BONJOUR L'ESTONIE

How to avoid AIDS in Estonia ?

The first HIV-positive in Estonia was discovered in 1988. Since then, there have been over 6400 registered HIV-positives. You find this number too big ? The information you are going to read next can and should shock you.

The statistics that show HIV cases per million people reveal that Estonia is on top of this chart. There are 467 HIV-positives in Estonia per million people. This is extraordinary, considering that Russia has 247 registered cases per million and Portugal, who is next to us, has 251 people infected per million.

That is nearly half less then in our country ! I, for one, find this information very disturbing. 467 HIV-positives in Estonia is getting dangerously close to the number of people infected per million in countries, such as Nigeria and South-Africa. These two countries have the most people living with AIDS. This might be the last chance to ask ourselves what exactly is going on before the spreading of HIV and AIDS turns into a national disaster. More importantly, we must ask ourselves what we can do to help the prevention of the brutal illness.

Following there ...

First patient portal launched in Estonia

A Tallinn hospital has become the first in Estonia to introduce an ePatient portal, allowing patients to view their medical records online.

The iPatsient (ePatient) portal, began its pilot phase in November 2007 at East Tallinn Central Hospital and is now fully online for all patients to log onto.

To date, nearly 1,000 people have used the portal, and if it proves successful it will be rolled across Estonia as part of its e-health strategy.

National deployments of the iPatsient portal are due to start in the autumn.

Patients can access the portal from the hospital’s website using information sent to them on an ID card in the post.

In the hospital, they must use the ID card to log onto the system, on home PCs they will need the card number and a PIN code selected by the user.

They must then answer preset security questions to ensure the full security of their medical records.

Once logged into the portal, patients can view their medical records, book doctors appointments and pay consultation fees.

Finns push to ban Subutex

Finnish experts are insisting that Estonia end over-the-counter sale of Subutex, a drug meant for the treatment of narcotic dependence which is hugely popular among Finnish drug addicts.

The Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health fears that after Estonia’s accession to the Schengen zone on Dec. 21 illegal import of Subutex from Estonia to Finland will increase, the Finnish STT agency reports.

Estonia may have escaped Newcastle disease

ESTONIA - So far, there have not been new outbreaks of Newcastle disease in Estonia after a single outbreak at Kulli farm near Tallinn reported on November 5, 2007.

If there are no new outbreaks, the existing quarantine restrictions in the 3 kilometers radius around the affected farm are expected to be lifted on December 14, 2007.

There have been no new outbreaks of Newcastle disease in Estonia since confirmation of the outbreak in Kulli farm near Tallinn on 05.11.2007.

All poultry located within 3 km radius zone were vaccinated against Newcastle disease as an emergency measure. If there are no new outbreaks, the quarantine related restrictions in the 3 kilometers radius zone around the affected farm are expected to be lifted as of December 14, 2007.

Furthermore, Estonia is intending to introduce the compulsory vaccination against Newcastle Disease starting from the first quarter of 2008.

World AIDS Day FEATURE : Laying Stepping Stones

TALLINN - Jekaterina Manko comes from a well-to-do family in Estonia's northeastern city of Narva. At 25, she divides her professional time between two organizations in the capital Tallinn, where she heads projects aimed at fighting the spread of HIV.

But this is a complete turn-around for Manko, an injecting drug user in her teens, who tested positive for HIV when she was 18.

Thanks to follow-up meetings with specialists from the nearby AIDS center, and rehabilitation with a narcotics' anonymous group, Manko came out of her drug and alcohol dependency, has access to medication and considers her health situation as quite good.

Discrimination

Talking openly about her HIV positive status was initially difficult as she feared discrimination and losing her close friends. Those fears are in the past now - most of her close friends know she lives with HIV and she enjoys their circle of friendship.

