News
Tuesday 28th February 2023.
February 28, 2023
The director of Pharmacy and Drugs of the Ministry of Health (Minsa) , Elvia Lau, reported that the drug Omeprazole will remain available to the public, despite receiving a report from Spain indicating that the consumption of this product could cause secondary side effects.
“It is important to clarify that this medicine is not going to be withdrawn from the market. The National Pharmacovigilance Center will continue to monitor this medication and if side effects occur in large numbers, we will inform health professionals and the population in a precautionary manner and fulfilling our role,” Lau said.
However, the Minsa recommended to the population to use this medicine rationally.
They added that to date the National Pharmacovigilance Center has received few reports of suspected adverse reactions to this product, associated with the active principle Omeprazole; however, none associated with acute tubulointerstitial nephritis or acute renal failure.
At least 21 victims of the bus accident with migrants in Los Planes de Gualaca, Chiriquí, were identified by the Panamanian authorities in collaboration with several embassies, the Public Ministry reported this Monday, February 27.
They explained that in this first phase they managed to identify 14 deceased people and 7 who are in the Dr. Rafael Hernández hospital and in the José Domingo de Obaldía Maternity and Childhood Hospital.
This, after carrying out the expertise between officials of the Public Ministry and the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, with the collaboration of the embassies of Colombia, Ecuador and Cuba.
The entity explained that through judicial assistance, the protocols for the submission of the fingerprint record were complied with and with this they were able to carry out the forensic dactyloscopy tests.
On the bodies that have not been recognized, the Chiriquí Regional Prosecutor’s Office, together with Legal Medicine, will carry out “other scientific analyzes”, such as forensic odontology and DNA tests, to finally obtain the identities.
This Monday the death of the second Panamanian who was traveling in the bus was reported, so the number of deaths in this tragedy has risen to 42.
Ricardo Lombana, president of the Otro Camino Movement, went on the morning of this Monday, to the Administration Attorney’s Office to request a formal opinion on the response of the Social Security Fund, which determined that the letters that they send to deputies and officials for appointments.
“We are going to get to the bottom of the issue of the forms that are used politically to pay favors,” he said.
He indicated that this is a practice that has been “planted” in the Panamanian political system for many years. “The director of the Social Security Fund opened the door so that we could delve into the subject and request information,” he said.
He recalled that some time ago, Enrique Lau Cortés, director of the entity, would have recognized that the “most shameless practice that existed” was that the deputies requested “political appointments” in writing.
More than a month ago, Lombana made a request for information to find out who are the deputies and senior officials who request appointments of personnel in said institution.
The director responded that these correspondences are of a “confidential” nature. It is protected by articles 1 and 8 of the Law of January 6, 2002, on transparency.
More than a thousand officials, researchers and activists from around the world will participate in Panama next Thursday and Friday at the “Our Ocean” conference, a space for multilateral dialogue to promote a healthy and sustainable ocean, the Panamanian government said Monday.
The United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry, is one of the attendees at this meeting that will focus on six lines of action: marine protected areas, marine security, blue economy, sustainable fishing, climate crisis and marine pollution, reported the Foreign Ministry.
The Vice Minister of Multilateral Affairs and International Cooperation, Yill Otero, told EFE that within the framework of the VIII Conference “Our Ocean” 2023, a meeting of the Panamanian President, Laurentino Cortizo, and his Foreign Minister, Janaina Tewaney Mencomo, with the special American envoy.
This meeting will be an “opportunity for dialogue, to (concreteize) the mobilization of resources, of strategic alliances. What we hope is to put Panama on the map, give projection to all those initiatives” that the Central American country develops in favor of the oceans and nature, said the Panamanian vice minister.
The latest fires that have occurred in the Cerro Patacón landfill, in the Ancón district, are generating toxic smoke that affects residents of the surrounding area, for which reason the Ministry of Health (Minsa) recommends the use of a mask to avoid inhaling that smoke that affects the respiratory system.
Edwin Aizpurúa, pulmonologist and head of the Tuberculosis program of the General Directorate of Public Health of the Minsa, explained that any toxic smoke causes inflammation of the walls of the bronchi, producing a secretion of inflammatory factors (causing a lot of mucus) that lead to respiratory infections. .
The people who should most use the mask are the patients who have chronic diseases such as asthma, chronic lung problems, chronic bronchitis and heart conditions, Aizpurúa explained.
According to the pulmonologist, “we must avoid inhaling this smoke in any way, try not to expose ourselves, since it can affect people presenting symptoms such as: difficulty breathing and coughing, so they should go to the nearest health center to receive adequate care.
In addition, he recalled that all burning of rubber, plastic or any garbage generates a series of irritating particles that affect the respiratory system and the skin. The first accident in Cerro Patacón occurred on February 13 in one of the stages of the landfill, while the second was reported on February 22, in the used tire storage area.
The fire in the tire warehouse was controlled after three days of work, while the first one took almost a week.
On March 23, the concession to Urbalia expires, and the Urban and Home Cleaning Authority will be in charge of managing the site, while the Executive makes a decision in this regard.
The Urbalia concession covers 132 hectares, but according to reports from the Cleaning Authority, the contamination generated within the perimeter of the landfill impacts some 9,000 hectares around it, which includes Camino de Cruces.
A new chapter in the fight Rubén Blades vs. Dj Black for a recent politically tinged music video was recorded this weekend.
“I do not attack the genre, nor the artist, nor his public: I think about a bad production and a worse association,” Blades wrote on his blog on February 26 under the title “Response to the producer of the video where the person designated as corrupt appears ”.
It all started after the reggae singer Dj Black published the music video entitled “El Gurú”, along with former president Ricardo Martinelli.
In his writing, entitled “Notes from La Esquina”, dated February 23, Blades dedicates a few paragraphs to the video. He indicated that the result “seemed so bad in production to me that it raised the word ‘rakataka’ to a stratospheric level.”
Ricardo Weeks, known as Dj Black, responded to him a few days later. According to the urban genre singer, he has never disrespected Blades. “I will not tolerate you missing me for seeking political notoriety. You can have all the musical career you want, but it does not give you the right to belittle, ”he said, in a review made by the Crítica newspaper.
The singer-songwriter Blades, in his response, said that he does not seek political notoriety. “I consider it possible that others are using you to attack me because of the panic caused by knowing that in Panama I do not need to buy votes, blackmail, or deceive people to participate in presidential elections. I don’t need to critique a bad video to get popularity and I don’t need to make a video for people to remember me either. That his “friend” does it, does not surprise me because they say that even his girlfriends charge him “.
According to Blades, he does not underestimate anyone’s work, on the contrary, he helps young artists.
“Music made with dignity and intelligence will always live, regardless of the genre in question,” he concluded.