Recently in News Category

The Associated Press
Updated: 12:54 p.m. ET Dec. 29, 2004

GENEVA - The United Nations warned Wednesday that respiratory and waterborne diseases could break out in areas affected by southern Asia’s tsunami disaster “in the next few days.”

Although relief organizations are distributing medical supplies to prevent the outbreak of disease, the main focus is still on dealing with the wounded, said Jamie McGoldrick, an emergency relief coordinator of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Geneva.

“Diseases will start to come through in the next few days,” McGoldrick told the Associated Press. “No doubt people will be affected, kids are drinking stagnant water.”

Read More...MSNBC News

12/20/2004 1:35:00 PM

To: National Desk

Contact: Sabrina Jones of the American Public Health Association, 202-777-2509 or sabrina.jones@apha.org

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The American Public Health Association recently adopted 20 policies addressing a broad range of issues in public health from underage alcohol consumption and nutrition labeling in restaurants to the supply of flu vaccinations and threats to immigrants' health care. The Association also approved an operational measure in support of smoke-free cities.

The following are brief descriptions of the measures approved by the Association's Governing Council during its 132nd Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., Nov. 6-10, 2004. The descriptions are brief summaries; full language of the 2004 policies is available at http://www.apha.org/legislative/policy/policysearch/.

Read more...U.S. Newswire

12/20/2004 1:35:00 PM

To: National Desk

Contact: Sabrina Jones of the American Public Health Association, 202-777-2509 or sabrina.jones@apha.org

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The American Public Health Association recently adopted 20 policies addressing a broad range of issues in public health from underage alcohol consumption and nutrition labeling in restaurants to the supply of flu vaccinations and threats to immigrants' health care. The Association also approved an operational measure in support of smoke-free cities.

The following are brief descriptions of the measures approved by the Association's Governing Council during its 132nd Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., Nov. 6-10, 2004. The descriptions are brief summaries; full language of the 2004 policies is available at http://www.apha.org/legislative/policy/policysearch/.

Read more...U.S. Newswire

Wed., December 15, 2004 Tevet 3, 5765

By Shlomo Shamir

NEW YORK - The World Health Organization is launching an Israeli-Palestinian journal devoted to public health issues, a WHO communique from Geneva announced yesterday.

Its purpose is to promote projects for improving public health in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, the announcement emphasized.

The periodical, entitled "Bridges," will appear every two months and include articles on public health matters by Israeli and Palestinian experts.

Editing and production will also be handled jointly by Israelis and Palestinians.

The first issue was published yesterday on the WHO Internet site.

Articles will deal with health issues of interest to both sides, and special principles have been established to ensure topics are presented in a balanced manner, the announcement said.

In keeping with these principles, the journal will depict the conflict's negative effects on both sides, priority will be given to highlighting positive cooperation and emphasis will be placed on human interest stories.

Article from: HAARETZ.com

Press Release: WHO Media Centre

Bridges

Hello U of M Public Health Faculty,

Cindy Gruwell here, the Public Health liaison. I would like to ask for your assistance....

I am in the process of purchasing public health monographs for the library's collection. Although I have a number of items under consideration, I would appreciate your sharing items that you feel would make nice additions to our collection.

Of course I don't have an endless budget, but I do feel I could accomodate most reccomendations.

I am also taking reccomendations for the Public Health Blog. Please feel free to share your comments.

Please contact me at either gruwell@umn.edu or by phone at:626-3995.

Thank you,

Cindy

Frequent PubMed users may be interested in exploring two browser enhancements which allow users to initiate PubMed searches directly from a web browser window, and which are customized for University of Minnesota users.

Continue reading "PubMed Bookmarklet and Toolbar Search Plugin Enhanced with U of M Find It Service"

Google Scholar is here! This new application of Google's popular (nay, essential?) Web indexing and ranking strategy enables the user "to search specifically for scholarly literature, including peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts and technical reports from all broad areas of research."

Relevance ranking in Google Scholar incorporates citation frequency data, a la the Institute for Scientific Information's Web of Science product. Also using that citation data, article citations found in Google Scholar incorporate a convenient link to other articles which have cited it.

Molecular Biosciences Virtual Library

Health, United States is an annual report on trends in health statistics. The report consists of two main sections: A chartbook containing text and figures that illustrates major trends in the health of Americans; and a trend tables section that contains 153 detailed data tables. The two main components are supplemented by an executive summary, a highlights section, an extensive appendix and reference section, and an index.

Link to document

December 2004

Volume 10, Number 12

The Merck Institute of Aging & Health (MIAH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) are releasing this report to assess the health status of the growing number of older Americans and to make recommendations to improve the mental and physical health of all Americans in their later years. This report is divided into six sections. Two sections offer report cards—one at the national level and one for individual states and the District of Columbia—that show whether older Americans are meeting specific health targets set in Healthy People 2000. The other four sections examine issues that are critical to improving our ability to meet these targets.

Georgia State University Public Health Blog

DANIEL YEE
Wednesday, November 24, 2004 Posted: 5:24 PM EST (2224 GMT)

ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- The flu season in the United States is off to a slow start, with only Delaware and New York reporting significant outbreaks -- a relief to government health authorities, given the U.S. vaccine shortage.

Even so, the "widespread" flu activity in Delaware -- the first state to be classified at the nation's highest flu level -- is a little misleading. The state meets the designation because confirmed cases of the flu had been found in every county of that state.

CNN Health

The Sallie Rosen Kaplan Fellowship is specifically designed to encourage
women scientists in cancer research to pursue advanced training at the
NCI. Successful applicants will be matched with an intramural NCI
investigator for a postdoctoral fellowship and are eligible to receive an
augmented stipend. The goal is to support the careers of women in
biomedical research. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent
residents. Completed applications are due Wednesday, December
15th.

Get flyers or access a brochure about the fellowship.

Apply online by going to NCI's StarCather Web site or contact M. Teresa
Estrada, Ph.D., Office of Workforce Development, NCI, 6116 Executive Blvd.,
Ste. 502, Bethesda, MD 20892-8342, 301-451-8826, 301-402-3509 FAX,
mailto:mncifellows@mail.nih.gov

BALTIMORE (November 20, 2004) —

A potential new case of mad cow disease has been found in the U.S. – but tests so far are inconclusive, said U.S. agriculture officials.

A preliminary screening test for mad cow disease will be confirmed in 4-7 days, and few additional details will be released until then.

Despite the public message from agriculture officials that this shouldn't cause alarm, the news has already economically rattled the cattle industry, meat companies and hamburger restaurant chains. Thursday's announcement about the inconclusive test sent cattle prices tumbling. Shares of McDonald's, Wendy's, and other restaurant chains slumped, as did those of U.S. meat producers such as Tyson Foods.

Disaster News Network

By Dorsey Griffith and Lesli A. Maxwell -- Bee Staff Writers
Published 2:15 am PST Saturday, November 20, 2004

Calls for changing the way the government monitors drug safety erupted Friday, as consumer advocates and worried patients zeroed in on testimony that five federally approved medicines posed significant health risks.
The allegations, made public in Washington on Thursday, sparked a spirited rebuttal by the Food and Drug Administration, which sought to defend itself against claims by one of its own that the agency fails to protect consumers.

sacbee

From the UK

This White Paper sets out the key principles for supporting the public to make more healthier and informed choices in regards to their health. The Government will provide information and practical support to get people motivated and improve emotional wellbeing and access to services so that healthy choices are easier to make.

UK Department of Health

GPHIN II collects and disseminates alerts in seven languages

OTTAWA/NEW YORK -- The newest version of the Global Public Health Intelligence Network (GPHIN II) was jointly launched today by the Government of Canada and the Washington-based Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI). This unique "early warning" system gathers and disseminates preliminary reports of public health significance on a real-time, 24/7 basis in seven languages.

The secure, web-based system was developed by Canadian health officials with important support and financial assistance from NTI, an organization devoted to reducing global threats from nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, co-chaired by philanthropist Ted Turner and former United States Senator Sam Nunn.

Public Health Agency of Canada

Tuesday, November 16, 2004 · Last updated 9:42 p.m. PT

By LAURA MECKLER
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

WASHINGTON -- A senator suggested Tuesday that money federal health officials have sought to upgrade flu vaccine production is on the way - an effort to avoid another year like this one, when the United States lost nearly half its supply of vaccine.

The current system for producing flu vaccine relies on millions of chicken eggs, which are used to incubate the viruses needed to create the vaccine. Many scientists believe the system could be improved by brewing vaccines in human and monkey cells instead.

The Health and Human Services Department has requested $100 million to speed this transition. This year, it got $50 million.

seattlepi.com

Tue 16 November, 2004 22:30

By Lorraine Orlandi

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Global health leaders meeting in Mexico this week want nations of the world to spend more on medical research, not only to develop new cures but to make those now on the market available to the poor.

Existing tools as simple as mosquito nets can cut deep into massive health problems such as malaria in developing nations, but research is needed to find ways to best use them, organizers of a summit for health research said at the start of the four-day event in Mexico City on Tuesday.

Reuters UK

Tuesday, November 16, 2004 Posted: 9:25 AM EST (1425 GMT)

LONDON, England -- England could become the latest country to ban smoking in public places, including restaurants and most pubs and bars, under a government proposal.

