Latest news with #childhealth
Times of Oman
3 days ago
- Health
- Times of Oman
Afghanistan launches nationwide polio drive to protect children
Kabul: Afghanistan is set to launch a new nationwide polio vaccination campaign on July 20, targeting children under the age of five to protect them from the debilitating virus, according to the Afghanistan Polio-Free Organization, Khaama Press reported. The campaign will be carried out across several provinces and districts and includes the administration of Vitamin A supplements alongside the oral polio vaccine to help strengthen children's immune systems. Khaama Press said this combined effort aims to boost resistance against other diseases and improve overall child health. "The campaign aims to protect children under the age of five from the debilitating effects of polio," the organization stated, urging families to ensure that no child is left out of the initiative. According to Khaama Press, the organization emphasized the role of parents and guardians, calling on them to collaborate with health teams and ensure full community participation. It added that people can contact the free helpline at 141 for more details about the campaign. Polio, a highly infectious virus primarily affecting children, spreads through contaminated water and can cause fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiff neck, and limb pain. In about one in 200 cases, the disease results in irreversible paralysis. Afghanistan and Pakistan are currently the only two countries in the world where polio remains endemic, Khaama Press noted. Ongoing eradication efforts are seen as critical to protecting Afghan children from lifelong disability. "Polio vaccination is one of the most effective ways to ensure a healthier, brighter future for Afghan children," the organization reiterated, according to Khaama Press. "These vaccination campaigns represent a significant step toward a polio-free future for the country," it added, stressing that continued public cooperation is essential to the success of the initiative. In support of these efforts, Japan has provided USD 5 million through UNICEF to bolster polio eradication efforts and strengthen immunisation programs across all 34 provinces of Afghanistan, according to Khaama Press. The Government of Japan, in collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), has partnered with UNICEF in a 12-month initiative aimed at reaching over 13 million children with lifesaving polio vaccines and routine immunisations, Khaama Press reported. UNICEF stated on Thursday, July 10, 2025, that the new grant reaffirms Japan's longstanding commitment to Afghanistan's health sector. It will help sustain progress toward the global goal of eradicating polio, especially in underserved, conflict-affected, and hard-to-reach areas, Khaama Press noted. Afghanistan is one of only two countries in the world where wild poliovirus transmission has not yet been halted. While under-five and maternal mortality rates have declined in recent years, access to basic health services remains limited, leaving millions of children vulnerable to deadly and preventable diseases, Khaama Press highlighted. A resurgence of polio in 2023 underscored the presence of major immunity gaps, particularly among children in previously unreachable locations and mobile or cross-border populations. Despite improvements in cold chain infrastructure and expanded vaccine coverage, urgent efforts are needed to bridge these gaps.
The Sun
7 days ago
- Health
- The Sun
Our beautiful girls never got to grow up – they died hours after GPs failed to spot the warning signs of common killer
AS Laura Topping looks at the family photos that line the hallway, she pauses on her little girl, Ella. 'Ella should be 16 and thinking about prom at the moment,' says Laura. 'But she'll forever be four years old.' 8 8 Laura, 44, has watched her other children grow up without their big sister. 'Her younger brother Ryan is 13 and she has a sister Sadie, 11, who she never met. 'Their family photos on the walls at home show their whole childhoods so far, Ella's stop at the age of four.' Ella suddenly died from sepsis in March 2013, after showing clear warning signs. She had been unwell for a week, with symptoms of a typical kid's bug, visiting the GP at least four times. But Laura, from Plymouth, says her death could have been avoided had the medics who treated her considered sepsis. 'Ella was perfect,' she tells Sun Health. 'She adored the colour purple, and loved to dress up as princesses and was a bubbly, smiley little girl. 'Ella was rarely unwell and always considered fit and healthy.' Ella's story is painfully similar to Mia Glynn, 8 - and those of countless other children. Tragic Mia died on December 9, 2022, just 24 hours after seeing the GP about a cough. Dad Soron Glynn, 40, from Biddulph, Staffordshire, says: 'I remember a senior doctor saying they'd done everything they could. The signs and symptoms of sepsis to look out for, according to The UK Sepsis Trust 'We had no idea what had happened. 'As well as grieving our incredible daughter, we had police at the house taking pictures in case anything untoward had happened. 