| |
Azza Elnusairi |
Specialist called in to fight virus
DOZENS of patients in St Mary’s Hospital suffering from an incurable virus received a boost this week with the appointment of a specialist to improve life on their ward.
Azza Elnusairi will work in the Paddington hospital’s National Centre for Human Retrovirology as the world’s first HTLV-1 Specialist Pharmacist.
The virus disables muscles causing spinal cord inflammation leading to severe pain, stiff or unsteady lower limbs, bladder mis-function, constipation and erectile dysfunction.
It can cause a form of blood cancer and is transmitted through the blood stream following unprotected sex.
Ms Elnusairi said: “The complex range of symptoms, combined with the fact that many sufferers are older people and that they are often taking over-the-counter or alternative medicines in addition to their prescription, create a cocktail of triggers for poor compliance and unpleasant side-effects.”
Ms Elnusairi said it was on the increase and that carriers have been identified since the National Blood Service began screening all donated blood for the virus in August 2002.
She will be working St Mary’s national centre, which treats 40 patients a year.
|
 |
|
| |
| |
