Measles vaccine push as case confirmed in Wirral
"There has been an increase across Cheshire and Merseyside over the last few months," he said."This is the first case that we have been notified of in Wirral this year."Measles is a highly contagious disease which is spread by coughs and sneezes.Mr Bradburn encouraged parents to be aware of symptoms.Common symptoms include high fever; sore, red and watery eyes; coughing; and sneezing.Small white spots may also appear inside the mouth.A blotchy red or brown rash usually appears after a few days, typically on the face and behind the ears, before spreading.
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The Independent
14 minutes ago
- The Independent
Parkinson's disease charities praise Ozzy Osbourne's openness about condition
Parkinson's disease charities have praised Ozzy Osbourne for talking about his diagnosis and helping others 'feel less alone' in facing the challenges of the condition. Parkinson's UK said the Black Sabbath frontman 'normalised tough conversations', while Cure Parkinson's thanked him for 'putting a spotlight' on its work. The proceeds of the Black Sabbath reunion earlier this month went to Cure Parkinson's, Birmingham Children's Hospital and Acorns Children's Hospice. In 2020, Osbourne revealed he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and he paused touring in 2023 after extensive spinal surgery. He had a fall at home in 2019 which aggravated injuries from a near-fatal quad bike crash in 2003. Parkinson's UK chief executive Caroline Rassell said: 'News of Ozzy Osbourne's death, so soon after his celebratory homecoming show, will come as a shock to so many. 'By speaking openly about both his diagnosis and life with Parkinson's, Ozzy and all his family helped so many families in the same situation. 'They normalised tough conversations and made others feel less alone with a condition that's on the rise and affecting more people every day. 'All of our heartfelt thoughts are with his family, friends and fans worldwide. His memory and the impact he left on the world will live on in all of them.' Helen Matthews, chief executive of Cure Parkinson's, said: 'We are devastated to hear the news about Ozzy and all our thoughts are with Sharon and his family. 'It seems incredible that a couple of short weeks ago Ozzy, Black Sabbath and all the acts that contributed to Back to the Beginning produced the most phenomenal and vibrant concert at Villa Park. 'We are so grateful to Ozzy for all he has done to put a spotlight on the work of Cure Parkinson's, Birmingham children's Hospital and Acorns Children's Hospice. 'On behalf of us all at Cure Parkinson's – thank you.' Osbourne said earlier this year that the last six years had been 'full of some of the worst times I've been through'.
Daily Mail
14 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE I got kicked in the testicles by a 6'5" bloke while playing football and it saved my LIFE
It's every bloke's worst nightmare, prompting a pain so sharp and an embarrassment so overwhelming that it can bring the toughest man to his knees. But for one miraculous cancer survivor, the dreadful experience of being kicked in the testicles saved his life, proving that even the darkest of clouds possess silver linings. Owen McNee fell victim to the toe-curling ordeal during a game of football with friends in Glasgow in 1989, eight months after he had married his wife Lindsay. The resulting lump led the then 26-year-old to visit his local GP, before being referred to hospital where tests eventually revealed testicular cancer. Having caught the illness early, an operation removing the offending testicle paired with ten weeks of chemotherapy meant the cancer was gone within a year. Now 62, Owen has set up a Gofundme in memory of his father-in-law, who died just months after being diagnosed with myeloma, and will embark on a lengthy cycle ride to raise money for Myeloma UK. Reflecting on his own battle with cancer, the retired chartered engineer admits he has his over-zealous pal to thank for a quick victory. He told MailOnline: 'I was [grateful he did it]. He was a big lad as well. David Williams was his name, six foot five. 'Big David...I kept telling him all about it after it. 'It wasn't the case where everybody was told to feel their nuts back then. 'It was only because I felt sore and felt a hard lump and the GP, he was bang on, he said, "stay in the hospital".' Has he ever told his mate he saved his life? 'I have. I actually went to watch them play football soon after and they were a man short, so I actually went onto the park, totally bald, with no hair on my body at all, to play football. 'And I was exhausted. It was quite funny because there were wee kids at the side of the park shouting, "baldy, baldy". 