Alert Over Child Inflammation Cases
The title of this post, is the same as that of an article on The Times.
Someone has posted this comment,
It’s Scarlet Fever. My grandson just had it . It responded instantly to antibiotics, so it can’t be viral.
Get a grip!
And this was my reply.
Strange you should mention scarlet fever.
I’m 72 and growing up in a polluted Southgate in North London from all that domestic coal smoke, I was quite a sickly child.
At about six, I caught scarlet fever and was isolated at home for about eight weeks. Strangely, it was an isolated case as my GP told my parents, that I was the only case in London.
Doctors, who I’ve discussed this with since, suspect it could have been a misdiagnosis.
But, I have another explanation.
At 50, I was found to be coeliac and I think it was an extreme reaction to gluten, perhaps brought on by the pollution. My medical records of that time have also been lost.
Not for nothing, does one doctor call coeliac disease, the many-headed hydra!
I didn’t think that scarlet fever was still about.
Is Undiagnosed Coeliac Disease A Possible Explanation For High Deaths From Covid-19 Amongst Those Of Caribbean And Jewish Heritage?
In The Times today, they publish a list today of deaths per 100,000 people, who died in hospital from Covoid-19.
- Caribbean – 70
- Any other black – 48
- Total black – 43
- Indian – 30
- Any other Asian – 27
- All Asian – 27
- African – 27
- Overall – 26
- Pakistani – 26
- White British – 23
- Bangladeshi – 20
Some things jump out from the data,
- Those of Asian, African and Pakistani heritage have death rates similar to the general population.
- Bangladeshis do rather well, which is contrary to the expectations of some people.
- Those from the Caribbean, fare much worse than other black groups and Africans.
In the statistics, one group of immigrants were ignored. I live in Hackney and there have been a large number of Orthodox Jewish immigrants to the borough in recent years. From statements, by the Chief Rabbi, in The Times and on BBC Radio, he is worried and has closed all the synagogues under his control. Separating this group might give an insight into the data.
Recently my GP, asked if I had been vaccinated against measles, as Hackney is a measles hotspot. I haven’t been vaccinated, but I have had the disease. Apparently, the Orthodox Jewish groups have low vaccination rates.
I am also coeliac, which means I have a gluten allergy. Mine comes from an Ashkenazi Jewish line from the Baltic, but coeliac disease is also present in the Irish and some West Africans. In these three groups, historic famine seems to be the cause. Over the years, I have met several coeliacs from Jamaica and other islands in the West Indies, but never have I met any from Asia or East Africa.
Various research into coeliac disease has shown, that as many as one in a hundred of the UK population could be undiagnosed coeliacs. I wasn’t diagnosed until I was fifty, twenty years ago, so sufferers do slip through the net.
But research from Nottingham University has also shown, that coeliacs on a gluten-free diet are less likely to suffer from cancer, than the general population. Could this be because this group has a strong immune system, which gets an immune response in early on the cancer?
Undiagnosed Coeliacs And Pollution
I can speak of this with authority, as that was me as a child.
I grew up in Southgate in North London and the air was polluted with the smoke from domestic coal fires. I suffered badly and was a very unhealthy child, who regularly had three months off school.
My health improved about ten and it could have been one of three factors.
- I was exercising more, having learned to ride a bike.
- My parents had bought a house in Felixstowe, where we tended to spend lots of boring weekends and holidays.
- The Clean Air Act of 1956 had cleaned up London’s air.
My breathing certainly improved and I was a good enough athlete to make a school team at fifteen.
Recent research has shown, that there can be a link between air pollution and COVID-19. I wrote about this in Air Pollution May Be ‘Key Contributor’ To Covid-19 Deaths – Study.
These days, even in a polluted street, I don’t suffer much at all, but then I’m on a strict gluten-free diet!
Although, I do find that my breathing improves in the Spring, when we start to get longer days with lots of sunshine.
Undiagnosed Coeliacs And Strokes
I had my serious stroke because of atrial fibrillation. My father died after two serious strokes. He must have been coeliac, so were his strokes caused by the same reason as mine?
I have talked with cardiac specialists and they have felt, that my fifty years as an undiagnosed coeliac could have damaged my heart muscle to cause the atrial fibrillation.
Slavery
It would not be right to ignore slavery.
Millions of Africans were taken from West Africa to America and the Caribbean and they were probably fed nothing more than bread and water most of the time.
Did this increase the predominance of coeliac genes in those that survived the horrific treatment?
What Are The Bangladeshis Doing Right?
As a coeliac, if I’m stuck in a town, that is unknown to me and I need a meal, I’ll often go to the smartest Indian (Bangladeshi?) restaurant, as I’ve never found one with cloth tablecloths and napkins, that doesn’t do good gluten-free food. The only wheat they use is in the nans!
So has this diet given Bangladeshis a good immune system?
What Is The Figure For Jewish People?
In this article in The Times, Melanie Phillips says this.
As of last Friday, 335 British Jews had died of the virus, more than five times their proportion in the population.
Wikipedia gives the number of British Jews as 263,346 in the 2011 Census.
A rough estimate using these figures gives a figure of 127 per 100,000 of the population.
Conclusion
Could undiagnosed coeliac disease be the unexplained link as to why people with Caribbean heritage have higher deaths than those with African?
Queuing For Marks And Spencer In Dalston
I took this picture of the orderly queue waiting to get into Marks and Spencer in Dalston.
It does appear that everybody was obeying the rules and I only took twenty minutes to enter the store.
- The store was well-stocked, although there were very few ready meals with long Best Before dates.
