A round-up of today's other stories in brief...
Children weaker than 10 years ago
IRISH parents have been urged to restrict their children's access to computer games after research found children are physically weaker than they were a decade ago. Scientists have attributed this development to the surge in the time children spend online. The findings, published in the journal Acta Paediatrica, revealed differences between the strength of more than 300 10 year olds assessed by a fitness expert in 1998 and 2008.
Older consumer faces obstacles on insurance
INSURANCE COMPANIES are having a negative effect on older people’s lives by categorising customers into age groups, according to the Equality Authority.
Speaking at the launch of “Say No to Ageism Week” in Dublin yesterday, chairwoman of the authority, Angela Kerins, said older people face too many obstacles in securing travel and health insurance.
“Insurance is a key sector. It is complicated and protected by actuarial judgments which often categorise an individual, rather than assess the potential risk of a person who reaches their 65th birthday,” she said.
“If these sectors work well, then the quality of life of our older people is greatly enhanced.”
“Say No to Ageism Week” – now in its eighth year – is jointly organised by the authority and the Health Service Executive (HSE) and will run until Friday.
Access to insurance for older people is the theme this year, and a seminar entitled Older People and Insurance in Ireland and the EU was held immediately following the launch yesterday in Dublin Castle.
The aim of the week is to promote awareness about how older people can be discriminated against and highlight the positive contribution that they can make to society.
To help spread the message, advertising is being placed on public transport, while posters and leaflets about age discrimination are being made available nationwide. HSE staff have also been asked to wear special pin badges.
See equality.ie
Parents urged to vaccinate children before holidays
PARENTS ARE being urged to vaccinate their children against measles before holidaying in Europe this summer after an outbreak on the continent.
The warning from the HSE comes after 10,000 cases of the disease and four related deaths have been reported in 18 European countries since January.
Dr Suzanne Cotter, a specialist in public health medicine with the Health Protection Surveillance Centre, said: “There have been significant outbreaks in France, Spain and Belgium, which are popular holiday destinations for Irish families and college students.
“Many cases are due to travel of infected people between countries.
With more travel between Europe and Ireland over the summer, there is an increased risk to Irish children and teenagers who are not fully vaccinated.”
Measles, which is caused by a virus, is spread by contact with droplets from the nose, mouth or throat of an infected person.
“Parents must make sure that their children are protected by ensuring they have been immunised with MMR before they visit Europe,” said Dr Cotter.
Dr Cotter urged parents to contact their GP to get the vaccine, which is free.
“Only 90 per cent of children in Ireland have received one dose of MMR by 24 months of age, which is below the target of 95 per cent to prevent cases of measles and measles outbreaks,” she said.
“So far, 42 cases of measles have been reported in Ireland this year. Eight cases were in children under 12 months of age, who were too young to have been vaccinated, but almost half of the rest had not received any doses of MMR vaccine.”
