Hepatitis B Vaccination in the City

I have been seeing a lot of banners around our city stating that they offer Hepa B vaccination services, but yes, for a fee.

Vaccination for hepatitis B is like around PhP 1,500 (US$1= PhP 43 something). If you are an average worker earning minimum (PhP 250.00), you definitely will not be able to take advantage of the vaccination program and will just leave everything to faith.LOL.
Well, I mean, no wonder diseases around infest the poor. I mean, they do not have an immediate access to medicines and vaccinations due to the fact that they cannot afford it. They would rather buy themselves food instead of buying them a vaccine that confer them the needed protection against vaccine-preventable life-threatening diseases like Hepatitis B.

Well, I would not want to believe that life is unfair and people are not created equal but I am hoping that governments around the globe will include free adult immunization program as part of their health programs for the masses - at least just on the basic-health services.

Sorry...

As with most of my other blogsites, I would like to apologize for not being able to update my blog for almost a month now. My mom's health predicament made me so much busy and rendered me incapable to do other things, hence my blogs slept. :)

Now that everything came back to normal, I promise to update my blogs. Be sure to check my other blogs as well. My main blog keeps the regular update because I can usually write almost anything in there, unlike this blog which caters only for health issues related HIV and AIDS.

You can check on my other blogs by clicking on the blogsites under the MY BLOGS on the right side of this blogscreen. Thanks!

Insurmountable Pain

I haven't been able to write something in my blog for the past 8 days due to my mom being at ICU at St. Raphael Foundation and Medical Center. She suffered massive blood loss because her lung tissues collapsed due to frequent coughing and add to that - infections. Now that her immune system dropped, she suffered from secondary bacterial infections such as Tuberculosis (TB), pneumonia, sepsis, a type of infection of the blood, which are now under control. But she is still being observed at the ICU and will yet to wait as to when she will leave ICU and be sent to an ordinary patient room though.

My heart bleeds everytime I see her suffering. This incident has caused my mother, me and my family a lot - emotionally, physically, mentally and all that stuff. I had to ask for all of my relatives' help just to buy my mom her medicine since I already run out of budget and all of my savings are gone for the hospital had to cancel all medicine supplies for my mom since our bill is getting really high and that I have to buy everything that she needs from dextrose, medicines, and all the liquid solutions that she needs while she is in ICU.

I am asking all your help to please pray for my mom and my family. May God help us to get through all this soon enough and help my mom recover completely. Thank you so much for reading. Thank you so much...

Jules

Grapefruit to Replace Hepatitis C Drugs?

I was reading this article online from What Doctors Don't Tell You and it tickled me into thinking about the research paper I made at University of the Philippines, Open University at Los Baños, Laguna regarding Bitter Gourd as possible cure for a number of communicable diseases such as Hepatitis B, HIV/AIDS, and cancer.

The article talks about the medicinal properties of grapefruit that is similar to those of the powerful anti-viral drugs which are used for treatments for hepatitis C. The Journal of the American Medical Association pointed out that a typical grapefruit contains flavonoid and naringenin, which have the ability to inhibit the ability of a hepatitis C virus to replicate and thereby continue destroying tissues. These are also the two main ingredients which gives the fruit its bitter taste.

Well, sounds like a nice idea and it really was nice-to-know information. I always believe that people should start going back to basics since some fruits, vegetables, and herbs contain ingredients that have the potential to cure but cannot serve such function if they are not contained in their natural host (that is, the ingredient is not taken from its original source) since most of substances that have substantial medicinal properties have synergystic properties as well, that is, they cannot function well or its effect will not be as effective as when you take it from the original source.

What do you guys think about herbs? How about starting to cure the person's "mind" before curing the person physically as some of the diseases on the planet are more of psycho-somatic in nature or the so-called "its all in the mind" attitude? What do you think?

Health-Risk for Travellers: Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B and Tyhpoid Fever

Travel is exciting since you get to see places and enjoy the pleasure of meeting new people, and experiencing the joy of making new friends. Well, inspite of the good things that travelling gives people, there are also risk associated with it.

Yes, diseases. As people,from all walks of life travel from place to place, the movement of diseases increases proportionately. A person who appears healthy and was never diagnosed for any diseases before he begins travelling might manifest diseases along the course of his/her stay on a certain place and any contact that that person does will affect, on a larger part, the overall health of the people around him/her. If that person is infected by a communicable disease/s chances are there lies the risk of infecting, the immediate people around him/her (if not all).

