By V L Srinivasan
VL.Srinivasan@apexstuff.com
Muscat, July 28: According to Ministry of Health figures, 48 cases of mother-to-child
transmission (MTCT) of HIV were recorded in the country between 1984 and 2008. Of these, 33 were detected between 2001 and 2008.
The higher incidence of MTCT HIV in the last few years prompted the ministry to launch a project earlier this month to screen all pregnant women, including expatriates, in Oman. The project includes antenatal,intrapartum and postpartum management for mother and child.
The Ministry of Health (MoH) estimates there are 60,000 pregnant women currently in the country.
Following the detection of the rise in MTCT HIV cases, the Department of Family and Community Health at the MoH submitted the proposal to screen all pregnant women in the country to the Mother Child Health Advisory Committee.
The committee’s approval came in December 2007, and following the training of staff and completing formalities, screening commenced on July 1 in antenatal care clinics in every government and private hospital in the country.
“If we keep our eyes closed, we will have a community of children with HIV in the coming years,” said Dr Yasmin Ahmed Jaffer, director of the Department of
Family and Community Health, MoH.
At this stage, however, the ministry is undecided on the course of action for the future – whether HIV testing should be conducted as part of the routine tests currently done on pregnant women or as surveillance in select areas where the
incidence of MTCT HIV is found to be high.
According to Dr Ali Ahmed Salim Baomer, head of the AIDS section in the ministry, preventing even a single child from getting infected by an HIV-positive mother as a result of this project would make it worthwhile. “We will consider various options, including mandatory screening on all pregnant women, in the future.”
Though not a single case has tested positive since the tests began, many would-be mothers are opposing the tests fearing social stigma if they are found to be infected with the virus. “They have reservations but our officials are counselling the women to undergo the screening,” Dr Baomer said.
A baby can get infected with HIV during pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding. But this can be prevented by giving HIV-infected mothers and their babies anti-HIV drugs. Following treatment, an HIV-positive mother can give birth to a healthy baby which
must then be given formula, as breast feeding accounts for 20 per cent of MTCT HIV cases.
These interventions are known as prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT). “No mother wants to pass HIV to her child, but without PMTCT interventions,
around one in three babies born to women with HIV becomes infected. Once the interventions are in place, only one in eight infants is infected,” Dr Baomer said.
According to MoH figures, of the 123 female HIV/AIDS cases recorded between 2001
and 2007, 65.4 per cent (80 cases)were in the age group of 25 to 49 years; 14.63 per cent (18 cases) in the 15 to 24 age group; 12.2 per cent (15 cases) over 50; and 8.1 per cent (ten cases) under 14.
“Considering that more than half the cases are among women between 15 and 35 years, the ministry has decided to target its awareness campaign, ‘Let’s Talk Aids’, launched this January, at them. The campaign will continue into the next year,” Dr Baomer added.
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Tuesday, July 28, 2009
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
By V L Srinivasan
VL.Srinivasan@apexstuff.com
Muscat, July 28:
Much of the salad served in restaurants and hotels that you find too tempting is best resisted. Its presentation may be appealing and its taste may tickle your taste buds too, but it
may be simply unfit for human consumption due to the presence of harmful bacteria and other residues.
Analysis of samples of various food items, including fruits, vegetables, beverages, cereals, flours, dairy products, meats, herbs, spices, salts, oils, prepared foods and even chocolates, between January and May found at least 20 per cent of these were contaminated.
The microbiological analysis of 23 samples of water this March found that ten of them contained bacteria.
Among the food items sampled, several of the herbs, spices and salts failed to meet the prescribed standards in all five months. During the analysis, officials from Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources found pathogenic bacteria (Salmonella spp, Staph aureus, Bacillus cereue, Vibrio cholera and E coli 0157), faecal indicators (E coli, faecal streptoccus) and
water contaminants (E coli and Pseudomonas), all of which can prove fatal if ingested.
