“The management and staff of the South East Regional
Health Authority mourn the loss of Dr. Denise Duncan Goffe. We would like to
express our heartfelt condolences to her family and our prayers are with them
during this difficult time of bereavement”
Press release
from SERHA with regards to the death of Dr. Denise Duncan Goffe from H1N1
H1N1 (Influenza A) is now on a killing spree that
resembles a serial killer.
This time, on Saturday March 19th 2016,
it has claimed the life of Dr. Denise Duncan Goffe, a Clinical Quality
Assurance Officer as reported in the article “Another
doctor dies from swine flu”, published March 19, 2016, Loop News.
At over 60, she now becomes the second doctor to die
from H1N1 (Influenza A) at UHWI (University Hospital of the West Indies), the
first being 50-y-o Dr. Suzanna Roye as reported on Saturday February 20th
2016 in my blog
article entitled “Why
Dr. Suzanna Roye died from Influenza A (H1N1) as Ministry of Health stocks up
on Tamiflu”.
This is less than four weeks ago, making the H1N1
(Influenza A) virus killing rate equivalent to the rate of road fatalities
cause by motorcycles as noted in my blog article
entitled “NRSC
record increase in Motorcycle Deaths - Why Road Traffic Act need to license
Motorized Bicycles and Electric Bikes”.
So here's an update to the tally originally posted
in my blog
article entitled “How
4 Jamaicans dead and 35 infected as H1N1 (Influenza A) goes on a Rampage” as
the H1N1 (Influenza A) virus spreads as:
1. 187
tests done
2. 69
swine flu cases
3. 6
patients dead
4. 2
doctors
Who exactly was Dr. Denise Duncan Goffe?
Dr.
Denise Duncan Goffe is the sixth H1N1 Death – How Touching Virus is ignored by
the Media
Dr. Denise Duncan Goffe was employed to the South
East Regional Health Authority (SERHA) for over a year after retiring from her
post as Director of Health Service Planning and Integration in the Ministry of
Health in 2014. Dr Goffe, like Dr. Suzanna Roye, was in the high risk group as
she suffered from other ailments.
This put her in a vulnerable group of Jamaicans with
weak immune system:
1. Elderly
2. Infants
3. Persons
with chronic medical conditions, such as heart, lung, kidney disease, and
diabetes and Asthma
4. Pregnant
women
5. Young
children
Again, her death is being overshadowed by the media
coverage as evidenced by this rather poorly written article in the Jamaica
Gleaner entitled “JUST
IN: Second Medical Doctor Dies From Swine Flu-Related Complications ... Overall
Death Toll Now At Six”, published Saturday March 19, 2016, The Jamaica Gleaner.
In fact, both the Jamaica Gleaner and the Jamaica
Observer are distracted by their coverage of ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’
Athletic Championships, which started on Tuesday March 15th and is
slated to end Saturday March 19th 2016 as noted in my blog article
entitled “How
Ministry of Health ramping up as Chikungunya, Zika, Dengue and H1N1 attack
Jamaican at Champs”.
So the elderly need to be on their guard, as H1N1
(Influenza A) is spreading, killing people with weakened immune systems.
The
411 on Swine Flu – How to protect yourself from H1N1 (Influenza A)
Luckily, the Influenza A (H1N1) virus isn't
airborne.
Rather, it's spread via coming in contact with
aerosolized body fluids i.e. saliva or sputum ejected from the mouth or nose of
the infected patient. This should be called the Touching Virus, as once you
touch a commonly used surface e.g. tables, chairs or doorknobs coated with
Influenza A (H1N1) viral particles, tag, you're it!
Fortunately, Jamaica now has testing facilities for
H1N1, Zika Virus, Chikungunya and Dengue as reported in the article “Jamaica Fully
Equipped to Test For Zika”, published March 13, 2016 By Alecia Smith
Edwards, The Jamaica Information Service.
This is thanks to the recently upgraded National
Virology Reference Laboratory, which was done at a cost of $10 million. Also
vaccination against H1N1 (Influenza A) is coming for doctors and nurses as
reported in the article “Get
Vaccinated - Senior Medical Doctor Urges Action Against H1N1”, Published
Saturday March 12, 2016, The Jamaica Gleaner.
700 health
care workers are already vaccinated out of the 5000 vaccine ampoules ordered by
the Ministry of Health. Those 5000 H1N1 Vaccines that Minister of Health Dr.
Christopher Tufton mentioned breaks down as follows:
1. 1000
from Trinidad and Tobago
2. 3000
from PAHO (Pan American Health Organization)
3. 1000
from Belize
More may be needed as the illness spreads as noted
in “Ministry
Stepping Up Procurement Of Flu Vaccines For Frontline Health Workers”,
Published Friday March 11, 2016, The
Jamaica Gleaner.
Hopefully, the panic will not spread with the virus,
as that’s actually deadlier than the four of them combined! Doctors, Health
care workers and regular Jamaicans can reduce the spread of Influenza A (H1N1)
virus by doing the following:
1. Avoid
contact with persons with flu-like symptoms
2. Avoid
intimate contact including hand shaking and kissing
3. Cover
your mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing
4. Health
care workers wearing specialized masks and other PPE
5. Wash
your hands frequently and properly
98% of persons infected with Influenza A (H1N1)
rarely show symptoms as noted in the article “Leicester Royal Infirmary closes wards over swine flu”, published 18 February 2016, BBC. The remaining 2%
tend to have the following symptoms:
1. Dry
cough
2. Headache
3. High
fever
4. Muscle
and joint pains
5. Runny
nose
6. Sore
throat
7. Tiredness
8. Unwell
feeling
Doctors usually prescribe the following drugs for
the above symptoms:
1. Panadol/Tylenol
2. DPH
3. Claritine
[loratidine]
4. Cetirizine
5. Fexofenadine
Good to note that these drugs do not kill the virus
but merely treat the symptoms as follows:
1. Panadol/Tylenol
is an Acetaminophen and is taken to relieve the Muscle and joint pains
2. DPH,
claritine [loratidine], cetirizine, or fexofenadine with pseudoephedrine is
used to reduce sneezing and the production of mucus and sputum
Still, I recommend buying Pineapples and making your
own cough syrup by blending the whole pineapple as noted in my blog article entitled “Why JP Tropical Foods Pineapples will be a hit in Jamaica this Christmas”.
Taking multivitamins such as Vitamin C and Vitamin B
Complex will help to boost your immune system. Something tells me more people
are slated to die as this disease spreads across Jamaica, one handshake at a
time.
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