'I'm baldy now but back then I was a 28-year-old baldy. It was funny because it was back in Easterhouse where I grew up and all these boys were like me.' It's perhaps little surprise that, post cancer, Owen has been keen to get back onto the pitch whenever he can, given the remarkable boost the initial kickabout had on his life expectancy. That fateful day in 1989 did not have the hallmarks of a particularly unusual one for the footy fanatic as he gathered his stuff together for a typical fixture with his mates. But several moments of extremely good fortune later and it soon became a match the Scot would never forget. The first emerged the minute the group arrived, as they were forced into cancelling the planned game following a few drop-outs. This pushed them onto a smaller five-a-side pitch as an alternative, perhaps a factor behind the painful collision which cut his involvement in the match short. In agony, Owen visited the GP and then the hospital before being sent home with a clean bill of health. But just one week later, he checked himself in again after his back grew sore. A further round of tests revealed he had cancer. Owen had his testicle removed in a swift operation and was soon lying in the ward of a Victorian era hospital feeling rather sorry for himself. 'Being just married, we were obviously very upset,' he said. 'Until a typical Glaswegian breathing oxygen in the bed beside us started singing, "Owen, he's only got one ball, the other is in the surgeon's hall". 'This was through tears and everything else at this point.' Further encouragement was to be found in the consistent positivity of an oncology professor at Glasgow University who figured the cancer had just a 20 per cent chance of returning. 'He said: "It's curable, even if it comes back," and it did come back, and I had to do about a 12-week course of chemo - which was a week on and two weeks off.' On top of the singing compatriot in the neighbouring bed, laughter often proved just the tonic for Owen as he battled through a miserable year. 'There was always humour in what was happening but to be perfectly honest when the professor told me there was a cure then I just believed there was a cure. I didn't have any doubt after that. 'There were some issues moving through chemotherapy, including when we tried to play monopoly. 'With chemotherapy you actually lose dexterity in your fingers and we ended up all of us killing ourselves laughing because we couldn't pick up the pieces making the move. 'I will always remember that. Most of the time, we're in bed getting pumped full of this drug and then in the other times we actually tried to play a game and it was just daft. 'You would pick up a house and it would skate across the table. It's a fond memory of a hard time.' Soon he was cancer-free. The speed with which the illness had been spotted had proved pivotal in his chances of survival. 'It was gone after the chemo,' Owen said. 'It was a good cancer to get if you get it early enough. Any early cancer diagnosis is good.' For the next five or six years, Owen became a test case for an anti-chemo sickness drug, with doctors keeping a keen eye to see if his lymph nodes grew - which they did not. Making a habit of upsetting the odds, the cancer survivor was able to have a boy, named Scott, five years after receiving the all clear, despite being told ahead of his initial operation that this might prove impossible. He then had two more, a boy and a girl. His youngest is 25, while the middle child is now 27. Throughout the cancer ordeal, his wife Lindsay was a constant source of support. 'She was always there,' Owen added. 'It was tougher for her, for my family, my sisters, brothers and their kids.' Hell-bent on enjoying life after his miraculous recovery, Owen was 'determined' to retire by the age of 60 - an impressive feat he achieved two years ago - after becoming a partner at a consultant engineering firm. He has now changed his sport of choice to cycling, regularly cycling with friends - but only if there is a cake or coffee available at the end of the route. More importantly, Owen has became a serial fundraiser, regularly peddling to raise money over the last decade. His latest challenge will see him cycle 35 miles in the Tour de 4, Sir Chris Hoy's cancer charity initiative. His father-in-law was a cyclist into his eighties, inspiring the challenge, and won several veterans races. He died, aged 84, just six months after being diagnosed with myeloma, while Owen's mother-in-law also died from throat cancer. 'What disappointed me was that he degenerated so quickly,' he said. 'In his early 80s he had just bought a spin bike and was still doing the spin in the house. 'It didn't take very long and it was a lot of pain.' The latest fundraiser is a variation on a 13-year tradition which started when the Olympic Games headed to the UK in 2012. Owen added: 'I'm doing it with one of my mates, Ian. We do go occasionally for a cycle, and me and a lot of other mates have been doing charity since 2012 when the Olympics was in London. 'That year we cycled down to London and got there on the Saturday, and three of them ran the London Marathon on the Sunday. 'But this is just something for me and my pal, just to go and maybe think about the people [affected]. Cancer is distinct from the other things that we've been doing cycling for. '[We're particularly inspired by] Chris Hoy with him being a cyclist and stuff. We cycled in the velodrome, we had that experience. 'We're doing 35 miles. At 14 stone and six foot, it is quite hard going uphill.'
Daily Mail
14 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Map reveals where you are most at risk of getting sexually transmitted diseases... where does YOUR state rank?
