FACT SHEET FOR SCIENCE AND HEALTH WRITING (ENGLISH-ELEMENTARY)

2021 DIVISION JOURNALYMPICS

Directions: Compose an 8-10 feature story using the following facts on Science and Health.

A 3rd of COVID survivors suffer neurological or mental disorders – study

 One in three COVID-19 survivors in a study of more than 230,000 mostly American
patients were diagnosed with a brain or psychiatric disorder within six months,
suggesting the pandemic could lead to a wave of mental and neurological problems,
scientists said on Tuesday, April 6.
 Researchers who conducted the analysis said it was not clear how the virus was linked
to psychiatric conditions such as anxiety and depression, but that these were the most
common diagnoses among the 14 disorders they looked at.
 Post-COVID cases of stroke, dementia, and other neurological disorders were rarer, the
researchers said, but were still significant, especially in those who had severe COVID-19.
 "Our results indicate that brain diseases and psychiatric disorders are more common
after COVID-19 than after flu or other respiratory infections," said Max Taquet, a
psychiatrist at Britain's Oxford University, who co-led the work.
 The study was not able to determine the biological or psychological mechanisms
involved, he said, but urgent research is needed to identify these "with a view to
preventing or treating them."
 Health experts are increasingly concerned by evidence of higher risks of brain and
mental health disorders among COVID-19 survivors. A previous study by the same
researchers found last year that 20% of COVID-19 survivors were diagnosed with a
psychiatric disorder within three months.
 The new findings, published in the Lancet psychiatry journal, analyzed health records of
236,379 COVID-19 patients, mostly from the United States, and found 34% had been
diagnosed with neurological or psychiatric illnesses within six months.
 The disorders were significantly more common in COVID-19 patients than in
comparison groups of people who recovered from flu or other respiratory infections
over the same time period, the scientists said, suggesting COVID-19 had a specific
impact.
 Anxiety, at 17%, and mood disorders, at 14%, were the most common, and did not
appear to be related to how mild or severe the patient's COVID-19 infection had been.
 Among those who had been admitted to intensive care with severe COVID-19 however,
7% had a stroke within six months, and almost 2% were diagnosed with dementia.
 "Although the individual risks for most disorders are small, the effect across the whole
population may be substantial," said Paul Harrison, an Oxford psychiatry professor who
co-led the work.

(Retrieved from https://www.rappler.com/science/life-health/third-covid-survivors-suffer-neurological-mental-disorders)

FACT SHEET FOR SCIENCE AND HEALTH WRITING (FILIPINO ELEMENTARY)
2021 DIVISION JOURNALYMPICS

PANUTO: Sumulat ng isang lathalain na may walo hanggang sampung talata gamit ang mga
sumusunod na datos.

Ilog Pasig, number one sa nagpaparumi sa karagatan

 Nangunguna ang Pasig River sa 19 na mga ilog sa bansa na nagpaparumi sa karagatan.

Nagluluwa ito ng tone-toneladang plastic na basura sa Manila Bay dahilan para maging
polluted ang dating malinis at hinahangaang lawa.

 Bukod sa Pasig River, nagluluwa rin nang maraming basurang plastic sa karagatan ang
mga ilog ng Tullahan, Meycauayan, Pampanga at Libmanan.

 Ayon sa isang pag-aaral na nalathala sa Science Advance Journal, nasa 1,600 ilog sa
buong mundo ang nagko-contribute para ma-pollute ang karagatan. Ayon sa pag-aaral,
80 percent ng mga ilog ay nagsusuka ng mga basurang plastic na humahantong sa
dagat. Kahit umano maliit ang ilog ay nakakapag-contribute ng mga basurang plastic.
Walang tigil sa paglalakbay ang mga basurang plastic na pawang humahantong sa
dagat..

 Ayon pa sa pag-aaral, ang Pasig River ay nakakapag-contribute ng mahigit 356,000

metriko tonelada ng plastic na basura sa karagatan bawat taon. Ang Pasig River na may
habang 27 kilometro ay nakapaikot na parang ahas sa mataong Metro Manila.
Maraming bayan at lungsod ang nasa paligid ng Pasig River at ang mga ito ay nagko-
contribute ng 63,000 tonelada ng basura bawat taon.

 Problema ang plastic na basura sa Metro Manila. Nararapat nang magkaroon nang
pangmatagalang solusyon ang local government units (LGUs) para mabawasan ang
paggamit ng plastic. Sa Quezon City, ipinatutupad ni Mayor Joy Belmonte ang
pagbabawal sa paggamit ng single-used plastic. Bawal ang plastic sa QC. Kamakailan,
inilunsad ni Belmonte ang “trash to cashback” program kung saan lahat ng recyclelables
na basura ay ipapalit ng pagkain at pera.

(Hango mula sa Philippine Star Ngayon)