay, Zambales; Bataan Coastal Waters affecting the city of Balanga and the towns of Mariveles, Limay, Orion, Pilar, Orani, Abucay and Samal; Batarinao Bay in Eastern Samar and Wawa in Bani, Pangasinan.

The bureau warned that all types of shellfish gathered from these areas are not safe for human consumption. Fish, squids, shrimps and crabs are safe for human consumption provided they are fresh and washed thoroughly, and internal organs such as gills and intestines are removed before cooking.

Attorney Benjamin Felipe S. Tabios Jr., BFAR assistant director for administrative services, on Thursday said over radio program “Talking Points” aired over DZRB Radyo ng Bayan and People’s Television 4 (PTV4) that these areas are secured by the local government units to ensure that no shell products would be gathered and brought to the market or eaten by the fisherfolks themselves.

Tabios explained that algal toxins in coastal waters make the water red but the toxins are filtered by the shells to prevent its spread to other marine creatures. He also clarified that the toxin could not penetrate the flesh of the fish so it is safe to eat.

”We are fortunate in BFAR because there have not been any fatal incidents that happened due to the massive help of the national government,” he claimed.

The BFAR official said that there are red tide toxins for some months but there was a time when it took three years before they disappeared.

In a brighter note, Tabios said that shells with red tide could be used for something beneficial. He cited the fisherfolks in Sorsogon who cleaned the shells, dried them up and made them pieces of arts, such as necklace, bracelet and other souvenir items and sold them. (PNA) DCT/magi/utb

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Alvarado said that patients with cataract or “katarata”, “pugita”, cross-eyed or “duling” or “banlag” eye problem were provided with free treatment using modern technology.

The governor said the project is being supported by the Department of Health (DOH), the Cataract Foundation Optalmologist Team and Bulacan 1st district Rep. Ma Victoria R. Sy-Alvarado.

He said the patients were provided with free eye operations and some were given intra-ocular lens to improve their eyesights, especially the senior citizens.

Rep. Sy-Alvarado, who visited the patients at the Calumpit District Hospital, said the provincial government is providing better health care for Bulakenyos and the “Liwanag ng Mata, Handog ko sa Inyo Program” is one such program that aims to reach and help every Bulakenyos with eyesight problems.

Dr. Mildred Pre, a senior ophthalmologist at the Bulacan Medical Center, said that more than 500 Bulakenyos have already been given free eye treatment since the program began on October 2010.

She said that this year, volunteer doctors and eye specialists from the Cataract Foundation headed by Mario Reyes are using high technology equipment in diagnosing patients. (PNA)

FFC/zst/EGG/ps

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Speaking at a conference held at the HCM City Pasteur Institute to review infectious diseases prevention efforts carried out last year, they also said that this year, bird flu with A/H5N1 virus, and meningococcal disease have appeared as new threats.

In 20 southern provinces last year, the HCM City Pasteur Institute recorded 290,182 influenza infections, 187,576 diarrhoea patients, 67,396 HFMD cases, including 145 fatalities, and 60,418 dengue fever cases, including 59 deaths.

Most of the HFMD cases were found in southeastern area, especially places with crowded population such as HCM City and Dong Nai.

The reported cases of diarrhea decreased almost 21 per cent last year compared to 2010. Most of the infections were found in Dong Thap, Ba Ria – Vung Tau, Ben Tre and Soc Trang provinces.

No patient tested positive for the H5N1 virus last year, according to the institute. Early this year, the disease claimed two deaths.

Among the infectious diseases that killed several people last year, the influenza A/H1N1 virus, or swine flu, was still spreading in some areas of Viet Nam, but it was not as serious as when it first appeared on May 30, 2009.

Tran Thanh Duong, deputy head of the Ministry of Health's Preventive Medicine Department, who chaired the conference, said the Influenza A/H1N1 virus was still widely prevalent in the country.

The task of monitoring and preventing a swine flu epidemic has been carried out well in five localities – HCM City, Dong Nai, Tien Giang, Ben Tre, Lam Dong provinces – most vulnerable to the disease.

According to the Pasteur Institute, last year, the southern region recorded 427 infected cases of influenza A/H1N1 strain, type 2009.

Eleven people died of the disease. Of these, six were in HCM City and two in Ben Tre Province. One person each died of the disease in the provinces of Tien Giang, Bac Lieu and Soc Trang.

But the H1N1 vaccine has not been added to the national vaccination program, since it was not deemed a great risk anymore, Duong said.

Tran Ngoc Huu, head of the HCM City Pasteur Institute, said at the conference that in general, epidemics tended to decrease last year, except for diarrhea, HFMD and dengue fever.