Knives used to chop flesh foods including raw meat, seafood and poultry products are often used to cut salads in hotels. This leads to pathogenic bacteria being transferred from the flesh foods to the salads.
While meat is boiled and cooked and in the process the bacteria killed, it is the salads that remain
contaminated. Residues of pathogenic bacteria carried by cloths, cutting boards and human nails can also cause food contamination.
“The chance of cross-contamination is high when cooks use the same knives for cutting meat and preparing salads without sterilising them,” said Eng Khalil Hassan Ali al Balushi, General Supervisor of the Food & Water Laboratories Centre (FWLC) in the Ministry of Regional
Municipalities and Water Resources.
The FWLC collects samples of food and water from across Oman and tests these for the presence of bacteria and other toxic substances to ensure that the water and food products meet the standards prescribed by the government and the Gulf Cooperative Council.
According to Balushi, nearly 80 per cent of the water and about 70 per cent of the food products being supplied in the interior of the country meet the set standards, but the remaining has to be thrown away.
Though all wilayats are covered by water treatment plants, food poisoning is reported in some places where the residents consume polluted groundwater. “We want to maintain 100 per cent quality in all water and food items in the country,” Balushi said.
According to Muscat Municipality figures, there are about 6,750 establishments – including food businesses, barbershops and laundries – involved in public health activities that are spread over five directorates (Seeb, Bausher, Muttrah, Amerat and Quriyat).
Each directorate has a food inspection department run by about 60 food officials who form into 17 inspection groups. Each section is headed by a deputy director.
Daily inspections are carried out by the food inspectors who cover all establishments in periodic cycles of three to three-and-a-half months.
They also carry out other inspections like visiting new establishments, collecting samples for
laboratory testing, attending complaints and looking out for banned items in the market.
The sultanate, which imports 70 per cent of its food items, enacted the Oman Food Law this January. It has also set up a National Food Safety Committee headed by an undersecretary in the Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources to frame guidelines.
But the health and hygiene level of restaurants vary due to the degree of awareness and education of the food handlers. “Not all food establishments follow the rules and standards,
as some are more commercial. We request customers to check the facilities themselves like
food inspectors would whenever they deal with such eateries. They should lodge complaints with
municipal authorities or by calling our toll-free hot line (800-77-222),” a senior official of the Directorate of Health Affairs in Muscat Municipality told TheWeek.
People should report cases of food poising to the authorities without delay. “Otherwise nothing can be done later as the stale food will have been thrown away or served to gullible customers,” the official said.
But the government’s decision on decreeing the Oman Food Law has been well received by the hospitality industry.
Richard Wilson, executive chef of The Chedi Muscat, said that the law would strengthen the standards of food safety throughout the country. “The guidelines being issued by the government will no doubt provide consumers now and in the future with a high level of confidence in the standard of food safety throughout Oman.”
The Chedi Muscat follows practices of kitchen management, which are largely based on HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) standards that are commonly accepted worldwide as being the most effective way of maintaining standards of food hygiene, he said.
Shailendra Pandey, assistant outlet manager, Left Bank Restaurant, of the Dubai-based Emirates Leisure Retail group that also runs The Noodle House – winner of the 2008
Oman Today Food Hygiene Award – said that many hotels were unaware of the Oman Food Law but the legislation will place Oman on a new high as far as standard of food quality is
concerned. “If all restaurants, whether five-star or ordinary food joint, are brought under the same guidelines, it will give people confidence that the food they are being supplied
has been strictly scrutinised.”
The government’s guidelines should ensure that all staff – chefs, waiters, restaurant managers and delivery boys – handling food undergo medical check-ups at least once every three months. “Only those trained by reputed hospitality institutes, who have knowledge of food handling, should be allowed to work,” Shailendra said.
