Scotsman – News in brief - 26/07/06
Four babies were found to be carrying MRSA on their skin, at one of Scotland's leading neonatal units at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary
unit during April and May. The previous year between November and December, four cases of MRSA had been reported at the unit, which provides care for babies born prematurely.
Dr Alison McCallum, director of public health at NHS Lothian while speaking at the board's annual review meeting with Andy Kerr, the health minister, said this had resulted in a "deep clean" of the unit. She said babies were now also screened for MRSA on admission to the unit and weekly. "We are now content that all the steps that should have been taken have been taken," Dr McCallum said. "None of these babies was unwell as a result of the presence of MRSA and none has required additional treatment."
Andy Kerr, the health minister said," I don't think there are grounds to be worried about the unit. They probably have the best healthcare-associated infections-handling system in Scotland now, because of the measures that have been taken."
Christine Perry, of the Infection Control Nurses Association, said, "The nature of intensive care means using drips and drains, which puts babies at greater risk of any infection. MRSA in neonatal units is something that hospitals take very seriously," she added.
Kofi Annan, the United Nations secretary-general yesterday said that an Israeli air raid in south Lebanon that killed four UN military observers was "apparently deliberate". UN and Lebanese officials said that the four observers were part of the UN peacekeeping mission.
Senior Hezbollah figures yesterday vowed to step up their attacks into Israel but admitted that they had not expected such a strong Israeli response to cross-border raids.
Milos Strugar, a spokesman for the UNIFIL peacekeeping force, speaking after yesterday's attack on the UN site said: "One aerial bomb directly impacted the building and shelter in the base of the United Nations Observer Group in Lebanon in the area of Khiyam. There were 14 other incidents of firing close to this position in the afternoon from the Israeli side, and the firing continued during the rescue operation".
Koffi Annan, in a statement issued at UN headquarters in New York,said: "I am shocked and deeply distressed by the apparently deliberate targeting by Israeli defence forces of a UN observer post in southern Lebanon. Mr Annan added, "This co-ordinated artillery and aerial attack on a long-established and clearly marked UN post at Khiyam occurred despite personal assurances given to me by prime minister Ehud Olmert that UN positions would be spared Israeli fire."
An Israeli army spokeswoman said in Jerusalem, that the military was investigating the report of yesterday's deaths.
A senior Lebanese military official said that those killed included observers from Austria, Canada, China and Finland.
Mahmoud Komati, the deputy chief of the Hezbollah politburo, seemed to suggest that the group had underestimated Israel's response to its raids. He said,"The truth is - let me say this clearly - we didn't even expect
response... that would exploit this operation for this big war against us."
Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's principal leader, last night vowed his fighters would begin firing rockets deeper into Israel, beyond the northern port of Haifa. The Shiite cleric claimed that Israel's two-week-long offensive was part of a US-Israeli plan for "a new Middle East", a term repeatedly used by Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, on her visit to the region.
Since the conflict erupted on 12 July after Hezbollah abducted two Israeli soldiers, a total of 418 people in Lebanon and 42 Israelis have been killed. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran, yesterday warned that the conflict could sweep through the Middle East like "a hurricane".
Leading British engineering Systems, is refining a material that imitates the feet of a gecko lizard, which has the ability to scale vertical glass and other slippery surfaces with ease. The firm has said that although research is at an early stage," infantry climbing suits" could be made out of the material and troops could be given gecko-like abilities ".
A BAE Systems spokesman has also said that a "government organisation" is interested in using the material for a "particular covert application" connected to surveillance. The tiny hairs on a gecko's foot are so small that in effect they merge with molecules of things that they touch. Despite producing an incredibly strong bond in most directions, it is also a bond that can be easily peeled off.
A research physicist at BAE Systems' Advanced Technology Centre in Bristol, Dr Jeff Sargent, said: "We wanted to mimic this ability.We recognised that a synthetic material could have tremendous engineering potential not only in our own aerospace and defence businesses, but also in other commercial applications."
BAE Systems believes its "Synthetic Gecko" would be cheap to produce and the material is the closest yet to the natural version. A square metre can hold an average family car off the ground. Retired lieutenant colonel and Military analyst Stuart Crawford said climbing suits would be of use to Britain's elite soldiers.
When asked about the possibility of MI5 agents or Special Branch officers wearing Spider-Man suits a Home Office spokeswoman replied "We'd have to say we wouldn't comment on the operations of the security services".
More reviews about the Edinburgh: Scotsman