He expected that this year, all Influenza A/H5N1 cases would be found and treated in time; and that 90 per cent of epidemic clusters of influenza A/H1N1, type 2009, as well as HFMD, would be detected and treated. (PNA/VNS)

FPV/ebp

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Kim Ji-eun was a doctor of oriental medicine in the North before fleeing her oppressive country in 1999 to seek refuge in the South. She arrived at her destination three years later, after surviving a risky escape through China, Thailand, Myanmar and Laos.

Kim is one of more than 23,000 North Korean defectors who have settled in the South in recent decades, in search of a better life and future.

After years of further studying in the South, Kim acquired a doctor's license in January 2009 and opened her own oriental medicine clinic as well as a research institute for the field.

"While South Korean food is often greasy and sweet due to Western influences, North Korean food is comparatively much lighter and fresher to the taste," she said in an interview with Yonhap News Agency.

North Korea is best known in the South for its naengmyeon, or cold buckwheat noodles, but many here find the meat broth to be too bland and tasteless. Defectors, on the other hand, often say South Korean naengmyeon tastes too strong and sweet.

"Colder regions in the North tend to prefer spicy food, which is effective for preventing colds, but irritates the walls of the stomach and could lead to related diseases," Kim said. "In addition, food in the South is often rich and greasy, generating lots of heat in the body. If such a state continues, this increases the likelihood of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and metabolic illnesses."

The best advice for healthy eating is to balance consumption of foods across the five different tastes of saltiness, sweetness, sourness, bitterness and spiciness, she said. (PNA/Yonhap) DCT/jnc

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More and more people were visiting doctors in recent days, with complains of having flu-like symptoms, said researchers with Norway's Public Health Institute.

Among all patients who saw their doctors last week, 1.4 percent was diagnosed with flu, with the cases of the influenza A occupying a dominating position, which indicates the threshold of outbreak is reached, according to Norwegian health experts.

The Southern and Western coastal areas of Norway are most affected while reported cases of the infection remain low in other parts of the country.

Since mid-December in 2011, the cases of laboratory confirmed influenza increased markedly, with virus being detected throughout Norway.

The Public Health Institute said it expects a continued increase in the coming weeks.

"It is urgent now to let themselves be vaccinated against seasonal flu," the institute said, offering advice to people belonging to risk groups. (PNA/Xinhua)

FPV/ebp

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Annalisa Ong-Lim, M.D., a Pediatric Infectious Disease specialist at the University of the Philippines College of Medicine and Philippine General Hospital (PGH), said pneumonia also continues to be the leading cause of death among Filipino children aged one to four years old.

Lim, during her discussion of pneumococcal disease (PD) to health beat reporters on Wednesday at the Sofitel, Pasay City, said the best way to protect against PD was through vaccine.

Lim said that pneumococcal disease could result into death, paralysis, mental retardation, seizures, learning disabilities, hearing loss.

She said the PhilHealth paid at least P2 billion for pneumonia claims in 2010.

Incidence of pneumonia is increased at extremes ages-among very young and the very old.

Dr. Lulu Bravo, a pediatrician and professor of the University of the Philippines' Pediatric Infectious Disease and Tropical Diseases, said the disease brought about by pneumoccocus bacterium spreads from one child to another via coughing or sneezing after which it invades the nose and throat.

Good nutrition and strong immune system was one way of combating the disease, Bravo said.

Bravo, in her earlier talks, said that exclusive breast-feeding during the first six months of life was an important and easy way to help protect children from pneumonia and other diseases.

Frequent hand-washing, she said, also reduced the spread of bacteria.

Meanwhile, children caught the bacteria in overcrowded places such as malls and daycare centers.

Smoking and pollution were another contributory factors, said Lim.

According to World Health Organization (WHO), in many developing countries, women and children spend a lot of time indoors, cooking with open fire, without ventilation. And, therefore, they inhale lots of particles that irritate their lungs and makes them more vulnerable to infection.

Likewise, experts encouraged the government, especially the Department of Health (DOH) to include pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) into the National Immunization Program to be given to infants as young as six weeks.

Vaccine for pneumonia should also be given among old ages 60 to 70 who are also vulnerable to the disease, Ong said.(PNA) RMA/SDT/utb

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JERUSALEM, Feb. 8 — "We don't talk about their illnesses, we don't say, 'how are you?' we don't say, 'what are you here for?'" Adele Raemer said, as she was ready for her rounds one evening in the pediatric oncology ward at the Dana-Dwek Children's Hospital at Tel Aviv's Sourasky Medical Center.

Lugging around a giant flowered bag full of magic tricks, a balloon animal menagerie, and, of course, wearing a big red nose, Raemer turns into her alter ego "Lychee Spielberg," a trained volunteer medical clown, to bring relief and smiles to the ill.