'It took six days for sepsis to be recognised as the cause of death.' Dr Ron Daniels, founder and chief medical advisor, at The UK Sepsis Trust, says: 'Every day we hear about healthy, young people who develop sepsis and, in what feels like the blink of an eye, lose their life or are left with life-changing after-effects.' Sepsis kills five people every hour in the UK, and is responsible for more deaths each year (48,000) than breast, bowel and prostate cancer combined. Yet only 31 per cent of the UK population feel confident in identifying sepsis symptoms if they or someone else were affected, according to The UK Sepsis Trust. Sepsis, which many may know as the old term of blood poisoning, is when the body overreacts to an infection, rather than helping to fight it. This can reduce the blood supply to vital organs such as the brain, heart, and kidneys, eventually leading to multiple organ failure. 'Sepsis arises in people of any age, whether or not they've got an underlying illness,' says Dr Daniels. 'And although it always starts with an infection such as pneumonia, chest infections or urinary tract infections, it's unknown why some people develop sepsis in response to these common infections when others don't. 'As a result, sepsis presents very differently in each patient and can be really challenging to identify.' But though sepsis is hard to spot - due to the fact it mimics so many other conditions - doing so quickly is crucial. The risk of death from sepsis increases by 1-2 per cent with every hour that passes without treatment, says The UK Sepsis Trust. When Ella fell ill at playgroup on February 25, 2013, she became clingy to Laura, an assistant to a motivational speaker, and had a high temperature. 8 8 8 'She became more feverish as the day went on and started vomiting throughout the night,' Laura says. 'My husband Andrew and I took her to the GP the next morning as her temperature was getting hard to control with paracetamol and ibuprofen. 'But the doctor said it was a viral infection and we were 'doing the right thing' medicating to keep the temperature down and symptoms at bay.' After another unsettled night, Laura took Ella back to the GP on February 27, after she'd been very uncomfortable and unable to sleep. She was told again it was a viral infection. 'I felt like we were being fobbed off,' recalls Laura. 'The next day Ella woke with a noticeable rash on her face, right-hand side and upper arm. 'We went back to the GP in the morning, who diagnosed rubella, which is a viral infection and not treatable with antibiotics.' By that afternoon, Laura couldn't touch Ella because she was in such discomfort. Lying on the sofa, with a rash progressively getting worse, Laura took her daughter back to the GP for the fourth time who gave her antibiotics for an ear infection. 'By Friday morning (March 1) she was hallucinating so I called an ambulance,' says Laura. 'She was limp. She'd developed a bright red rash all over her body, with swollen lips and eyes. 'When we got to the hospital, they treated it like a contagious disease and we were in isolation. The 6 key symptoms Dr Ron Daniels says: 'There are six key symptoms you can look for, and they spell the word sepsis.' S: Slurred speech or confusion E: Extreme pain in the muscles or joints P: Passing no urine in a day S: Severe breathlessness I: 'It feels like I'm going to die' - 'which people really do say,' says Dr Daniels. S: Skin that's mottled, discoloured or very pale. 'If you spot any one of those six signs in the context of infection, you should go straight to A&E,' says Dr Daniels. 'Our Sepsis Savvy resources will equip you with the knowledge you need to seek urgent treatment at the right time." Visit The Sepsis Trust for more information. 'The consultant paediatrician suspected Kawasaki disease which is a condition that causes blood vessel inflammation.' Ella stayed in hospital overnight but by the next morning, she was totally unresponsive. 'They thought it could be meningitis,' says Laura. 'Before they could do a lumbar puncture or CT scan though, she went into cardiac arrest. 'The doctors and nurses worked for hours to bring her back but it was too late.' It took weeks for sepsis to be identified as the cause of Ella's death. 'They told us it was myocarditis, which is an infection in the lining of the heart. It was only when I read the actual postmortem I saw it was sepsis - no one told us.' Ella was rarely unwell and always considered fit and healthy Laura Topping Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, where Ella was treated, expressed its condolences to the family. Darryn Allcorn, Chief Nurse and Director of Integrated Professions, said: "There were missed opportunities and we fully accept the conclusions reached by the Coroner. "We enhanced the training of staff around sepsis and the utilisation of Paediatric Early Warning Scores (PEWS) in 2015. We know that these changes do not undo the loss suffered by Ella's family, and we are truly sorry for the pain and grief they have endured.' But Laura says she'll never know whether her daughter would have survived had sepsis been identified sooner. Similarly, it took days for the parents of Mia to be told the cause of her death was sepsis. 8 Dad Soron says: 'It sounds like a cliché, but she was full of energy, bright and inquisitive. 'Just months before she died, I was tucking her into bed one night and she asked me 'why are we here?' It was such a big question. I remember giving her a hug and saying we were put here to enjoy ourselves, enjoy life and be whatever you want to be.' Mia never got to grow up and realise her potential though. On December 5, she came home from school with a sore throat. Soron and Mia's mum Katie, 38, didn't think much of it and after being dosed up with Calpol, Mia went to school the next day. By December 8, with Mia getting worse, Katie took her to the GP. 'She'd been eating less and was struggling with fluids,' says Soron. 