PharmCare

Some tips on how to disinfect your hands in the proper way.

Taiwan CDC announces this year’s first imported H7N9 case on the 6 Feb 2017.
It was confirmed that a 69-year-old Taiwanese male who had visited Yangjiang City, Guangdong Province, China and had no history of exposure to poultry and suspected cases. As the case developed symptoms in Guangdong Province, he is considered this year’s first imported H7N9 case in Taiwan.
H7N9 activity in China continues to intensify. Since October 1, 2016, a cumulative total of 261 H7N9 influenza infections have been confirmed in China, including 92 cases in Jiangsu Province, 45 cases in Zhejiang Province, 33 cases in Anhui Province, and 27 cases in Guangdong Province. Currently, Taiwan CDC has issued a travel notice of Level 2: Alert for human infections with novel influenza A viruses to Jiangsu Province, Zhejiang Province, Anhui Province, Guangdong Province, Fujian Province, Guizhou Province, Shanghai City, Hubei Province, Hunan Province, Henan Province, Jiangxi Province, Shandong Province, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Sichuan Province, Hebei Province, Beijing City, Tianjin City, Liaoning Province, and Yunnan Province, and a travel notice of Level 1: Watch for avian influenza to the other provinces and cities in China, excluding Hong Kong and Macau.
As H7N9 activity remains at its peak in China, Taiwan CDC once again urges travelers visiting affected areas to practice good personal hygiene such as washing hands with soap and water frequently and putting on a mask when coughing and take preventive measures such as avoiding direct contact with poultry and birds or their droppings/dead bodies, and consuming only thoroughly cooked poultry and eggs to ward off avian influenza infection.

Happy Chinese New Year

H7N9 News
A 62-year-old man traveling from mainland China died in Hong Kong from bird flu on Friday 6 Jan 17. The man, who visited the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou in mid-December and was hospitalized in the neighboring city of Dongguan earlier this week, died from H7N9. In mainland China, H7N9 has killed at least four people this season, with the latest death reported in the eastern province of Shandong on Thursday. At least 19 infections have been confirmed. For those travelling to mainland China especially GuangDong area to stay vigilant and stay away from live poultry as much as possible to prevent infection. Use Hand Sanitizer or Alcohol Wipes like PharmCare Hand Sanitiser or Alcohol Wipes as much as possible if come in contact with birds or poultry. Wash your hands before consuming anything, using PharmCare Antimicrobial Hand Wash which is proven to kill H7N9 virus.

Latest News

Avian Flu (Japan)
Cases of H5 virus at poultry farms have been found in Aomori and Niigata prefectures since November. The local government has taken a series of quarantine measures to prevent the spread of the strain, the first in Hokkaido. Seven other poultry farms housing a total of 192,000 chickens are located within a 10-kilometer radius of the farm where the avian flu outbreak was confirmed.

Avian Flu (South Korea)
On Sunday 18 Dec, a chicken farm in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, was confirmed for Avian bird flu virus after it reported the deaths of chickens and unusual movements of ducks. Quarantine authorities ordered the immediate ban on the movement of stockbreeders at poultry farms in the vicinity. The current outbreak is already worse than that in 2014, when 13.96 million fowls were put down over six months. The ministry expects the financial toll to reach 423.3 billion ($358.7 million) as the outbreak was uncontained in most of the disease-hit areas such as the Chungcheong provinces.

Travellers are advised to take all precaution to prevent infection by avoiding going to infected areas and clean your hands with Antimicrobial Hand Wash when in contact with poultry or birds. Remember Antibacterial product does not help as it kills only bacteria and not virus like Avian Flu, which products from PharmCare Bio-Shield Antimicrobial are proven to kill H5N1.

Zika (Malaysia)
The Zika virus is caused by a virus transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes, but can also be transmitted through s*x. A 67-year-old man from Petaling Jaya, Selangor is the eighth confirmed Zika infection in the country. The victim has moved from Kuala Lumpur, Shah Alam and Perak between Nov 14 to 28. Therefore, travellers are advise to take precaution if you need to travel to the affected areas by wearing long sleeve shirts and pants to prevent bitten by Aedes Mosquito, or spray Mosquito Repellent like PharmCare Anti-Mosquito Repellent and Sanitizer which do not contain DEET. It is proven to repel Aedes mosquito up to 8 hours.

China reports first 2 fatalities from H7N9 bird flu this winter in the Chinese province of Anhui. Anhui has reported five cases of H7N9 avian flu since Dec. 8, the Anhui cases bring the total number of people infected with the H7N9 virus in mainland China this month to at least seven. Health authorities in Shanghai said on Wednesday a man diagnosed with the H7N9 strain was being treated there, after traveling from the neighboring province of Jiangsu and the local government in Jiangsu was looking into the origin of the infection. Hong Kong this week reported its first human bird flu infection for this season. The cases come as South Korea and Japan have ordered the killing of tens of millions of birds in the past month, fueling fears of a regional spread. Bird flu is most likely to strike in winter and spring.

Zika News
There are 145 Zika cases reported in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City alone, the municipal preventive medicine centre said on Thursday.

The cases were spotted in 23 out of the capital's 24 districts, and included at least 19 pregnant women. To date, Vietnam has detected 155 Zika cases.

Here we would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone for their support and trust. We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a wonderful Happy New Year.
Trust PharmCare to protect your family and you from bacteria, fungi and virus so that you can have a joyous holidays.

Dengue News
As of Monday (Oct 31), a total of 12,454 cases of the mosquito-borne virus have been reported since the start of 2016 - more than the 11,286 cases in the whole of last year. There have been 8 dengue deaths this year - twice the number compared to 2015. The latest victim was an 11-year-old boy who died on Aug 30. But the good news is the number of new dengue cases and affected sectors are decreasing.Therefore, public should remain vigilant and take all precaution to protect oneself, special care must be taken for the young ones which have the highest casualties.
According to the World Health Organization, the global incidence of dengue has grown dramatically in recent decades, with about half of the world's population now at risk.
The paper, "Implication of vaccination against dengue for Zika outbreak," was published in Scientific Reports. The team's model (from York University's Laboratory) shows that vaccinations for dengue increase the number of people contracting Zika. It also shows that the more people in a particular population that are vaccinated against dengue, the earlier and larger the Zika outbreak. The research also found that the most effective way to minimize the unintended effect of dengue vaccinations on Zika outbreaks is through an integrated strategy that includes mosquito control.