The C.D.C. initially reported that the patient is, “an adult female resident who traveled to Belize from March fourteenth to nineteenth. She had onset of fever and rash on the twenty-third. ZIKA virus RT-PCR was positive on serum at the health department of the state. The patient reported no other recent travel history and there […]
A timely workshop on risk communication and community engagement around vector control and prevention of ZIKA, dengue and CHIKUNGUNYA concluded today at the Biltmore Plaza in Belize City. UNICEF is training stakeholders, particularly the municipal authorities involved in child friendly municipalities, on vector control interventions to prevent the communicable diseases. UNICEF says the key components […]
In 2015, health expenditure for diabetes in the Americas was estimated at three hundred and eighty-two billion dollars and that staggering figure will increase to around four hundred and forty-five billion by 2040. Today, in celebration of World Health Day, the World Health Organization is focusing on diabetes under the theme: Step Up; Beat Diabetes. […]
Earlier in our newscast, we showed you the World Health Day Forum held under the theme “Beat Diabetes”. When we talk about diabetes, we often focus on knowing your status and also properly managing and controlling the condition for those who are affected. Health professionals across the world are urgently educating people to take action […]
Six months ago, we brought you the story of inspirational warrior Ashley, fighting a mighty battle with a virulent cancer. She and her mother Kayla had just gotten some good news – a bone marrow donor had been matched and she would receive the transplant she needed so desperately to save her life. Tonight, though, […]
Built with Petrocaribe funds, a chapel was today inaugurated on the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital compound. It will be used by religious denominations across the board and according to hospital authorities, while it will serve as a place to offer comfort and consolation; it also helps those at the hospital who administer healthcare. News Five’s […]
A young mother from the Belize District heard the most devastating news earlier this week. After suffering a miscarriage and preparing for the burial of her unborn child, she was told by the Northern Regional Hospital that they could not locate the fetus she had left at the hospital. As she recovers and grieves, Shamika […]
A mobile application to test your knowledge of HIV/AIDS was launched by the National AIDS Commission earlier today. The product of two years of careful research, development and meticulous fine tuning, Infection made its official debut this morning on Google Play. Its launch was also celebrated during a brief ceremony at the secretariat. David Alfaro, […]
According to Chairperson Laura Longsworth, the rationale behind the development of the software was to come up with an interactive approach to sharing critical information about the virus with a younger, more tech savvy audience. Laura Longsworth, Chairperson, National AIDS Commission “The decision to develop the app is linked to a strategy, the National […]
Chit Chat – a program executed by Belize Family Life Association since 2013. It connects curious youths with accurate and age-appropriate sexual reproductive health information using technology. In tonight’s episode of Healthy Living, we find out more about this innovative service. Marleni Cuellar, Reporting In 2013, the Belize Family Life Association launched a text […]
This Sunday, the World Pediatrics Project is partnering with the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital for yet another round of clinics. The multispecialty clinic starts at eight a.m. and persons twenty-one years and younger will be able to visit with U.S. doctors in areas of urology, spinabifida, bracing and nephrology. News Five spoke with Project Manager […]
International Women’s Day was celebrated on March eighth. The achievements and the important role that women play in our society are underscored throughout the entire month of March. Gender equity in health is a significant part of the conversation. As women, we do have biological predispositions and specific gender-related health issues, and tonight in Healthy […]
A few weeks ago, the University of the West Indies (UWI) marshaled a task force consisting of its best medical practitioners and experts for the express purpose of fighting the Zika virus. With transmission reported in six Caribbean countries, the issue has become important enough that it was on the agenda of the recent CARICOM […]
A group of twelve doctors from the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters in Virginia, U.S.A. is visiting Belize this weekend for a pediatric mission across Belize District. It’s the fifth year that the contingent will be conducting clinics for patients twenty-one years and younger. Through fundraising efforts by Friends of Pediatrics and the US […]
Diabetes, Hypertension, Heart Disease and Cancer…these are all diseases that have become a mega priority worldwide. They’re classified as NCDs – non communicable diseases – or diseases that are not contagious or infectious. Obesity – which is a primary risk factor for NCD’s – is also seen as a growing epidemic. International and local health […]
In January of 2016, Barbados confirmed its first case of ZIKA virus. Today, there are seven confirmed cases. Our team, Duane Moody and Marleni Cuellar, in Barbados visited the Ministry of Health Office in Bridgetown to find out more about the island’s response to this latest vector borne illness. According to senior Medical Officer for […]
Women are living longer than men in Belize and life expectancy stands at seventy-five years. But elderly persons continue to be vulnerable. In fact, as it relates to pension, as much as sixty percent of the seenagers have no pension. This morning, the National Council on Ageing held a workshop which addressed a number of […]
Thirty-nine-year-old Dorian August; he’s the light technician at the Bliss Center for the Performing Arts and has been working with the Institute for the past twenty-two years. But tonight, he is asking for your help. August was diagnosed some time ago with Arnold-Chiari; it’s a condition that is usually caused by structural defects in the […]
August needs urgent surgery which he plans to undergo in Merida. A first round of tests will be carried out next week and he is asking for your assistance. Dorian August, Needs Assistance “We’re leaving on Saturday—me and my wife—going to Merida to do some follow up tests. The reason for these tests now […]
As of February of 2016, twenty-two countries in the Americas, including eleven which are Caribbean countries and four which are CARICOM members have confirmed cases of Zika. Barbados, Guyana, Haiti and Suriname have confirmed cases of Zika since the virus spread to this region in 2015. This is why it is no surprise that Zika […]
The mosquito borne Zika has been declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organization because it is believed it can cause microcephaly in newborns. So far, there are no confirmed cases in Belize, but the virus is transmitted by the aedes aegypti mosquito. As an individual country which is affected […]
While the heads discuss the Zika in Placencia, in the city, health officials teamed up with the Belize City Council for a sensitization workshop on the virus. The partnership is fitting since local government is responsible for sanitation. The idea is to educate residents on a number of issues related to Zika, including the habitat […]
An increase in the number of cases involving vector-borne diseases such as dengue occurs primarily in communities that are extremely susceptible. Nonetheless, Mayor Bradley says that the city council is strengthening enforcement pertaining to sanitation offenses. Darrell Bradley, Belize City Mayor “The message really is that it’s not a crisis. There’s no confirmed cases […]
Representatives from the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital have been making the media rounds this week talking about the good things happening at the national referral hospital and there are many, including successful heart surgeries and a general expansion on the line-up of services now offered. But there is one issue that is not going down […]
The hospital’s large debt accumulated over the years, in part because patients often do not pay their bills. The K.H.M.H. has thus embarked on a campaign to tighten up on collection asking patients to invest in their health care. Augustine says that while government provides subsidy, it is still not enough to cover the wide […]
