Avian Flu Resources
We have put together a list of useful resources for Avian Flu here:
We have put together a list of useful resources for Avian Flu here:
Pursuing a longstanding interest in maternal and fetal health, Courtney Rowland spent last year deeply involved in several key investigations: the role of folic acid in preventing encephalocele (a congenital neural-tube defect), the effects of maternal analgesics on congenital cardiovascular malformations, and the incidence of birth defects among infants born to mothers with the viral disease lymphocytic choriomeningitis.
Those would be formidable assignments for any medical researcher, let alone someone who was still a medical student. But that's what Rowland was (and still is) at the University of Kansas Medical School in Wichita, where she is now in her fourth year.
Rowland's investigations, which gave her a chance to learn first-hand about epidemiological methods and public health, were part of a new fellowship program in applied epidemiology offered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Ga.
Under the program—called "The CDC Experience: Applied Epidemiology Fellowship—eight medical students between their second and third, or third and fourth, years of medical school are selected each year to spend 10 to 12 months at the CDC, where they carry out investigations in areas of public health that interest them. They receive stipends of $17,000 to $20,000. The program is financed by Pfizer Inc. and the Pfizer Foundation through a grant to the CDC Foundation, a nonprofit group designed to facilitate collaboration between the CDC and other organizations.
Full Article: http://www.aamc.org/newsroom/reporter/oct05/fellowships.htm
MINNEAPOLIS/ST.PAUL, MN (Aug. 3, 2005) – Julie A. Ross, Ph.D.,Photo of Dr. Julie Ross professor and internationally known childhood cancer epidemiologist, has been named associate director for population sciences at the University of Minnesota Cancer Center, announces John Kersey, M.D., Cancer Center director.
Full Announcement: http://www.cancer.umn.edu/page/news/release080305.html
ARHP calls for women to talk to their providers, request comprehensive screenings
Washington, DC, June 28, 2005 - Eighty-eight percent of women rely on their healthcare providers to learn about gynecological issues, yet only 19 percent said their doctor has talked to them about cervical cancer and its cause - the human papillomavirus (HPV) - according to a new survey released by the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals (ARHP). HPV is extremely common, affecting an estimated 80 percent of sexually active adults in their lifetime, in some cases staying dormant until years after the initial infection. Yet few are talking about the relationship between HPV and cervical cancer despite the fact that advanced screening is available, which can detect the virus early and help prevent cervical cancer.
"The communications gap between providers and patients related to cervical cancer and HPV is an issue that is largely due to time constraints, and a reluctance to discuss a sexually transmitted infection with women," said Dr. Beth Jordan, medical director at ARHP. "But because new techniques, including improved types of diagnostic testing, now make cervical cancer a disease that can be better prevented, we're encouraging women to discuss with their healthcare provider their HPV risk, get regular screenings with the Pap test and, if they are age 30 or older, ask about HPV testing as well."
Full Article: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-06/lt-srw062805.php
With Epi Info™ and a personal computer, epidemiologists and other public health and medical professionals can rapidly develop a questionnaire or form, customize the data entry process, and enter and analyze data. Epidemiologic statistics, tables, graphs, and maps are produced with simple commands such as READ, FREQ, LIST, TABLES, GRAPH, and MAP. Epi Map displays geographic maps with data from Epi Info™.
Research shows combination of exercise and weight control may cut disease risk dramatically
PHILADELPHIA – In a large epidemiological study of the link between energy balance and breast cancer risk, scientists have provided strong evidence that more exercise together with less weight gain affect considerably the likelihood of contracting breast cancer, the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women.
Energy balance represents the difference between energy intake, by eating, and energy expenditure, through physical activity.
Full Article: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-06/aafc-ktb060905.php
Americans have more options than ever to use in protecting themselves from mosquito bites. Today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new guidance about effective mosquito repellents available in the United States. The updated guidance includes addition of two active ingredients - picaridin and oil of lemon eucalyptus - which have been shown to offer long-lasting protection against mosquito bites. Repellents containing DEET continue to be a highly effective repellent option and are also included in the CDC guidelines.
