EDITOR’S NOTE: With all the coverage that the pandemic has been getting, anything other than COVID-19 is seemingly overlooked. But even from the standpoint of comorbidities, these conditions are very important and aught not be overlooked. More importantly, there are patients that have been diagnosed with these other conditions before and some during the pandemic.
Therefore, #HealthCaribbean dedicates this edition of the newsletter to conditions, other than COVID-19, in the Caribbean. Three of our five articles are from Jamaica, on topics relevant to the entire Caribbean. One article a piece comes from the Cayman Islands, and Trinidad and Tobago. As usual, additional information may be found on our Twitter page (@HealthC_bean).
The headline taken from the Cayman Compass, reads: “1 in 7 Caribbean-Born Breast, Ovarian Cancer Patients Have Gene Mutation”. This is the conclusion of a study undertaken by Oncologist Dr. Judith Hurley and fellow researcher Dr. Sophia George, of the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami. Seven Caribbean countries were part of that study.
The articles from Jamaica refer to non-communicable deseases (NCDs), mental health disorders, and the dengue virus. In the article from Trinidad and Tobago, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) warns that a reduction of new cases of tuberculosis (TB) diagnosed in the Americas 2020 may be due to “the global focus on the COVID-19 pandemic”.
HealthCaribbean Weekend ed. 2021-04-01
Cornwall Regional Hospital