Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-11-21

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Greek 2017 draft budget tabled in Parliament

[02] U.S. volunteer network 'Orphan Grain Train' ships 3rd batch of aid to northern Greece

[03] Incidence of venereal disease in Greece is rising, experts report

[01] Greek 2017 draft budget tabled in Parliament

Voutsis said that the debate on the draft budget will begin before Parliament's Financial Affairs Committee on Thursday and take place over four sessions. The debate before the plenum will begin on Tuesday, December 6 and end at midnight the following Saturday, December 10, with a roll call vote.

[02] U.S. volunteer network 'Orphan Grain Train' ships 3rd batch of aid to northern Greece

The 20-ton shipment includes food, vitamins, books, toys, clothing and items of personal hygiene, which will be distributed at the start of the new year among 30 organized networks that provide help to vulnerable citizens, especially those affected by the economic crisis, Haris Aidonopoulos said. The food items will not be distributed to refugees as catering services are only decided through a tender, he added.

Aidonopoulos said the prefecture will also organize a solidarity concert at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki on December 18, with free entrance, where attendants will be asked to contribute food and clothes which will be distributed during the holidays.

This is the "Orphan Grain Train's" third shipment to Thessaloniki. The NGO is a Christian volunteer network that ships donated food, clothing, medical and other needed items to people in 65 different countries including the USA.

[03] Incidence of venereal disease in Greece is rising, experts report

Dr. Apostolos Karalexis, head of the dermatology clinic at the Naval Hospital in Athens, warned that the majority of people seem unaware of the need to protect themselves against venereal disease, adding that the scientific community and relevant agencies must take action before the situation spirals out of control.

Karalexis said that this was partly due to the fact that the weight of global public awareness campaigns in recent years had fallen on AIDS and HIV. "Apropos World AIDS Day, therefore, it would be good to remember the other sexually transmitted diseases, for which we must also take protective measures," he added.

Among the STD's whose incidence had risen substantially in the last 10 years, experts listed syphilis, gonorrhea, genital herpes, HPV, hepatitis, bacterial vaginosis and trichomoniasis.

A recent epidemiological study on new cases of syphilis at the Andreas Syggros hospital said their number had increased 38 pct between 2003 and 2010, from 116 cases in 2003 to 160 in 2010. Nationwide, another 241 cases were reported, of which 209 were men and 32 were women. Of the infected men, 58.8 pct were homosexuals or bisexuals and the main age group affected were 25-34 year olds for both sexes.

Cases of gonorrhea also increased from 108 in 1990 to 312 in 2010, with the majority of patients being heterosexual males aged 25 to 34 years old.

Genital warts or HPV were still the most frequently transmitted STDs, in spite of the introduction of the vaccine that has led to a reduction in the number of patients in some countries. Records at the Andreas Syggros Hospital and the Naval Hospital in Athens show that the number of patients presenting with HPV doubled between 2006 and 2011. There are currently two vaccines against HPV available in Greece as part of the national immunisation programme since 2008.

New AIDS cases recorded in recent years have shown a mixed pattern, with new cases doubling between 2010 and 2012, from 530 to 1059, and then falling again to 802 in 2014 and 667 in 2015.

The protection measures for preventing infection with STD's were the use of condoms, having a steady sexual partner and the HPV vaccine, Dr. Karalexis said.

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