The ban would be phased in gradually, starting with government offices by 2006, if it is approved by lawmakers, Health Secretary John Reid told parliament Tuesday.

"All government departments will be smoke-free," Reid said. "All enclosed public places and workplaces ... will be smoke free. All restaurants will be smoke free. All pubs and bars preparing and serving food will be smoke free."

CNN Health

OTTAWA -- Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh and Minister of State (Public Health) Dr. Carolyn Bennett will join Dr. David Butler-Jones, Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn and philanthropist Ted Turner, co-chairs of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, as well as the World Health Organization's Dr. Stephen Corber in launching the enhanced Global Public Health Intelligence Network (GPHIN II). GPHIN II is a unique, secure Internet-based "early warning" system developed by Canadian health officials to gather and disseminate preliminary reports of public health significance (i.e., bioterrorism such as anthrax, infectious diseases such as avian flu, SARS) on a 24/7 basis.

Announcement link : Government of Canada

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 8, 2004--

Minnesota, New Hampshire and Vermont Hold Top Three Positions as Nation's Healthiest States, Southeastern States Experience Targeted Success but Continue to Face Challenges

United Health Foundation, together with the American Public Health Association (APHA) and Partnership for Prevention, today released the 15th annual America's Health: State Health Rankings at the APHA's Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.

This year's report reveals a 17.5 percent improvement in America's overall health during the past 15 years. However, the report also shows that the rate of improvement is slowing significantly due to a combination of personal, community and public health issues. During the 1990s, health in the United States improved by an annual rate of 1.5 percent each year. However, during the 2000s, health in the United States has improved by an annual rate of only 0.2 percent each year - 1/8 the rate experienced during the 1990s.

Article from Businesswire

Fri Nov 12,10:26 AM ET Health - Reuters

By Mike Peacock

LONDON (Reuters) - The British government will launch a long-awaited policy paper on public health next week with plans to curb public smoking, tackle obesity and address the way food companies target children through advertising.

A government official said the Public Health White Paper would be published on Tuesday, following hard on the heels of a decision by the Scottish parliament to ban smoking in public buildings from 2006.

Articlel from Health Reuters

08 Nov 2004

Public health officials are "more alarmed than they have signaled publicly" that the United States remains "woefully unprepared" for a bioterrorist attack, the Washington Post reports.

Officials have raised concerns because most U.S. hospitals and state and local public health agencies "would be completely overwhelmed trying to carry out mass vaccinations" or distribute antidotes in response to a large bioterrorist attack, and most facilities lack the "surge capacity" required to treat "a huge influx of very sick people," according to the Post. In addition, officials maintain that shared jurisdiction among federal agencies involved with bioterrorism response -- such as the Department of Homeland Security and HHS -- "leads to confusion inside and outside" of the federal government, the Post reports. Practice scenarios -- such as a failed May 2003 exercise in Chicago in which hospitals had three days to respond to a fictitious outbreak of the plague -- also have revealed that "more work is required" to plan how the federal government should communicate with the public after a bioterrorist attack and "manage the potential flight of perhaps millions of people" from cities, according to the Post. In addition, officials have raised concerns about the lack of new bioterrorism vaccines and medication in development at pharmaceutical companies or NIH and the lack of technology to detect bioterrorist attacks (Mintz/Warrick, Washington Post, 11/8).

Article from Medical News Today

Improvement slowing, though, and could stall, survey says
By Michael Coren

Monday, November 8, 2004 Posted: 12:03 PM EST (1703 GMT)

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- The average resident of Minnesota stands a better chance of avoiding smoking, car accidents and obesity than a friend living 900 miles to the south in Tennessee.

That is among the findings of a study released on Monday by the United Health Foundation, which has been tracking the nation's health for the past 15 years.

The nationwide study found plenty to cheer about -- Americans are getting healthier and smoking is on the decline -- but improvements are slowing and could stall completely if trends continue.

Article from CNN.com

Monday, November 08, 2004 - Page updated at 12:00 A.M.

By Reuters and The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The U.S. influenza season is starting slowly, but it is still too early to tell how severe the outbreak will be as the nation faces a vaccine shortage, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said yesterday.

Article from The Seattle Times

We need your opinions and expertise

Last fall, more than 30 Cancer Center members participated in Minnesota's first CancerPlan Summit. During the past year, about a dozen Cancer Center members helped draft Minnesota's first comprehensive cancer control plan.

Now you have an opportunity to weigh in on this important initiative and support the contributions of your colleagues. We ask that you attend the second annual Summit , set for Nov. 16. The draft plan will be presented for discussion. Your comments will help shape the final plan that beginning next year will integrate and coordinate Minnesota 's approach to the entire spectrum of cancer control, including prevention, early detection, treatment, survivorship and palliation.

• The Summit will be held 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Nov. 16, at the Radisson Riverfront Hotel in St. Paul
• Registration is $35 per person and covers conference materials, continental breakfast, lunch and reception. The Cancer Center will reimburse the registration fee for cancer center members. Registration deadline is Oct. 31, so please register as soon as you can.

For more information about the CancerPlan Minnesota initiative and to register for the Summit , visit www.cancerplanmn.org. Or contact DeAnn Lazovich, Ph.D. (6-9099; lazov001@umn.edu) or Marva Bohen (4-2620; bohen001@umn.edu).

The University of Illinois at Chicago has received $8.1 million in grant funding from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for three innovative public health research and training projects.

Three separate grants were funded:

Prevention of Disease

The Illinois Prevention Research Center at UIC received a five-year, $4.1 million grant from the CDC to help eliminate health disparities and create healthy communities through research, training and sharing knowledge. The grant will fund the center's largest research project, aimed at preventing and controlling diabetes in Latino and African-American populations.

News Release from UIC

Volume 10, Number 11—November 2004

The new issue is out!

Link

Morning Edition, October 28, 2004 ·

President Bush says that the nation's health care system should rely more on market forces. But some public health experts say this year's flu vaccine shortage illustrates that the free market and health care don't always mix

Hear NPR's Julie Rovner.

Last Updated: 2004-10-25 13:23:21 -0400 (Reuters Health)

By Jeremy Lovell

LONDON (Reuters) - Biological weapons that can wipe out whole populations pose one of the biggest threats to the world today yet remain almost completely uncontrolled, the British Medical Association said Monday.

It urged the United States to stop blocking attempts to strengthen the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) when it comes up for renewal in 2006.

Article from Reuters

For years, women who have been concerned about an increased risk of heart disease and stroke have shied away from using birth control pills, or they've worried about what effect The Pill would have later in life.

Now, as it turns out, The Pill is actually much safer than previously thought. In fact, it may actually lower the risk of these cardiovascular diseases - and it may even cut the risk of cancer.

Article from MaineToday.com

United Press International

By DEE ANN DIVIS, Senior Science & Technology Editor

Wednesday, October 20, 2004

WASHINGTON, Oct 20, 2004 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- A majority of public health experts surveyed for a recent biodefense report thinks state and local public health departments should stop being a provider of last resort for medical care in the United States.

The reason, over 60 percent of study participants said, is the overall size of the public health workforce is insufficient to handle the job in the face of budget deficits and increasing demands -- particularly those made by biodefense programs.

About 30 percent of public health departments provide comprehensive primary care services, according to a survey of 694 local public health agencies done by the National Association of County and City Health Officials in 2000. Such care is the rough equivalent of going to a pediatrician or the family doctor and does not generally refer to care at public hospitals. Comprehensive primary care services were most often provided by agencies in large metropolitan areas, according to the survey.

URL of this page: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_20770.html (*this news item will not be available after 11/19/2004)

Last Updated: 2004-10-19 16:13:03 -0400 (Reuters Health)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Aventis-Pasteur said on Tuesday it had squeezed out an extra 2.6 million doses of flu vaccine beyond what the company already has promised.

This will give the United States a total of 58 million doses of influenza vaccine this year, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson told a news conference.

Article from Reuters

Hello,

Do you have a RSS News reader on your desktop? If you do you can now link to this blog. Simply create a new feed, add the title and insert the following

URL: http://blog.lib.umn.edu/gruwell/publichealthliaison/index.rdf

U of M students, faculty, and staff may contact me at gruwell@umn.edu if you have questions.

Current Medicine LLC is pleased to announce the latest updates to the images.MD library:

Our Heart Failure collection, one of our more popular selections, has just been revised with 160 brand new images, along with updates to over 140 more.

To keep your research and studies in infectious diseases current and relevant, we've extensively revised content throughout ten collections devoted to this specialty, including Pleuropulmonary and Bronchial Infections, Cardiovascular Infections, and Fungal Infections. Over 80 new images have been added with updates to more than 500 additional entries.

Finally, we've included an additional 500 images from the Current Reports and Current Treatment Options medical journals to enhance the value of every collection we provide.

We are committed to keeping our content and up-to-date as possible so you can get the information and resources you need for your study, lecture, or presentation. Please do not hesitate to contact our staff at info@images.md if you have any questions or comments about our image library.

Thanks for being a part of images.MD!

The Staff at Current Medicine LLC

Students, faculty and staff may access images.MD at:
http://www.biomed.lib.umn.edu/bmsabouts.html#imagesmd

PLoS Medicine

We are pleased to present the inaugural issue of PLoS Medicine, an international open-access medical journal from the Public Library of Science.