Full Article: http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/r050428.htm
They might be cute and cuddly, but furry "pocket pets" and docile petting zoo animals can spread deadly bacteria to children just like snakes and exotic pets.
. . .
"I don't want people to be alarmed by these pets. That's not our goal," said Swanson, who also works in the Minnesota Department of Health and was involved in the investigation. "I really just want them to be aware of the possibility of infection from these cute, but potentially contaminated pets."
Full Article: http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/trib/regional/s_334623.html
10 May 2005 – With the success of vaccinations leading to a dramatic drop in fatalities but an increase in the number of alarmist and misleading websites threatening to counter that accomplishment, the United Nations health agency today welcomed 23 non-commercial Internet pages to its Vaccine
Full Article: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=14224&Cr=vaccine&Cr1=
Montreal, 17 May 2005--Those considered high-risk for melanoma--the most dangerous form of skin cancer--are no more likely to sunbathe protected than those who are unaware of their risk, according to a new study conducted by MUHC researchers. The study, published in the Journal of Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery, examined the behaviour of melanoma patients in order to assess the efficacy of sun-awareness and protection campaigns.
Full Article: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-05/mu-tah051605.php
PORTLAND, Ore. -- While prostate cancer is a very common diagnosis, it is a deadly disease in relatively few men. One in 6 men will develop prostate cancer during his lifetime. However, of these, only one in 10 cases will be life-threatening.
Full Article: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-05/ohs-poh051605.php
One out of 12 people in the western world suffers from type 2 (adult onset) diabetes. Worldwide, 150 million people are diabetic and their numbers are expected to double in the next 20 years, a result of the growing obesity epidemic. Yet, the reasons for the strong correlation between excess body fat and diabetes have been puzzling researchers. Scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science and the University of Umea, Sweden, have now unraveled a mechanism by which fat contributes to the onset of the disease. Their results were published in the April issue of Cell Metabolism.
Full Article: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-05/acft-tfc051605.php
A study published last month in the American Journal of Psychiatry suggests an association between maternal exposure to toxoplasmosis and increased risk for developing schizophrenia in adult children. The study, which evaluated archived blood samples from pregnant women who participated in a large birth cohort called the Child Health and Development Study (CHDS) from 1959–1967, was conducted by researchers at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and the Department of Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, in collaboration with the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Plan, Northern California Region.
Full Article: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-05/cums-sfm051605.php
A study led by a Mayo Clinic medical oncologist and conducted by the North Central Cancer Treatment Group (NCCTG) provides important new data about the effectiveness and safety of a breast cancer treatment combining chemotherapy and a drug called trastuzumab (Herceptin).
Full Article: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-05/mc-mrt051305.php
A pediatric oncologist at Brenner Children's Hospital hopes his latest research into treating a common childhood cancer will reduce the number of long-term side effects that survivors experience as they grow into adulthood. Allen Chauvenet, M.D., presented his findings today at the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (ASPHO) annual meeting in Washington, D.C.
Full Article: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-05/wfub-ldo050905.php
FRIDAY, May 6 (HealthDay News) -- The first year of college can take a toll on students' health, with a new study suggesting the stresses and loneliness experienced by many freshmen weakens their immune systems.
Lonely students had less robust immune responses to the flu shot than other students, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh report in the May issue of the journal Health Psychology.
Full Article: http://www.healthfinder.gov/news/newsstory.asp?docid=525415
12th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections HIV InSite's coverage of the 12th CROI, Boston, MA, 2/22-25/05.
After nearly two years of planning, community meetings and in-depth study involving more than 300 health care professionals and community leaders, Minnesota’s first plan to coordinate cancer control and prevention activities in the state was announced last week.
The plan is titled Cancer Plan Minnesota 2005-2010: Recommendations for policymakers, planners, providers and advocates. The four areas of action for the first year of the plan include:
• Reduce smoking by advocating for increased state taxes on cigarettes and expanded smoke-free workplace laws.
• Reduce racial disparities by expanding cancer screening and treatment for racial minorities to reduce the high incidences of lung, colon, prostate and other cancers.
• Reduce colon cancer by increased emphasis on screening to detect cancer early when it can be prevented or treated.
