CLINICAL MATTERS The terrible bullying that Olympic boxer Imane Khelif endured due to misconceptions about her sex during the Olympics is a clear indication that our understanding of human sexuality is imperfect and continues to evolve. To begin with, many people continue to use gender and sex...
Image by Freepik Nowadays, there seems to be only two kinds of weather in the Philippines: hot and hotter. The last few weeks have been sweltering, to the point that schools have had to cancel classes to protect students from dangerous heat. Not just kids, but adults are complaining of the high...
CLINICAL MATTERS February is the month of hearts, and Valentine’s Day means many couples hook up and consummate their relationships. The succeeding weeks post-Valentine’s are typically quite busy for infectious diseases doctors and other physicians who treat sexually transmitted infections...
CLINICAL MATTERS “Hey Doc, I have a cold. Azithromycin is okay, right?” This has got to be one of the most common questions doctors get asked nowadays. Unfortunately, most upper respiratory tract infections are caused by viruses and antibiotics won’t help. That doesn’t stop many people from...
CLINICAL MATTERS Living in the tropics, most Filipinos are familiar with the two big mosquito borne illnesses—dengue and malaria. But there are many other infectious diseases borne by mosquitoes that infect a significant number of Filipinos every year. These diseases include Chinkungunya,...
CLINICAL MATTER With the Covid-19 pandemic not exactly over, aside from the emergency phase, people still get nervous whenever there is an increase in new cases. Add to this the recent news of a Nipah virus outbreak in India and it is understandable why there is growing anxiety that a new pandemic...
CLINICAL MATTER As someone who clears seafarers for deployment abroad, I find that one of the most common reasons patients are referred to me is for hepatitis B infection. Most of these patients don’t feel anything and appear otherwise healthy. They are unpleasantly shocked and surprised when the...
CLINICAL MATTERS As the Covid-19 pandemic transitions into endemicity, it is important to remember the lessons of how a tiny microbe can wreak so much havoc. With nearly seven million confirmed deaths and perhaps more than double that in unconfirmed ones, SARS-CoV-2 has taken an immense and bloody...
CLINICAL MATTERS With the proposed lifting of the state of emergency from the Covid-19 pandemic, the country joins many others in adopting the recommendation of the World Health Organization (WHO) to lift the emergency phase of the pandemic. As has been repeatedly pointed out, this does not mean...
As a member of the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) advising the Department of Health and the IATF-EID, I was intimately involved in the intense scientific discussions and policy formulation that occurred beyond the public eye among experts, bureaucrats, and policy makers. Many of these unsung heroes...
CLINICAL MATTERS Dr. Edsel Maurice T. Salvana As more and more people are vaccinated against Covid-19, the positive effects of immunization are emerging. While there is still little data on the ability of the vaccines to prevent transmission, more and more vaccines are showing excellent clinical...
What really is the best vaccine out there? Dr. Edsel Maurice T. Salvana The global push for safe and effective vaccines against COVID-19 has led to a bumper crop of vaccine candidates. With over 200 COVID-19 vaccines in development and at least 10 vaccines completing or about to complete phase 3...