Please read our editorial "Prescription for a Healthy Journal" and message from the PLoS founders "A Medical Journal for the Internet Age".

PLoS Medicine: Table of Contents

Applications are being solicited for the Masonic/Dietz Family Award for Educational Travel. Recognizing that educational travel and sharing of knowledge is essential to successful cancer research the Charlton Dietz Family through the Masonic Cancer Center Fund has established this award for educational travel.

Award: Awards may be up to $1000 for educational travel. Up to four awards will be made. Educational opportunities may include but are not limited to conferences, courses and site visits.

Applicants: Graduate students, fellows, research-related staff and faculty within a cancer/cancer-related educational program or research area.

Application: No more than a one-page request will be accepted. The following information must be included:

· Applicant’s name
· Applicant’s research interest or educational focus
· Name, date and location of educational opportunity
· Budget for travel, may include transportation, accommodations, food and registration.
· Rationale for how attendance will contribute to applicant’s cancer/cancer-related education or research.

Applications should be received no later than Oct. 25, 2004. The awards will cover travel from January 1st, 2005 through June 30th, 2005.

Applications should be forwarded to:
Mary Sumpmann RN, MS
Associate Director of Administration
Cancer Center
MMC 806 or
sumpm001@umn.edu

Review Process: The Executive Committee of the Center will identify a committee to review requests. Awardees will be identified and notified by Nov. 15th, 2004.

Follow Up: Awardees will be asked to submit 1/3-1/2 page summary of the value of the educational opportunity

Last fall, more than 30 Cancer Center members participated in Minnesota’s first CancerPlan Summit. During the past year, about a dozen Cancer Center members helped draft Minnesota’s first comprehensive cancer control plan.

Now you have an opportunity to weigh in on this important initiative and support the contributions of your colleagues. We ask that you attend the second annual Summit, set for Nov. 16. The draft plan will be presented for discussion. Your comments will help shape the final plan that beginning next year will integrate and coordinate Minnesota’s approach to the entire spectrum of cancer control, including prevention, early detection, treatment, survivorship and palliation.

•The Summit will be held 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Nov. 16, at the Radisson Riverfront Hotel in St. Paul
•Registration is $35 per person and covers conference materials, continental breakfast, lunch and reception. The Cancer Center will reimburse the registration fee for cancer center members. Registration deadline is Oct. 31, so please register as soon as you can.

For more information about the CancerPlan Minnesota initiative and to register for the Summit, visit www.cancerplanmn.org. Or contact DeAnn Lazovich, Ph.D. (6-9099; lazov001@umn.edu) or Marva Bohen (4-2620; bohen001@umn.edu).

The University of Minnesota Department of Pediatrics and The Cancer Center are offering a new training program that will provide opportunities for on predoctoral and three postdoctoral students to enhance their research training and experience in pediatric cancer epidemiology. Postdoctoral trainees may include medical fellows who have completed their clinical training and are beginning a research training period as well as recent Ph.D. recipients in health sciences. For more information contact the Program Director, Julie Ross, 626-2902, ross@epi.umn.edu. Click here for a pdf version of a flyer with more detail.

The CDC is providing information regarding the flu vaccine shortage.
Please go to the following address for the latest information.

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/vaccineshortage.htm

Application Receipt Date: December 7, 2004
Letter of Reference Receipt Date: December 31, 2004

The foundation provides five additional awards specifically for physicians engaged in translational science. Candidates must not hold R01 funding for the laboratory component of their cancer research. Applicants must demonstrate a significant personal involvement in the laboratory component of the translational project described. For more information click on

http://www.kimmel.org/cancerresearch

Applications are being solicited for the Masonic/Dietz Family Award for Educational Travel. Recognizing that educational travel and sharing of knowledge is essential to successful cancer research the Charlton Dietz Family through the Masonic Cancer Center Fund has established this award for educational travel.

Award: Awards may be up to $1000 for educational travel. Up to four awards will be made. Educational opportunities may include but are not limited to conferences, courses and site visits.

Applicants: Graduate students, fellows, research-related staff and faculty within a cancer/cancer-related educational program or research area.

Application: No more than a one-page request will be accepted. The following information must be included:

" Applicant's name
" Applicant's research interest or educational focus
" Name, date and location of educational opportunity
" Budget for travel, may include transportation, accommodations, food and registration.
" Rationale for how attendance will contribute to applicant's cancer/cancer-related education or research.

Applications should be received no later than Oct. 25, 2004. The awards will cover travel from January 1st, 2005 through June 30th, 2005.

Applications should be forwarded to:
Mary Sumpmann RN, MS
Associate Director of Administration
Cancer Center
MMC 806 or
sumpm001@umn.edu

Review Process: The Executive Committee of the Center will identify a committee to review requests. Awardees will be identified and notified by Nov. 15th, 2004.

Follow Up: Awardees will be asked to submit 1/3-1/2 page summary of the value of the educational opportunity.

CHILDREN'S CANCER RESEARCH FUND 24TH ANNUAL DAWN OF A DREAM "HALLOWEEN GLAM"

The 24th Annual Dawn of a Dream "Halloween Glam" will take place on Saturday, October 30, 2004 from 6:00 p.m - 12:00 a.m. at The Depot in Minneapolis. To date, Dawn of a Dream has raised more than $10.1 million for The Cancer Center at the University of Minnesota.

Gala highlights will include: a glamorous Halloween Ball (no costume required), spectacular live and silent auctions, dinner, dancing, and entertainment. This year's entertainment will be provided by singer Alanis Morissette. Tickets are $250 per person and promise to sell out fast. They may be purchased at: http://www.childrenscancer.org/news_details_events_doad.jhtml

Nominations are now open for the outstanding contributor award in Basic Sciences. Persons working in Cancer Progression & Metastasis, Genetic Mechanisms of Cancer, Immunology and Research Core Facilities as well as other staff and faculty contributing to the Cancer Center in these areas are eligible for this award. Nominees do not need to be Cancer Center employees. The award is given to recognize employees for their performance. Examples might be: continued/sustained excellent job performance; contrThe submission deadline for nominations for this Basic Sciences award is October 8, 2004.

Nominations may be submitted on-line at http://www.cancer.umn.edu/page/aboutus/recogform.html. Hard copies of the nomination form also are available in the interaction areas of floors 4 through 7 CCRB or from cchr@ahc.umn.edu. Return the completed form to Cancer Center Human Resources at MMC 806.

The Basic Sciences Recognition Program will be held at 3:00pm Thursday, October 21, 2004 in 450 CCRB.

The percentage of children who are overweight continues to rise. Among children ages 6-19, 15%, almost 9 million are overweight. This is triple the amount in the 1980's. In addition over 10% of preschool children ages 2-5 are overweight.

One solution to this rising epidemic is to work together to help children make healthy eating a life long habit. Building upon last year's campaign to promote physical activity, the National Center for Health Education and the Society for Public Health Educators have announced that this year's theme for National Health Education Week 2004 is Healthy Eating: Every Bite Counts!

NCHE and SOPHE have developed a variety of free materials for schools, parents, public health professionals, and organizations to promote healthy eating nationwide.

Note from Geargia State Public Health Blog

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will hold a State-of-the-Science Conference on Preventing Violence and Related Health-Risking Behaviors in Adolescents, October 13-15, 2004 at the Natcher Conference Center on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland.

Many prevention and intervention programs to address violence and related youth behavior problems have developed out of need and have not been rigorously evaluated for their safety and effectiveness. Moreover, interventions with demonstrated effectiveness appear to be underutilized. Research has progressed at a rapid pace; it is now appropriate to assess the state of science with regard to interventions to reduce the risk for youth violence and related behavior problems, as well as to reduce problem behavior once it has been initiated. While research focused on what works is critical, it is equally important to assess what has been learned about interventions that do not work.

The conference will bring together researchers and practitioners from the many fields involved in violence prevention and related issues of adolescent health, to examine the evidence available to answer six key conference questions:

What are the factors that contribute to violence and associated adverse health outcomes in childhood and adolescence?

What are the patterns of co-occurrence of these factors?

What evidence exists on the safety and effectiveness of interventions for
violence?

Where evidence of safety and effectiveness exists, are there other outcomes
beyond reducing violence? If so, what is known about effectiveness by age, sex, and race/ethnicity?

What are the commonalities among interventions that are effective, and those that are ineffective?

What are the priorities for future research?

For more information go to NIH News

Monday, October 4, 2004 Posted: 11:55 AM EDT (1555 GMT)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- About a quarter of U.S. women who stopped taking hormone replacement therapy after it was found to raise the risk of heart disease and some cancers have gone back on it, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said Friday.

That is appropriate for women who are having severe symptoms associated with menopause, such as debilitating hot flashes, so long as they take a small dose for the shortest time needed, the group said.

Article link from CNN Health

Friday, September 24, 2004 Posted: 10:51 AM EDT (1451 GMT)

ATLANTA, Georgia (Reuters) -- Alcohol abuse kills some 75,000 Americans each year and shortens the lives of these people by an average of 30 years, a U.S. government study suggested Thursday.

