An 86 year old patient who was allegedly affected by the antibiotic resistant bacteria Clostridium difficile, died at the Manuel Amador Guerrero hospital in Colon.

The hospital authorities have also revealed a new case, increasing the total number of infected patients to sixteen. (Siglo)

The physician leader Mauro Zúñiga, blamed the health authorities this Tuesday, February 19, for the deaths that have occurred due to the nosocomial KPC bacteria in Panama, because this is mostly the result of their inability to maintain the state hospitals in an aseptic (germ-free state), he said.

"I've never seen so many deaths from nosocomial bacteria in my professional life as there are today. The only people that should be affected are those with immune disorders, but here it affects healthy people," said Zuniga.

According to the doctor, "the situation shows that they are not reaching the correct levels of biosafety." He added that "the KPC outbreak that has occurred in the hospital complex is what has caused the highest death rate in the world." (Estrella)

Jorge Hassan, Metro Health Director, said 14 vendors in the Seafood Market in Panama City were fined $100 each.

Hassan said the fish vendors were not wearing aprons, hairnets, and they violated other health standards.

The official said they would cite the administrator of the Seafood Market because in adjacent areas there are many unhealthy situations that threaten the health of consumers.

He said they found clams lying on the floor, and fish on wooden boards.

"These unhealthy situations must be corrected soon, because otherwise the fish market might be closed temporarily," Hassan noted. (Critica)

Medical authorities at the Manuel Amador Guerrero hospital in Colon have confirmed they will investigate the death of a second patient, to determine if the cause of death was the bacterium Clostridium difficile, so they are performing the necessary studies.

The death of the patient, aged 68, occurred on Saturday. He was hospitalized three weeks ago and was remained isolated, what's more his condition was delicate and he was receiving dialysis treatment.

Visits in this hospital visits have been restricted as a health measure, because of the presence of this antibiotic resistant bacteria. (Telemetro)

The medical management of the Social Security Fund (CSS) in Chiriquí confirmed another death and two cases of patients affected by (the antibiotic resistant) Clostridium difficile (bacteria.)

With this death rose there are now 10 deaths caused by this bacterium out of a total of 55 reported cases in the Rafael Hernández Regional Hospital of David, said Erick Miranda, the medical director of the CSS in that province.

Another 6 patients who have tested positive for Clostridium difficile are in the isolation ward on the fifth floor of the hospital.

He noted that three of the patients who died, an autopsy was performed, but they were not able to determine that their deaths were due to the bacteria.

"It is an expected behavior, because this is cyclical of this nosocomial bacteria," said the doctor.

Miranda also said the hospital also maintains restrictions on visits to patients in addition to biosecurity measures at their facilities.

Earlier, medical authorities in Colon confirmed three cases of the deadly strain of the bacterium Clostridium difficile at the Amador Guerrero Hospital located in the province, and two more cases are suspected, presenting with symptoms of prolonged diarrhea. (TVN)

On Monday the eighth person died who was affected by the bacterium Clostridium Dificille - a person who had been admitted for a brain injury to the Rafael Hernández regional hospital in David.

Erick Miranda, the Institutional Medical Director of the Social Security Fund, said the patient had recovered from diarrhea, but his health was already been compromised by the pathology he suffered upon entering the hospital.

He said an autopsy was ordered for this patient, to determine the real causes of his death. Miranda also reported the entry to the isolation ward of another new case of Clostridium Dificille, in its most deadly strain, the NAP-026.

"It's a case that comes from outside, who was admitted to the hospital with signs of constant diarrhea, and upon testing was positive for the bacteria," explained Miranda.

With this case there are already 51 people affected by Clostridium Dificille in the province of Chiriqui, 50 of them in the Regional Hospital of David and one (1) in the Maternal and Child Hospital José de Obaldia.

Miranda said in the isolation ward of the Regional Hospital there are still four patients, one of them been compromised due to his illness and who still has diarrhea, while the remaining three are evolving favorably. (TVN)

The Ministry of Health called this Friday, November 30, for the citizens to maintain preventive measures for drinking water, since turbidity levels persist in the water produced by the water treatment plant in Chilibre.

Use filtered water, boil it for ten minutes, or chlorinate the water using 3.5% commercial chlorine are some of the recommendations being made by the entity to those citizens who receive their water supply from the water treatment plant, which is managed by the Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers (Idaan).

Preparation - Through a press release, the Ministry of Heath said water chlorination should be done with a dropper, with the following preparation: 3-4 drops of bleach per liter of water, 16 drops per gallon of water, 20 drops per 5 liters of water, and 50 drops for 5 gallons of water. It was clarified that these measures are temporary, until they achieve lower acceptable turbidity levels after constant measurements. (Prensa)

Editor's Comment: I'm putting my faith behind the Ministry of Health, who has been saying over and over again that the water being delivered by the IDAAN from the water treatment plant in Chilibre is NOT safe to drink. They say the water should be filtered, boiled, and chlorinated. Meanwhile, the (morons) at the IDAAN are repeating their mantra that the "water is fit for human consumption." Right. Screw them. The easiest thing to do is just use the brown sludge for everything else in your house, except to drink and cook. I've got two of those large 5 gallon jugs and we drink that. Now, it there's another big storm and more "turbidity" gets washed into Lake Alajuela, then if 2012 turns out to be anything like 2010, then eventually the water treatment plant in Chilibre might go offline altogether. You've been warned...

The turbidity in the water being supplied by the old water treatment plant in Chilibre has been reduced to a value of 3.4 Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU), while the water being produced by the new water treatment plant remain at a higher NTU value. International standards describe water with an NTU value of 5 or less as being fit for human consumption. (more)

Editor's Comment: You've just hit a "pay wall." Panama-Guide subscribers (members) who have logged in to their accounts can see the full text of this article. However non-members can only see this short introduction. In this particular case, you will learn about the current problems with the drinking water supply in Panama City.

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Copyright 2012 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Don't forget to follow Panama Guide on Twitter. Salud.

After a natural disaster, the risks of unleashing diseases is great, especially gastrointestinal infections, skin rashes and others. The Ministry of Health has deployed personnel, especially in the flood-affected areas of West Panama, to start monitoring the area and prevent outbreaks of disease. (Telemetro)

Panama's Health Minister Javier Diaz acknowledged there are high levels of turbidity in the drinking water being produced by the water treatment plant in Chilibre due to the constant rains that have occurred in recent days, and he made the following recommendations. (more)

Editor's Comment: You've just hit a "pay wall." Panama-Guide subscribers (members) who have logged in to their accounts can see the full text of this article. However non-members can only see this short introduction. In this particular case, you will learn about the current problems with the drinking water supply in Panama City, and other parts of the country.

If you would like to subscribe, please click on the button below to pay the $20 (cheap) annual subscription fee via PayPal;

This Is Another Test Article: Anonymous users can only see this article - which contains just the headline and the first sentence of the article. Members who have paid the subscription fee and logged in to their user account on this website will see the full text of the article, and my comments. I will be putting up one of these per day between now and 1 December 2012 and the full implementation of the "pay wall."

Copyright 2012 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Don't forget to follow Panama Guide on Twitter. Salud.