over 50 or at higher risk of covid. the government s latest coronavirus figures for the uk, show there were 30,693 new infections recorded in the latest 24 hour period. that means on average, 36,163 new cases were reported every day in the last week. just over 9,000 people were in hospital with covid as of thursday. there were 155 deaths, that s of people who died within 28 days of a positive test, which takes the average number of deaths over the past seven days, to 169. more than 9.6 million people have received their boosterjab. this includes third doses for those with certain health conditions. it s thought to affect at least one in ten of us over our lifetime but doctors still don t know what causes irritable bowel syndrome. now a new study has uncovered a potential clue that could make a big difference to how ibs is treated. richard westcott reports.
in their genes, but interestingly, the differences are similar to those that you might see in someone with anxiety, depression, or insomnia. what that tells us is that these conditions are likely to have a shared genetic origin. they are coming from the same place, effectively, and some of that is hard wired. does that mean basically you could be born with a gene that could either give you ibs or anxiety or both, there s nothing you can do about it? yes, that s absolutely true and that s part of what we ve demonstrated. some people who inherit these genetic variants, they may get ibs, other people may get anxiety, and some people will get both of those conditions. they are sort of hard wired, if you like. ultimately, these findings could lead to new treatments. it gives us a new window on how we think about the management of ibs. a lot of treatments so far have very much focused on the gut and the abdomen and dietary therapies, and those do work for some people, but not for everybody.
the interaction between the brain and the gut. and target some of those nervous processes, the neural processes, and that we may well see some benefit there. in your experience, did you feel you were taken seriously when you went to people with ibs? no, i saw a couple of gps, and i was told that it was just ibs and i was a bit. ..fobbed off. millions have ibs and it s thought many more remain undiagnosed. laura hopes this research can begin to change that. i think a lot of people are really ashamed to speak about it. and it s really difficult for them. it s something that impacts them on a daily basis and quite often for years, and theyjust, they would rather not bring attention to it, i think. the mayor of houston sylvester turner is speaking after those eight deaths at a music festival. ., ., .,