Hari Cuci Tangan Sedunia, Cuci Tangan Yuk!

Jakarta - Mungkin hanya segilintir orang yang tahu bahwa 15 Oktober yang jatuh hari ini, diperingati sebagai Hari Cuci Tangan Sedunia (HCTS). Ketidaktahuan dimaklumi, sebab pada 2009 ini HCTS baru diperingati untuk kedua kalinya.

HCTS, tentunya pakai sabun, adalah kampenye global yang dicanangkan oleh PBB dengan peserta lebih dari 70 negara di dunia sebagai upaya untuk menurunkan tingkat kematian balita dan pencegahan terhadap penyakit yang dapat berdampak pada penurunan kualitas hidup manusia.

Serangkaian kegiatan pun digelar untuk memperingati HCTS. Antara lain seperti yang akan dilakukan Departemen Kesehatan (Depkes). Dalam rilis yang diterima detikcom, Kamis (15/10/2009) Dirjen PPPL Depkes secara resmi akan melepas sekitar 500 anak SD untuk kegiatan aksi 'Langit Cerah' dalam rangka sosialisasi cuci tangan pakai sabun.

Dalam peringatan HCTS kali ini, Depkes mengambil tema 'Cuci Tangan Pakai Sabun, Cegah Penyebaran Flu Baru H1N1'. Kampanye Depkes ini akan mangambil tempat di Gedung Pusat Dakwah PP Muhammadiyah, Jl Menteng Raya, Jakpus, pukul 07.30 WIB.

Sebuah perusahaan penghasil produk sabun cuci tangan pun tak mau melewatkan kesempatan ini. Perusahaan itu akan mengadakan aksi cuci tangan serentak di 9 Kota besar di Indonesia pada pukul 10.00 WIB. 9 Kota itu adalah Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Medan, Makassar, Banjarmasin, Ambon, dan Jayapura.

Hasil Riset Kesehatan Dasar (Riskesdas) 2007, seperti yang disampaikan USAID, menyatakan kematian balita dan anak-anak Indonesia terbesar adalah akibat diare dan Infeksi Saluran Pernafasan Akut (ISPA).

Nah, menurut penelitian, perilaku kecil seperti mencuci tangan dengan sabun dapat berdampak besar mengurangi angka kematian yang terkait dengan penyakit diare hingga hampir 50 persen. Makanya sedari sekarang, biasakan cuci tangan. Cuci tangan yuk!(lrn/ddt)

Sumber : http://m.detik.com

Reducing childhood deaths from diarrhoea

14 OCTOBER 2009 NEW YORK GENEVA --

Global campaigns to fight diarrhoea - the second deadliest illness for children – must be re-energized to prevent the deaths of millions in the developing world, UNICEF and WHO said today as they released a new report on the disease.

“It is a tragedy that diarrhoea, which is little more than an inconvenience in the developed world, kills an estimated 1. 5 million children each year,” said UNICEF Executive Director, Ann M. Veneman. "Inexpensive and effective treatments for diarrhoea exist, but in developing countries only 39 per cent of children with diarrhoea receive the recommended treatment.”

The report, Diarrhoea: why children are still dying and what can be done, lays out a seven-point plan that includes a treatment package to reduce childhood diarrhoea deaths and a prevention strategy to ensure long-term results. The seven specific points are:

1. Fluid replacement to prevent dehydration;
2. Zinc treatment;
3. Rotavirus and measles vaccinations;
4. Promotion of early and exclusive breastfeeding and vitamin A supplementation;
5. Promotion of hand washing with soap;
6. Improved water supply quantity and quality, including treatment and safe storage of

household water; and
7. Community-wide sanitation promotion.

Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO, said: "We know where children are dying of diarrhoea. We know what must be done to prevent those deaths. We must work with governments and partners to put this seven-point plan into action."

Source : www.who.int

Study: cell phone users at higher risk of brain tumor

BEIJING, Oct. 14 (Xinhuanet) --

Cell phone users might take more risks to come down with brain tumors, according to media reports Wednesday quoting latest research from U.S.

In earlier research, scientists did find a weak link between cell phone and brain tumors, whereas there was no clear indication of what risk the cell phone users were taking.

"We cannot make any definitive conclusions about this," said Dr. Deepa Subramaniam, director of the Brain Tumor Center at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center in Washington, D.C.