• Increase information by creating an interactive website so that Minnesotans can more easily find out about services and support programs.
Several Cancer Center members played key roles in developing this plan: DeAnn Lazovich, Ph.D., served on the steering committee and co-chaired the Prevention Work Group; Nancy Baxter, M.D., Ph.D., co-chaired the Early Detection Work Group; and Bruce Peterson, M.D., co-chaired the Treatment Work Group. In addition, the following Cancer Center members served on work groups: DeAnn Lazovich, Ph.D., and Beth Virnig, Ph.D., M.P.H., Data Review Committee; Marva Bohen, M.S., R.N. and Janet Smith Yee, Disparities Committee; Andrew Flood, Ph.D., Deb Hennrikus, Ph.D., and Phyllis Pirie, Ph.D., Prevention Work Group; Ann Mertens, Ph.D., Survivorship Work Group; Timothy Church, Ph.D., Resa Jones, M.P.H., and Mark Yeazel, M.D., Early Detection Work Group; and Beth Virnig, Ph.D., M.P.H., Treatment Work Group. The Cancer Center also was part of a resolution to support the Cancer Plan, and John Kersey, M.D., spoke at the appreciation event for people who developed the plan.
Full Announcement: http://www.cancer.umn.edu/page/ccmembers/members.html
Congressional and Public Affairs
(202) 720-9113
Steven Cohen
WASHINGTON, April 20, 2005 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) isssuing a public health alert to remind consumers to ensure that frozen meat and poultry products are fully cooked before they are consumed. Using a food thermometer is the only sure way of knowing if your food has reached a high enough temperature to destroy foodborne bacteria.
Full Article: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/NR_042005_01/index.asp
After decades of under-investment, our public health system lacks the resources it needs to tackle the full range of health threats -- from preparing for potential chemical or biological attacks, to addressing the serious chronic disease epidemics of cancer or asthma, or responding to emerging infectious diseases like severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) or Avian Flu. As the leading federal agency responsible for protecting the public’s health, the CDC’s budget must reflect the vital role it plays in the lives of every individual, every day, and its increasing responsibilities for homeland security.
Full Article: http://healthyamericans.org/policy/criticalcare/
Washington -- Three vaccine scenarios are being eyed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the upcoming flu season: rain, shine or hurricane.
A "rainy" scenario, the one the agency considers realistic, would mimic last season's scattered storms of accessibility. The supply would be about 60 million doses of injectable flu vaccine and 3 million doses of nasal vaccine, said Lance E. Rodewald, MD, director of the CDC's Immunization Services Division, speaking during last month's 39th National Immunization Conference in Washington, D.C. The conference, sponsored by the CDC, brought officials together to assess the most recent flu season and look to the upcoming one.
Full Article: http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2005/04/18/hlsc0418.htm
MONDAY, April 18 (HealthDay News) -- An antibody called Sphingomab shows promise in treating some of the most deadly kinds of tumors, according to studies presented Monday at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Anaheim, Calif.
Researchers say Sphingomab has been tested in several animal models of human cancer and was found to significantly slow cancer growth on a consistent basis. In some cases, it eliminated the tumor.
The antibody, developed by San Diego-based Lpath Therapeutics Inc., targets sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), a compound thought to play a role in cancer cell growth and spread. In animal studies, Sphingomab blocked the effects of S1P on cancer cells and also prevented formation of new blood vessels that feed growing tumors.
Full Article: http://www.healthfinder.gov/news/newsstory.asp?docid=525131
THURSDAY, March 31 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers have launched an international study to evaluate the ability of a new estrogen-suppressing drug, exemestane, to prevent breast cancer in women at increased risk for the disease.
The ExCel study will track more than 4,500 postmenopausal women in Canada, the United States and Spain for five years. Researchers say it will include women at increased risk for breast cancer due to risk factors such as age, family history, age at first menstrual period, and age at first live birth.
Full Article: http://www.healthfinder.gov/news/newsstory.asp?docid=524871
The largest, most comprehensive study ever done comparing the effectiveness of hand hygiene products shows that nothing works better in getting rid of disease-causing viruses than simply washing one's hands with good old-fashioned soap and water.