Well, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, and Tyhpoid Fever are just some of the few diseases that are rapidly moving around the planet. But the good thing is, all of these diseases are vaccine-preventable. Health is always our best resource for a good life. One may realize that money is meaningless once we get sick. But then again, we need money to support our hospitalization if in case we fall ill to any of the diseases around. =)

According to my readings, travellers abroad are always advised to take on a vaccine program that would immunize a person from the notorious diseases plaguing humanity, especially if a person is travelling to Asia where all the diseases mentioned above (Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Tyhpoid Fever) are endemic (prevalent).

I am not sure if the Philippines has it. I mean, if the appropriate government agency in the Philippines is becoming effective of their mandated task to inform people about the health dangers there is in travelling and advise them to undergo appropriate vaccination programs against the diseaess endemic to the place they will visit. I have never been out of the country though. Do all travel agencies here in the Philippines provide health advisories to their clients when they schedule them for a flight and advise them to take on a vaccination program that will protect them against all possible diseases endemic to that place? Well, what say you? :)

Vietnam to Provide 5-in-one Vaccine by 2009

Vietnam is doing a great job in setting up a plan to provide free 5-in-one vaccine that would provide immunization to 5 of the known debilitating diseases namely: polio, whooping cough, tetanus, Haemophilus Influenzae type B (Hib) and Hepatitis B.

Vietnam's National Expanded Programme of Immunisation (EPI) sought the help of Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) to support the said program by coming up with ways on how to produce the said consolidated vaccine. Vietnam is considering vaccinating 1.5 million children under the said program (EPI).

Canadian Hepa B Treatment Program

The Canadian government has unveiled a health program that benefits individuals suffering from chronic hepatitis b. According to Canada's British Columbian government, there are around 300,000 to 600,000 individuals living with such condition and such numbers continue to rise and that Asian Pacific Islanders covers the highest percentage of the pie.

The provincial governmetn supports two drug treatment programs namely adefovir (marketed under the Brand name Hepsera) and entecavir (marketed as Baraclude). The estimated budget allocation is around $3 Million annually.

Each treatment program has corresponding treatment guide and each drug has its own program that deals with any incidence of virus drug resistance. The Vancouver Sun has more.

No Exercise and Frequent Fast Food Meals Not Good to Liver

If you think that chronic inactivity and eating fast food meals will save you time and money instead of going to a good restaurant or not cooking your own meal at home is healthy, Well, think again. The journal Gut provided the result of one of their experimental researches on the effect of eating too much fast food meals and inactivity to the liver.

The result of the research states that unhealthy lifestyle can take its toll on the liver which is indicative of certain proteins like alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and detected in the blood stream. Damaged liver cells produce specific proteins and secrete them in the blood stream. These molecules are detected through blood chemistry checks. The Hepatitis B Foundation posted the article on its site. Read more at Science Daily.

State Crisis due to Medical Malpractice Issue at Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas

It was such a tragedy as I may say that more than 40,000 patients may have been exposed to have various communicable diseases like Hepatitis B, C, or HIV in an Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas for several of the nurses anesthesiologists there have inadvertently reused the syringes for administering anesthesia so thousands of patients who go there everyday to undergo certain invasive medical procedure.

It was sad to note that a couple of nurses, 5 so far, have volunteered to give up their licenses due to the said negligence and violation of medical ethics among nurses. Healthline.com provides more information about this issue and how to contact the Southern Nevada Health District's hotline for further advise regarding this issue.

Hepatitis Outbreak due to Unsafe Medical Practices

Considering the multiple ways on how one might get infected with hepatitis b, there also seems to be some connection on nurses/doctor-patient care which might expose patients to these communicable diseases.

There are multiple incidence where doctors, nurses and anesthesiologists were reported to have inadvertently exposed patients to these types of diseases due to unsafe medical practices like the reuse of syringes and other medical devices.

We know that used, and disposable medical devises such as syringes should not in any way, be reused for the purpose of cost-savings practices or any other reasons so to speak. Read what American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) has to say regarding this issue.

Hybrid Biotechnology Technique May be Used to Wipe Out Hepatitis, Bird Flu, Anthrax, etc.

Scientists at the Canada's Defense Department are in the process of developing hybrid technology in order to combat just some of the world's hideous health problems.

The department is currently working with ViRexx Medical Corp. in order to possibly apply the existing technology which is Chimigen that may help resolve existing problems faced by scientists in the field of microbiology.

Hepatitis, Cancer, Bird Flu, Anthrax and AIDS are the world's most deadliest diseases and ViRexx Medical Corp. is confident that the Chimigen platform will be able to deliver therapeutic vaccines that targets each disease by "retraining"the body to fight off the infection.

The Chimigen technology is still in its infancy and the medical community is hopeful that this new technology will be able to deliver its intended results in the coming years.