- Gluten-free bread, biscuits and cereals were at near normal levels.
- There were about a dozen bottles of Adnams low-alcohol beer on the shelves, which I reduced by a couple.
- There were no gluten-free cakes. Not that I buy them often.
- Some lines like gluten-free sandwiches seem to have been dropped. Not that I wanted any, as I won’t be travelling.
- The staff were being very professional.
I was able to get enough food in my bag to get me through to the middle of next week.
A Glorious Sight In Marks And Spencer In Dalston
I get through almost a dozen bottles of Adnams 0.5% alcohol beer in a week
Marks And Spencer in Dalston has both varieties.
As my body says the beers are gluten-free, I am grateful for small mercies.
But then, I’ve been drinking Adnams since I was about fourteen!
A Toned Down Automatic Leon In Leeds Station
Leon have opened a new outlet in Leeds station.
It’s toned-down with an automatic order facility.
Leon Has Smart-Looking Glasses For Gluten-Free Beer
I had lunch in Leon at Ludgate Circus.
It was only a chicken burger and fries, but I did have an Estrella Damm Daura.
It even came with a smart-looking Glass.
Top Class Service With A Smile
I only went into this busy Leon on Tottenham Court Road for a hot chocolate and a gluten-free cake.
As it takes a minute to make a hot chocolate, the young lady at the counter, suggested I sit down and she’d bring it over.
Which she did with a smile.
Another Carluccio’s Goes
C and myself used the Carluccio’s in Oxford Market many times. But now it has gone!
To add insult to injury, it is now a restaurant called Sweet Chick, which describes itself as Chicken and Waffles.
Doesn’t sound very healthy to me!
A Gluten-Free Restaurant In Fitzrovia
On Wednesday, I wet with a friend to a restaurant clled Pisqu in Rathbone Place, Fitzrovia.
It was very good and I had no problem with finding an excellent gluten-free meal.
I dhall retirn!
Gluten-Free Afternoon Tea In Bettys
Bettys of Harrogate is one of the best-known traditional tea rooms in Yorkshire, if not the whole of the North of England.
As today was the first weekday of LNER’s new Harrogate service, with six trains per day in both directions, I emailed an old friend and we agreed to meet up for an early afternoon tea, which is actually served from eleven in the morning.
These pictures show my tea, which was gluten-free.
It was certainly some of the best gluten-free sandwiches, cakes and scones, I’ve ever had.
Sadly,, my friend only had time for a coffee, as she was running late, due to a horse problem. But she did show me around Harrogate.
I have been before with C, but I didn’t remember anything except that we had a coffee in Bettys.
The Outward Journey To Harrogate
I took the 09:33 from Kings Cross and we arrived in Harrogate station a minute early at 12:16.
- The journey took two hours and 43 minutes.
- The train reversed direction at Leeds
- The only problem appeared to be that the seat allocation system on the train wasn’t working. Could this be becuae, the service appeared to be timetabled for two five-car trains working as a pair and a nine-car turned up?
- As it was only the second day of the service, I would expect some teething troubles.
These pictures show the Azuma train at Harrogate station.
On the train, I met a lady who was going to see her son and his family near Thirsk. She was saying that Harrogate has better bus connections than Thirsk, so it is a more convenient station.
Train Length And Horsforth Station
As you can see from the pictures a nine-car train is a tight fit in Harrogate station.
Two trains call at Horsforth station, where a Google Map appesrs to show a platform only long enough for a five-car train.
The Return Journey From Harrogate
My return train was a five-car Azuma train.
- It left Harrogate at 15:36
- It arrived at Kings Cross at 18:32, which was a couple of minutes late.
- The journey time was two hours and 56 minutes.
I was also in Furst, so I got a delicious snack meal.
These Deli-Boxes certainly work as a snack for me.
As Adnams now do the 0.5% version of their Ghost Ship in cans, I would love to see trains carrying these beers or something similar.
Splitting And Joining At Leeds
My train didn’t split at Leeds on the way up, but according to one of the staff at Leeds, this is part of the final plan.
Consider.
- Nine-car trains are a tight fit at Harrogate.
- Nine-car trains don’t fit into Horsforth.
- Nine-car trains are needed for capacity reasons to and from Leeds.
So two five-car trains, running as a pair to Leeds, would be ideal. One train would serve Harrogate and the other perhaps Bradford or Huddersfield.
As I was tired and in a hurry, when we arrived in Kings Cross, I forgot to check if we were five- or ten-cars.
Ticket Costs
I have just looked up prices for the 14th of January 2020 for going North on the 0933 and South on the 17:36.
- Outbound in Standard costs £15.50
- Return in Standard costs £12.20
- First Class is £35 both ways.
All prices are with a Railcard.
Conclusion
The new Harrogate service is more than just a second destination in the Leeds Area.
- As the lady told me, Harrogate has good connections to a large part of Yorkshire.
- A difficult change, that can be slow is avoided at Leeds station.
- Another lady told me, that her husband used to commute to London from Harrogate three days a week and often missed the connection at Leeds.
- If you needed to go for say a business meeting in Harrogate or take your mother for lunch at Bettys on her birthday, the train service is ideal.
- The Azumas add style to a route that will also appreciate it.
I am certain that LNER have a winner.
Bettys
I would certainly recommend, their gluten-free afternoon tea.
I wonder how many will come up from London to have lunch or a meeting in Bettys and the other cafes and restaurants in Harrogate?
Note that Bettys and several other cafes and restaurants are an easy walk from Harrogate station.
My friend and I said that we’ll meet up again in the Spring. It will be interesting to see how the service is behaving.
The Anonymous Widower 