Americans living in the south could be most at risk of sexually transmitted diseases, a new study reveals. Louisiana had the country's highest rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), which include chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and HIV. It suffered 1,200 STD cases per 100,000 residents, making it the state most stricken by diseases that spread through sex, skin-to-skin contact and from mother to child during birth. In particular, Louisiana had the highest rate of chlamydia, America's most common STD that affects 1.6million adults every year. Mississippi and Alaska followed close behind with 1,084 and 1,067 STD cases per 100,000 people, respectively. Alaska also recorded the most instances of gonorrhea, which experts have previously blamed on weak public health infrastructure and high rates of substance abuse. It's the same state where a woman died earlier this year of disseminated gonococcal infection (DGI), which occurs when the sexually transmitted infection gonorrhea invades the bloodstream and travels to vital organs. Meanwhile, Georgia, which had the fourth-highest overall STD rate, recorded the most HIV cases with 25.5 per 100,000. South Dakota rounded out the top five, recording the highest rate of syphilis infections. On the other hand, states in New England had the lowest STD rates, with Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine falling to the bottom of the list. The rankings, provided by a new study from Invigor Medical, used the latest CDC data - from 2023 - to calculate STD rates for all 50 states. The researchers found many states ranking in the top 10 have limited access to sexual health clinics and emphasize abstinence education as a primary method to prevent pregnancy and STDs, which could be drivers behind their higher rates. And many states do not mandate sex education in schools, meaning millions of students miss out on potentially life-saving information. States like Alaska and South Dakota also have higher numbers of outbreaks among Indigenous populations, which are more likely to have limited access to care. People in the New England region, on the other hand, typically have higher household incomes and rates of insurance, making them better able to access care and sexual education. The report also found women in the US are 10 percent more likely than men to be diagnosed with an STD, with a rate of 902 cases per 100,000 compared to 819. This could be because women are screened more often during routine reproductive health visits, while cases in men may go undiagnosed. The vagina also has a moist, thin lining that is easily penetrable, making it prone to infections. Louisiana had the country's highest rate of chlamydia with 792 cases per 100,000 residents. This added up to 36,242 diagnoses in 2023. Nationwide, chlamydia affects 1.6million Americans every year. Common symptoms of chlamydia include abnormal or foul-smelling vaginal discharge, pelvic pain, abdominal tenderness, pain during intercourse, irregular bleeding, and fever. However, less than half of infections show symptoms, and many are asymptomatic. Mississippi followed close behind overall and had the second-highest rate of chlamydia, with 701 cases per 100,000. Alaska recorded 1,067 STDs per 100,000 people in 2023 and had the highest rate of gonorrhea at 311 cases per 100,000. This adds up to about 2,280. Untreated gonorrhea can lead to serious health issues, including pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility. And while the infection can usually be easily treated, some strains are resistant to commonly used antibiotics - making them harder to clear. Earlier this year in Alaska, an unnamed woman in her 50s died from disseminated gonococcal infection (DGI) after contracting gonorrhea. This causes her to go into sepsis and heart failure. In DGI, gonorrhea infections travel to the bloodstream and infect organs throughout the body due to the infection going untreated. It's thought to occur in just 0.5 percent of gonorrhea cases. She is one of eight Alaskans to be identified with DGI since January of this year, the state health department said. The above chart from Invigor Medical shows the rate of STDs in the US by age group and sex Georgia, which had the fourth-highest rate of STDs overall, topped the list for HIV infections. It had an HIV rate of 25.5 per 100,000, totaling 2,359 cases. Nationwide, the HIV rate is 14 cases per 100,000 people. HIV, which stands for human immunodeficiency virus, attacks the body's immune system and leaves it unable to fight off foreign invaders. Left untreated, it can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Georgia's high rate could be from recent HIV outbreaks in the Atlanta area. South Dakota rounded out the top five with an overall STD rate of 1,015 per 100,000. It also had the highest rate of syphilis at 223 per 100,000 or roughly 2,000 cases. Syphilis among all ages is on the rise nationwide, increasing nearly 80 percent over the past five years, and the surge is worrying public health officials, as the disease can advance to damage the brain, nerves, eyes, and heart if it goes untreated. Symptoms begin with small open sores on the genitals, mouth, or rectum, as well as enlarged lymph nodes. In the second stage, a skin rash develops, as well as genitals sores, fever, muscle and joint pain, vision changes, and loss of appetite. When the infection advances further, it can inflame and damage heart valves and slowly degrade the brain, causing personality changes, memory loss, difficulty making decisions, and strokes. On the other end of the spectrum, Vermont recorded the fewest STD cases with a rate of 241 per 100,000. Schools in the state have more robust sexual health education programs than in other areas like the south. Its largest demographic is also over 60, a group historically less affected by STDs.