R7128 Received Fast-track Status from FDA

The US Food and Drug Administration has given Pharmasset Inc.'s (NASDAQ:VRUS) R7128 a fast-track status in order to make the drug become more available to individuals who are chronically infected with Hepatitis C Virus. CNN has the story.

Vaccine for Hepatitis C is not yet available and just like Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C can cause liver damage such as cirrhosis and cancer.

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that, "you may be at risk for hepatitis C and should contact your medical care provider for a blood test if you:

* were notified that you received blood from a donor who later tested positive for hepatitis C.
* have ever injected illegal drugs, even if you experimented a few times many years ago
* received a blood transfusion or solid organ transplant before July, 1992
* were a recipient of clotting factor(s) made before 1987
* have ever been on long-term kidney dialysis
* have evidence of liver disease (e.g., persistently abnormal ALT levels)

Please visit Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for more information about Hepatitis C virus.

Hepatitis C Carrier, Pamela Anderson, Getting Healthier

Indeed Hepatitis C and other subtypes of Hepatitis such as Hepatitis B spares no one; even the celebrities and stars. Pamela Anderson, a Bay Watch star, was diagnosed with Hepatitis C and disclosed in March 2002 that she had the disease and claimed that she contracted the disease from her previous husband Tommy Lee but reported that her body is responding to the hepatitis c treatment she is currently on.

Hepatitis C is a serious liver disease that affects millions of people. To date more than 180 million people are infected with Hepatitis C Virus according to the World Health Organization (WHO) with numbers increasing every year (around 3 to 4 million infected per year) and more than 3 quarters of those currently infected will develop chronic liver disease (chronic hepatitis). Moreover, WHO stated that the disease is " responsible for 50–76% of all liver cancer cases, and two thirds of all liver transplants in the developed world"

Too bad there is no existing vaccine to prevent Hepatitis C infection. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are different ways by which a person can be infected with hepatitis c virus:

• You ever injected street drugs, as the needles and/or other drug "works" used to prepare or inject the drug(s) may have had someone else's blood that contained HCV on them.
• You received blood, blood products, or solid organs from a donor whose blood contained HCV.
• You were ever on long-term kidney dialysis as you may have unknowingly shared supplies/equipment that had someone else's blood on them.
• You were ever a healthcare worker and had frequent contact with blood on the job, especially accidental needlesticks.
• Your mother had hepatitis C at the time she gave birth to you. During the birth her blood may have gotten into your body.
• You ever had sex with a person infected with HCV.
• You lived with someone who was infected with HCV and shared items such as razors or toothbrushes that might have had his/her blood on them.

Hello!!

Wow! Its been a long time I started visiting my blog again. Sorry for not updating. I just had a VERY BUSY life back in June and now I started to get over of everything that kept me busy for almost two quarters of this year. And I finally can say that I am now happy. :) Happy for all the good and bad experiences I had and I am proud that I was able to surpass all of them! I feel that I am a winner! Winner in my own right hehehe. :) With almost all people I know around committing suicide, I must say that I still realize the beauty of life and still positive about the future despite of all the pain I have been experiencing.

Perhaps, the secret to living well is appreciating what you have and considers that everything that is happening to us is just temporary, and its up to us if we will we use them to make us better individuals or will destroy us.

Life is about choices, I must say. Its all about decisions. Of course, there is no perfect decisions for you have to juggle all factors that affects your decision making. If you failed as a result of your decisions, then live with it and move on. Devise another plan and work on it. :) No one has done it perfectly smooth the first time. And if they did, they are lucky but that doesn't mean you are not good enough.

Live by faith and passion. That makes life meaningful. Its about finding meaning to your existence and how you appreciate all the people surrounding you and looking forward to making all your dreams come true. Kaya dapag lagi tayong happy! No one's gonna make you happy.

Sabi nga nang kaibigan kong si Roda, "Wag nating idepende sa iba ang kasiyahan natin. Kung di tayo mapasaya ng ibang tao, at least ibigay natin sa ating sarili ang kasiyahang hinahanap natin." Makes sense di ba? Tama nga ang tatay ko (kahit lagi kaming nag aaway hehe). Sabi kasi nya, "everybody has their own share". We may notice it pero people surrounding us inspires us everyday and in turn makes us better individuals. =)

Masaya nako and I can now say that I am ready to take on another challenging roles in life again. :) Go Jules!

Nanotechnology/Nanoscience: Way towards Creating a Cure for Hepatitis B and other Viral Infections

Nanotechnology has been tagged as one of the emerging science owed to the fact that its processes and instrumentation originates to existing sciences and its creation was made out of the need of the scientific community to come up with instrumentation and knowledge base that would address most of the processes that is beyond the scope of one science; or needs the help of another related science to aid its completion.

