Global

Baking soda may help athletes to exercise longer

10 April – Reuters reported that sodium bicarbonate, commonly known as baking soda, is used as a medication to neutralize stomach acid in ulcer patients and as a home remedy for stomach distress. Now researchers have shown that it may neutralize the acid in muscles during intense exercise and helps athletes to exercise longer. An athlete would be able to exercise longer if the bicarbonate got into the muscle and neutralized the burning caused by the acid. The authors of this study showed that higher doses of sodium bicarbonate were more effective in preventing burning.  View Article

Carson study: 1 in 6 shows TBI symptoms

11 April – Army Times reported that a 22-month study of Fort Carson soldiers returning from the Middle East found that nearly 18 percent suffered from at least a mild form of traumatic brain injury, which can be caused by close calls from explosions. Of 13,440 soldiers examined since June 2005, 2,392 exhibited some of the symptoms associated with mild TBI which include headaches, memory loss, irritability, difficulty sleeping and balance problems, Col. John Cho, who commands the Evans Army Community Hospital at Fort Carson, said Tuesday. Fort Carson will be submitting its study results to a leading medical journal for review and possible publication, said Col. Heidi Terrio, chief of deployment health at Evans.  View Article

Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2007

6 April – ProMED reported on cholera in Kenya, Angola, South Africa and Malaysia; and dysentery in the Solomon Islands.  View Article

Making smoking history worldwide

12 April – The New England Journal of Medicine reported that in 2004, Ireland made history as the first country to implement a comprehensive smoking ban in indoor workplaces, including restaurants and bars. Defying dire predictions, Ireland's policy has proved to be both popular and enforceable, with ready compliance,¹ no decline in business, and improved health outcomes for hospitality workers. Overwhelming public support for the ban has come from smokers and nonsmokers alike, dispelling the belief that restaurants and bars should represent bastions of smoking and socialization. For a country traditionally known for its smoke-filled pubs, the new societal standard represents a breathtaking (or breath-enhancing) revolution.  View Article

Pain link to post-trauma stress

8 April - BBC News reported that people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be less sensitive to pain than others who don't have the condition. PTSD patients report panic attacks, flashbacks, anxiety and depression following a traumatic event. Researchers used brain scans to compare what happened when volunteers were given hot objects to hold. The PTSD patients generally said the objects felt less hot. Scans confirmed their brains were less active than those of their unaffected counterparts. The researchers do not know why the processing of pain signals should be different in patients with the condition.  View Article

VA takes the lead in paperless care

10 April – The Washington Post reported that never again will a VA patient's chart be an excuse for things not happening efficiently. Before the VA got its electronic system, only 60 percent of patients' charts could be found on any given visit. Electronic medical records enable searchable computerized databases that allow physicians to examine information collected across time and space. The ability to detect trends in physiological variables such as serum chemistry, cell counts, blood pressure and even weight is important to good decision-making. But it is often hard to do. Electronic medical records make it easier. Electronic record systems also bridge the transfer of care when patients leave the hospital.  View Article

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Epidemiology

Fatal Occupational Injuries --- United States, 2005

6 April – MMWR reported that in 2005, U.S. workers died from an injury while at work at a rate of 4.0 per 100,000 workers. Males accounted for 93% of all deaths and had a work-related fatality rate approximately 12 times the rate for females (6.9 per 100,000 workers versus 0.6). Workers aged 35--54 years accounted for 46% of workplace deaths. Rates increased with age, from 2.3 per 100,000 workers for those aged 16--19 years to 11.3 for workers aged >65 years.

Approximately 43% of fatal work-related injuries resulted from transportation incidents; 58% (1,428) of these deaths involved highway incidents (i.e., incidents that occurred on public roads and surrounding areas such as roadway shoulders, excluding incidents in parking lots or on commercial or farm properties). The majority of the remaining transportation-related deaths involved workers who were struck by vehicles or mobile equipment and workers who were vehicle occupants in nonhighway incidents (i.e., transportation incidents that occurred or originated entirely off the highway or that occurred or originated on industrial, commercial, residential, or farm premises). The remaining categories with the highest rates of fatal occupational injuries were contact with objects or equipment (e.g., being struck by a falling object such as a tree, being crushed during a cave-in while digging ditches, or getting caught in running machinery) (18%), assaults and violent acts (14%), and falls (13%).  View Article

INFLUENZA

CDC Weekly Report: Influenza Summary Update: During week 13 (3/25/2007 – 3/31/2007), influenza activity continued to decrease in the United States. Data from the U.S. World Health Organization and National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System collaborating laboratories indicated a decline in activity for the seventh consecutive week; 10.3% of specimens tested positive for influenza this week. ILI data remained at similar levels nationally and fewer regions were above baseline levels this week compared to last week (two versus four, respectively). The number of jurisdictions reporting widespread or regional influenza activity decreased from 29 for week 12 to 19 for week 13. The percent of deaths due to pneumonia and influenza remained below baseline level.

