Since last Monday, 1 March 2010, more than 4,000 people in Panama have come down with vomiting and diarrhea. This outbreak has led health authorities to conduct studies to determine the cause - whether it be a virus, water, or food. Gladys Guerrero, The Chief of Epidemiology at the Ministry of Health (MINSA), told El Siglo they confirmed this outbreak last week, and said sanitation specialists are conducting studies of the water and other agents. Guerrero said if there was a problem with the water supply she would have expected more cases, but so far they have not ruled anything out. According to the doctor, they register more than 200,000 cases of diarrhea in hospitals and health centers every year. In 2007 there were 185,902 cases, in 2008 there were 175,343 cases, and in 2009 there were 184,164 cases. As of 27 February 2010 already 46,106 people had gone to hospitals and health centers with symptoms of diarrhea and vomiting. In addition to these, they have seen another 4,000 cases just last week. Guerrero said children under five years of age are more prone to die from these causes, and recommended parents to take special care. She recommended parents should keep their kids hydrated with fluids, lots of water and if possible with Pedialyte. Anyone with diarrhea and vomiting for more than two days should see a doctor to receive proper attention, she said. (Source - El Siglo)   

The National Direction of Pharmacy and Drugs of the Social Security Fund (CSS) is analyzing to bottles of a commercial product called "guayacolato glicerilo" (glyceryl guaiacolate or Guaifenesin) from the San Rafael Laboratory of Panama, due to suspicions these products might be causing adverse health effects. The announcement came this afternoon from the Director of the CSS, Guillermo Sáez-Llorens, at a press conference. Sáez-Llorens said two girls, aged four and six years old, who live in the province of Bocas del Toro, suffered from adverse effects after ingesting the drug. The infants, explained the official, suffered from generalized edema. He said when the girls stopped taking the drug their condition improved. Given this fact, he asked the public to not use these medicines until the CSS has received the test results. He said the CSS distributed a total of 364,817 bottles as part of lot number 260808 in the provinces of Veraguas, Chiriqui and Los Santos. Staff members from the office of Pharmacy and Drugs have deployed to Bocas del Toro in order to realize the required testing, said Sáez-Llorens. (Source - La Prensa)   

Doctor Gioconda Gaudiano, M.D. is widely recognized as the best dermatologist in the Republic of Panama. She specialized in Dermatology through studies at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. She also specialized in Dermatopathology at the Ben Taub hospital and the Veteran's Administration Hospital in Houston, Texas. She has a sub-specialty in Tropical Dermatology from the U.S. Navy Tropical Research Laboratory, Gorgas Hospital as well as the University of Sao Paolo, Brazil. She was the Chief of the Dermatology Department of the Gorgas Hospital in the Panama Canal Zone, and has been in private practice since 1983. She is currently the Director of the National Program for Detection and Prevention of Skin Cancer, the Panamanian Association of Dermatology, and "Fundacancer," a melanoma awareness program. She has a black-belt in Shotokan karate, is a member of the American Society as well as many other civic organizations, and is fully bi-lingual.    Click Here To Read The Full Article (1,033 words)

The Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences has developed a set of criteria to detect and provide conclusive evidence in cases involving mass poisoning with Diethylene Glycol (DEG) which occurred in Panama three years ago. IMEL director, Humberto Mas, said one of the main criteria is the consumption of one of the drugs which were contaminated (Expectorant without sugar, calamine lotion and skin lotion.) Another aspect is the classification of symptoms that occur during recovery, including acute or chronic renal failure not attributed to other diseases. (Source: Panama America)

Editor's Comment: It's about damn time. Why didn't the government of Panama do this years ago? (Rhetorical question). Answer - the administration of Martin Torrijos executed a systematic and government-wide cover-up of this entire fiasco. And why did they cover it up? Because if the full scope and extent of the neglect and the damage actually caused by these medicines, which were prepared and distributed by the government, was exposed, then the administration of Martin Torrijos probably would not have survived to the natural end of his term. I hope the administration of Ricardo Martinelli can eventually uncover evidence of the cover-up, expose it, and prosecute those responsible. This entire evolution was a third-world embarrassment of the worst kind.   

Panama waits for 200,000 dosages of vaccines to prevent the A/H1N1 influenza, to arrive before the end of February, chief of Epidemiology of the Panamanian Health Ministry, Gladys Guerrero said on Tuesday. The purchase of the vaccines was done through the Pan American Health Organization, and it is part of a pack bought by the Panamanian government to be used with the groups of most vulnerable people. Guerrero said that the first to get these vaccines will be those children under 5 years old, the senior citizens and those patients with chronic diseases. Guerrero said that last year the country received 100,000 vaccines, and 83 percent of them were already used during the first stage of sanitary campaign. (Source: Xinhua)   

