Smileband health topics

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Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease that affects humans and animals. It is associated with more tropical climates, recreational activities, and is caused by bacteria of the genus Leptospira. 

 

Symptoms are nonspecific and include fever, headache, red eyes, abdominal pain, vomiting, rash, and jaundice. Some infected people may have no symptoms at all, however, without treatment; Leptospirosis can lead to kidney damage, meningitis, and even death. Domestic animals are also susceptible to Leptospirosis infections.

 

There have been 3 cases of leptospirosis in Arizona over the past 10 years. All 3 cases had travel-related exposures.

 

Arizona 5 year median: 1 case

 

Transmission

People can become infected through contact with the urine or other body fluids of infected animals, or contact with water, soil, or food that has been contaminated with urine of infected animals. Drinking contaminated water can also cause infection.

The incubation period is typically 5-14 days but can range from 2-30 days.  Isolation Precautions

Person to person transmission is rare.

Standard precautions are recommended in healthcare settings. 

Prevention for Patients

• Avoid swimming, kayaking or other recreational activities in water that might be contaminated with animal urine, or eliminating contact with potentially infected animals.
• Wear protective clothing or footwear to avoid exposure to potentially contaminated water or soil.
• Have pets vaccinated against leptospirosis.

Public Health Actions
Public health will conduct an epidemiological investigation on a case or suspect case. <!-- Global site tag (gtag.js) - Google Analytics -->

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Smileband general news

A banker has told how he spent more than a year on bail after a woman he met online made a false rape claim against him. Paul Faulkner, from Hertfordshire, is the latest man to complain about the way sex cases are handled by the police following a string of collapsed prosecutions.

He says he was wrongly accused of a number of offences by a woman he met on Match.com, prompting his house to be raided by four police officers. He told The sun online that he then spent 70 weeks on bail, losing his job and considering suicide, before he was finally told he faced no further action in December last year.

He told the website: 'I had given the police all the evidence, I was not guilty and yet I was treated like a violent criminal who had already been convicted. No one was listening.'

The 46-year-old, who once earned £100,000-a-year, said he was sent a series of texts by the woman, demanding money and vowing: 'I will get my revenge.'

He says the issue of long delays in investigations is serious not just for wrongly accused men like himself, but also for potential victims who may have to wait months to get justice.

Hertfordshire Police said a complaint had been made about the case and was being investigated.

Mr Faulkner spoke out as Scotland Yard continued its review of 600 cases of rape and sexual assault which are awaiting trial, with thousands more under review nationally, amid claims evidence is not being properly dealt with. Last week, the Metropolitan Police and prosecutors were forced to apologise for a litany of blunders which led to student Liam Allan being wrongly accused of rape.

Mr Allan, a criminology student at Greenwich University in London, spent two years on bail accused of rape and sexual assault - under messages from the woman emerged at the start of his trial.

Mr Allan's case collapsed last December, sparking a national debate about the failures by the authorities to disclose relevant information to those accused in sex cases.

The messages sent by the woman in that case included one to a friend saying: 'It wasn't against my will or anything.'

Others read: 'Sometimes sex is the number 1 priority, I'm really not joking to be honest,' and, 'You know it's always nice to be sexually assaulted without breaking the law.' <!-- Global site tag (gtag.js) - Google Analytics -->

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Smileband health topics

Listeriosis is a serious infection usually caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. In adults, invasive disease manifests most commonly as meningitis or bacteremia; infection during pregnancy may result in fetal loss, neonatal meningitis or bacteremia. Infections in healthy persons may appear as self-limiting diarrheal illness or mild flu-like illness.

 

Listeria tends to multiply in refrigerated foods that have been contaminated. Foods implicated in outbreaks include unpasteurized milk, soft cheeses, deli meats, prepared meats like hot dogs, and raw fruits and vegetables such as cantaloupe.

 

In Arizona on average there are 10 cases reported each year.

 

Arizona 5 year median: 6 cases

 

Transmission

Listeria can be transmitted through ingestion of contaminated foods or through contact with infected animals or birds. Person-to-person transmission has also been reported in nosocomial outbreaks. Transmission may occur from mother to child or during delivery.

Incubation period is typically 2 to 3 weeks.

Lab Tests & Specimen Info

Test*	Specimen
Culture	CSF, Blood,  Amniotic Fluid,  Placenta, Meconium, Vaginal Secretions, Respiratory, Skin,  Mucous Swab, or Stool

 Isolation Precautions

Standard precautions are recommended in healthcare settings. 