European Influenza Surveillance Scheme: For week 11 (3/26/2007 – 4/1/2007), seasonal influenza activity is declining in all European countries and is now back or almost back to levels seen outside the winter period in almost all countries. In Denmark and the Netherlands, consultation rates for influenza-like illness are at slightly increased levels after peaking in week 9 (the Netherlands) and 10 (Denmark). Influenza A(H3N2) has been the dominant virus in Europe this season.

 

Flu vaccine emerges from caterpillar cells

10 April – USA Today reported that a A flu vaccine made in insect cells instead of chicken eggs is safe and at least as effective as standard flu shots. Scientists say the experimental vaccine marks an advance toward the development of a faster method of making flu vaccine. For half a century, vaccine manufacturers have relied on fertilized hens' eggs to grow the flu virus strains included in each year's vaccine. The process takes six months and is subject to variations in yield, depending on how rapidly each virus strain can grow. Federal health officials have made finding new flu vaccine technologies that are fast and reliable a priority. In today's Journal of the American Medical Association, John Treanor of the University of Rochester, N.Y., tested an experimental vaccine made by using an insect virus, baculovirus, to produce flu virus proteins in cells taken from caterpillars. The finished vaccine included the three strains used in regular flu shots given during the 2004-05 flu season.  View Article

AVIAN FLU

Avian influenza – situation in Cambodia

10 April – The World Health Organization reported that the Ministry of Health in Cambodia has confirmed the country’s seventh case of human infection with the H5N1 avian influenza virus. It is the first case to be confirmed in humans in Cambodia in 2007. The 13-year-old girl, from Kampong Cham province, died on 5 April. Initial investigations into the source of the girl's infection indicate the presence of sick and dead poultry in the village in recent weeks and that she had consumed a sick chicken prior to onset of symptoms. Of the 7 cases confirmed to date in Cambodia, all have been fatal.  View Article

Avian influenza - situation in Egypt - update 14

10 April – The World Health Organization reported that the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population has announced two new human cases of avian influenza A(H5N1) virus infection. The first case, a 2-year-old female from Menia Governorate, developed symptoms on 3 April and was admitted to hospital the following day. She is currently in a stable condition. Initial investigations into the source of her infection indicate recent contact with backyard poultry. The second case is a 15-year-old female from Cairo Governorate. She developed symptoms on 30 March and was admitted to hospital on 5 April where she remains in a critical condition. Of the 34 cases confirmed to date in Egypt, 13 have been fatal.  View Article

Cumulative number of confirmed human cases of avian influenza A/(H5N1) reported to WHO - 10 April 2007

Indonesia, reports human H5N1 cases, Bangladesh culls birds

9 April - CIDRAP reported that Indonesia and Egypt each have reported another human case of H5N1 avian influenza, the first in a 29-year-old man who died and the second in a 15-year-old girl, according to news services. Indonesian officials reported the 29-year-old's fatal case Apr 7, saying he came from the town of Sukoharjo. An Agence France-Presse report said the man had had contact with a large number of dead chickens. AFP reported that the man's case raised Indonesia's total case count to 94, one more than Vietnam, which has long been first on the list with 93 cases. The story put the number of Indonesian deaths at 74, far more than Vietnam's 42. In Bangladesh, an outbreak was confirmed on another farm near the capital, Dhaka, triggering the culling of 3,000 chickens. About 75,000 chickens on 27 farms have been destroyed since the outbreaks began.  View Article

Pakistan reports 2 new cases of bird flu; 600 chickens slaughtered

9 April – Forbes stated that Pakistani authorities have reported two new cases of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in commercial poultry farms in the country. The virus was detected in the northwestern city of Abbotabad and the southern port city of Karachi. Some 600 chickens were slaughtered -- 350 in Karachi and about 250 in Abbotabad -- after the tests confirmed they were infected with H5N1 virus.  View Article

PANDEMIC FLU

Study shows knowledge gaps in N-95 respirator use

9 April - CIDRAP reported that N-95 respirators are regarded as a key tool for protecting people from airborne influenza viruses in the event of a pandemic, but a recent study suggests that without special instruction, most people are likely to wear the devices incorrectly, limiting their effectiveness. To gauge the public's current knowledge of how to use N-95 respirators, the researchers randomly questioned 538 people in New Orleans about their experience with the devices during hurricane clean-up and asked them to demonstrate putting on a respirator. In watching participants don the respirators, investigators found that only 24% (129 of 538) wore the devices properly. The most common errors were not tightening the nose clip (71%), incorrectly placing the straps (52%), and wearing the respirator upside down (22%).  View Article

 

More epidemiological information can be found in:

The Army Medical Surveillance Activity’s Medical Surveillance Monthly Report

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

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Wellness

Herbal extract may be balm for recurrent bladder infections

9 April – MedPage Today reported that the most common cause of a bladder infection is uropathogenic Escherichia coli, and the painful condition often recurs even after apparently successful treatment with antibiotics. In experiments in mice, researchers found that the bacteria appear to hide in vesicles on bladder epithelial cells, where they are protected from antibiotics. But the cells can be flushed out by forskolin, an extract from the Indian coleus plant, which is widely available in health food stores and is used in bodybuilding products.  View Article

