ME/CFS can lead to isolation and loneliness. With this in mind, an Inner West support group is beginning in 2010 for sufferers of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (“ME”)/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (“CFS”).

If you would like to meet with others with this condition in a social setting, please contact Katherine on 0415 702 891. Carers also welcome.

Meeting Dates

The new Inner West Support Group at Marrickville Council will meet on Saturdays, every six weeks starting in February 2010.

The dates for 2010 are:

Saturday 6 February
Saturday 20 March
Saturday 1 May
Saturday 3 July
Saturday 21 August
Saturday 2 October
Saturday 20 November

Information

For more information contact Katherine on 0415 702 891 or email: (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or visit the MS/CFS Society of NSW website:

http://www.me-cfs.org.au

This clinic will run on Friday mornings in the Women’s Health Ambulatory Care area on level 5 and will be led by Dr Kirsten Black, a consultant gynaecologist and clinical academic. Access will only be by GP referral or referral from other RPAH specialty units. The clinic is for women with complex medical conditions requiring contraceptive advice and management and for women requiring intrauterine device insertion that is not able to be undertaken in the community setting. Gynaecology appointment forms, presently available on the SSWAHS website and used by GPs for faxing requests for appointments, will be updated to include this new clinic.

Previously Bali was considered rabies free; hence this presents a new risk to Australians visiting Bali.

The Indonesian media have also reported that several people with rabies-like clinical signs and symptoms have died after being bitten by dogs. There is at present no indication that the disease has spread to animals other than dogs. However any animal should be considered to pose a potential risk.

NSW Health recommends that all adults and children visiting Bali should avoid contact with wild and domestic animals, including dogs, cats and monkeys, even if the animal appears well.

“Anyone who is bitten or scratched by an animal in a rabies-affected area, including Bali should immediately wash the wound well with soap and water, apply an antiseptic such as povidone iodine to the wound and see a doctor as soon as possible,” Dr Andrew Marich, Acting Director of NSW Health’s Communicable Diseases Branch, said.

“A course of injections is sometimes needed to prevent rabies infection developing after a bite or scratch,” he said.

NSW Health advises that anyone who has been bitten or scratched by any animal in Bali since 1 August 2008 should see their general practitioner for advice. People bitten or scratched by an animal before this time are not thought to be at risk of rabies.

Rabies is transmitted when viruses in a rabid animal’s saliva get into nerve cells through a wound – usually following a bite or a scratch. While many rabid animals will be sick and may go on to die, some appear well.

Symptoms in humans may include headache, fever, feeling unwell, sensory changes around the site of the bite or scratch, excitability, an aversion to fresh air and water, weakness, delirium, convulsions, and coma.

If rabies infection has occurred, symptoms in humans normally begin within several weeks but sometimes the symptoms begin years after infection. Death usually follows several days after the onset of symptoms.

There is no treatment for rabies once the symptoms have started however treatment of infected people before they develop symptoms can be effective.

The Governor of Bali has temporarily banned the import or export of dogs, cats, monkeys and other animals declaring the island under official quarantine until further notice. Officials are also endeavouring to create a perimeter of vaccinated animals in the areas immediately surrounding those areas in which rabies has been confirmed, aiming to isolate and eventually eliminate the disease.

For a copy of the fact sheet on rabies go to NSW Health Fact Sheet.

The Consumers Health Forum of Australia (CHF) congratulates the Minister for Health and Ageing on her announcement that consumers and other stakeholders will now be able to comment on medicines being considered for listing on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). 

CHF has advocated for more transparency around the PBS listing process for several years. It provided input for this initiative to the Australian Department of Health and Ageing based on the
need to add the consumer experience to the evidence base.

‘The Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) makes final decisions about which medicines are listed on the PBS. It has a consumer representative, but this initiative allows more direct consumer input into the decision-making process,’ CHF Executive Director Helen Hopkins said.

‘The PBAC meeting agenda will be publicly available on its website six weeks before each meeting, stating which medicines are being considered. Consumers and others will have access to an online form for the following two weeks to comment on how consumers, their family and carers would benefit from PBS listing. Comments will be examined by the PBAC and the pharmaceutical company that applied for the PBS listing before the meeting.’

Ms Hopkins said this was a significant improvement in transparency around the PBAC process, and followed other consumer-driven improvements.

‘The release of public summary documents by the PBAC after decisions had been made has helped consumers understand the decision-making process and the reasons why medicines are approved or
rejected.  The inclusion of a consumer representative on the PBAC has led to robust debate about the availability of medicines and how to improve access to medicines,’ she said.

‘A CHF pilot project with the PBAC to test consumer impact statements has shown the value that consumer experiences can add to the decision making processes. The statements look at the impact
of specific conditions on people’s daily lives that can be taken into account by the PBAC when looking at medicines to treat those conditions.’

Outgoing CHF Chairperson Mitch Messer is the current consumer member on the PBAC. 
For further information contact:
Helen Hopkins, CHF Executive Director, on 0412 065 957