Among the viruses soapy hand washing flushes down the drain is the one that causes the common cold. Other removable viruses cause hepatitis A, acute gastroenteritis and a host of other illnesses.
A separate key finding was that waterless handwipes only removed roughly 50 percent of bacteria from volunteer subjects' hands.
As this season's window of opportunity to administer the flu vaccine comes to a close, the attention of those in the supply chain -- from physicians who give the shot to the people involved in manufacturing it -- has turned to next year.
And there is already a hiccup.
Many physicians are having problems placing their pre-orders for next season's supply, an activity usually on the to-do list at this time.
Full Article: http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2005/03/07/hlsb0307.htm
"BOSTON, Feb. 24 - The researchers whose findings led the New York City health department to warn of a rare and possibly virulent strain of H.I.V. defended on Thursday their decision to notify city officials, saying the virus presented a serious threat to public health.
Giving a detailed account of their investigation for the first time at a scientific meeting here, the researchers said their discovery of the potentially more aggressive strain in a New York City man with multiple sexual partners was reason enough to sound the alarm."
Willmar, Minn. — So far, domestic chicken flocks in southeast Asia have been hit hardest by avian influenza. But the disease puts fear in any poultry producer. Dale Lauer, who directs the Minnesota Poultry Testing Laboratory in Willmar, the epi-center of the state's turkey industry, says turkeys are just as susceptible.
Full Article: http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2004/11/29_bensonl_birdflu/
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Minnesota health officials are alerting doctors to watch for what might be a new, drug-resistant strain of HIV that is said to move quickly to AIDS.
Full Article: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MN_DRUG_RESISTANT_HIV_MNOL-?SITE=MNROC
Boston, MA -- Routine HIV screening should be extended to most Americans, according to the findings of two research teams described in the February 10, 2005 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers at Yale, Harvard and the Massachusetts General Hospital found that such screening could increase survival, prevent transmission of the disease and be undertaken at reasonable cost relative to the benefit for society. Another team from the VA, Duke and Stanford Universities employed different data and methods and reached similar conclusions. An editorial in the same issue of NEJM calls explicitly for a change in US screening policies which currently recommend testing only in high risk groups.
Full Article: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/press/releases/press02092005.html
Contact: Andrea Brunais
MediaRelations@moffitt.usf.edu
813-632-1478
University of South Florida Health Sciences Center
Tampa, FL (Feb. 1, 2005) In the largest grant ever to a Cancer Control and Prevention researcher at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, the National Institutes of Health awarded $10 million to Anna Giuliano, Ph.D., to help determine men's roles in spreading the human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes deadly cervical cancer in women.
The grant is the largest of its kind in the world. Up to this point in the world of cancer research, little has been done to study men's roles in spreading the sexually transmitted organism linked to cervical cancer in women. The men will be followed every six months for four years. They need not have the HPV virus. But they must be willing to visit a clinic at Moffitt twice a year for the four-year study duration.
Full Article: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-02/uosf-se020105.php
Researchers say obesity is associated with lower prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels in men, making the screening test likely to produce unreliable results in this population. The full study is published in the March 1, 2005 issue of CANCER (http://www.interscience.wiley.com/cancer-newsroom), a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.
Full Article: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-01/labr-lbm013105.php
The federal government is making its emergency stockpile of 3 million flu vaccines available to doctors nationwide in a new effort announced Thursday to immunize more people.
Article: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2005-01-28-flu-usat_x.htm
BANGKOK, Jan 21 (TNA) - Monitoring measures on bird flu in Thailand are still being strictly imposed to prevent its re-emerging for the third time, Public Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan has affirmed.
"New cases of bird flu patients have not been found in Thailand since October," said Mrs. Sudarat.
The monitoring measures have been increased to the highest level of awareness, especially the preventative measures on human-to-human transfer.
Read more...MCOT
Wed Jan 19, 2005 9:27 PM ET
HANOI (Reuters) - An 18-year-old girl has died of bird flu in southern Vietnam and the first confirmed human infection in the country's north has raised concerns about possible human-to-human transmission of the virus.