Nanoscience and nanotechnology are just some of the hot sciences today and these could be one of the key to some of intriguing challenges in the field of medicine and material science and engineering.

The manipulation of minute agents and how these particles will interact with structures smaller than that of viruses is a dream that was made possible by the nanoscience. Scientists are beginning to speculate that the next 20 years be the birth of powerful sciences that will provide solutions to most of the medical health problems plaguing humans today.

Current the scientific community is exploring nanotechnology in the development of viricides (nanoviricides) that destroys viruses and prevent their injurious activity to a specific cell type.

The future looks exciting to this science and I just hope that it will accelerate the development of therapeautical agents that will finally provide a cure to Hepatitis and other viral diseases.

Please visit the following website for more information.

Nanotechnow.Com
Businesswire.com

3 Reported Death in Vietnam allegedly due to Hepa B Vaccine

The recent death of three children in Vietnam is probably one of the reason why some parents are hesitant to some immunization programs conducted by governments around the globe.

Breaking the patent on some drugs and vaccines sometimes present dangers to communities and countries as a whole because the manufacture method is sometimes being compromised to the point that a little tweak in the manufacture process may cause impurities and ultimately cause health dangers to recepients. The use and manufacture of South Korean LG Hepa B Vaccine (Euvax B) has been stopped worldwide which is currently the vaccine brand is in use in 24 countries to date.

The recent articles below provides information about the disease. discusses.

www.vaccinerx.com
vietnamnews

HIV/AIDS VACCINE

Wondering how the world should be like without AIDS? It can never be more enjoyable for millions of people who currently are suffering from HIV/AIDS all over the world. According to the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, there are currently over 39 million people living with HIV worldwide and more than 2.8 million lives has been lost due to this debilitating disease. The need for a vaccine is currently one of the top priority in both developing and developed countries around the planet.

Click here to continue...

Abbott, Thailand and more...

A call from HIV/AIDS activists in more than 20 countries to boycott Abbot Laboratories drug products with regard to the treatment it is giving Thailand due to its recent provision on compulsory license on some HIV/AIDS drugs like Kaletra.

Thailand issued compulsory licenses on some drugs from heart disease to HIV/AIDS-related diseases and infection in order to help local patients who are in such condition. Thailand carries one of the biggest health burden in HIV/AIDS-related cases in the world.

Abbot who is an exclusive manufacturer of these popular anti-retroviraldrugs and was alleged to have been engaging in some sort of abusive pricing which is forcing a lot of countries to issue compulsory licenses and break patent on drugs that are currently registered with these big pharmaceutical companies.

While I think that this is harmful to Abbot side and beneficial to the government and people who uses it, it is sometimes best for these pharmaceutical companies to rethink and reconsider the prices theydictate to the market and to the general public. Monopoly seems to be the biggest problem and capitalism is becoming fatal.

Sometimes, before I go to sleep, money really makes the world go round....

More information at the following sites:

Reuters
TheStar.com

Visit the following blogsites for more health-related articles:

http://juliusbio.blogspot.com/
http://hivaidsresourcecenter.blogspot.com/
http://juliusbio.wordpress.com/
http://360.yahoo.com/julesyuri06

Accelerated Hepa B vaccine

www.intravene.net
Twinrix Vaccine

I just recently got some information from the Hepatitis B Information through email about an accelerated Hepatitis B Vaccine specially designed for unvaccinated individuals who are travelling abroad where the disease Hepatitis B is endemic (prevalent).

Please read on the information below. More information is available at Hepatitis B Foundation website.



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FAQ: New Accelerated Twinrix Dosing Schedule Approved

Q: I am traveling internationally in one month. Is there still enough time for me to be vaccinated against hepatitis A and B?

A: Yes! The FDA recently approved an accelerated dosing schedule for adults with Twinrix, the only hepatitis A and hepatitis B combination vaccine available in the U.S. With the accelerated schedule, you will get all three doses of the vaccine within one month, instead of the usual six months. The approved accelerated schedule is at 0, 7, and 21-30 days, with a booster at 12 months. This schedule is beneficial to international travelers, health care workers, emergency responders, individuals diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease, and other at-risk adults.

Visit the following blogsites for more health-related articles:

http://hivaidsresourcecenter.blogspot.com/
http://healthlines.blogspot.com/
http://juliusbio.wordpress.com/
http://360.yahoo.com/julesyuri06

Drug Treatments and Counselling for HIV/AIDS Patients

HIV Virus Replicating in T Cell

Please visit the following blogsites to read the content of the original post.

hivaidsresourcecenter
healthlines.blogspot.com