Excessive alcohol consumption is the third leading cause of preventable death in the United States after tobacco use and poor eating and exercise habits.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which published the study, estimated that 34,833 people in 2001 died from cirrhosis of the liver, cancer and other diseases linked to drinking too much beer, wine and spirits

Article from: CNN

NUPGE president James Clancy contrasts advantages of Canada's single-payer system with America's failure to insure all and curb soaring costs

Lake Buena Vista, Florida - The United States could eliminate vast health care inequities and save huge amounts of money by adopting a single-payer system similar to the one pioneered by Canada, James Clancy, NUPGE national president, told an American union audience yesterday.

Clancy delivered the remarks Tuesday at the annual Inter-Union Gas Workers Conference, hosted this year by the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical, and Energy Workers International Union (PACE).

Article from: National Union of Public and General Employees

What is Epidemiologic Perspectives & Innovations?

Epidemiologic Perspectives & Innovations is an open access, peer-reviewed, online journal of epidemiologic research methods, applications, critical overviews, teaching tools, perspectives, and other analytic work.

Epidemiology, is a critically important field in informing clinical, policy, and individual health decisions. It is a young field, experiencing major fundamental advances every year, however the high social value of its results means the science is primarily devoted to producing immediate results. Yet existing journals almost exclusively publish reports of new epidemiologic study results, leaving few pages available for other contributions to the science and its applications. Such contributions, including policy applications of epidemiologic findings, new methodology, critical overviews of the field, re-analyses of previous findings, and methods for teaching and communicating, require thoughtful, critical scholarly discussion.

Epidemiologic Perspectives & Innovations provides a forum for such contributions - anything in or about epidemiology other than just reporting new study findings. Of particular interest are articles about policy, philosophy, and practices in the field, which do not relegate to commentary or discussion, but are treated as analytic work. Epidemiologic Perspectives & Innovations emphasizes articles that are accessible and of interest to a broad range of health researchers, teachers, practitioners, and policy makers, rather than those that appeal primarily to a few specialists in a particular subfield.

Edited by Corinne Aragaki and Carl V. Phillips, Epidemiologic Perspectives & Innovations is supported by an international Editorial Board.

For more information and manuscript submission click here

More physicians are finding that board recertification has evolved into a continuous certification process.

By Damon Adams, AMNews staff. Sept. 27, 2004.

Family physician Tony Golden, MD, has been through board recertification three times. He isn't sure he can stomach a fourth one.

"I've seriously questioned doing it again," said Dr. Golden, who practices in Idaho Falls, Idaho.

Board-certified family physicians go through recertification every seven years, but Dr. Golden and other doctors are facing a new era in recertification. In 2000, medical specialty boards agreed to transition their recertification programs into maintenance-of-certification processes, which focus on continuous lifelong learning.

Article from amednews.com

NLM is pleased to announce the debut of the NLM Catalog, a new Entrez database. The NLM Catalog provides access to NLM bibliographic data for over 1.2 million journals, books, audiovisuals, computer software, electronic resources, and other materials via the NCBI Entrez retrieval system. Supporting automated mapping features such as explosions on MeSH terms, the new database is an alternate search interface to the bibliographic records resident in LocatorPlus. The NLM Catalog is available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi from the "Search" pull-down menu and from the PubMed sidebar. It is also a hyperlink under "Library Catalogs and Services" on the NLM homepage.

For further information about the new database, see the overview at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query/static/nlmcat_help.html#overview

U.S. Congress passes teen suicide prevention bill

Last Updated: 2004-09-10 10:25:29 -0400 (Reuters Health)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress on Thursday easily passed a bill to help prevent teen suicide, legislation named for a senator's son who took his own life a year ago this week.

The legislation, which authorizes $80 million over three years for prevention programs and research, now goes to President George W. Bush for his signature.

Link from Reuters: Health

Big News Network.com Monday 13th September, 2004

The World Health Organization warned Sunday in China an avian influenza epidemic may occur unless Asian countries intensify preventative efforts.

Compared with SARS, I am a lot more concerned (with the avian influenza), Shigeru Omi, director of WHO Regional Office for Western Pacific, told reporters at Shanghai's 55th session of the WHO Western Pacific Regional Committee, reported Xinhua, China's main government-run news agency.

Articel from: Big News Network.com

/10/2004 5:25:00 PM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To: National Desk

Contact: HHS Press Office, 202-690-6343; Web: http://www.hhs.gov/

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10 /U.S. Newswire/ -- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson said the third anniversary of the worst attack on American soil marks a time to remember the lives lost and their families, take measure of the tremendous progress made in bolstering our nation's preparedness for another attack, and reaffirm our commitment to further strengthening our nation's public health system.

Since Sept. 11, 2001, the nation's public health infrastructure has been strengthened, hospitals' surge capacities have grown, new science to limit the dangers of bioterrorism have been created, and antidotes to deadly agents and other medical countermeasures have been produced and stockpiled. Yet, Secretary Thompson warns there is more work to do and the nation must remain vigilant and dedicated to further strengthening our public health system and preparedness for a terrorist attack.

Article from: U.S. Newswire

By Jennifer Sandmann
Times-News writer

TWIN FALLS -- It was July 6, 1962, and a professor from the University of Utah took his students on a routine field trip southeast of Salt Lake City to measure background radiation near various rock formations.

What their Geiger counters recorded instead was a national secret that today marks Idaho as one of the hottest fallout zones in the nation under the federal government's nuclear bomb testing program in Nevada.

A National Cancer Institute study unleashed the news seven years ago, but only now does it appear to be sinking in among Idahoans.

Article from The Times News

Devils Lake girl receives treatment

By Lisa Davis

Herald Staff Writer

A Devils Lake family got a stark reminder of how serious rabies can be.

Two-year-old Jasmine Charboneau was bitten by a black Labrador retriever - normally a good-natured and patient breed - that was infected with rabies. Charboneau is undergoing a series of shots as treatment for the disease, and the dog has been put down.

Even without that wake-up call, increases already have been reported in the number of rabies cases in animals in Minnesota this year.

Article from GrandForksHerald.com

9:57 AM EDT Thursday

Two University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health programs have received $6.7 million in funding.

The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has renewed funding for the North Carolina Center For Health Preparedness. That $5.6 million will enable the center, part of the School of Public Health's North Carolina Institute for Public Health, to expand its educational programming for public health professionals.

Article from Triangle Business Journal

03 Sep 2004

Advocating a stronger scientific foundation for research into medical education, Dartmouth Medical School educators call for a comprehensive network of educational epidemiologists to study teaching in the health professions.

Their report, in the September 1 issue of JAMA, urges a national commitment to collaborate on research that can provide evidence-based standards to assess effectiveness in medical education. Such a commitment, according to the researchers, is critically important as there is currently no evidence basis for the national accrediting bodies for either medical schools or residencies.

Article from Medical News Today

Wednesday September 1, 1:30 pm ET

Leaders in Government, Business and Public Health Release Toolkit for Employers

WASHINGTON, Sept. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Employers face an array of emerging biological, chemical and terrorist threats and need to forge strong partnerships with public health agencies to help them handle life-threatening situations in the workplace, according to a prestigious group of private, public and government organizations who collaborated on a toolkit on emergency and bioterror preparedness for businesses.

Article from Yahoo Financial News

PLoS Medicine will go live on 19 October 2004. PLoS Medicine will
commemorate the 10th anniversary of the International Conference on
Population and Development by scoring progress in reproductive health on
September 6.

PLoS Medicine
Fulltext v1+ (2004+)
http://www.plosmedicine.org
Print ISSN: 1549-1277 | Online ISSN: 1549-1676.

Thanks to Susanne DeRisi (PLoS Web Manager) and James Butcher, editor,
PLoS Medicine, for providing extra information following my post
yesterday.

George S. Porter
Sherman Fairchild Library of Engineering & Applied Science
California Institute of Technology
Mail Code 1-43, Pasadena, CA 91125-4300
Telephone (626) 395-3409 Fax (626) 431-2681
http://library.caltech.edu
contributor http://stlq.info |
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/fosblog.html

Thursday, August 12, noon to 1:00 p.m., 450 CCRB
"Treatment of Tobacco Addiction: Past, Present and Future"
Dorothy Hatsukami, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Principal Investigator, Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center, University of Minnesota

Tuesday, August 17, noon to 1:00 p.m., 450 CCRB
"Can Diet Protect Against Breast Cancer?"
Mimi C. Yu, Ph.D., Professor, University of Southern California, Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center

Monday, September 13, 2004, 8:30-5:00 p.m., Radisson-Metrodome Hotel, Minneapolis
Sponsor: University of Minnesota National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health
Keynote address: Florence Haseltine, M.D., Ph.D., Director, Center for Population Research

Featured speakers include Cancer Center members Doug Yee, M.D. and Amy Skubitz, Ph.D. Online registration is available at www.womenshealth.umn.edu or contact wmhealth@umn.edu, 612-626-1125.

Friday, September 17, 2004, Holiday Inn-Metrodome, Minneapolis, MN
This meeting is co-sponsored by the Minnesota Medical Association and the Minnesota Black Physicians Foundation. Register online at www.mnmed.org/mapb.

A *NEW* website with information and links on the topic of Understanding Medical Research.

