Cuban Scientist to Hold Meeting on Hepatitis Diagnosis

HAVANA, Cuba.The Cuban Hepatology Society will hold this Tuesday, World Hepatitis Day, a scientific meeting where the Cuban strategies on the diagnosis and treatment of Hepatitis B and C are to be discussed.

At the meeting, to be held at the Chateau Miramar Hotel, in this city, the participants will analyze a proposal for the development of a comprehensive treatment program for patients suffering from hepatic cirrhosis ,a disease, which is the main complication in these infections, reported the Infomed website.

According to statistics, over 500 million people all over the world are infected with either the B or C variants, and most of them are not aware of it. In Cuba, cirrhosis is the tenth cause of death.

Thanks to the wide coverage of Cuba’s health system and its government’s political will, the implementation of effective programs is a reality, thus allowing the reduction of mortality as a result of this disease and similar ones.

(Realizarán encuentro sobre diagnóstico de la Hepatitis)

Cuban Javelin Thrower Wins in Rio de Janeiro Grand Prix

HAVANA, Cuba. Cuban Osleydis Menendez, Athens 2004 Olympic champion, won the gold medal this Sunday in the javelin event at the Rio de Janeiro Grand Prix, in Brazil.

Menendez showed she is recovering her shape and threw the implement to the 62.74 meter mark, enough to overcome her team-mate Yanet Cruz (62.65) and Romanian Mónica Stoian (59.91).

Meanwhile, triple jumper David Giralt, fourth place in Beijing Olympics, reached the top of the podium with a 17.39 meter jump, 20 centimeters more than Yoandri Betanzos and 28 than World and Olympic champion Portuguese Nelson Evora.

In the long jump event, Ibrahím Camejo, from Cuba, won with a discreet 7.93 leap, trailed by Namibian Stefhan Louw with 7.81, and Wilfredo Martínez (CUB- 7.80). In the women’s event Yargelis Savigne, who leads the world ranking this season in triple jump, finished in the fourth
position with 6.59 meters.

The Cuban athletes will compete again on May 20th in Urbelandia, in Brazil.

(Triunfa Osleydis en Grand Prix de Atletismo Río de Janeiro)
(Jesús Arrieta Alfonso)

Cuban Citrus Industry Diversifies its Production

The Ceballos citrus industry started operating a new production line for pineapple juice as part of a program to diversify its output.

This work was completed with the setting up of a press that fell into disuse in the Isla de la Juventud municipality. The factory engineers made some improvements to the press, thus enabling them to produce plain and concentrated juices.

Domingo Escalante Pérez, assistant director of Ciego de Avila Citrus Industrial Enterprise said that over 180 tons of pineapple harvested in the Villa Clara and Matanzas provinces have already been processed.

Escalante pointed out that this equipment enables them to squeeze approximately 8 tons per hour and make full use of the fruit, while the waste is used to feed cattle, especially dairy cows.

This idea came into practice due to the growth of crop areas developed in the Ciego de Avila province, which was 268 hectares in 2008 and will be greater this year.

The first crops sown last year should start producing during the present year’s second semester.

The Ceballos industry is ready to process other fruits such as oranges, grapefruit, lemons, tangerines, guava, mangoes and papaya amongst others.