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Bird Flu
Egypt has had a resurgence of Bird Flu in the
past several months. What’s particularly
worrying is that most of the cases have occurred
in children under 6 years of age, marking a
disturbing shift in the disease pattern. Last year
at this time most of the H5N1 cases struck older
children and adults. The Egyptian Ministry of
Health and Population has called on the WHO
to investigate as there is concern that adults
may be contracting the disease but are not
showing symptoms. Such sub-clinical cases could lead to what is most
feared – the mutation of the virus into one which is transmissible from
human to human. We report on the latest cases in Egypt (page 20).
Several hospitals in the region have asked well known international
medical institutions to come in and reorganise and manage their facilities
in a effort to make them more efficient, cost effective and, most importantly,
able to provide the best healthcare possible. But change is not a
simple process, particularly in a large organisation and many individuals
resist it. Dr Abrar Khan, an expert in change management, discusses the
processes and pitfalls of successful change management (page 28).
Professor Osman Ratib, one of the world’s leading authorities on PACS,
is head of the EuroPACS scientific society and one of the key initiators of
the ambitious and innovative open source PACS project – OsiriX. In a
fascinating interview, the editor speaks to Prof Ratib about the future of
PACS and the OsiriX initiative (page 34).
In this issue you will find several other interesting features about innovative
wound care products and the WHO’s campaign to promote patient
safety through their ‘clean hands save lives’ campaign. And, as usual, you
will find comprehensive news coverage from the region, the world and
academia.
Good health
Brian Wilkie
wilkiexp@emirates.net.ae |
(May-Jun 2009)
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