Avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, is posing a serious threat to the hundred and fifteen million dollar poultry industry. As we reported on Tuesday, the Belize Animal Health Authority confirmed that samples from one farm in Blue Creek, Orange Walk District, returned positive results for Avian Influenza Subtype H5. As a result, BAHA […]
While avian influenza can spread rapidly within the bird and poultry populations, bird flu viruses do not normally infect humans. But sporadic human infections of avian influenza, also known as bird flu virus, have occurred. Since the recent detection of the presence of avian influenza at one farm in the Orange Walk District, personnel from the […]
Doctor Melissa Diaz-Musa also said that since the reopening of schools over the past two weeks, there has been only one observation of a marginal upsurge of COVID-19 cases, but it is not of concern to health officials because the number of new infections was not sustained in the ensuing days. Dr. Melissa Diaz-Musa, […]
This year, COVID has allowed us to return to a sense of normalcy and, even with no mandated public health measures in place; new infections during the September Celebrations are on the decline. But Director of Health and Wellness, Doctor Melissa Diaz-Musa told News Five today that exercising the safety measures cannot hurt, since COVID […]
Later this month, the Ministry of Health and Wellness will observe Wellness Week in union with the rest of Central America. Director of Public Health and Wellness, Doctor Melissa Diaz- Musa says that from September twenty-fourth to the twenty-ninth there will be daily activities, starting with a Soca-thon in Belize City. Dr. Melissa Diaz-Musa, […]
The Belize Agricultural Health Authority has placed a poultry farm in Blue Creek Village under quarantine after detecting the Avian Influenza in its animals. The farm currently houses over twenty-five thousand chickens and is being monitored closely by BAHA officers. Containment measures have been put in place to restrict poultry products exiting the Blue Creek […]
The last few weeks have seen at least three police officers between the ages of twenty-five to fifty-two die of health complications. These deaths have brought into sharp focus the need for police officers to adopt healthier lifestyles, a challenge that ComPol Williams says even he at times struggles with. But, he concedes that improving […]
Today, at Escuela Mexico in Corozal District, the Ministry of Health and Wellness launched a National Adolescent Health Strategic Plan. Now, an adolescent is defined as a child, ages ten to nineteen, and in Belize, that is about ninety-six thousand, six hundred and ninety-three persons, almost one-fourth of the entire population. In the development of […]
For the outcomes to be achieved there is a holistic approach that goes beyond the Ministry of Health and Wellness and includes public and private sector collaboration. Doctor Natalia Largaespada Beer says that that the living document has eleven provisions, some that have already been ongoing. Dr. Natalia Largaespada Beer, M.O.H.W. “Many of these […]
The Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital received a donation of equipment used in medical imaging from the Taiwanese government. On Thursday, a brief handing over ceremony was held at the K.H.M.H. where Taiwanese Ambassador David Kuan-Chou Chien, health official Doctor Jorge Polanco and K.H.M.H. C.E.O. Chandra Cansino were present. Chandra Cansino, Chief Executive Officer, K.H.M.H. […]
The Ministry of Health and Wellness has decided that it will only be reporting newly detected positive COVID-19 cases twice a week to the general public. That decision comes after weeks of detecting a low number of daily positive cases. On Monday, twenty-five cases were detected in the Belize District, the highest number of cases […]
And with the decrease in cases comes a decrease in the time a COVID-19 patient is required to be in isolation. Belize’s COVID-19 isolation period now stands at seven days, but if a patient is feeling well after twenty-four hours that person may come out of isolation. Doctor Musa explained. Dr. Mellissa Diaz- Musa, […]
Doctor Musa also gave an update on the Ministry of Health’s ongoing monkey pox surveillance. Since the ministry began its efforts to detect the virus, seventeen samples have been tested. To date, all samples have returned with a negative test result. Doctor Musa says M.O.H.W. will continue with its enhanced surveillance. Dr. Mellissa Diaz- […]
The National Forensic Science Services was the recipient of equipment that will improve the capacity of the organization to carry out its duties. Both pieces of equipment will assist with the almost instant detection of illegal substances and can be used at the lab or on the ground at crime scenes by police officers and […]
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Belize, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, submitted a proposal to the UN-India Development Partnership Fund to assist the country in its fight against the pandemic. A two-million-dollar sum was approved and allocated in September of that year, for the purchase of medical equipment. However, as […]
The Ministry of Health and Wellness recently signed tender contracts valued at thirty million dollars for the supply of medications and medical supplies. Minister of Health Kevin Bernard explained that there is a brief delay in the delivery of these items, because the contracts give suppliers thirty to sixty days to deliver. Minister Bernard says […]
One interesting revelation today was that while the number of COVID cases is fewer today and the symptoms are less severe than a few months ago, the Social Security Board says that payouts for COVID sickness claims remain high. S.S.B. Actuary, Hernando Montas says there are some disparities that need to be examined. Hernando […]
HIV/AIDS continues to be a priority in Belize and the National Health Insurance, in collaboration with the Social Security Board, has been able to secure an almost three million U.S.-dollar grant from the Global Fund to support the efforts of stakeholders in preventing and managing HIV/AIDS and related health threats. During a signing agreement for the […]
Tonight, Belize remains free of any confirmed cases of monkeypox. But, the Belize Hotel Association is asking the Ministry of Health and Wellness to get ahead of a possible spread in Belize. Reynaldo Malik, the President of B.H.A., spoke with reporters this morning at an event in Belize City about the industry’s concerns as it […]
A U.S. Army surgical team with the United States Southern Command Joint Task Force Bravo based in Honduras has been in Belize since the beginning of the week. The team has partnered with Belizean surgeons to provide elective surgery at the Southern Regional Hospital in Dangriga and the Western Regional Hospital in Belmopan for two […]
There were images and perhaps even reports circulating today, suggesting that Monkeypox is present in Belize. The reports caused concern among some people, some of who took to social media to express their worry, particularly because of the time of year. But a check-in not too long after with the Director of Public Health and […]
This morning, public health officials engaged in the M.H. Gap at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. It is a training session aimed to create awareness among non-specialists, such as general practitioners, nurses and others who are frontline healthcare providers that may be the first to receive people who have mental health issues. Director of Public […]
And, those B.D.F. officers who survived last week’s tragic road traffic accident are in recovery. Eight of the ten surviving officers have been released from the hospital. Two, however, remain hospitalized at the K.H.M.H. One of those officers is currently in need of blood donations. Jermaine Burns, the Chief of Staff at the Belize Defense […]
The Global Fund is providing over three million dollars in grant funding, through the National Health Insurance, to five organizations to allow them to continue with their health-related projects for 2022-2024. The five are: the Civil Society Organization HUB or C.S.O. Hub for short, the National AIDS Commission, Hand in Hand Ministries, the Belize Family […]
Today, personnel from the Ministry of Health and Wellness descended upon four drugstores inside the Fort Street Tourism Village that are believed to be connected, including Pharmacy Express Limited. Credible reports to News Five are that health personnel were on hand to carry out a search of the pharmacies after government officials were reliably informed […]