"But this study, in addition to all the previous studies, continues to leave lingering doubt as to the potential for increased risk. So, one more time, after all these years, we don't have a clear-cut answer."

However, Joel Moskowitz, the study's senior author, said that "clearly there is risk." He's director of the Center for Family and Community Health at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health.

"I would not allow children to use a cell phone, or I at least would require them to use a separate headset," Moskowitz said.

"It seems fairly derelict of us as a society or as a planet to just disseminate this technology to the extent that we have without doing a whole lot more research of the potential harms and how to protect against those harms. Clearly, we need to learn a whole lot more about this technology."

Researchers found that using a mobile phone for a decade or longer resulted in an 18 percent increased risk of brain tumor likely to appear on the side where the phone was used, Moskowitz said.

Moskowitz however believed that there's also potential harm to other areas of the body -- the genitals, for example -- when the phone is carried in a pocket.

With so many people worldwide using cell phones, even a small risk could translate into many illnesses and deaths, he stressed.

"We need to do a whole lot more research because the stakes are really high and there seems to be suggestive evidence that you better be careful about this, especially in children, who have developing tissue and smaller brain and skull sizes," Moskowitz warned.

Last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration appealed for more research into the risks posed by long-term cell phone use, rather than the more commonly studied short-term risks. It urged that such research focuses on the health of children, pregnant women and fetuses as well

as workers subject to high occupational exposure.

Source : www.chinaview.cn

Menkes: Indonesia berkomitmen turunkan angka kematian

MEDAN - 11/10/2009

Menteri Kesehatan RI, Siti Fadilah Supari, mengatakan, Indonesia berkomitmen menurunkan angka kematian akibat penyakit yang dapat dicegah dengan imunisasi antara penyakit campak hingga 90 persen pada tahun 2010 dibandingkan dengan tahun 2000.

“Karenanya, dilaksanakan beberapa upaya meliputi imunisasi rutin campak pada bayi usia 9 bulan dan imunisasi campak dosis kedua pada anak SD serta melakukan imunisasi tambahan untuk menghilangkan akumulasi kelompok rentan,” katanya melalui Dirjen Penyakit dan Penyehatan Lingkungan, Chandra Yoga Aditama.

Disebutkan, cakupan imunisasi rutin secara nasional telah mencapai terget namun belum merata di seluruh wilayah Indonesia termasuk Sumut. Penyakit campak masih menjadi salah satu penyebab utama kematian bayi dan balita di Indonesia, untuk itu perlu upaya meningkatkan tingkat kekebalan terhadap penyakit campak melalui pemberian imunisasi campak tambahan pada balita.

Gubsu, Syamsul Arifin, atas nama Pemprovsu menyambut gembira atas bantuan yang diberikan oleh WHO dan UNICEF dalam rangka kampanye campak dan polio tambahan. Campak, kata Gubsu, merupakan penyakit yang disebabkan oleh virus dan mudah menular pada anak-anak yang rentan serta berpotensi menyebabkan kejadian luar biasa (wabah) sehingga dapat mengancam kesehatan bagi bayi dan balita.

“Penyakit campak dapat menular dengan cepat dari satu anak ke anak yang lain dan dapat mengakibatkan panas, batuk, sesak nafas, sariawan, diare dan bahkan dapat mengakibatkan kebutaan dan kematian,”ujarnya.

Kampanye imunisasi campak dan polio tambahan akan dilaksanakan di 33 kabupaten/kota di Sumut masing-masing di 417 kecamatan, 5.815 desa dan 16.585 Posyandu.

Sumber : waspada OL

A/H1N1 flu cases increase dramatically in Spain

MADRID, Oct. (Xinhua) --

The number of A/H1N1 flu cases in Spain rose sharply between Sept. 27 and Oct. 3 to an estimated 40,564 cases, the Spanish Ministry of Health announced.

This weekly figure was a dramatic increase of 9,242 from the previous week's 31,322 cases. Meanwhile, the infection rate had climbed sharply from the previous 77.88 cases per 100,000 inhabitants to 94.72 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, the ministry added.

There had been 43 deaths to date as a result of the A/H1N1 flu virus; the last victim was a 46 year-old woman in Malaga.

However, nearly all of those who died also had other health problems. The mortality rate stands at 0.17 per 1,000 cases.

Source : www.chinaview.cn