'The doctor said we were doing the right thing but if it got worse to come back.' Soron and Katie had no idea at the time just how bad things would get for their precious first-born daughter. The afternoon of December 8, Katie took Mia back to the doctors who gave her antibiotics. But by 1.30am, Mia was unresponsive and the pair called an ambulance. While Mia was rushed to hospital with three medics in an ambulance, she went into cardiac arrest and tragically lost her life. 'Misdiagnosed all the time' Dr Daniels says parents need to be listened to to prevent the needless loss of lives like Mia and Ella's. It's why last year, Martha's Rule was introduced in NHS England. Martha Mills died in 2021 after developing sepsis in hospital, having been admitted with a pancreatic injury after falling off her bike. Martha's family's concerns about her deteriorating condition were not responded to, and in 2023 a coroner ruled that Martha, aged 13, would probably have survived had she been moved to intensive care earlier. 8 8 In the wake of Martha's death, a new law was introduced, dubbed 'Martha's Rules' giving parents or guardians the right to an urgent second medical opinion if they have concerns over treatment. Dr Daniels says: 'It's critical that healthcare professionals listen when patients' loved ones and carers express concerns. 'There have been so many sepsis cases in which outcomes could have been improved or lives could have been saved – it's more important than ever that members of the public feel empowered to act as advocates when their loved ones are unwell. 'Public recognition of sepsis as a medical emergency has improved massively over the last few years, but we still need much better awareness of the signs and symptoms of sepsis.' Soron and Katie founded aiM charity in memory of their daughter Mia in March last year. It raises awareness of sepsis and offers bereavement support for those affected by the condition too. Soron says spending 15 minutes learning about the symptoms of sepsis could save a life. 'It's a condition that can be hidden by other things,' he says. 'It's misdiagnosed all the time but learning about the signs and knowing what to look for could mean other families won't have to go through what ours has.'
Arab News
15-07-2025
- Health
- Arab News
14 million children did not receive a single vaccine in 2024, UN estimates
LONDON: More than 14 million children did not receive a single vaccine last year — about the same number as the year before — according to UN health officials. Nine countries accounted for more than half of those unprotected children. In their annual estimate of global vaccine coverage, released Tuesday, the World Health Organization and UNICEF said about 89 percent of children under 1 year old got a first dose of the diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough vaccine in 2024, the same as in 2023. About 85 percent completed the three-dose series, up from 84 percent in 2023. Officials acknowledged, however, that the collapse of international aid this year will make it more difficult to reduce the number of unprotected children. In January, US President Trump withdrew the country from the WHO, froze nearly all humanitarian aid and later moved to close the US AID Agency. And last month, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said it was pulling the billions of dollars the US had previously pledged to the vaccines alliance Gavi, saying the group had 'ignored the science.' Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic, has previously raised questions the diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough vaccine — which has proven to be safe and effective after years of study and real-world use. Vaccines prevent 3.5 million to 5 million deaths a year, according to UN estimates. 'Drastic cuts in aid, coupled with misinformation about the safety of vaccines, threaten to unwind decades of progress,' said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. UN experts said that access to vaccines remained 'deeply unequal' and that conflict and humanitarian crises quickly unraveled progress; Sudan had the lowest reported coverage against diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough. The data showed that nine countries accounted for 52 percent of all children who missed out on immunizations entirely: Nigeria, India, Sudan, Congo, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Yemen, Afghanistan and Angola. WHO and UNICEF said coverage against measles rose slightly, with 76 percent of children worldwide receiving both vaccine doses. But experts say measles vaccine rates need to reach 95 percent to prevent outbreaks of the extremely contagious disease. WHO noted that 60 countries reported big measles outbreaks last year. The US is now having its worst measles outbreak in more than three decades, while the disease has also surged across Europe, with 125,000 cases in 2024 — twice as many as the previous year, according to WHO. Last week, British authorities reported a child died of measles in a Liverpool hospital. Health officials said that despite years of efforts to raise awareness, only about 84 percent of children in the UK are protected. 'It is hugely concerning, but not at all surprising, that we are continuing to see outbreaks of measles,' said Helen Bradford, a professor of children's health at University College London. 'The only way to stop measles spreading is with vaccination,' she said in a statement. 'It is never too late to be vaccinated — even as an adult.'