Since 2002, leading Israeli medical institutions have integrated medical clowns — professional or trained volunteer clowns who fulfill a therapeutic role — together with a hospital team, in easing their patients' pain and helping to foster their healing.

"I would say that we've seen an explosion in the penetration of medical clowning into medical institutions in the last six years," said Nathan Cherny, a director of the cancer pain and palliative medicine department at Jerusalem's Shaare Zedek Medical Center.

"The head nurse in pediatric oncology last week had to take blood from a baby — it was extremely difficult for her to find a vein, so she called me in," Raemer told Xinhua. "I was there with them for 20-30 minutes, playing, performing, clowning, balloons, bubbles — they work."

"…it's to completely take them, for a few minutes, out of the situation of sickness and in hospital — and to take them someplace else," said Raemer, 57, who herself makes the thrice-monthly, 1.5-hour drive northwards from her home in rural Kibbutz Nirim, alongside the Gaza Strip.

Although Raemer's village and its neighborhood have come under near-incessant rocket fire over the last decade from nearby Gaza militants, she is proud that Israel treats ailing Gazans and West Bank Palestinians at its hospitals.

The ailing kids have nothing to do with animosity or war, she said, noting that being a medical clown makes her have a sort of connection with these people living "on the other side of that fence."

Alex Gruber, who teaches a 120-hour, 20-session medical clowning course at Simchat Halev — "The Heart's Joy" — in Hebrew, makes use of acting and psychodrama techniques, guided meditation, art therapy, and psychology to help his students bring out their own "inner clown."

The essence of becoming a true clown is not about the face paint, red nose or costume, Moshe Kahan, an American-born student told Xinhua.

"The concept … is to try to connect with the child that's within yourself. And as you get older, especially, it gets harder to do that," the 50-something student said.

Alex once met a little boy during his own hospital rounds one day, who had become withdrawn and unresponsive during difficult cancer treatments. The moment Alex turned him into a brave knight with a balloon sword and crown and ordered him into a battle to protect the princess from a dragon, the child sat up and shouted, "No! I, d'Artagnan (a character of 'The Three Musketeers'), will protect her!"

"If we can bring warmth and humor, and the ability to laugh together — often these performances are given in a hall with multiple people being treated together — it will be a joined experience, and a very human experience," Cherny suggests.

Raemer's partner in gags, 32-year-old Carmen Mathias from Tel Aviv, said simply, "This is what makes me feel good and what makes them feel good — It's something you do for people, and for yourself."

In the hallway, Carmen knelt down to talk with a shy, button- eyed, five-year-old boy who came here for treatment from Uzbekistan with his mother and older brother.

She quickly twisted up a long black balloon sword for him, and a blue one for herself. They then raised their weapons, thrusting and parrying, as laughing mothers, nurses and other children look at them.

"Especially in the hospital, it's very, very important to make people smile because they are stressed and don't feel good," she said. "Laughter is the best medicine; everybody knows it — this is what we do." (PNA/Xinhua) DCT/LOR/mmg

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The preliminary results of the 2nd Cambodia national TB prevalence survey found about 171 people among 100,000 people have smear-positive tuberculosis in 2011, a 36 percent drop from 269 people among 100,000 people in 2002.

"Cambodia has seen a great success in fighting against TB in the last decade; however, the country is still one of the highest TB burden in the region and the world," Mao Tan Eang, director of National Centre for Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control said.

He said the country spends around 10 million U.S. dollars a year for TB fight, adding that Cambodia has been facing a budget shortage between 30-40 percent in 2012 and 2013 due to the Global Fund's fund cancellation.

Yasujiro Suzuki, chief representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency, said the survey had been conducted for one-year by testing approximately 37,413 people across the country, adding it cost one million U.S. dollars.

Speaking at the survey launch, Mam Bunheng, minister of health, said the results demonstrated the effect of curing TB in Cambodia.

He added that according to the latest figures, the death rate from TB had also sharply declined from 153 deaths among 100,000 patients in 1990 to 61 deaths in 2010.

"With these results, Cambodia has been keeping on track to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goal targets by reducing TB prevalence, incidence and mortality rates by a half in 2015," he said. (PNA/Xinhua)

FPV/hbc/utb

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Gatchalian said that the machine will be installed at the newly-constructed Valenzuela City West Emergency Hospital and Dialysis Center in Barangay Dalandanan.

He expects the device to be operational by the second quarter of 2012.

"With the installation of this machine, Valenzuela residents suffering from the above-mentioned disease no longer need to go out of the city boundaries to have their illness treated," Gatchalian saod.