The girl died in a Ho Chi Minh City hospital on Wednesday after battling the highly virulent H5N1 strain for nearly two weeks since she was hospitalized on Jan. 6 from the southern province of Tien Giang, the Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper said.
Read more...Reuters Health
Wed Jan 19, 2005 7:54 PM ET
By Patricia Reaney
LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have discovered a new cancer-causing gene that they believe could be a molecular master switch for the disease.
Dubbed the Pokemon gene, it is one of several so-called oncogenes that lead normal cells to become cancerous. But it could be one of the most important.
"Pokemon is a main switch in the molecular network that leads toward cancer," said Dr Pier Paolo Pandolfi, of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York who headed the team that identified the gene.
Read more...Reuters Health
Wed Jan 19, 2005 11:18 PM ET
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More Americans than ever before are surviving cancer and rates in general are falling, mostly because fewer people are smoking, the American Cancer Society reported on Wednesday.
The group predicts that 1.372 million Americans will be diagnosed with cancer in 2005 and 570,280 will die of it. This does not include a million cases of two not very threatening forms of skin cancer called basal and squamous cell carcinoma.
Read more...Reuters Health
Deaths from both fall, but heart disease at faster rate
Wednesday, January 19, 2005 Posted: 3:51 PM EST (2051 GMT)
(AP) -- For the first time, cancer has surpassed heart disease as the top killer of Americans under 85, health officials said Wednesday. The good news is that deaths from both are falling, but improvement has been more dramatic for heart disease.
"It's dropping fast enough that another disease is eclipsing it," said Dr. Walter Tsu, president of the American Public Health Association.
Read more...CNN Health
Deaths from both fall, but heart disease at faster rate
Wednesday, January 19, 2005 Posted: 3:51 PM EST (2051 GMT)
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(AP) -- For the first time, cancer has surpassed heart disease as the top killer of Americans under 85, health officials said Wednesday. The good news is that deaths from both are falling, but improvement has been more dramatic for heart disease.
"It's dropping fast enough that another disease is eclipsing it," said Dr. Walter Tsu, president of the American Public Health Association.
Read more...CNN Health
Gene transfer technique immunizes mice within 12 hours
Using gene transfer technology, investigators were able to immunize mice against anthrax in just 12 hours, according to new research featured in the February 2005 issue of Molecular Therapy, the peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy (ASGT).
In any bioterror attack, vaccines that provide a rapid, effective defense against the pathogen will be key to saving lives. Research underway at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City may provide health officials with a much quicker option than vaccines currently available, which can take weeks or months to gain full effect.
"This research is important, because in the event of an attack, it may not be known whether another attack is coming -- or who might be affected. In that case, you want immunity to be built up in key populations as quickly as possible," said Dr. Ronald G. Crystal, Chairman of the Department of Genetic Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College and Chief of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.
Vaccines tend to fall into one of two groups -- active vaccines, where the body is prompted over time to build up antibodies against specific threats; and passive vaccines, where fully-formed antibodies are delivered to the body in vaccine form.
"Because the body continues to produce antibodies, active vaccines last much longer than the passive kind, whose effectiveness tends to diminish over time," Dr. Crystal explained.
Read more...Eurekalert
NEW YORK-- The best method for preventing HIV patients from developing drug resistance is a careful, dedicated adherence to their prescribed drug regimen, according to a long-term, large-scale study presented today in New York City at the American Medical Association Media Briefing, HIV/AIDS, The Drug Resistance Epidemic. Other key predictors of resistance include measures of how much virus was present in a person's bloodstream at the start of therapy and how much their immune status was compromised.
"We have a lot of studies showing that triple therapy works, as well as a lot of good information on the problem of resistance developing in triple antiretroviral therapy," said Richard Harrigan, Ph.D., director of the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV Research Labs at St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver and lead author of the paper. "The problem with past studies is that they were limited to people in clinical trials and as people drop out they are lost to the study. In this study, we followed people beginning initial triple therapy for 30 months and were able to really get a sense of how the therapy works outside of clinical trials."
Read more...Eurekalert
Increase fueled by Nigeria outbreak after vaccine boycott
GENEVA, Switzerland (AP) -- The number of worldwide polio cases last year rose by almost one-third after a vaccine boycott in Nigeria spawned a resurgence of the disease across Africa, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.
