‘Almost 400 people have been hospitalised with heart and respiratory problems caused by heavy air pollution in Tehran, with nearly 1,500 others requiring treatment, an official said Tuesday.
Year round, more than four million cars spew exhaust fumes into the atmosphere of the Iranian capital. The situation worsens in winter, when cold air leads to a carcinogenic fog that blankets the city.’
See:
‘WHO figures show more than 19,000 people infected across west Africa, with Sierra Leone accounting for nearly half of total.
The death toll from the worst ever outbreak of Ebola has reached nearly 7,400, with just over 19,000 people infected across west Africa, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Sierra Leone reported 400 new fatalities this week, bringing the death toll there to 2,500. As of 18 December, it had the highest number of people infected by the virus – 8,800 cases, of which 6,900 were confirmed, according to the country’s health ministry.’
See:
Ebola death toll close to 7,400, says World Health Organisation
‘Data showed just under 90% of patients were seen within four hours in the seven days up to December 14.
Major units particularly struggled, with just six out of 140 meeting the target to see 95% within four hours.’
‘There were over 111,000 emergency admissions to hospital – 80,000 from A&E units – which is an all-time high.
Trolley waits – that is waits of four hours or more for a bed once a decision to admit a patient into hospital from A&E is made – topped 10,000 for the first time.
That compares to under 4,000 for the same week last year.’
View:
After Prime Minister David Cameron commissioned Jim O’Neill in July 2014 to review the status of antimicrobial resistance, it has been reported that ‘Failure to tackle drug-resistant infections will lead to at least 10 million extra deaths a year and cost the global economy up to $100tn (£64tn) by 2050.’
The article continues to contextualise these figures, demonstrating that ‘there are currently 8.2 million deaths a year from cancer and annual global GDP stands at $70tn to $75tn, with the UK figure around $3tn.’
The review placed emphasis on researching the progress of 3 bacteria: carbapenem-resistant K pneumoniae (CRKP), Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), but ‘also examined HIV, tuberculosis and malaria as broader public health issues for which resistance is a concern’.
‘The world’s most populous countries, India and China, face 2 million and 1 million deaths a year respectively by 2050 and one in every four deaths in Nigeria’, while currently the ‘“low estimate” of the current number of annual global deaths is put at 700,000’.
See:
Drug-resistant infections could lead to 10 million extra deaths a year
‘Half of women and 43% of men in England are now regularly taking prescription drugs, according to the comprehensive Health Survey for England.
Cholesterol-lowering statins, pain relief and anti-depressants were among the most prescribed medicines.
The report, by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC), showed an average of 18.7 prescriptions per person in England in 2013.
The cost to the NHS was in excess of £15 bn-a-year.’
This article really surprised me by putting a very large number on the UK’s dependency on medications, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and the NHS as a whole.
See:
Medicine is Alive Everywhere 