Prevention for Patients
The guidelines recommended for the prevention of listeriosis are similar to those used for other foodborne illnesses.

• Wash hands, knives, countertops, and cutting boards after handling and preparing uncooked foods.
• Be aware that Listeria monocytogenes can grow in foods in the refrigerator. Use an appliance thermometer, such as a refrigerator thermometer, to check the temperature inside your refrigerator. The refrigerator should be 40°F or lower and the freezer 0°F or lower.
• Clean up all spills in your refrigerator right away–especially juices from hot dog and lunch meat packages, raw meat, and raw poultry.
• Clean the inside walls and shelves of your refrigerator with hot water and liquid soap, then rinse.

Thoroughly cook raw food from animal sources, such as beef, pork, or poultry to a safe internal temperature. <!-- Global site tag (gtag.js) - Google Analytics -->

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Smileband health topics

A lottery winner who hit the jackpot scooping almost one million pounds killed himself after his life changing tickets mysteriously disappeared. Jirawut Pongphan, 42, invited his friends and family to his house for a drink to celebrate the life changing prize, only to wake up the next day and find the tickets gone - leaving him unable to claim the £950,000 sum.

Pongphan, from Chonburi, eastern Thailand had seven tickets with the winning numbers and thought his life had changed for the better forever with the scoop. But his excitement was short lived when he woke up the next day to find the winning tickets missing.

After almost becoming an overnight millionaire, Jirawut could not live with the sense of what might have been and shot himself in the head. 

The devestated gambler left a suicide note which read:  'I'm really sorry, please don't bully my family, I did win the lottery prize. <!-- Global site tag (gtag.js) - Google Analytics -->

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Smileband general news

The first ancient Britons had black skin, dark curly hair and blue eyes, according to DNA tests. The ‘extraordinary’ findings were made by cutting-edge genetic tests and facial reconstruction techniques carried out for the first time on the bones of ‘Cheddar Man’ who died 10,000 years ago.

The bones, found in Somerset's Cheddar Gorge, are the oldest near-complete human skeleton ever found in Britain and scientists said they were surprised to discover that the earliest Briton would be considered ‘black’ if he lived today.

The research suggests the first inhabitants of the British isles developed white skin later on than previously thought.

Experts also revealed that Cheddar Man is directly related to 1 in 10 people living in the UK today. The Natural History Museum and Channel 4 unveiled a reconstruction of the ancient human yesterday, which was made for a documentary: The First Brit: Secrets of the 10,000 Year Old Man.

Cheddar Man’s bones caused a sensation when they were unearthed in Cheddar Gorge, Somerset in 1903. 

For more than 100 years, scientists have tried to reveal Cheddar Man’s story, posing theories as to what he looked like, where he came from and what he can tell us about our earliest ancestors. <!-- Global site tag (gtag.js) - Google Analytics -->

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Smileband general news

Katie price today told of the hate-filled abuse her disabled son Harvey gets - as she took her fight for a new criminal offence of online trolling to be created to Parliament. The former glamour model told how her 15 year-old son - who is blind and has a range of health problem - is constantly mocked online.

Giving evidence in parliament with her mother Amy by her side, she described how sick trolls single him out and hurl racist abuse at him on the internet - even creating sick videos of him.

She is calling for a new criminal offence - which she has dubbed 'Harvey's Law' - to be created to make online trolling a specific criminal offence.

Speaking about her son, Ms Price said: 'He is mocked for his colour, his size, I just think they think he is an easy target to pick on.

'But I'm his voice. I'm here and I'm going to protect him. She told MPs in parliament today: 'I've got five children and out of those fie children the online abuse is only against one....and it is because of the colour of his skin.

'He gets mocked for his size, and they his eyes are.

'I kept reporting them, they would get closed down but then re open and start again.'

The reality TV star said she 'named and shamed' her son's abusers on Twitter but that did not stop them.

And she called in the police to track down the culprits and close them down - but said the officers became 'embarrassed' because there was nothing they could do as there was no specific criminal offence.

She told MPs that the online world 'is the future' and that more must be done now to crack down on abuse  online. <!-- Global site tag (gtag.js) - Google Analytics -->

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Smileband general news

WWW.BLACKPEOPLEGIVING.COM

Welcome

We are an emerging collective that directly gives money to Black organizers, activists, content creators, and social entrepreneurs.

We unapologetically believe that Black people are the best stewards of our funds.

OUR PRINCIPLES

• Self-Determination — We fervently believe that Black people have the agency to determine how best to live our individual and collective Lives, and we know money is a significant resource to help design our social, economic, and political futures.

