Are you involved in sending staff overseas for work?
Travelling Staff – Employer Occupational Health and Safety Responsibilities A poll at a recent webinar of over 100 members of the Chamber of Commerce revealed most business did not have a current Travel Health policy. Very few systems were in place to protect either the travelling staff, or those who are sending them overseas. This is […]
Q Fever “Gangnam Style” Toowoomba
Our Toowoomba members’ clinic has been very busy all year with Korean backpackers seeking Q Fever Vaccine prior to working at the local meat works. This initially presented a few problems with language barriers but we have had the Q Fever pre vaccination questionnaire translated into a Korean format (many thanks to Jon Barrell TMA member in […]
dengue fever outbreak in USA
Prepared by TMA member Toowoomba/Brookwater For most travellers to the USA the risk of dengue fever would low on the list of health issues, however the following report of a dengue fever outbreak adds a sobering reminder to practice mosquito avoidance measures even in first world countries. According to the Texas Department of Health, 6 laboratory-confirmed, […]
Rabies in Congo
Prepared by TMA member Toowoomba/Brookwater In August 2013, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF/Doctors Without Borders) started a rabies intervention in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo after an alarming number of people were bitten by rabid dogs, and at least 10 people died. Doctors will provide PEP to people bitten or scratched by a […]
Typhoon Haiyan travel advice
Prepared by TMA member Narre Warren It is now over a month since Typhoon Haiyan (called Yolanda in the Phillipines) struck the Philippines on 8/11/13. The worst hit provinces were Leyte and Eastern Samar, which experienced sustained winds of 270 kph, gusts of up to 312 kph, and a storm surge in coastal areas as […]
Decompression Sickness ( The ‘ Bends ‘ )
Prepared by TMA Member Boronia Decompression Sickness (DCS) is also known as Acute Decompression Illness (ADI) or, more colloquially, as the ‘bends’ (because the pain involved can bend a person). DCS in the setting of scuba diving or deep-sea diving, refers to an illness caused by an overly rapid ascent to the water’s surface. During […]
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka by Dr Jonathan Barrell, TMA Member Daylesford, Victoria The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in the northern Indian Ocean off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent in South Asia; known until 1972 as Ceylon. Sri Lanka has maritime borders with India to the northwest and the Maldives […]
Permethrin – a secret weapon against mosquitoes
Permethrin is a special insecticide that enables clothing to kill or repel mosquitoes Wearing treated items will significantly decrease the number of bites you get. Treated bed nets have been shown to be four times more effective than untreated nets. When you wear treated clothes, you still need to use repellent on exposed skin. You […]
Mosquito Avoidance
Dr Deb Mills Moisture, warmth, carbon dioxide and odour all attract ‘mozzies’, and some unlucky people seem to be genetically more delicious to mosquitoes. Cover up – long sleeved, light coloured clothes Try and avoid being outside when they are biting. If you are outside between dusk and dawn, wear treated, long sleeved shirts, long […]
Splitting tablets?
Dr Deb – TMA member in Brisbane A recent study looking at the accuracy of tablet splitting, found large variations in dose in some of the splits. Some tablets are easier to split than others, and some drugs are more dangerous than others if you get the dose slightly wrong. The major finding of […]