29 Aug 2004

The American Public Health Association responded today to the U.S. Census Bureau’s alarming report that the number of uninsured and Americans living in poverty both rose in 2003. The Census Bureau reported that the number of uninsured Americans rose by 1.4 million to 15.6 percent, or 45 million, in 2003, up from 15.2 percent in 2002, the third straight annual increase. Meanwhile, the nation’s poverty rate also climbed to 12.5 percent last year, from 12.1 percent in 2002.

The Census Bureau largely attributed the decline in insurance coverage rates to the drop in coverage from employment-based health plans, partially offset by increases in government health coverage. Employment-based health insurance coverage fell 0.9 percentage points between 2002 and 2003, while Medicare coverage increased 0.2 percentage points.

Article from Medical News Today

The American Cancer Society has issued a Request for Applications for the American Cancer Society-Barbara Thomason Research Professorship or Clinical Research Professorship for Ovarian Cancer. The award is intended for an outstanding mid-career investigator who has made seminal contributions to our understanding of the etiology, genetics, pathogenesis, epidemiology, diagnosis or treatment of ovarian cancer and who continues to provide leadership in this research area. Applications from distinguished investigators in all categories of ovarian cancer research, including basic, translational, clinical and applied research, are requested. The amount of the award is $100,000 per year for five years and may be renewed for an additional five years. Candidates must be American citizens or permanent residents with at least 10 years of experience beyond receipt of their terminal degree and within 15 years of their appointment as a full professor. To get more information, click here to view the entire RFA

Mary Lawson has been recruited as the Public Relations Director and will begin her duties on September 7th. Mary will have primary responsibility for positioning the Cancer Center as a world class center and ensuring that the Center's scientific and medical accomplishments are understood and appreciated by key audiences. Mary has extensive experience in health care and science-related communications and most recently has been part of Mayo Clinic's communications team working in oncology. Contact information: office: 749 CCRB, phone: 624-6165.

24 August 2004 – The United Nations health agency today announced plans to train as many as 10 young people each year dedicated to improving public health, including upgrading responses to epidemics and other widespread health emergencies, especially in developing countries.

The World Health Organization (WHO), with a special $5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, today said it will train people younger than 38 years who already hold an advanced public health-related degree. At least half will be women and 80 per cent from developing countries.

Article from UN News Center

News Story Aug 24 2004
Nebraska Gov. Mike Johanns announced that Nebraska will designate a portion of next year's federal bioterrorism grant to begin an aggressive effort to develop a ten-state alliance to provide mutual aid in the event of an act of bioterrorism or other public health emergency.

"Mutual aid agreements would vastly increase our response capability by pulling our region together to share expertise and resources in the event of an emergency," Gov. Johanns said. "The interest expressed by our neighboring states leads me to believe the time is now to pursue this effort. Nebraska is already attracting national attention for our collaboration in the public health arena, now we'll extend that effort across state lines."

The governor made the announcement after speaking at a four-state meeting being hosted by Nebraska to discuss bioterrorism collaboration. The other states attending are Iowa, Kansas and Missouri. The ten-state alliance would also include North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming.

Article form Government Today

Tuesday, August 24, 2004 Posted: 7:31 PM EDT (2331 GMT)

NEW YORK (AP) -- Most Americans are not confident in the health care system's ability to respond to a biological, chemical or nuclear attack, according to a survey released Tuesday.

The Columbia University poll found that 39 percent of Americans trust the public health system in the event of a major terrorist attack. The number is down from 46 percent in 2003 and 53 percent in 2002.

Article from CNN: Health

"The health care system is decidedly not ready to cope with a major crisis of the type that might include these very aggressive weapons," said Dr. Irwin Redlener, director of the university's National Center for Disaster Preparedness.

Hello All...

Off for a few days...I'll cath up by next Tuesday.

Cindy

A National Satellite Broadcast and Webcast

First Things First:
Defining Local Public Health Practice
for Safer, Healthier Communities

What is in a name? or a definition? For public health practice, the answers could determine resource allocation, community expectations, workforce development, and even public health policy. In recent years, public health practice has received unprecedented support and visibility, but there are also unprecedented expectations.

Can everyone expect the same safeguards of health, regardless of the size or location of their community? Local and state health officials believe they can, and this belief is driving the National Association of County and City Health Officials' effort to develop an operational definition of local public health agencies. It is anticipated the definition will provide the framework needed to secure funding and leverage resources needed for a consistent, robust governmental public health presence at the local level.

The purpose is clear but the road map to achieving this has not been easy to follow. To bring clarity to this issue, join us as we discuss the case of Public Health Solutions, a district health department based in Crete , Nebraska , that is working to create a local public health agency from scratch and succeed in meeting the expectations of a safer, healthier community for its citizens.

For more information go to: http://www.publichealthgrandrounds.unc.edu/

Flyer: http://www.publichealthgrandrounds.unc.edu/defining/flyer.pdf

The U.S. Natural Hazard Statistics provide statistical information on fatalities, injuries and damages caused by weather related hazards. These statistics are compiled by the Office of Services and the National Climatic Data Center from information contained in Storm Data, a report comprising data from NWS forecast offices in the 50 states, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands.

Link

August 18, 2004

BY KIM NORRIS
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

More than a year after the idea was conceived, the state's first public health authority, dedicated to serving more than 700,000 poor and uninsured people in Wayne County, is to hold its first public meeting today.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm, whose efforts to address the health care crisis in Detroit led to the creation of the Detroit Wayne County Health Authority, is expected to attend the meeting at the St. Francis Cabrini Clinic, 1050 Porter St., Detroit.

Article from the Detroit Free Press

Public Health Grand Rounds, “First Things First: Defining Local Public Health Practice for Safer, Healthier Communities

What is in a name? or a definition? For public health practice, the answers could determine resource allocation, community expectations, workforce development, and even public health policy. In recent years, public health practice has received unprecedented support and visibility, but there are also unprecedented expectations.

Can everyone expect the same safeguards of health, regardless of the size or location of their community? Local and state health officials believe they can, and this belief is driving the National Association of County and City Health Officials' effort to develop an operational definition of local public health agencies. It is anticipated the definition will provide the framework needed to secure funding and leverage resources needed for a consistent, robust governmental public health presence at the local level.

More Information and registration available at: http://www.publichealthgrandrounds.unc.edu/

NIH plays a major role in finding better ways to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent diseases. The practical health information in The NIH Word on Health is based on research conducted either by NIH's own scientists or by our grantees at universities and medical schools around the country.

Material published in The NIH Word on Health is not copyrighted. You may use it without permission of the National Institutes of Health.

Link: http://www.nih.gov/news/WordonHealth/

Saturday, August 14, 2004 Posted: 10:41 PM EDT (0241 GMT)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The virtual baked beans were falling fast. The unopened can had to go somewhere, but where? Not the simulated freezer.

"This food wouldn't spoil in that location," the computer-generated voice said. "But the quality of food could be affected, or you might be using space in your freezer unnecessarily."

Another lesson learned from the Fantastic Food Challenge, a package of four computer games designed to teach people who get nutrition aid such as federal food stamps how to make better use of their food.

Article from CNN

By Severin Carrell
15 August 2004

Drugs companies will be told by health ministers this week to make their medicines safer for children because of fears that many widely used pills have not been properly tested.

Health experts have recently stepped up warnings that children may be wrongly prescribed with drugs, including antibiotics, painkillers, anti-depressants and asthma treatments, because they are rarely tested for use on under-16s.

Article from Independent.co.uk

Acting commissioner says imported drugs biggest concern

Thursday, August 12, 2004 Posted: 10:29 AM EDT (1429 GMT)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- "Cues from chatter" gathered around the world are raising concerns that terrorists might try to attack the domestic food and drug supply, particularly illegally imported prescription drugs, acting Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Lester M. Crawford says.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Crawford said Wednesday that he had been briefed about al-Qaeda plans uncovered during recent arrests and raids, but declined further comment about any possible threats.

Article from: CNN:Health

Thursday, August 12, 2004 Posted: 11:01 AM EDT (1501 GMT)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Americans need to spend more time working out and less time chowing down.

That's the conclusion of a federal advisory panel looking at ways to get people to adopt healthier eating and exercise habits.

The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, holding its final meeting Wednesday, called for some changes in current nutrition recommendations. The tougher task is motivating people to work toward a healthy weight by being more physically active and watching what they eat.

It won't be easy. Federal researchers already have found that almost two-thirds of adults are overweight or obese, and more than three-fifths do not get enough regular physical activity.

Article from CNN: Health

By The Times-Standard

Sara Watson Arthurs

The National Association of County and City Health Officials has selected the Humboldt County Department of Health and Humans Services' Alcohol and Other Drug Death Review as a Model Practice, one of 29 programs nationwide to receive the award.

The Model Practice Awards program recognizes programs that demonstrate exemplary and replicable qualities in response to a local public health need.

Article from the Times-Standard

Wednesday, August 11, 2004 Posted: 9:39 AM EDT (1339 GMT)

LONDON, England (AP) -- Britain granted its first license for human cloning Wednesday, more than three years after becoming the first nation to authorize the technique to produce stem cells for medical research.

