Latest news with #IrishMedicalJournal
Irish Examiner
03-06-2025
- Health
- Irish Examiner
Aoife Hearne: Has my child inherited coeliac disease from her grandad?
My father is a coeliac and I'm worried my daughter may have the same condition. She's five and has recently started complaining about a sore tummy, particularly after eating toast or a sandwich. Should I eliminate all gluten products from her diet? Or does she need to be tested? Gut issues are common. Almost half of the people who make appointments to see me have some form of gut complaint, ranging from mild bloating to irritable bowel syndrome. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the most common gut complaint, and, according to the Irish Medical Journal, it affects between 10% and 20% of the Irish population. IBS symptoms include bloating, cramping and pain, diarrhoea, and constipation. While these symptoms can be debilitating for people with IBS, they are generally not life-threatening. Treatment usually involves looking at current eating habits and may include the low FODMAP diet, which helps identify foods that trigger symptoms and should be reduced or avoided. Unlike some other gut complaints, however, coeliac disease is an autoimmune condition that is triggered by an abnormal response to gluten. While coeliac disease has many symptoms in common with IBS, people often also experience anxiety, depression, tiredness, brain fog, and inability to focus. Diagnosis and treatment of coeliac disease are also markedly different from IBS and there are serious long-term consequences of undiagnosed coeliac disease, such as iron-deficiency anaemia, osteoporosis, and fertility issues. The incidence of coeliac disease is rising around the world. While it is estimated that one in every 100 people in Ireland has the disease, many experts believe the true prevalence is higher. In Finland, the rate is 2.5%, and it is also rising in China and India. Recent results from the SIGENP multi-centre screening study in Italy suggest that 60% of people with coeliac disease remain undiagnosed. First- and second-degree relatives of people with coeliac disease are at increased risk, so familial screening is advised. Screening for coeliac disease involves a blood test that measures tissue transglutaminase (tTg) and endomysial antibody (EMA) levels. These are produced in response to eating gluten-containing foods, such as bread, pasta, pastries, cakes, breakfast cereals, biscuits, and anything made with flour. For this reason, and although it may be challenging, it is essential that your daughter continues to eat gluten until she has been screened. My advice is to consult your GP and discuss the issues your daughter is experiencing, as well as her family history. Although this blood test may rule out coeliac disease, screening is still important. A CORU-registered dietitian will also be able to offer evidence-based nutrition support, both before and after screening. If you have a question for dietitian Aoife Hearne, please send it to parenting@
Agriland
29-05-2025
- Health
- Agriland
Man contracted brucellosis after handling buffalo on trip to India
By Gordon Deegan A 32-year-old married restaurant worker here contracted acute brucellosis after he handled buffaloes at a farm and drank unpasteurised goat milk during a month-long stay in India. That is according to medics in a paper entitled 'Mysteries on the Menu: A Traveller's Health Misadventure' in the new edition of the Irish Medical Journal (IMJ). According to the medics at the Department of Infectious Diseases, Tallaght University Hospital, Dublin, brucellosis is a zoonotic infection, acquired by consuming unpasteurised dairy or handling animals infected with bacteria. Although eradicated from Irish cattle in 2009, brucellosis occurs in large parts of the world in the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Central Asia, China, the Indian subcontinent, Sub-Saharan Africa, Mexico, and Central and South America. Buffalo in India The restaurant worker was on a visit to Punjab, India and a study showed one-third of dairy farms there had at least one infected animal, while 10% of humans with direct livestock contact tested positive there. According to the medics, brucellosis is rare in Ireland amongst humans, with provisional Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) data indicating five cases were reported in 2023, and one in both 2022 and 2024. In the paper, the medics state that in April 2023, the man presented to the hospital with over four months of fevers, myalgia, headaches, and 5kg weight loss. The symptoms began in November 2022 after his one-month trip to Punjab, India. The man's general practitioner (GP) treated him with 10 days of empiric oral medication in November 2022, with some improvement, but symptoms recurred weeks later. The medics state that treatment with an antibiotic used to treat various bacterial infections in January 2023 was ineffective, prompting hospital presentation. The medics state that while in India, the man manually handled buffaloes at a farm and drank unpasteurised goat milk. The medics added that the man was a married, non-smoking, restaurant worker. The medical paper outlined that had brucellosis not been considered, 'the patient could have developed serious complications'. After brucellosis was identified, the man made a full recovery. Brucellosis Brucellosis has an average onset of 2-4 weeks with an incubation period of five days to six months while symptoms include fever and malaise. Severe, multi-systematic complications may develop, including arthritis, spondylitis, central nervous system disorders, hepatitis, respiratory disorders, and rashes. The medics state that the case involving the restaurant worker emphasises the need for awareness of zoonoses in Ireland, which are an infectious diseases that are caused by a pathogen jumping from an animal to a human. The medics also state that the case also highlights the importance of careful history-taking in returning travellers.