(To view the complete article, please click on the link below or copy and paste into a new browser window.Link:http://server4a.pressmart.net/theweeknew/)
VL.Srinivasan@apexstuff.com
Muscat, July 28:
Much of the salad served in restaurants and hotels that you find too tempting is best resisted. Its presentation may be appealing and its taste may tickle your taste buds too, but it
may be simply unfit for human consumption due to the presence of harmful bacteria and other residues.
Analysis of samples of various food items, including fruits, vegetables, beverages, cereals, flours, dairy products, meats, herbs, spices, salts, oils, prepared foods and even chocolates, between January and May found at least 20 per cent of these were contaminated.
The microbiological analysis of 23 samples of water this March found that ten of them contained bacteria.
Among the food items sampled, several of the herbs, spices and salts failed to meet the prescribed standards in all five months. During the analysis, officials from Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources found pathogenic bacteria (Salmonella spp, Staph aureus, Bacillus cereue, Vibrio cholera and E coli 0157), faecal indicators (E coli, faecal streptoccus) and
water contaminants (E coli and Pseudomonas), all of which can prove fatal if ingested.
Knives used to chop flesh foods including raw meat, seafood and poultry products are often used to cut salads in hotels. This leads to pathogenic bacteria being transferred from the flesh foods to the salads.
While meat is boiled and cooked and in the process the bacteria killed, it is the salads that remain
contaminated. Residues of pathogenic bacteria carried by cloths, cutting boards and human nails can also cause food contamination.
“The chance of cross-contamination is high when cooks use the same knives for cutting meat and preparing salads without sterilising them,” said Eng Khalil Hassan Ali al Balushi, General Supervisor of the Food & Water Laboratories Centre (FWLC) in the Ministry of Regional
Municipalities and Water Resources.
The FWLC collects samples of food and water from across Oman and tests these for the presence of bacteria and other toxic substances to ensure that the water and food products meet the standards prescribed by the government and the Gulf Cooperative Council.
According to Balushi, nearly 80 per cent of the water and about 70 per cent of the food products being supplied in the interior of the country meet the set standards, but the remaining has to be thrown away.
Though all wilayats are covered by water treatment plants, food poisoning is reported in some places where the residents consume polluted groundwater. “We want to maintain 100 per cent quality in all water and food items in the country,” Balushi said.
According to Muscat Municipality figures, there are about 6,750 establishments – including food businesses, barbershops and laundries – involved in public health activities that are spread over five directorates (Seeb, Bausher, Muttrah, Amerat and Quriyat).
Each directorate has a food inspection department run by about 60 food officials who form into 17 inspection groups. Each section is headed by a deputy director.
Daily inspections are carried out by the food inspectors who cover all establishments in periodic cycles of three to three-and-a-half months.
They also carry out other inspections like visiting new establishments, collecting samples for
laboratory testing, attending complaints and looking out for banned items in the market.
The sultanate, which imports 70 per cent of its food items, enacted the Oman Food Law this January. It has also set up a National Food Safety Committee headed by an undersecretary in the Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources to frame guidelines.
But the health and hygiene level of restaurants vary due to the degree of awareness and education of the food handlers. “Not all food establishments follow the rules and standards,
as some are more commercial. We request customers to check the facilities themselves like
food inspectors would whenever they deal with such eateries. They should lodge complaints with
municipal authorities or by calling our toll-free hot line (800-77-222),” a senior official of the Directorate of Health Affairs in Muscat Municipality told TheWeek.
People should report cases of food poising to the authorities without delay. “Otherwise nothing can be done later as the stale food will have been thrown away or served to gullible customers,” the official said.
But the government’s decision on decreeing the Oman Food Law has been well received by the hospitality industry.
Richard Wilson, executive chef of The Chedi Muscat, said that the law would strengthen the standards of food safety throughout the country. “The guidelines being issued by the government will no doubt provide consumers now and in the future with a high level of confidence in the standard of food safety throughout Oman.”