The number of cases worldwide in 2004 reached 1,185, compared with 784 in 2003, the United Nations health agency said.
Most of the cases were in Africa -- largely in Nigeria, the continent's most populous nation. Hardline Islamic clerics in Nigeria's northern Kano state led the immunization boycott, claiming the polio vaccine was part of a U.S.-led plot to render Nigeria's Muslims infertile or infect them with AIDS.
The boycott triggered an outbreak across the continent, infecting children in formerly polio-free countries and hurting WHO-led attempts to eradicate the crippling disease by December 31, 2005.
"It's slowed the efforts for sure," said Sona Bari, a spokeswoman for WHO's Polio Eradication Initiative. "It's going to take months to deal with the effects."
Amid the vaccine boycott, the Nigerian-rooted virus spread to neighbor countries including Benin, Chad and Cameroon. It also was exported farther afield, to Botswana, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Togo and even Saudi Arabia.
Vaccination programs restarted in Nigeria in July after local officials ended their 11-month boycott. WHO also boosted immunization across Africa.
Nigeria, which had 763 cases last year versus 355 the year before, is one of the six countries where polio is still considered endemic. India had 129 cases, Pakistan 46, Niger 25, Afghanistan four and Egypt one.
Read more...CNN Health
Increase fueled by Nigeria outbreak after vaccine boycott
GENEVA, Switzerland (AP) -- The number of worldwide polio cases last year rose by almost one-third after a vaccine boycott in Nigeria spawned a resurgence of the disease across Africa, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.
The number of cases worldwide in 2004 reached 1,185, compared with 784 in 2003, the United Nations health agency said.
Most of the cases were in Africa -- largely in Nigeria, the continent's most populous nation. Hardline Islamic clerics in Nigeria's northern Kano state led the immunization boycott, claiming the polio vaccine was part of a U.S.-led plot to render Nigeria's Muslims infertile or infect them with AIDS.
The boycott triggered an outbreak across the continent, infecting children in formerly polio-free countries and hurting WHO-led attempts to eradicate the crippling disease by December 31, 2005.
"It's slowed the efforts for sure," said Sona Bari, a spokeswoman for WHO's Polio Eradication Initiative. "It's going to take months to deal with the effects."
Amid the vaccine boycott, the Nigerian-rooted virus spread to neighbor countries including Benin, Chad and Cameroon. It also was exported farther afield, to Botswana, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Togo and even Saudi Arabia.
Vaccination programs restarted in Nigeria in July after local officials ended their 11-month boycott. WHO also boosted immunization across Africa.
Nigeria, which had 763 cases last year versus 355 the year before, is one of the six countries where polio is still considered endemic. India had 129 cases, Pakistan 46, Niger 25, Afghanistan four and Egypt one.
Read more...CNN Health
OTTAWA, Canada (AP) -- The Canadian government has confirmed a new case of so-called mad cow disease.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Tuesday the brain wasting disease showed up in an Alberta cow under seven years old. Officials say no part of the animal has entered the human or animal feed system.
This is the second case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) found in Canada this year. Canadian Food Inspection Agency officials were to hold a news conference Tuesday afternoon to discuss the new case.
Read more...CNN News
Posted on : 2005-01-08| Author : James Q.
News Category : Health
World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that an outbreak of bird flu that is showing signs in Vietnam would create a difficult burden on top of the recent Asian earthquake and tsunami.
“In this situation now, when we already have such a problem here in Asia with this earthquake and the aftermath of this earthquake, it will of course put a lot of strains on both individual countries like Vietnam as well as the international community,” said WHO health experts.
Read more....EARTHtimes.org
Posted on : 2005-01-12| Author : Martin Booth
News Category : Health
Two new studies related to cancer research recently concluded and had their reports published in the Journal of American Research Association (JAMA). Both serve as eye-openers to people who have held myths about cancer and how it is formed.
One study concluded that having a regular diet that largely consisted of red meat greatly increased the chances of developing colorectal cancers by a considerable degree. This research was conducted by the American Cancer Society of Atlanta.
Read more...EARTHtimes.org