Common Herb Thyme 'Could Stop Spread of MRSA'

Scientists have found that the common cooking herb, thyme, could be a miracle cure for the deadly MRSA bug.

Researchers at the University of Brighton, East Sussex, discovered that oils extracted from the plant can kill the bug - linked to at least 8,000 deaths each year - within two hours.'

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Hospitals Consider Banning Bedside Flower Bouquets

In an effort to prevent what they believe may cause patient health complications, some British hospitals have begun banning flower bouquets from hospital rooms. Citing the possibility of infection from bacteria in the water and the ill-conceived notion that flowers may use up all the oxygen in the room - even though plants actually release oxygen - some hospital officials are up in arms over the alleged dangers posed by plants.

Researchers from the Imperial College of London decided to survey hospital patients and staff to get their take on the situation. They found that most patients appreciate having flowers around while many staffers dislike them because they can be messy. Few made any correlation between plants and an increased risk for disease or infection.

Virtually all scientific research has shown that flowers pose no health risks to patients, yet many hospitals continue to cling to antiquated superstition that they are somehow dangerous to patients. The vast majority of studies have revealed that flowers have both immediate and long-term benefits for patients.'

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Boy Rushed to Hospital After Swine Flu Jab

The safety of Northern Ireland’s swine flu vaccination programme was called into question today by the parent of a young special needs pupil who ended up in hospital just hours after getting the jab. Anne Marie Fletcher said she feared her 15-year-old son Rhys was going to die as she rushed him to hospital less than 24 hours after receiving the swine flu vaccine.'

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Israel Shelling Hospitals and Ambulances

The World Health Organization stated that 21 medical personnel were killed in the Gaza Strip and that thirty other were wounded as the army did not only shell ambulances but also shelled hospitals in medical centers. The army also shelled at least eleven ambulances.

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Gaza Hospitals Under Fire

Israeli forces fired in the immediate vicinity of three hospitals in the Gaza Strip on Monday, witnesses and medical personnel told Ma'an. The Al-Wafa Hospital eastern Gaza Strip received warning that they would be shelled, but the hospital administration and staff refused to evacuate on account of the number of injured people being treated there. Some of the wounded have been injured so severely that they cannot be safely transferred.

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