The Chedi Muscat follows practices of kitchen management, which are largely based on HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) standards that are commonly accepted worldwide as being the most effective way of maintaining standards of food hygiene, he said.
Shailendra Pandey, assistant outlet manager, Left Bank Restaurant, of the Dubai-based Emirates Leisure Retail group that also runs The Noodle House – winner of the 2008
Oman Today Food Hygiene Award – said that many hotels were unaware of the Oman Food Law but the legislation will place Oman on a new high as far as standard of food quality is
concerned. “If all restaurants, whether five-star or ordinary food joint, are brought under the same guidelines, it will give people confidence that the food they are being supplied
has been strictly scrutinised.”
The government’s guidelines should ensure that all staff – chefs, waiters, restaurant managers and delivery boys – handling food undergo medical check-ups at least once every three months. “Only those trained by reputed hospitality institutes, who have knowledge of food handling, should be allowed to work,” Shailendra said.
(To view the complete article, please click on the link below or copy and paste into a new browser window.Link:http://server4a.pressmart.net/theweeknew/)
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
TAKE-OFF TROUBLE
By V L Srinivasan
VL.Srinivasan@apexstuff.com
MUSCAT, July 7
WITH NOT A SINGLE AVIATION ACADEMY IN THE SULTANATE, IT IS NOT EASY FOR THE ASPIRING PILOTS TO GIVE WINGS TO THEIR FLYING CAREERS.
When Mahmood al Zidjali was a little boy, he looked at the aeroplanes in the sky fascinated at the prospect of flying one some day. Now 22, he is all set to leave for Australia in a couple of weeks to join the Australian Wings Academy in Queensland. "It was my dream to become a pilot. I will return home as a trained pilot next year," he said with a smile.
Like Mahmood, scores of other Omani youngsters and children of expats go abroad, mostly to Australia, Jordan and the UK, for pilot training courses because there is no aviation academy in the sultanate.
But unlike him, hundreds of aspiring pilots in Oman are disheartened as the cost of pursuing the course abroad is prohibitive. "It is unfortunate that we don't have an aviation academy. I had to pay RO25,000 for the course and it may cost more by the time my training is completed," Mahmood said.
The course cost would come down significantly and many more youths would have a chance to become pilots if a flying school is set up in this country, he added.
Though the sultanate's national carrier, Oman Air, had announced a plan to establish an international pilot complex with a simulator in Muscat by the end of 2008, it did not materialise for various reasons.
Oman Air planned to start the complex, in collaboration with the Ministry of Defence and Eurocopter, to train 144 pilots every year. It was also looking at acquiring 37 single-engine planes for the purpose.
The national carrier currently has about half a dozen approved flying schools in Australia where its trainee pilots undergo courses on various aircraft, including Cessna, Beechcraft and Diamond. On completion of the courses, they join the organisation.
However, it is not all rosy for those who successfully complete their flying courses in other countries. They have to clear the exams conducted by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and Meteorology of Oman for conversion of their licence and be eligible to join Oman Air.
"Students who are serious can complete the course in eight to 12 months. Even otherwise, it should not take more than 18 months," said Asha Thomas, chief academic advisor of GlobalEdu, a consulting agency which sent nearly 30 students, both Omanis and expatriates, abroad for the course last year.
According to Asha, some flying schools abroad conduct only theoretical courses leaving their students to learn the practical aspects in another country. "An aviation academy in the sultanate will bring down the cost and help those aspiring to become pilots," she said.
A stumbling block in starting flying schools in Muscat and Salalah is the fact that both these cities have international airports. A flying school at an international airport would only hamper normal operations. For this reason, any aviation academy planned in Oman would have to be at one of the new proposed airports at Sohar, Duqm, Ras al Hadd, Haima, Shaleem and Adam.
