Scientists have published the most detailed analysis to date of the human genome.
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Dengue Fever No Longer a Threat, Says Health Official
JEDDAH Efforts to combat dengue fever have led to an 80 percent drop in cases in 2012 compared to last year, Dr. Sami Badawood, Director of Health Affairs in Jeddah, told Saudi Gazette.
He said the disease, which can infect people through bites from a certain species of mosquitoes, is no longer much of a threat.
He praised cooperation between health authorities and the mayoralty for this achievement. Read MoreSANAA: A Saudi medical team of 77 cardiologists and medical assistants arrived in Yemen to perform more than 100 heart surgeries on children free of charge.
"The team's task and size show the depth of brotherly relations between the two countries and Saudi Arabia's determination to develop relations with Yemen and help its people in different fields," said Saudi Ambassador to Yemen Ali bin Muhammad Al-Hamdan.
The team will also provide Sanaa's Al-Thawra General Hospital with the medical equipment it needs to perform heart surgeries in the hospital. Read More
Is this the New Botox Booster? New Pill 'Keeps Wrinkles at Bay for 30 Per Cent Longer'
A new pill is promising to make the wrinkle-smoothing effects of Botox injections last for 30 per cent longer.
The Zytaze tablets are also said to help the cosmetic injections which cost up to £400 take effect faster.
More than one million people in the UK use the cosmetic jabs to combat wrinkles, but the downside is that the benefits last for just three months.
The new pill appears to be little more than a vitamin supplement which contains a high dose of zinc combined with an enzyme called phytase which helps the body absorb zinc. Read More
HAIL Prince Saud Bin Abdul Mohsen, Emir of Hail, said he would raise the issue of the health situation in the region and the shortcomings in the healthcare systems that led to the repetition of mistakes and the failure to tackle them with King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.
In a telephone interview, he told Okaz/Saudi Gazette: "The healthcare system in the Kingdom needs comprehensive review and radical changes aiming to define and determine responsibilities precisely. I don't relieve the Ministry of Health from the problem because it is a big one. Matters are all linked to each other. They vary between the authorities and their sense of responsibility."
The problem came to spotlight after Abdul Aziz Al-Nekhailan, Director of Hail Hospital, announced his resignation after a medical malpractice complaint was lodged by the husband of a 26-year-old woman who was given the wrong type of blood resulting in a miscarriage. Read More
RIYADH: A high-profile international conference on healthy lifestyle and noncommunicable diseases in the Arab world and the Middle East will be launched here today under the aegis of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. This is the first conference of its kind being hosted by Saudi Arabia to raise political awareness about noncommunicable diseases and their serious impact on health and socioeconomic development in the region.
"The conference will seek to devise strategies that are needed to control noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in the region," said a press statement released by the Ministry of Health yesterday. The inaugural session of the conference will begin with a roundtable discussion moderated by Minister of Health Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah at the local Faisaliyah Hotel. Abdullateef Al-Zayani, the GCC secretary-general, will also deliver a speech during the opening session.
The formal sessions of the conference will start Monday with a keynote speech by Al-Rabeeah. "One of the major objectives behind holding this four-day international event is to strengthen political commitment for combating noncommunicable diseases in the region by scaling up action across the various government sectors, according to the UN General Assembly Political Declaration of September 2011," said Khaled M. Al-Mirghalani, spokesman of the Ministry of Health. Read More
Saudi Arabia has backed global efforts to combat noncommunicable diseases and pledged to lend all support to regional and international initiatives.
"The Kingdom, under the leadership of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, is on the forefront of any action or plan to prevent and control the NCDs," said Dr. Mansour Al-Hawasi, deputy health minister, while speaking yesterday during the opening of the international conference on healthy lifestyle and NCDs in the Arab world and the Middle East.
Al-Hawasi said the conference will focus on the role of the governments and their responsibilities to curb the alarmingly growing rates of NCDs on public health and socioeconomic development on regional level. Ministers of health, scientists, high-ranking officials from the member states of Arab League and World Health Organization experts are participating in the conference.
"The conference would seek to strengthen regional and international cooperation on preventive measures against such diseases in the region," Al-Hawasi said. The ministry attaches high priority to noncommunicable diseases and, hence, launched a series of programs aimed at preventing such diseases at early stages to minimize their effects, he added.
He said that there was need to "do more to combat the diseases." However, a WHO report released yesterday recognized the efforts of the GCC countries and the progress made by them in this field, especially in adopting a regional strategy to address noncommunicable diseases. Read More