A team of researchers at Newcastle University hope eventually to create insulin-producing cells that could be transplanted into diabetic patients

Article from CNN:Health

HHS/CDC recommend immediate increase in feeding programs, food rations, and public health measures

Sudanese children in refugee camps in northeastern Chad risk serious illness or death from lack of food, clean water, shelter, and health care, say survey findings released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

CDC Link

Billions of dollars back this initiative to spur development of bioterrorism countermeasures. But new vaccines and treatments are only one aspect of readiness.

By Stephanie Stapleton, AMNews staff. Aug. 16, 2004.

National leaders have always dreamed of the creation of an impenetrable shield or barrier to protect against foreign assaults on American soil. Think fortresses, defense build-ups, interceptor missiles and even the Star Wars program.

Article from amednews.com

Becker was named provost and executive vice president for academic affairs in South Carolina.

By Hayley Odom

ypical days for School of Public Health Dean Mark Becker do not exist.
His routine schedule of leading the school and teaching classes part-time is interrupted by last-minute meetings with student leaders and community members. His evenings are filled with dinners recruiting new faculty members or ceremonies recognizing fellow colleagues.

As dean, Becker’s first priority is the University’s School of Public Health. But soon his top priority will span an entire university.

Article from mndaily.com

Wednesday, August 4, 2004 Posted: 5:11 PM EDT (2111 GMT)

Patient Lifts: Chairs, Stairs, Hoyer
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BOSTON, Massachusetts (Reuters) -- Inferior qualifications and less access to resources among doctors who treat black patients may contribute to racial disparities in the quality of U.S. health care, authors of a study said Wednesday. The study, published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine, found that many of the doctors treating black patients complain they don't have the resources to adequately care for them.

"The findings paint a picture of two health systems, where physicians treating black patients appear to have less access to important clinical resources and be less well-trained clinically than physicians treating white patients," said study leader Peter Bach of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

Article from CNN

News Story Aug 02 2004
Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich recently signed a public health bill that strengthens the state's preparedness and response authority in the event of a bioterrorism attack or a naturally occurring infectious disease outbreak.

"While Illinois is one of the best prepared states in the nation to deal with emergencies, this new law will improve the state's means to control the spread of disease, whether it be an outbreak of a dangerously contagious or infectious disease or the result of bioterrorism," the governor said.

The new law expands the power of state government, particularly the Illinois Department of Public Health, in the event of a public health crisis. It is effective immediately.

From Government Technology

The lastest issue of the Bulletin of the World Health Organization has just been published. To go directly to the August table of contents, click on the following link: http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/82/8/en/

Courtesy of Georgia State University Library - Public Health Blog

Nathan Seppa

Even as scientist Stanley B. Prusiner was accepting a Nobel prize in 1997 for linking misfolded proteins to certain brain diseases, doubters were pointing out that no one had ever actually shown that these proteins—which Prusiner dubbed prions—could cause infection.

Prusiner, a neurologist and biochemist at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and his colleagues now report results that could silence many of his critics. The study, published in the July 30 Science, shows that purified prions can cause disease when injected into the brains of genetically engineered mice.

Science News - Article Link: http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20040731/fob1.asp

Violence-Related Behaviors Among High School Students --- United States, 1991--2003 (July 30, 2004). MMWR 53(29); 651-655.

Homicide and suicide are responsible for approximately one fourth of deaths among persons aged 10--24 years in the United States. Two of the national health objectives for 2010 are to reduce the prevalence of physical fighting among adolescents to <32% and to reduce the prevalence of carrying a weapon by adolescents on school property to <4.9% (objective nos. 15-38 and 15-39). To examine changes in violence-related behaviors among high school students in the United States during 1991--2003, CDC analyzed data from the national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). This report summarizes the results of that analysis, which indicated that most violence-related behaviors decreased during 1991--2003; however, students increasingly were likely to miss school because they felt too unsafe to attend. In addition, in 2003, nearly one in 10 high school students reported being threatened or injured with a weapon on school property during the preceding 12 months. Schools and communities should continue efforts to establish physical and social environments that prevent violence and promote actual and perceived safety in schools.

Link to MMWR

CDC: Child vaccinations at record high
'Million vulnerable children' remain despite high rate

WASHINGTON (AP) -- About 79 percent of the nation's toddlers are getting vaccinated on time, a record level but not yet good enough, especially in pockets of the country where inoculations lag, federal health officials reported Thursday.

Connecticut was "the superstar," getting 94 percent of toddlers their main series of vaccinations on time last year, said Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Worst in the nation was Colorado, at 67.5 percent. Four other states had fewer than 75 percent on-time shots: Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas and West Virginia.

But even with immunization rates steadily rising, there are "a million vulnerable children" today, toddlers who haven't gotten their full series of shots, Gerberding cautioned.

"You can be lulled into a false sense of security" because so many vaccine-preventable diseases have been virtually eliminated in the United States, she said. But many are just a plane ride away, so "we cannot afford to lose our vigilance."

In 2002, almost 75 percent of the nation's 19- to 35-month-olds had received a full series of inoculations against nine diseases: diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, meningitis-causing Haemophilus influenza or Hib, measles, mumps, rubella and hepatitis B.

Article

Strategic Report Outlines Steps to Implement Widespread Adoption of Electronic Health Records and New Nationwide Interoperable Health Information Network

On July 21, HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson released the first outline of a 10-year plan to transform the delivery of health care by building a new health information infrastructure, including electronic health records and a new network to link health records nationwide. At the same time, he announced a number of new action steps to help advance health information technology immediately.

Press Release

Report

28 Jul 2004

Helping community pharmacists to fully understand the importance of understanding and active involvement in public health, Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC), along with PharmacyHealthLink, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and the National Pharmaceutical Association has launched a new resource ‘Public Health: A Practical Guide for Community Pharmacists’.

The Guide also provides a handy information source on approaching Primary Care Organisations, how public health is funded and how community pharmacists can enhance their contributions.

Medical News Today

Posted on Friday, July 23, 2004 @ 1:42 PM PDT by bjs

President Bush today signed into law Project BioShield, which provides new tools to improve medical countermeasures protecting Americans against a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) attack. The President first proposed Project BioShield in his 2003 State of the Union address and Congress approved it last week. Project BioShield is a comprehensive effort overseen jointly by Secretary Thompson and Secretary Ridge, and involving other Federal agencies as appropriate, to develop and make available modern, effective drugs and vaccines to protect against attack by CBRN weapons.

Article: http://www.scienceblog.com/community/article3395.html

Back after a few days off! A lot of news to catch up on.

Please note the following:

A new webpage (http://www.biomed.lib.umn.edu/ref/iaidsc.html) has been
created that lists all the International AIDS Conferences, and where
abstracts presented at them can be found. This webpage is linked from
both the Reference Quick Links page (aka the Reference Desk homepage)
in the "Meetings and Events" section, and on the Meeting Abstracts page
which is available via Health & Medicine in the News. This latter page
(http://www.biomed.lib.umn.edu/hmed/list.html) is an alphabetic lists
of professional organizations and meetings, and where abstracts from
those groups may be found.

Angola Press Agency (Luanda)
NEWS
July 21, 2004
Posted to the web July 21, 2004
Sumbe

About 284.000 children from zero to five years old will be vaccinated in Kwanza-Sul province, during the first phase of the campaign against infantile paralysis to be carried out from Friday to Sunday, an official of the local Public Health Management said on Monday.

Speaking to ANGOP, Henriques Silvestre, underlined that for the first phase there will be used about 447.230 doses of vaccine to be distributed in all municipalities of the coastal province.

Article: http://allafrica.com/stories/printable/200407210720.html

Wednesday, July 21, 2004 Posted: 10:15 AM EDT (1415 GMT)

President Bush on Wednesday signs Project BioShield into law during a Rose Garden ceremony.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush on Wednesday signed a bill to develop and stockpile vaccines and other antidotes to biological and chemical weapons.

The legislation provides the drug industry with incentives to research and develop bioterrorism countermeasures, speeds up the approval process of antidotes and, in an emergency, allows the government to distribute certain treatments before the Food and Drug Administration has approved them.

Article: http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/07/21/bush.vaccine.ap/index.html

Activate America to increase country's awareness of health, diet
By ROBIN BROWN
Staff reporter
07/17/2004

The YMCA of Delaware announced that it has been chosen to collaborate on a nationwide effort to fight Americans' declining health, increasing obesity and chronic disease.

The effort, called Activate America, comes on the heels of testimony to Congress by the national YMCA director about the need for healthier communities. The local organization noted statistics from the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that:

• 30 percent of Delaware high school students are overweight.

• About 40 percent of them fail to get regular exercise.

• 80 percent of all Delawareans eat too few fruits and vegetables on a daily basis.

• Annual medical costs related to obesity are estimated at $207 million for Delaware alone.

Article: http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/local/2004/07/17delymcachosenfo.html

7/19/2004 11:58:00 AM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To: Assignment Desk, Daybook Editor, Healthcare Reporter

Contact: Jeanne Galatzer-Levy of the American Medical Association, 312-464-5890 or 312-953-6655 (cell), or CDC Media Relations, 404-639-3286

News Advisory:

WHO: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in partnership with the American Medical Association (AMA)

WHAT: First National Congress on Public Health Readiness

WHEN: July 20-22, 2004

WHERE: Grand Hyatt Hotel, Washington, D.C.