The Guardian
15-07-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
New research shows a blindingly simple new procedure can help save children's lives in emergency departments
An eight-year-old child attends her last day of school before Easter holidays, plays with her siblings, has dinner and gets ice-cream. The next day she develops a headache and vomiting. Then, as her hands grow cold, her parents take her to the local children's hospital. Minutes after the child is triaged as lower priority, her mother tells the emergency department clerk that she is concerned about white patches in her daughter's eyes. A junior doctor decides this can wait. One minute later, the child's mother is back at the desk. This time, a nurse documents a high temperature and heart rate but doesn't act. An hour later, the child can barely speak. A nurse acts. Two hours later, the child is dead. The diagnosis: fatal sepsis due to Streptococcus A, the same bacteria that causes strep throat and tonsillitis. The subsequent coroner's inquest in 2023 uncovers excruciatingly painful details and missed opportunities. On the night of the incident, one nurse was responsible for nine patients (a reasonable ratio is one to four) but sometimes two nurses were responsible for up to 60 patients. Combined with a shortage of other resources, disaster was waiting to happen. For their part, the parents described repeated failed attempts to escalate their concerns, their anxiety for their child mixed with worry about 'being kicked out of the hospital for being rude'. They described staff avoiding eye contact and seemingly not taking the spectre of a rapidly deteriorating child seriously enough. The whole ordeal was unbearable, so it was only a matter of time before several Indian professionals asked me what I intended to do, implying that also being Indian, I had an obligation to raise the uncomfortable issue of racism in healthcare. But given the string of omissions that resulted in the tragedy, I found it glib to attribute the entire occurrence to racism or unconscious bias – and indeed, no such allegations or findings were made during the inquest. I reflected on the question of what I should do as a parent who has experienced both loss and medical emergencies. When your child's life hangs in the balance, or worse, that child dies, in that moment, there are no healing words, only noise. It was impermissible for anyone to say, 'I know how you feel'. I also reflected on the question as a doctor who has made her share of errors. No matter how many inquests absolve the individual and implicate the system, the avoidable death of a patient is an intensely personal failing. It is a memory that clings to you, wakes you up in the middle of the night and humbles all but the most insight-less person. I didn't write about the incident at the time, but the thought that gnawed at me was, 'if only someone had listened to the parents'. Recently a group of Australian researchers has designed a pragmatic study to examine the relationship between parental concern for clinical deterioration and critical illness. Over a period of two years, across nearly 74,000 children younger than 19 presenting to a paediatric emergency department or inpatient unit, parents were asked one simple question: 'Are you worried your child is getting worse?' Of the nearly 190,000 responses, just under 5% indicated concern for clinical deterioration. The first notable finding, therefore, was that contrary to assumptions, parents of sick children don't cry wolf, they act judiciously and respectfully. The second sobering finding was that compared with patients whose parents did not have a documented concern, patients whose parents reported a concern were more likely to be admitted to intensive care, receive mechanical ventilation, and die during admission. As if this were not lesson enough, parental concern was found to be more strongly associated with ICU admission than any abnormal vital sign including abnormal heart rate or breathing, cardinal signs of deterioration relied upon by clinicians. In 19% of cases, parents reported a problem several hours before any vital sign abnormality. I had to read this multiple times to absorb the significance. It's all very well to have bright rooms and fancy equipment but what is the most child-friendly thing of all? It's to ask the parents if they are worried. If the findings can be replicated, this 'intervention' will turn out to be blindingly simple and yet, potentially life-saving. This is the stuff of good medicine – cheap, effective, widely applicable. Coming from the world of adult medicine and geriatric oncology, what applies to sick children applies just as much to sick adults. Caregiver concern should be labelled a vital sign. But while we all know the importance of eliciting such concern, the truth is that it is commonly neglected. Now, there is evidence to insist on change – not just to record concern proactively but to build robust systems that respond quickly. As I wrote this column, I kept thinking of the bereft parents who don't need a study to validate their bitter lived experience. No one can remedy their loss but the least healthcare professionals can do is pledge to patients and their carers to never again to put our assumptions before their instincts. Ranjana Srivastava is an Australian oncologist, award-winning author and Fulbright scholar. Her latest book is called A Better Death
