Messi Scores As Barca Beats Clasico Rivals Minus Ronaldo
In just the second El Clasico ever held outside of Spain, Barcelona used a winner from Gerard Pique in the second half to beat Real Madrid 3-2 on Saturday night in Miami. With Cristiano Ronaldo not there and doubts as to whether Neymar will be with Barca come next week, fans were treated to a festival of goals in the International Champions Cup showdown, but it was all Barca early.
Barcelona went up 1-0 just three minutes in when Lionel Messi made a nice cut in the box and got a fortunate deflection to beat Keylor Navas.
Real Madrid Vs Barcelona ICC 2017 Highlights Goals
Real Madrid 2 Barcelona 3: Messi, Rakitic And Pique Secure El Clasico Win As Neymar Rumours Rumble On
Barcelona drew first blood against Real Madrid ahead of the new season with a 3-2 victory in a pulsating Clasico friendly on Saturday in Miami.
The historic rivals will meet again twice in August in the Spanish Super Cup and this International Champions Cup match set the entertainment bar high, with Gerard Pique's strike settling a fiercely contested clash. Madrid were missing Cristiano Ronaldo, still on holiday, but both teams were close to full strength. Ernesto Valverde, getting a taste of Clasico drama early in his career as Barcelona manager, selected Neymar despite speculation swirling over the Brazilian's future at the club.
However, it was stalwart Lionel Messi who opened the scoring after just three minutes, beating Luka Modric and firing home, with his strike deflecting off Raphael Varane and beating Keylor Navas.
Barcelona were dominant and Ivan Rakitic doubled their lead with a powerful drive when Suarez helped force Neymar’s low cross to the Croatian midfielder on the edge of the box.
The sell-out crowd at the Hard Rock Stadium were in for a thrilling night and Madrid fought their way back into the game with Mateo Kovacic drilling expertly past Jasper Cillessen from the edge of the area.
Marco Asensio, starting on the left of Real Madrid’s attack in place of Ronaldo, then started and finished a lightning break to tie the game in the 36th minute.
After a prolonged halftime break with music, lights and fireworks shows more akin to the Super Bowl, the game restarted at the same hectic pace.
Pique sent Barcelona ahead again in the 50th minute by flicking home Neymar's curling free-kick, before the Brazilian missed from close range. Luis Suarez was denied by Navas and Samuel Umtiti had a strike cleared off the line.
Barcelona were dominant and determined not to let their lead slip, with Rakitic even squaring up to referee Jair Marrufo as he protested a decision, showing the stakes were much higher than for a regular friendly.
It was the first time the teams met in a friendly since 1991 and only the second time outside of Spain. Given its success, the spectacle is likely to be repeated.
World Hepatitis Day: Facts About Liver Inflammation Disease
World Hepatitis Day, which falls on July 28, is an initiative that was started by the World Health Organization and has since been commemorated every year as part of their effort to raise awareness regarding the disease. This year, World Hepatitis Day is themed “Eliminate Hepatitis” urging people to start acting toward the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, eradicating hepatitis for good.
In light of that initiative, here is a look at some of the facts about the five variants of hepatitis (A,B,C,D,E) that you probably did not know:
1) About 325 million people worldwide are living with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV), the Strait Times reported. The same disease resulted in the death of 887,000 people globally in 2015.
Hepatitis B gravely affects the Asia Pacific, killing a person every 30 seconds, according to the Coalition to Eradicate Viral Hepatitis in Asia Pacific (CEVHAP).
2) Different kinds of the hepatitis virus get transmitted in different ways. One runs the risk of get affected by hepatitis A by consuming food or water contaminated by feces from a person infected by the same disease. Hepatitis B, on the other hand, may be transmitted by infectious body fluids, such as blood, vaginal secretions, or semen.
Apart from the ways in which the variant B is transmitted, one can also get infected by hepatitis C by injection drug use. Hepatitis D spreads by direct contact with contaminated blood and waterborne hepatitis E virus spreads through contaminated drinking water, Healthline reported.