But it is not easy for a person living with HIV to make new friends especially from the opposite sex. "It was hard for me to generally talk with men," says Manko. She was afraid that "after developing a good friendship it would not be easy to eventually add, 'I am also HIV positive'." Two years ago she met the man who is now her husband. He is HIV negative, and the couple dreams of having their own children in the future. Manko considers herself lucky, especially knowing that she can get medication that enables women like her to give birth to healthy babies.

Hers is a positive struggle with drug addiction and HIV, unlike the case of thousands of people in a country whose HIV prevalence is mainly attributed to young people under the age of 30.

Amphetamines are not enough ... Estonia has highest HIV infection rate in Europe, as we already also knew

* TALLINN : Estonia has the fastest rate of new HIV infections in Europe, with most of the new cases in drug users, European Union experts said Friday.

Some 504 new HIV cases per 1 million residents were registered in 2006 in the Baltic state, nearly five times higher than the average in Europe, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control said.

Ukraine, Russia and Portugal followed Estonia as the European countries with the highest infection rates, the report said.

Zsuzsanna Jakab, director of the disease control agency, said Estonia, a nation of 1.3 million, needed to improve HIV surveillance and testing procedures. She pledged EU assistance in these areas.

A total of 86,912 new HIV infections were reported in 50 European countries last year. More than two-thirds of these were in ex-Soviet Union republics, she added.

Yet another record for Estonia who leads the EU in the use of amphetamines ...

Estonia leads the EU in the use of amphetamines by young people and holds second place after the Czech Republic for ecstasy use, the results of a fresh European study indicate.

According to the report by the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) published Nov. 22, 5.5 percent of Estonian residents in the 15-24 age group had used amphetamine within the past year. This is the highest ratio in Europe, with Latvia reporting three and Lithuania a little over one percent, according to the results of the survey carried by Postimees.

More than six percent had used ecstasy, which places Estonia second after the Czech Republic, where the percentage was 12.

Katri Abel-Ollo, researcher with Estonia's national drug and addiction monitoring center, explained that the Estonian data reflect the situation in 2003, whereas the figures for other countries usually are either for 2004 or 2005. This could mean that the current ratios are even higher.

Narva water declared unsafe

TALLINN - Estonia’s Health Protection Inspectorate has refused to issue a sales permit to Narva’s water supplier, AS Narva Vesi, saying that the city’s water “cannot be considered safe for one’s health.”

The inspectorate issued a notice to the company on Oct. 30 demanding that the city’s drinking water be made to comply with current quality standards, writes EPL Online.

A representative of the Health Protection Inspectorate told The Baltic Times that in several tests the levels of Tri Halo Methane, a substance that can cause cancer after long-term exposure, was found to be over the allowed limit.

Estonia has been successful in the fight against tuberculosis

Tallinn – Prime Minister Andrus Ansip and Special UN Envoy to the Stop Tuberculosis Partnership, Jorge Sampaio, agreed at a recent meeting that Estonia has been successful in the fight against tuberculosis.

The Prime Minister noted that both the tuberculosis monitoring system and a tuberculosis register used in Estonia were of good quality. In addition, the state supplies the means required for treatment. “Our treatment results are very good and we are at a respectable position worldwide,” said Ansip, adding that, unlike other countries, we have adopted an integrated treatment approach and are not giving patients the runaround between different healthcare institutions.

If approximately ten years ago 48 new first-time tuberculosis cases were diagnosed in Estonia per 100 000 people, then the figure last year fell to 28 cases per 100 000 people. “If you continue your current activities you will be able to achieve even better results,” said Jorge Sampaio.

Second Newcastle disease outbreak suspected

By Joel Alas

TALLINN - Wild pigeons could be responsible for spreading a bird disease that has affected one of Estonia’s largest poultry farms.

Over 200,000 hens may have to be culled at the Tallegg egg-laying farm near Tallinn after veterinary authorities declared a suspected outbreak of Newcastle disease. The disease can wipe out bird stocks but has little impact on humans. Nevertheless, it is considered a serious disease because of its potential to impact the poultry industry.

Blood samples taken from the Tallegg farm will be analyzed at the Veterinary and Food Board laboratory.