Capt (retired) Abdullah al Kharusi, a pilot with Gulf Air for 27 years and six-and-a-half years with Oman Air, believes that a flying academy in the sultanate would be immensely beneficial. With Oman Air planning to expand its operations, the airline requires many new pilots who need training from abroad, which costs the company a fortune. "Oman Air needs more than 100 pilots to replace retirees and fill new positions and it is obvious that the national carrier would benefit by opening a training school in Oman. Besides, the physical features of the country with mountains, long coastal beaches and deserts are ideal to train pilots," Abdullah said.
(To view the complete magazine, please click on the link below or copy and paste into a new browser window.Link:http://server4a.pressmart.net/theweeknew/)
VL.Srinivasan@apexstuff.com
MUSCAT, July 7
WITH NOT A SINGLE AVIATION ACADEMY IN THE SULTANATE, IT IS NOT EASY FOR THE ASPIRING PILOTS TO GIVE WINGS TO THEIR FLYING CAREERS.
When Mahmood al Zidjali was a little boy, he looked at the aeroplanes in the sky fascinated at the prospect of flying one some day. Now 22, he is all set to leave for Australia in a couple of weeks to join the Australian Wings Academy in Queensland. "It was my dream to become a pilot. I will return home as a trained pilot next year," he said with a smile.
Like Mahmood, scores of other Omani youngsters and children of expats go abroad, mostly to Australia, Jordan and the UK, for pilot training courses because there is no aviation academy in the sultanate.
But unlike him, hundreds of aspiring pilots in Oman are disheartened as the cost of pursuing the course abroad is prohibitive. "It is unfortunate that we don't have an aviation academy. I had to pay RO25,000 for the course and it may cost more by the time my training is completed," Mahmood said.
The course cost would come down significantly and many more youths would have a chance to become pilots if a flying school is set up in this country, he added.
Though the sultanate's national carrier, Oman Air, had announced a plan to establish an international pilot complex with a simulator in Muscat by the end of 2008, it did not materialise for various reasons.
Oman Air planned to start the complex, in collaboration with the Ministry of Defence and Eurocopter, to train 144 pilots every year. It was also looking at acquiring 37 single-engine planes for the purpose.
The national carrier currently has about half a dozen approved flying schools in Australia where its trainee pilots undergo courses on various aircraft, including Cessna, Beechcraft and Diamond. On completion of the courses, they join the organisation.
However, it is not all rosy for those who successfully complete their flying courses in other countries. They have to clear the exams conducted by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and Meteorology of Oman for conversion of their licence and be eligible to join Oman Air.
"Students who are serious can complete the course in eight to 12 months. Even otherwise, it should not take more than 18 months," said Asha Thomas, chief academic advisor of GlobalEdu, a consulting agency which sent nearly 30 students, both Omanis and expatriates, abroad for the course last year.
According to Asha, some flying schools abroad conduct only theoretical courses leaving their students to learn the practical aspects in another country. "An aviation academy in the sultanate will bring down the cost and help those aspiring to become pilots," she said.
A stumbling block in starting flying schools in Muscat and Salalah is the fact that both these cities have international airports. A flying school at an international airport would only hamper normal operations. For this reason, any aviation academy planned in Oman would have to be at one of the new proposed airports at Sohar, Duqm, Ras al Hadd, Haima, Shaleem and Adam.
Capt (retired) Abdullah al Kharusi, a pilot with Gulf Air for 27 years and six-and-a-half years with Oman Air, believes that a flying academy in the sultanate would be immensely beneficial. With Oman Air planning to expand its operations, the airline requires many new pilots who need training from abroad, which costs the company a fortune. "Oman Air needs more than 100 pilots to replace retirees and fill new positions and it is obvious that the national carrier would benefit by opening a training school in Oman. Besides, the physical features of the country with mountains, long coastal beaches and deserts are ideal to train pilots," Abdullah said.
(To view the complete magazine, please click on the link below or copy and paste into a new browser window.Link:http://server4a.pressmart.net/theweeknew/)
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