3) According to Stellenbosch University virologists, they have reasons to believe that hepatitis E will prove to be as deadly as hepatitis A or B in the near future. Although the particular variant of the disease was contained to underdeveloped countries, the scenario is changing and not countries like the United States as well as France are showing signs of people getting affected by the disease. While the virus was previously transmitted only through fecal-oral route, the disease is presently spreading through the consumption of pork or ham that has not been processed properly or has been contaminated by fecal matter, IOL reported.
4) Some of the symptoms of acute hepatitis are fatigue, discolored urine, abdominal pain, pale stool, loss of appetite, abrupt weight loss, jaundice-like signs like yellow colored eyes and skin. If one is experiencing some or all of these symptoms, one should immediately get blood tests, liver function tests, ultrasound and other medical procedures done to make sure that one has not got infected by hepatitis.
5) Apart from hepatitis D and E, all the other variants can either be prevented by vaccination or treated by an array of antiviral drugs and ample rest for relative periods of time. However, hepatitis D can be prevented by administering vaccination for the hepatitis B virus. Also, there are some hopes for finding a cure for hepatitis D as about 25 to 30 percent of patients affected by the disease showed signs of improvement after taking a drug called alpha interferon.
6) During the time one is recovering from hepatitis, doctors often advice patients to steer clear of any type of foods or drinks that can cause undue irritation to one’s liver, NDTV reported. Any food that is loaded with gluten, fat, sugar, chemicals, preservatives and empty calories should ideally be avoided. The same goes for alcohol or foods that contain alcohol. Dairy products also put considerable burden on the liver and as they contain complex protein that need to be broken down. However, the most important “don’t” that goes on top of the list is to avoid drinking tap water or unfiltered water, especially if one is suffering from hepatitis A and E.
World Hepatitis Day, July 28, 2017, is an opportunity to add momentum to all efforts to implement the World Health Organization (WHO)'s first global health sector strategy on viral hepatitis for 2016-2021 and help WHO's member states achieve the final goal of eliminating hepatitis.
- Build and leverage political engagement following official endorsement of the Global Health Sector Strategy on viral hepatitis at the World Health Assembly 2016.
- Showcase emerging national responses to hepatitis in heavy burden countries.
- Encourage actions and engagement by individuals, partners and the public.
- Highlight the need for a greater global response as outlined in the WHO's Global hepatitis report of 2017.
In support of the "Eliminate hepatitis" campaign, WHO will release new information on national responses in 28 countries with the heaviest burden.
11 countries which carry almost 50% of the global burden of chronic hepatitis:
Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Uganda, Viet Nam.
17 countries that also have high prevalence and together with the above, account for 70% of the global burden:
Cambodia, Cameroon, Colombia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Nepal, Peru, Philippines, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Zimbabwe.
Key messages for World Hepatitis Day 2017
1. Viral hepatitis is a major global health problem and needs an urgent response.
There were approximately 325 million people living with chronic hepatitis at the end of 2015.
Globally, an estimated 257 million people were living with hepatitis B (HBV) infection, and 71 million people were living with hepatitis C (HCV) infection in 2015.
2. Very few of those infected accessed testing and treatment, especially in low- and middle-income countries.
By the end of 2015, only 9% of HBV-infected people and 20% of HCV-infected people had been tested and diagnosed. Of those diagnosed with HBV infection, 8% (or 1.7 million people) were on treatment, while 7% of those diagnosed with HCV infection (or 1.1 million people) had started treatment in 2015.
The global targets for 2030 are: 90% of people with HBV and HCV infections tested and 80% of eligible patients are reached with treatment.
3. Viral hepatitis caused 1.34 million deaths in 2015 - comparable with TB deaths and exceeding deaths from HIV. Hepatitis deaths are increasing.
4. New hepatitis infections continue to occur, mostly hepatitis C.
The number of children under five living with chronic HBV infection was reduced to 1.3% in 2015 (from 4.7% before vaccines were introduced).
Hepatitis B vaccine is preventing approximately 4.5 million infections per year in children.
However, 1.75 million adults were newly infected with HCV in 2015, largely due to injecting drug use and due to unsafe injections in health care settings in certain countries.
5. Achieving the 2030 elimination goal is not overly ambitious; reports from 28 high-burden countries give cause for optimism.
On World Hepatitis Day 2017, WHO is publishing 28 country profiles which show that, despite many challenges, the global effort to eliminate hepatitis is gaining ground. However, major obstacles still remain.