The Independent
14-07-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Measles death shows nation must ‘redouble' vaccine efforts, Streeting says
The death of a child from measles in Liverpool shows that the nation needs to 'redouble its efforts' to vaccinate more children, according to Wes Streeting. The Health Secretary stressed that vaccines 'save lives' and said the Government will be carrying out work throughout the remainder of the year to boost uptake. It follows reports over the weekend that a youngster, who was ill with measles and other health problems and was receiving treatment at Alder Hey Children's Hospital, had died. The Health Secretary appeared in front of MPs on Monday as the Health and Social Care Committee scrutinised the Government's 10-year health plan. When asked by Labour MP Danny Beales if the Government is doing enough to increase child vaccination rates, Mr Streeting said: 'Firstly, no child in this country should be dying of measles. 'And I'm extremely sorry to the poor family that's now grieving the loss of a child in those circumstances. 'This is why we have got to redouble our efforts on vaccination, and to make the case – and some of the improvements in the 10-year plan will help, in terms of having digital records of children's health that parents can check into the digital red book – that'll be really good. 'So it means on moments like, over the weekend, where someone's read an awful case in the media, parents can just quickly log on and think actually, did we get that jab? 'Are we up to date on our vaccinations? And we can also proactively invite people to vaccination. 'But we'll be doing a lot more on this throughout the remainder of the year in terms of trying to get vaccination uptakes, it saves lives.' Mr Beales highlighted that additional investment will be needed to increase vaccine uptake 'to get those areas that are 30% below the highest levels of vaccination in the country up to where they should be'. Mr Streeting replied: 'And we do have significant resource already attached to public health information campaigns.' He vowed to write to the committee 'given the profile of this at the moment to share the work that we'll be doing to drive our vaccination rates'. Measles is highly infectious and can lead to serious complications. People with this infection have a number of cold and flu-like symptoms and a rash appears a few days after symptoms start. On rare occasions, measles can also lead to meningitis and brain swelling, which can cause long-term disabilities or even death. A statement published by Alder Hey on Sunday said it would not comment on individual cases, but that the hospital is 'concerned about the increasing number of children and young people who are contracting measles'. Alder Hey said it has treated 17 children since June for the effects and complications of the disease. Since January 1 2025, there have been 529 laboratory confirmed measles cases reported in England, according to UKHSA data which was released on July 3. NHS England figures covering 2023/24 show that not a single vaccine met the target needed to ensure diseases cannot spread among youngsters. The World Health Organisation (WHO) says to achieve herd immunity – which stops illnesses transmitting across the population – at least 95% of children should receive their set of vaccine doses for each illness. Figures shows 91.9% of five-year-olds had received one dose of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine, the lowest level since 2010/11, while just 83.9% had received both doses, the lowest since 2009/10. Uptake of the first MMR dose at 24 months stood at 88.9% in 2023/24 – again, the lowest since 2009/10. In Liverpool, 73.4% of children received both doses of their MMR vaccine by their fifth birthday. Reacting to reports over the weekend, Dr Ben Kasstan-Dabush, assistant professor of global health and development at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine said: 'The child death in Liverpool is a tragic reminder that measles is not benign and can lead to serious complications including inflammation of the brain and death. 'Since 2023-25 we have been in a cycle of nasty measles outbreaks, indicating that the years of declining coverage are culminating in a new normal that no child needs to live with. 'Liverpool is home to neighbourhoods that are among the most deprived in England. 'Declining coverage in Liverpool and nationwide is happening amidst a relentless cost-of-living crisis, characterised by a generational decline in living standards, continued austerity and unequal pandemic recovery. 'Public health cannot hope for vaccination coverage to improve, it needs sustained resources to offer flexible services that work with parents as they are pushed to the brink by precarity and to fund the communications required to engage with diverse communities.'
