Tuberculosis danger: ministry launches awareness campaign about deadly disease



Health chiefs are ramping up efforts to highlight the danger of tuberculosis.

TB is the world's biggest infectious killer and is the ninth-leading cause of death across the globe, according to the World Health Organisation.

While rates of the disease are low in the UAE — roughly one in 100,000 people — authorities are trying to rid the country of TB entirely.

The Ministry of Health and Prevention is now raising awareness about how TB is transmitted, prevented and how to effectively treat it.

It is hoped that the three-month campaign will boost awareness about the UAE's national programme to combat the disease.

TB killed 1.3 million people in 2016, according to WHO. And an estimated 10.4 million people fell ill with the disease that year, with 56 per cent living in just five countries: India, Indonesia, China, the Philippines and Pakistan.

The campaign will run until November and starts before a meeting at the United Nations on September 26 where the global target of completely eliminating TB by 2050 will be discussed.

Events will take place at the Ajman Free Zone on October 2 and 3, Umm Al Quwain's Al Manama Hypermarket on October 17 and 18 and RAK Ceramics on November 11 and 12. Workers from the countries most affected will be targeted.

"Through the events launched by the Ministry of Health and Prevention, the community [will be] educated about the symptoms of TB and the importance of early detection," said Dr Nada Al Marzouki, director of the preventive medicine department at the ministry.

Meanwhile, expatriates need to be free of communicable diseases, such as HIV and TB, to obtain their first residence permit in the UAE.

Residents were once deported if they contracted TB but, after a change in the rules in 2016, they now must undergo screening for TB when renewing their visas.

Those found with scars, active TB or drug-resistant TB will be issued a residence visa only for a year and must undergo treatment here.

TB is a bacterial infection spread by coughs or sneezes of an infected person and mainly affects the lungs.

Symptoms include a persistent cough, unexplained weight loss, fever and night sweats.

TB can be fatal but with the right antibiotics it can be cured.

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Read more: 

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Types of policy

Term life insurance: this is the cheapest and most-popular form of life cover. You pay a regular monthly premium for a pre-agreed period, typically anything between five and 25 years, or possibly longer. If you die within that time, the policy will pay a cash lump sum, which is typically tax-free even outside the UAE. If you die after the policy ends, you do not get anything in return. There is no cash-in value at any time. Once you stop paying premiums, cover stops.

Whole-of-life insurance: as its name suggests, this type of life cover is designed to run for the rest of your life. You pay regular monthly premiums and in return, get a guaranteed cash lump sum whenever you die. As a result, premiums are typically much higher than one term life insurance, although they do not usually increase with age. In some cases, you have to keep up premiums for as long as you live, although there may be a cut-off period, say, at age 80 but it can go as high as 95. There are penalties if you don’t last the course and you may get a lot less than you paid in.

Critical illness cover: this pays a cash lump sum if you suffer from a serious illness such as cancer, heart disease or stroke. Some policies cover as many as 50 different illnesses, although cancer triggers by far the most claims. The payout is designed to cover major financial responsibilities such as a mortgage or children’s education fees if you fall ill and are unable to work. It is cost effective to combine it with life insurance, with the policy paying out once if you either die or suffer a serious illness.

Income protection: this pays a replacement income if you fall ill and are unable to continue working. On the best policies, this will continue either until you recover, or reach retirement age. Unlike critical illness cover, policies will typically pay out for stress and musculoskeletal problems such as back trouble.

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German intelligence warnings
  • 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
  • 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
  • 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250 

Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

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Cryopreservation: A timeline
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Gertrude Bell's life in focus

A feature film

At one point, two feature films were in the works, but only German director Werner Herzog’s project starring Nicole Kidman would be made. While there were high hopes he would do a worthy job of directing the biopic, when Queen of the Desert arrived in 2015 it was a disappointment. Critics panned the film, in which Herzog largely glossed over Bell’s political work in favour of her ill-fated romances.

A documentary

A project that did do justice to Bell arrived the next year: Sabine Krayenbuhl and Zeva Oelbaum’s Letters from Baghdad: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Gertrude Bell. Drawing on more than 1,000 pieces of archival footage, 1,700 documents and 1,600 letters, the filmmakers painstakingly pieced together a compelling narrative that managed to convey both the depth of Bell’s experience and her tortured love life.

Books, letters and archives

Two biographies have been written about Bell, and both are worth reading: Georgina Howell’s 2006 book Queen of the Desert and Janet Wallach’s 1996 effort Desert Queen. Bell published several books documenting her travels and there are also several volumes of her letters, although they are hard to find in print. Original documents are housed at the Gertrude Bell Archive at the University of Newcastle, which has an online catalogue.
 

Voices: How A Great Singer Can Change Your Life
Nick Coleman
Jonathan Cape

Pox that threatens the Middle East's native species

Camelpox

Caused by a virus related to the one that causes human smallpox, camelpox typically causes fever, swelling of lymph nodes and skin lesions in camels aged over three, but the animal usually recovers after a month or so. Younger animals may develop a more acute form that causes internal lesions and diarrhoea, and is often fatal, especially when secondary infections result. It is found across the Middle East as well as in parts of Asia, Africa, Russia and India.

Falconpox

Falconpox can cause a variety of types of lesions, which can affect, for example, the eyelids, feet and the areas above and below the beak. It is a problem among captive falcons and is one of many types of avian pox or avipox diseases that together affect dozens of bird species across the world. Among the other forms are pigeonpox, turkeypox, starlingpox and canarypox. Avipox viruses are spread by mosquitoes and direct bird-to-bird contact.

Houbarapox

Houbarapox is, like falconpox, one of the many forms of avipox diseases. It exists in various forms, with a type that causes skin lesions being least likely to result in death. Other forms cause more severe lesions, including internal lesions, and are more likely to kill the bird, often because secondary infections develop. This summer the CVRL reported an outbreak of pox in houbaras after rains in spring led to an increase in mosquito numbers.