New WHO data from 28 countries -- representing approximately 70% of the global hepatitis burden -- indicate that efforts to eliminate hepatitis are gaining momentum. Published to coincide with World Hepatitis Day, the data reveal that nearly all 28 countries have established high-level national hepatitis elimination committees (with plans and targets in place) and more than half have allocated dedicated funding for hepatitis responses.
On World Hepatitis Day, WHO is calling on countries to continue to translate their commitments into increased services to eliminate hepatitis. This week, WHO has also added a new generic treatment to its list of WHO-prequalified hepatitis C medicines to increase access to therapy, and is promoting prevention through injection safety: a key factor in reducing hepatitis B and C transmission.
"It is encouraging to see countries turning commitment into action to tackle hepatitis." said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general. "Identifying interventions that have a high impact is a key step towards eliminating this devastating disease. Many countries have succeeded in scaling-up the hepatitis B vaccination. Now we need to push harder to increase access to diagnosis and treatment."
World Hepatitis Day 2017 is being commemorated under the theme "Eliminate Hepatitis" to mobilize intensified action towards the health targets in the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. In 2016, the World Health Assembly endorsed WHO’s first global health sectors strategy on viral hepatitis to help countries scale up their responses.
The new WHO data show that more than 86% of countries reviewed have set national hepatitis elimination targets and more than 70% have begun to develop national hepatitis plans to enable access to effective prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care services. Furthermore, nearly half of the countries surveyed are aiming for elimination through providing universal access to hepatitis treatment. But WHO is concerned that progress needs to speed up.
"The national response towards hepatitis elimination is gaining momentum. However, at best one in ten people who are living with hepatitis know they are infected and can access treatment. This is unacceptable," said Dr. Gottfried Hirnschall, WHO's director of the HIV Department and Global Hepatitis Programme.
"For hepatitis elimination to become a reality, countries need to accelerate their efforts and increase investments in life-saving care. There is simply no reason why many millions of people still have not been tested for hepatitis and cannot access the treatment for which they are in dire need."
Viral hepatitis affected 325 million people worldwide in 2015, with 257 million people living with hepatitis B and 71 million people living with hepatitis C - the two main killers of the five types of hepatitis. Viral hepatitis caused 1.34 million deaths in 2015 – a figure close to the number of TB deaths and exceeding deaths linked to HIV.
Hepatitis C can be completely cured with direct acting antivirals (DAAs) within 3 months. However, as of 2015, only 7% of the 71 million people with chronic hepatitis C had access to treatment.
WHO is working to ensure that DAAs are affordable and accessible to those who need them. Prices have dropped dramatically in some countries (primarily in some high-burden, low-and lower middle income countries), facilitated by the introduction of generic versions of these medicines. The list of DAAs available to countries for treating hepatitis C is growing.
WHO has just prequalified the first generic version of one of these drugs: sofosbuvir. The average price of the required three-month treatment course of this generic is between US$260 and US$280, a small fraction of the original cost of the medicine when it first went on the market in 2013. WHO prequalification guarantees a product’s quality, safety and efficacy and means it can now be procured by the United Nations and financing agencies such as UNITAID, which now includes medicines for people living with HIV who also have hepatitis C in the portfolio of conditions it covers.
With high morbidity and mortality globally, there is great interest also in the development of new therapies for chronic hepatitis B virus infection. The most effective current hepatitis B treatment, tenofovir, (which is not curative and which in most cases needs to be taken for life), is available for as low as $48 per year in many low and middle income countries. There is also an urgent need to scale up access to hepatitis B testing.
Improving injection safety and infection prevention to reduce new cases of hepatitis B and C
Use of contaminated injection equipment in health-care settings accounts for a large number of new HCV and HBV infections worldwide, making injection safety an important strategy.Others include preventing transmission through invasive procedures, such as surgery and dental care; increasing hepatitis B vaccination rates and scaling up harm reduction programmes for people who inject drugs.
Today WHO is launching a range of new educational and communication tools to support a campaign titled "Get the Point-Make smart injection choices" to improve injection safety in order to prevent hepatitis and other bloodborne infections in healthcare settings.
