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Health News in Brief: Penkowa in trouble again

Ben Hamilton
May 2nd, 2017


This article is more than 7 years old.

In other news, portable ultrasounds and more antibiotic-resistant bacteria could be on the way

The controversial academic Milena Penkowa has been caught providing medical services without the necessary authorisation, reports Ekstra Bladet. The police searched her home on March 14 after it was alleged she had been using the address to treat and advise patients about the effects of the HPV vaccine – a breach of the law, claims the tabloid. Penkowa appeared in court yesterday where her lawyer failed with a bid to keep her name out of the public domain. Penkowa is best known for falsifying some results in her dissertation, but was acquitted of the more serious charge of gross document fraud in 2015.

READ MORE: Neuroscientist Penkowa cleared of charges in fraud case

The deadly bacteria within
Every third person carries antibiotic-resistant bacteria in their intestines that could potentially kill them, reports Videnskab.dk. The bacteria is harmless in the intestines, but potentially deadly in other parts of the body where it can cause infection. Patients recovering from operations are most vulnerable. Researchers are still struggling to fully explain why the bacteria are so resistant. Professor Ulrik Stenz Justesen, a microbiology expert at Odense University Hospital, told the website that the situation was “really worrying”.

READ MORE: ‘Nightmare bacteria’ spreading in Denmark

Ultra peace of mind for all?
Portable ultrasound devices, which will greatly enhance the ability of doctors to see what is beneath the surface of the human skin, could soon be commonplace thanks to the efforts of Jørgen Arendt Jensen from DTU Elektro, reports dtu.dk. He is heading a five-year project supported by DTU Nanotech, BK Medical, Meggitt, the Alexandra Institute in Aarhus and Rigshospitalet. Jensen would also like to make ultrasounds available for use by non-professionals – at nurseries, for example, should a toy end up in a child’s throat – similar to the way defibrillators can be used.

READ MORE: Cardiovascular emergencies presenting a problem to Danish hospitals


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A survey carried out by Megafon for TV2 has found that 71 percent of parents have handed over children to daycare in spite of them being sick.

Moreover, 21 percent of those surveyed admitted to medicating their kids with paracetamol, such as Panodil, before sending them to school.

The FOLA parents’ organisation is shocked by the findings.

“I think it is absolutely crazy. It simply cannot be that a child goes to school sick and plays with lots of other children. Then we are faced with the fact that they will infect the whole institution,” said FOLA chair Signe Nielsen.

Pill pushers
At the Børnehuset daycare institution in Silkeborg a meeting was called where parents were implored not to bring their sick children to school.

At Børnehuset there are fears that parents prefer to pack their kids off with a pill without informing teachers.

“We occasionally have children who that they have had a pill for breakfast,” said headteacher Susanne Bødker. “You might think that it is a Panodil more than a vitamin pill, if it is a child who has just been sick, for example.”

Parents sick and tired
Parents, when confronted, often cite pressure at work as a reason for not being able to stay at home with their children.

Many declare that they simply cannot take another day off, as they are afraid of being fired.

Allan Randrup Thomsen, a professor of virology at KU, has heavily criticised the parents’ actions, describing the current situation as a “vicious circle”.

“It promotes the spread of viruses, and it adds momentum to a cycle where parents are pressured by high levels of sick-leave. If they then choose to send the children to daycare while they are still recovering, they keep the epidemic going in daycares, and this in turn puts a greater burden on the parents.”