Agenda: Available at http://www.CDC-AMA-ReadinessConference.org
CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding and AMA President Dr. John Nelson are among the featured speakers at the conference. Dr. Gerberding will talk about the continuum of readiness needs in a community spanning from clinical to public health and that training should not be standardized for those needs. This conference will bring together, for the first time, medical and public health leaders to discuss community readiness strategies for terrorism and naturally-occurring health threats, and interventions addressing critical healthcare and public-health challenges.

In the last two weeks, avian influenza appears to have re-emerged in poultry in several countries in Asia. These outbreaks could either be new outbreaks of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) virus or a continuation of the outbreaks first reported earlier in the year. These events, in addition to two new research reports -- about the virus becoming increasingly pathogenic and becoming more widespread in birds in the region -- fuel the World Health Organization's concern about the threat the virus poses to human health.

WHO has been concerned about this virus, influenza A(H5N1), because of its threat to humans both in farm settings in Asia and its greater, potentially global risk. Several countries in Asia have witnessed this virus crossing the species barrier, moving from infected chickens or ducks directly into humans in three documented outbreaks since 1997. These direct human infections have produced severe and sometimes fatal outcomes. Moreover, the virus has the potential to acquire the ability to spread easily from human to human, and thus, trigger a global influenza pandemic.

Article: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=10932#

7/16/2004 8:51:00 AM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To: National Desk

Contact: David Fouse of the American Public Health Association, 202-777-2501 or david.fouse@apha.org

WASHINGTON, July 16 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The American Public Health Association applauds the U.S. Senate for passing an important amendment late yesterday that provides the Food and Drug Administration with the authority it needs to regulate tobacco, and at the same time, provides a responsible buyout of tobacco farmers that is paid for by tobacco companies, not the taxpayers. The amendment, offered by Senators Mike DeWine (R-Ohio), Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Richard Durbin (D- Ill.), was adopted as part of the Foreign Sales Corporation tax legislation.

Article: http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=103-07162004

DAILY BRIEFING
July 15, 2004

As the Bush administration prepares for next week's unveiling of its strategy for updating the nation's information technology infrastructure for health care, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., told a House subcommittee Wednesday that the effort needs to come much faster than many anticipate.
"Paper kills," Gingrich told the House Government Reform Technology Subcommittee. "Paper prescriptions kill. Paper records kill. And if there's a public health emergency, paper will kill a lot of people," he said.

Gingrich said the nation needs to create "a virtual public health service" that ties together literally every health facility. In the case of a major nuclear event, he said, officials would need to mobilize every nursing home and long-term care facility as well as every veterinarian's office, "because all the downtown hospitals will be gone."

Article: As the Bush administration prepares for next week's unveiling of its strategy for updating the nation's information technology infrastructure for health care, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., told a House subcommittee Wednesday that the effort needs to come much faster than many anticipate.
"Paper kills," Gingrich told the House Government Reform Technology Subcommittee. "Paper prescriptions kill. Paper records kill. And if there's a public health emergency, paper will kill a lot of people," he said.

Gingrich said the nation needs to create "a virtual public health service" that ties together literally every health facility. In the case of a major nuclear event, he said, officials would need to mobilize every nursing home and long-term care facility as well as every veterinarian's office, "because all the downtown hospitals will be gone."

Article: As the Bush administration prepares for next week's unveiling of its strategy for updating the nation's information technology infrastructure for health care, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., told a House subcommittee Wednesday that the effort needs to come much faster than many anticipate.
"Paper kills," Gingrich told the House Government Reform Technology Subcommittee. "Paper prescriptions kill. Paper records kill. And if there's a public health emergency, paper will kill a lot of people," he said.

Gingrich said the nation needs to create "a virtual public health service" that ties together literally every health facility. In the case of a major nuclear event, he said, officials would need to mobilize every nursing home and long-term care facility as well as every veterinarian's office, "because all the downtown hospitals will be gone."

Article: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0704/071504cdam1.htm

A goal of strengthening intellectual and academic networks and promoting best practice in public health has been set for nine new collaborating centres, launched across England and Wales by the Health Development Agency.

Based mainly in the university sector, the centres will each have their own focus on gathering evidence on what works to improve health and reduce health inequalities and building on practice development in areas such as smoking cessation and drug prevention. They will help strengthen public health infrastructure by creating a network of organisations and institutions working together to further develop HDA evidence and promote good practice.

Article: http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1385

Last Updated: 2004-07-09 9:18:33 -0400 (Reuters Health)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fewer U.S. adults are showing up with dangerously high lead levels, but lead remains a health threat, especially in the workplace, government researchers said on Thursday.

The CDC found 10,658 adults with high lead levels in 2002, 37 percent fewer than in 2001.

"Despite improvements in control of lead exposures, this hazard remains an occupational health problem in the United States," the CDC said in its weekly report on death and disease.

Article: http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2004/07/09/eline/links/20040709elin006.html

09 Jul 2004

A Public Health article published online today (9 July 2004) highlights how a lack of access to health information for health workers in resource-poor settings is a major obstacle to achieving the 2015 millennium goals for global health. Authors of the article call on WHO to take the lead in championing the goal of 'Universal access to essential health-care information by 2015' or 'Health Information for All'.

This is a Press Release from The Lancet

Fiona Godlee (Editor of BMJ Clinical Evidence) and colleagues say there is little evidence that the majority of health professionals in the developing world (especially those in primary health care) are any better informed than they were 10 years ago. They cite a lack of physical access (absent, slow, or unreliable internet connectivity, expensive paper, and high subscription costs of products) as being the major barrier to knowledge-based health care in developing countries.

Article: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=10530

7/7/2004 4:58:00 PM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To: National Desk

Contact: Laura Segal 202-223-9870 ext. 278 or lsegal@tfah.org, or Michael Earls, 202-223-9870 ext. 273 or mearls@tfah.org, both of the Trust for America's Health

WASHINGTON, July 7 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Trust for America's Health (TFAH) commends U.S. Senators Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) for introducing "The Public Health Preparedness Workforce Development Act of 2004" today.

"The future of our public's health is contingent on recruiting a new generation of workers. An effective, responsive public health workforce is vital to our homeland security, disease prevention, lowering health care costs, and improving our national quality of life," said Shelley A. Hearne, DrPH, executive director of TFAH. "We are on the brink of a crisis of care. Hopefully the leadership demonstrated by Senators Hagel and Durbin by introducing this bill will inspire students to embark on a rewarding career path that will also protect the health of communities across the country."

Full Press Release: http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=143-07072004

08 Jul 2004

U.S. Senators Chuck Hagel (R-NE) and Richard Durbin (D-IL) today introduced the Public Health Preparedness Workforce Development Act of 2004, designed to ensure that the United States has a well-trained public health workforce that can effectively respond to terrorist events, emerging infectious diseases, and other public health threats and emergencies. The Act will provide scholarships and a loan repayment program for eligible students pursuing health profession degrees or certificates preparing them to enter governmental public health service.

Article: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=10458

Published Thursday
July 8, 2004

WASHINGTON - With many public health workers in Nebraska and nationwide nearing retirement, U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel introduced a bill Wednesday to beef up the workforce needed for terrorism preparedness and health emergencies.

The Nebraska Republican and Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., propose new scholarships to students entering public health work and loan repayment aid for those who commit to working in public health for a specific number of years.

Article: http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_np=0&u_pg=1642&u_sid=1142608

Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Chuck Hagel (R-NE) and Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced today The Public Health Preparedness Workforce Development Act of 2004. This legislation aims to increase the pipeline of qualified public health workers at the federal, state, and local levels by offering scholarships to students going into the public health field. It also encourages current employees to stay in the public health field by providing loan repayments in exchange for a commitment of a designated number of years of service in public health.

"There are critical public health workforce shortages in federal, state, and local public health agencies. The ability of the public health system to respond to emerging infectious diseases like West Nile Virus, food-borne illnesses, or bioterrorism relies on a well-trained, adequately staffed public health network at all levels. It is important that we address this problem before it becomes a crisis," Hagel said.

Article: http://www.swnebr.net/newspaper/cgi-bin/articles/articlearchiver.pl?156078

Press Release Source: American Physical Therapy Association

Wednesday June 30, 3:51 pm ET

CHICAGO, June 30 /PRNewswire/ -- In a keynote address today to physical therapists and physical therapist assistants attending the annual conference of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), US Surgeon General Vice Admiral Richard H Carmona, MD, MPH, FACS, outlined his vision for the nation's public health system.
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"We need to become a nation that embraces prevention, because for too long we have been a treatment-oriented society," Carmona declared. He said that the public health system must address the issues of prevention, preparedness, and health disparities. He wishes to raise awareness among Americans about nuclear and biological threats as well as awareness of the disparities that exist between white Americans and people of color in both access to health services and positive outcomes.

Full Press Release: http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040630/dcw045_1.html

'Nancy Reagan happens to be right'
Monday, July 5, 2004 Posted: 9:41 AM EDT (1341 GMT)

Hatch says "moral and ethical standards" must be in place for stem cell research.


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• Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
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WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Republican supporter of embryonic stem cell research, said Sunday there is wide support in the Senate to ease the Bush administration's restrictive policy.

Hatch said supporters have more than the 60 votes needed to end a filibuster, but he's unsure whether Congress would act "in this hot political atmosphere."