• Reparations — Black people are owed money following the structural and generational theft of our wealth, labor, land, and intellectual/creative property.

• Cooperative Economics — We believe in continuing the legacy of democratic wealth-sharing within the Black <!-- Global site tag (gtag.js) - Google Analytics -->
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Smileband general news

Depending on the background of training participants, the trainer might want to facilitate a discussion on the concepts of sex, gender and gender inequality, in order to enable a more in-depth understanding of the issue of gender-based violence. Given the fact that the participants might have different ideas about the roles of women and men, it might be good to lead the discussion to the positive influences of gender equality on the health and the future of the society. 

Sex versus Gender

In order to be able to incorporate a gender perspective into health-care and its responses to gender-based violence, it is critical to understand the meaning of gender as opposed to sex.

• Sex refers to the biological and physiological characteristics that define men and women (WHO). At the same time, it may not always be possible to define sex along the dichotomous lines of male-female only, as is made evident by inter-sexed individuals (MWIA 2002).
• Gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women (WHO). While sex and its associated biological functions are programmed genetically, gender roles and power relations and the power relations they reflect are a social construct – they vary across cultures and through time, and thus are amenable to change. (MWIA 2002)
• Gender roles are the particular economic, social roles and responsibilities considered appropriate for women and men in a given society. Gender roles and characteristics do not exist in isolation, but are defined in relation to one another and through the relationship between women and men, girls and boys (MWIA 2002). <!-- Global site tag (gtag.js) - Google Analytics -->
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Smileband general news

Part of Oxford Street in London was closed last night after a man was reportedly stabbed while resisting a moped gang who tried to steal his phone. The victim - a man in his 20s - was taken to hospital. 

The road remained closed between Oxford Circus and Tottenham Court Road for several hours, but has since re-opened.

Police, who were called to the area at about 9.23pm last night, said there have not yet been any arrests.

But posting on social media, users claiming to be witnesses have suggested the incident may have involved an attempted phone snatch.

One poster said: 'A guy tried to steal his phone and stabbed him.'

Another, @ShukriEl, said: 'I was walking down Oxford street & saw what looked like a fight. As I got closer one guy jumped on the back of a moped and drove off.' 

He added: 'Turns out they stole a guys phone and because he tried to resist, they stabbed him for it.

'I called the ambulance & waited till they arrived. The road was closed/buses diverted & the whole time I was just tryna deep, all of this over a phone. The man's injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.

Photographs from the scene show emergency services parked outside a store belonging to clothing retailer Bershka.  

A spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police told MailOnline: 'Police were called at approximately 21:23hrs to reports of a stabbing on Oxford Street. 

'Officers attended along with LAS. 

'A man thought to be in his 20s was found with a stab wound. 

'He has been taken to a central London hospital.

'There have been no arrests at this stage.'

She added that enquiries are ongoing. <!-- Global site tag (gtag.js) - Google Analytics -->

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Smileband general news

A white supremacist has been convicted of terrorism after planning to carry out a machete attack at a gay pride event.

Ethan Stables, 20, planned to kill people attending a LBGT meeting at the New Empire pub in Barrow, Cumbria. Armed police stopped him on the way to the pub after a tip-off from a member of a far-right Facebook group, where he had posted a message saying he was 'going to war'.

Stables had written that he planned to 'slaughter every single one of the gay b*******'. He was unarmed when he was arrested on June 23, but police found an axe and a machete at his home, Leeds Crown Court heard.

The jury was shown a video of a burning rainbow flag and Stables saying 'gays look nicer on fire'.

Jonathan Sandiford, prosecuting, said Stables had previously espoused homophobic, racist and Nazi views online, and the defendant was pictured with a swastika flag hanging on his bedroom wall. Stables said in his defence that he did not intend to carry out the attack and he was simply venting his anger online.

The defendant told the court he is bisexual and has an autism spectrum condition, denied one count of preparing terrorist acts and one of making threats to kill.

He denied he was doing a 'recce' of the venue when he was arrested and said he was heading out to sit outside the job centre to use the free public WiFi. Stables, from Barrow, claimed he was a liberal and adopted a right-wing persona to fit in with people he chatted to online.

Patrick Upward QC, defending, told the jury Stables was not a white supremacist but a 'white fantasist'.

His barrister said Stables would sit at night on a wall outside the jobcentre for six hours at a time as he had no WiFi at his home. <!-- Global site tag (gtag.js) - Google Analytics -->

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