(Fox News) - The US Naval Ship Comfort, a floating hospital that houses one of the largest trauma facilities in the United States, is set to head to Haiti, Fox News reported Thursday. The ship’s captain said the vessel is expected to arrive by January 22, Fox News reported. Captain James Ware said he expects to be “out of port by Saturday morning.” During remarks at the White House Thursday, President Obama said the ship was on its way to assist in the relief efforts. Resources from the US Army and the Marines were also en route to the devastated nation. The Comfort, currently docked at the Port of Baltimore, offers a full spectrum of surgical and medical services. The ship is capable of providing full hospital services to support U.S. disaster relief and humanitarian operations worldwide. Military officials say the ship received verbal orders Wednesday to start getting prepared for deployment, which could take anywhere from three to five days. The Comfort travels at 17.5 knots an hour, so it could still be several days before it arrives in Haiti. The ship’s crew is made up of civil mariners, while its hospital or medical treatment facility is staffed by military personnel. The floating hospital is the length of three football fields and as tall as a ten story building. It is designed to receive 300 surgical patients a day in its 12 operating rooms. There are four x-ray rooms aboard the ship, and one CAT scan unit. A physical therapy unit, a burn center, a pharmacy, and a dental suite are also on board. The ship can maintain up to 5,000 units of blood.

Editor's Comment: The Comfort has been to Panama twice recently on humanitarian missions.

   Click Here To Read The Full Article (132 words)

As of yesterday, Panama became one of the few countries in the world to offer the H1N1 influenza vaccine, with the official launch of a massive vaccination program which during its initial phase includes the application of some 300,000 free doses. The event was held in the auditorium of the headquarters of the Ministry of Health and was attended by president Ricardo Martinelli, his wife Marta Linares de Martinelli, ministers, health officials and the public. Although according to the schedule Martinelli was supposed to have been one of the first to be vaccinated, he did not get the shot saying "those who should be vaccinated first are the people." The campaign was launched through a teleconference in which the first people to be vaccinated were, simultaneously, the First Lady, a pregnant woman, and a six year-old child with asthma. Meanwhile other similar groups located in Los Santos and Veraguas participated in real time through the use of teleconferencing technology. Also receiving the vaccine was the Minister of Health Franklin Vergara, the Minister of Public Works Frederico Suarez, the President of the Legislative Assembly Jose Luis Varela, and the director of the Office of Social Security Guillermo Sáez Llorens. (Source: Zelideth Cortez for La Critica)   

The first stage of the vaccination campaign to prevent AH1N1 Influenza, which includes the administration of 100,000 doses simultaneously, began today in the provinces of Panama, Veraguas and Los Santos. In the presence of President Ricardo Martinelli, the first lady Marta Linares de Martinelli, Vice President Juan Carlos Varela, ministers of state and other authorities, the vaccination program was started through the Ministry of Health. The first to be vaccinated were the most vulnerable: pregnant women, people with chronic illnesses, health workers, and indigenous groups. The second stage, which starts in March, is the planned application of 1.7 million doses of the vaccine to others who are considered to be at risk - children under five years of age and people over 60 years old. Health officials say there have been 809 confirmed cases of H1N1 influenza in Panama and that eleven people have died due to the virus. The application of this vaccine is recommended to reduce mortality or severe clinical manifestations. During 2011 the government will make other vaccines available that will be used to combat this more dangerous virus as well as the common flu. Panama forms part of the Revolving Fund of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). It is also one of the countries that gave the Pan American Health Organization a strain of the H1N1 influenza A virus H1N1 together with statistical and clinical behavior information. To prevent the spread of this virus, health authorities confirmed the importance of covering your nose or mouth when coughing or sneezing, frequent hand washing with soap and water, the use of disposable tissues, and to avoid greeting others with kisses and handshakes. (Source: TVN Noticias)   

Starting in January 2010, the Health Committee of Panama's National Assembly will consider the possibility of creating new regulations for medical tourism, an activity which has been growing in the country. According to National Assemblyman Pablo Vargas, they are looking at some kind of a plan or scheme that would require those hospitals, clinics, and Panamanian medical personnel who provide these services to be accredited. Vargas said that in Costa Rica medical tourism has become an activity which contributes a lot of money to that country's economy. (Editor's Comment: I would be 100% in favor of any legislative activity which would increase the safety and security of these medical tourism practices for foreigners who come here for elective services. Such as, a requirement for providers to carry a comprehensive insurance package to cover them and the patient in the event of unexpected complications, life insurance, etc. Medicine is cheaper in Panama because doctors and hospitals don't have to carry as much malpractice insurance as they do in the United States. So, right now anyone who comes to Panama for elective surgery because it's cheaper might get off paying less now, but there are risks. If the National Assembly can find a way to mitigate some of those risks without killing the industry economically, then I believe Medical Tourism in Panama will become even more attractive in the long run. The doctors here are wonderful, very well trained, capable, competent, modern, etc. I personally hope this industry continues to grow and prosper.) (Source: OHIGGINIS ARCIA JARAMILLO for La Prensa)