The Utah senator predicted on CNN's "Late Edition" that the administration and supporters of the research would reach a compromise that would include moral and ethical standards set by the National Institutes of Health

Article: http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/conditions/07/05/hatch.stem.cells.ap/index.html

Hello,

I will be out of the office 6/24 through 7/5. Though I will be checking on the blog, there will most likely be only minimal postings! Be back soon.

CIndy Gruwell

The Robert Wood Johnson Health & Society Scholars Program is a two-year post-doctoral fellowship designed to build the field of population health. Applications for entry into the program beginning August 2005 must be submitted on-line by October 15, 2004. More information is available at www.healthandsocietyscholars.org.

Amy L. Becker Contributing Writer

Jun 22, 2004 (CIDRAP News) – The possibility of a smallpox outbreak highlights a key threat to America's public health system: What if a person needs a vaccine but there is no nurse to give the shot?

America's growing shortage of qualified public health workers could undermine terrorism preparedness, according to a recent report from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO).

Article: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/bt/bioprep/news/jun2204shortage.html

Clinical Interfaces Award Program

Team Awards at the interface of the clinical and basic sciences. Research supported by this program must:
" foster new and collaborative ways of addressing complex problems of human health and disease;
" be conducted by teams that include key investigators from at least three disciplines as equal partners. One of these key investigators must be a clinical investigator; and
" be unique and only achievable through integration of a cross-disciplinary team of investigators.

Disciplines include: the biological, physical, chemical, social and population sciences, mathematics, computer sciences, and engineering. Proposals in all disease areas will be considered. Up to three full grants of up to $2.25 million will be awarded.

Pre-proposal deadline: November 2, 2004.

Award start date: October 1, 2005

Full details and instructions are available on the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation's web site: http://www.ddcf.org/mrp/ciap

By Ajitha Gunaratna
16 June 2004

An island-wide outbreak of dengue fever in Sri Lanka in recent months has underlined the steady deterioration of public health care and preventative measures to contain the disease.

Up to June 8, there had been 4,347 cases officially recorded for the year, including 22 deaths. In May alone, there were 1,532 cases—three times more than for April. Health officials admit that for the first quarter of the year the figure was 40 percent higher than for the corresponding period last year. The capital of Colombo as well as Gampaha, Kandy and Kurunegala districts are among the worst affected areas

Article: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/jun2004/deng-j16.shtml

June 15, 2004

The obesity epidemic in the US remains a major public health concern as the current obesity rate shows no signs of decline, according to a national benchmark study on obesity.

The government report, contains data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 1999-2000 and 2001-2002. The report identifies the prevalence of overweight , obesity and extreme obesity in the American population, as defined by the body mass index (BMI), a measure of weight to height.

The 1999-2000 survey indicated 64.5 percent of adults were overweight, with an increase to 65.7 percent in 2001-2002. Obesity rates rose from 30.5 percent to 30.6 percent; with extreme obesity on the rise as well, from 4.7 percent to 5.1 percent.

Among children aged 6 through 19 years in 1999-2002, 31 percent were at risk for overweight or overweight and 16.0 percent were overweight.

"The level of obese and overweight Americans remains at alarming levels," said Allison Hedley, lead researchers, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The full report is published in the June issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The authors concluded, "There is no indication that the prevalence of obesity among adults and overweight among children is decreasing. The high levels of overweight among children and obesity among adults remain a major public health concern".

A similar report released today indicates the obesity rate in Canada is currently at 15 percent.

Link: www.healthtalk.ca

The link indicated below will take U of M students faculty, and staff to a just published editorial in the June 2 copy of JAMA.

"The effectiveness of many interventions to improve health in poor populations in the developing world remains untested and therefore unproven. It is sometimes assumed that what works is known and that the only challenge is to make interventions widely available to underserved populations worldwide, the so-called know-do gap. However, other than vaccination, few global health interventions are evidence-based.

Evidence-based global health requires use of the evidence from randomized controlled trials and other scientifically valid studies to evaluate global health interventions and to measure progress in improving global health."

Full Article: http://tc.liblink.umn.edu/sfx_local?id=Entrez:PubMed&id=pmid:15173158

The traditional Fulbright Scholar Program sends 800 U.S. faculty and professionals abroad each year. Grantees lecture and conduct research in a wide variety of academic and professional fields.

Aricle: http://www.cies.org/us_scholars/

1. Cigarette Smoking Among Adults ― United States, 2002
2. Immunization Registry Progress ― January-December, 2002
3. Wild Poliovirus Importations ― West and Central Africa, January 2003-March 2004

Link

Thu May 27, 2004 11:23 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nearly two-thirds of American adults use some form of complementary or alternative medicine ranging from prayer to herbs, a U.S. government survey showed on Thursday.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted the survey of 31,000 U.S. adults, asking about 27 types of therapies such as acupuncture and chiropractic, the use of herbs or botanical products, special diets, and megavitamin therapy.

About 36 percent of those surveyed said they had used one or more of those approaches. When prayer was considered, the number rose to 62 percent.

Article: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=5281506

Press Release
For Immediate Release:
May 20, 2004 Contact: CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today implemented a new system for providing travelers with guidance about potential health hazards and the steps they can take to protect themselves when traveling abroad. The new system makes it easier for the public to understand what their risks may be during an emerging public health crisis and what they can do to protect themselves.

Link: http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/r040520.htm

The “Centers for Disease Control” Pierre Decouflé Fellowship is awarded to an individual seeking a career in the health research field who will benefit from an applied epidemiologic and developmental disabilities research learning experience with CDC. The fellowship will also help to build CDC's long-term capacity to conduct applied studies in developmental disabilities. The fellowship is named for the late Dr. Pierre Decouflé.

Dr. Decouflé began his career in the area of developmental disabilities research at CDC in 1988. Prior to that, he spent 5 years in research with the Agent Orange Program at the National Center for Environmental Health and 12 years in statistical, epidemiologic, and leadership positions at the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. During his long and prestigious career, Dr. Decouflé was also an associate professor of biostatistics and epidemiology at the University of Arizona, a role he never quite relinquished and which infused his professional life through teaching, mentoring, advising, and assisting others in their professional development. This fellowship honors that spirit of both caring and professionalism that Dr. Decouflé exemplified in his life and his work.

Please Note: This fellowship closes on June 4, 2004. Applicants need to specify the Decoufle Fellowship on their application form. View Application and Selection Procedure for additional information.

Link: http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/orise.htm

Wed May 19, 2004 08:46 PM ET

By Joanne Kenen
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Legislation to encourage drug and vaccine makers to find ways to counter a potentially devastating bioterror attack cleared the U.S. Senate on Wednesday.

The $5.6 billion, 10-year Project BioShield, approved on a 99-0 vote, expands public sector and private research incentives and guarantees a market for treatments, antidotes and vaccines that otherwise may not find a commercial niche.

"We have to put the threat in context, and regrettably the context is serious," said New Hampshire Republican Sen. Judd Gregg, a lead sponsor of the bill and chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee.

Article: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=5198458

Tuesday, May 18, 2004 Posted: 8:55 AM EDT (1255 GMT)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Low-carbohydrate diets help people lose weight in the short term but work no better than other diets after a year, researchers reported on Monday.

Two studies of the popular diets that limit sugar and processed starches show they can work faster than some low-fat diets.

Both studies published in the Annals of Internal Medicine showed that after six months, the low-carb dieters lost more weight than the low-fat group.

But one of the studies showed that after 12 months, both groups had lost about the same amount of weight.

In one study, a team at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Philadelphia followed 132 obese adults who were assigned randomly either to a low-carbohydrate diet with intake of less than 30 grams of carbs a day, or a low-calorie diet that kept fat intake at a moderate 30 percent of calories from fat.

Article: http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/diet.fitness/05/17/health.diet.reut/index.html

The IJBNPA is a scholarly, multidisciplinary journal devoted to understanding the
behavioral aspects of diet and physical activity.
The IJBNPA publishes original research findings in the following areas:

• Behavioral interventions
• Population behaviors
• Predictors of behavior
• Innovative behavioral theories
• Measurement issues
• Policy and public health issues

Main criteria for publication are methodologic quality, innovativeness and novelty, and contribution to the field.

• For more information visit www.ijbnpa.org.
• E-mail any questions to ijbnpa@epi.umn.edu.
• To submit a manuscript go to www.ijbnpa.org/manuscript.
• Author instructions are available at www.ijbnpa.org/info/instructions/.

IJBNPA Co-Editors:
Simone A. French, Ph.D.
University of Minnesota
french@epi.umn.edu

Tony Worsley, Ph.D.
Deakin University
tonyw@deakin.edu.au

More than a million people in Burundi are not receiving any medical treatment because they cannot afford it, says aid agency Medecins sans Frontieres.
The MSF report said a government move to get people to start paying for treatment, tests and drugs meant many now went without them altogether.

Burundi's impoverished government withdrew free health care to its 6.9 million citizens two years ago.

More than 10 years of civil war have left the country's economy in tatters.

The survey by MSF showed that, in a country where most people live on less than a dollar a day, many avoid seeking medical treatment until their illness becomes an emergency.

A further 20% surveyed said they do not seek treatment at all.

Article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3691263.stm