He said that the acquisition of the dialysis machine was in line with the city government's efforts to upgrade the health services being offered to the poor.

In another development Valenzuela has tied up with Angeles City for a "mutually beneficial exchange of best practices on industrialization, investments generation and people-oriented governance."

Gatchalian and Angeles City Mayor Atty. Edgardo D. Pamintuan agreed to share the common desire to promote and foster strong special ties, mutual understanding, friendship and goodwill.

There would be exchanges in science and technology, culture and arts, tourism, planning and urban development, education and sports, environmental protection, agriculture, public health and social services, and other practical assets.

The deal was signed by both parties last Jan. 25. (PNA)

RMA/PFN

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City health officer Dr. Genaro Manalo said that under ordinance number 7thcc-25 or the ordinance prohibiting the use, sale, distribution and advertisement of cigarettes and other tobacco products in certain places, aims to safeguard Santiagueno’s health and ensure the well-being and protect from the harmful effect of smoking and tobacco consumption.

He said the passage of the ordinance will guarantee the right of non-smokers and to recognize that the need to breathe smoke-free air.

The start of ordinance implementation was joined by all stakeholders and different sectors in the city through a parade and motorcade around the city’s business district.

Smoking is now prohibited in public places like youth centers, elevators or stairways, gasoline stations, hospitals, transport terminals, conference halls, restaurants, public markets, playgrounds, churches and government offices.

Penalties for individuals who are caught smoking in places stated in the ordinance are fined P500 for first offense, P1,000 for second offense and P2,500 for third and subsequent offenses while violations for sale, distribution and advertising cigarette products will be fined P1,500 for first offense, P3,000 for second offense and P5,000 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 10 days or both at the discretion of the court and revocation or suspension of business license or permit. (PNA)

FFC/SCD/ME/mba

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“Fear campaign” is a scheme that warns off residents in a particular area from all possible sources of the deadly bacterium called Vibrio cholera acquired through ingesting contaminated food or water, according to Dr. Edgar Garcia, the Sorsogon provincial health officer and chief of the Sorsogon Provincial Hospital in a telephone interview on Wednesday.

In the campaign, Garcia said “we see to it that barangay residents are totally prevented from sourcing their drinking or cooking water from open dug well. For those who source their water from deep wells, we impress upon them that they should boil it first before consuming.”

The campaign involves the PHO along with all its Rural Health Units (RHUs) including Barangay Health Workers (BHWs), local government officials. They are under instructions to conduct intensive information dissemination campaigns to warn the public and guide them into vigilance against this killer disease.

“So far, this strategy reinforced by our massive information, education, communication (IEC) campaign towards proper hygiene is gaining positive results as reports received by the PHO on cholera cases from the entire province have been leveling off, meaning no addition to the number of cases earlier reported has been monitored,” he said.

From October last year until January this year, Garcia said 240 diarrhea cases attributed to cholera have been reported in the province and 17 of them died. “There is another one case of death reported late in January but we are still validating it to confirm if it was caused by diarrhea”.

He said 13 of these deaths came from Sorsogon City, the provincial capital and the rest were distributed among its nearby towns of Castilla, Gubat and Bulusan.

These figures, he said are big enough to be considered an outbreak but since the cases were sporadic or not confined within a clustered area, it remains unqualified to be called a provincial level epidemic.

There is one barangay however in Prieto Diaz town where the cases are in a clustered section of the village and “we are still in consultation with the Department of Health (DOH) regional office whether to declare or not an outbreak situation. Residents of this village source their water from an open dug well.”

Almost all these 240 cases that were brought before the attention of the PHO, Garcia said were primarily attributed to the presence of “fecal ecoli” in rivers and streams in some areas due to poor hygiene and wrong toilet habits. “We found this out based on rectal swabs tests on patients including those who died,” he noted.

The prevailing rainy season had a very significant influence to the situation as contaminated water overflowing from rivers and stream pours into open dug wells from where the victims get their water. “I don’t know if it is caused by the climate change but rainy days in the past whose volume of water were greater did not cause much cholera troubles in the province,” he said.

Cholera, Garcia explained is an acute infectious disease characterized by watery diarrhea caused by the Vibrio cholera bacterium. It is the most feared epidemic diarrheal disease because people can die within hours of infection from dehydration due to the loss of water from the body through the bowels.

It spreads when human feces from a person who has the disease seeps into a community water supply. Fruits and vegetables can also be contaminated in areas where crops are fertilized with human feces. Cholera bacteria also live in warm, brackish water and can infect persons who eat raw or undercooked seafood obtained from such waters, he said (PNA)

FFC/LQ/DOC/cbd/

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