No scientific evidence diet supplements work

9 April – CNN reported that for all the money spent, and growing interest from mainstream physicians, virtually no evidence exists that supplements can improve your health. To look at the labels, you would think that vitamins and supplements are powerful medicine. Yet for all the money spent, and growing interest from mainstream physicians, virtually no evidence exists that supplements can improve your health. Under the 1994 Dietary Supplement and Health Education Act, nutritional supplements do not have to be tested for safety or effectiveness before going on the market. As long as the manufacturer doesn't claim that a product treats or cures a specific disease, it can advertise any health benefit whatsoever. The next time you're in a health food store, just count the bottles that promise to "strengthen your immune system."  View Article

Tai chi may protect from shingles

9 April – Medical News Today reported that shingles, a painful skin condition, may be prevented if you perform Tai-Chi, an ancient Chinese martial art.  112 healthy volunteers, aged 59-86, were involved in this study. Half of them had three Tai Chi classes each week for 12 weeks, while the other half had health education classes. Six months later, those who had received the Tai Chi lessons had almost twice the immunity levels against shingles, compared to the other group. In fact, the researchers found that the Tai Chi group managed to develop a level of immunity similar to what younger people would have after the vaccination.  View Article

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USAFRICOM

Mozambique struggles to curb TB, seeks U.N. help

9 April – Reuters reported that Mozambique plans to step up a campaign to fight a sharp rise in tuberculosis, which has been overshadowed by HIV/AIDS. Health Minister Ivo Paulo Garrido said almost half of Mozambique's 18 million people are infected with tuberculosis (TB) -- compounding the health crisis posed by HIV/AIDS. The government will seek $22 million from the U.N.'s AIDS and TB agency for its campaign. The minister said the money would be used for treatment and identification of TB patients, since many Mozambicans who suffer from it live far from health centers or unaware of their TB status.  View Article

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USCENTCOM

Iraq: Suicide chlorine bombing kills 27

6 April – Forbes reported that a suspected al-Qaida in Iraq suicide bomber smashed a truck loaded with TNT and toxic chlorine gas into a police checkpoint in Ramadi on Friday, killing at least 27 people - the ninth such attack since the group's first known use of a chemical weapon in January. The bombing left many people nearby with breathing difficulties and some needed hospitalization. Most were released in about 30 minutes. Thirty other victims were hospitalized with wounds from the explosion. In low exposures, chlorine irritates the respiratory system, eyes and skin. Higher levels can lead to accumulation of fluid in the lungs and other symptoms. Death is possible with heavy exposure.  View Article

Iraq: Medical waste a growing health hazard

8 April – IRIN reported that people in Baghdad are scavenging through piles of rubbish in search of anything they can sell for food. There is a greater chance of finding items of some value in medical waste. Many hospitals in Baghdad leave their medical waste for collection at their main gates. They used to burn this waste, but no longer do so because of a lack of fuel. Compounding this health hazard is the fact that insecurity has led dwindling numbers of refuse collectors to work ever more sporadically. Doctors are calling for urgent action from the government to ensure the speedy transportation of waste from hospitals to areas where it can be safely disposed of.  View Article
Pakistan battles HIV/AIDS taboo

9 April – BBC News reported that nearly 4,000 people with HIV/Aids have reported at treatment centres around Pakistan. The figure is a fraction of the total number of Pakistanis with the virus. A UNAIDS report last year said that between 80,000 and 140,000 people were infected - and the rate could spiral because of under-reporting of cases. Pakistani officials say a low detection rate and stigma associated with the disease were hampering the treatment of HIV/AIDS patients. The problem is further compounded by a lack of awareness about the infection.  View Article

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USEUCOM

Ireland: Galway crippled by water emergency

6 April – BBC News reported that a major water crisis has left scores of people ill and tens of thousands at risk from contamination in a west of Ireland city. Galway's water supply has been hit by an outbreak of the parasite cryptosporidium, with up to 170 people now confirmed to have been affected by a serious stomach bug as a result. The outbreak has severely affected homes and businesses in Ireland's third-biggest city and residents have been warned that the crisis could last for months. Doctors have warned that the parasite could be life threatening, especially to young children, the elderly and people with low immune systems.  View Article

United Kingdom: Superbug claims 18th life at hospital

10 April – Mercury 24 reported that a Gorleston hospital has reported a further death linked to the superbug Clostridium difficile (C-diff) and a rise in the number of infected patients being treated in isolation. It brings the number of deaths at the James Paget University Hospital (JPH) linked to the bug to 18 since the start of December - a further five people have had to undergo major bowel surgery.  During the past week the number of patients known to be currently infected with C-diff, which causes severe diarrhoea, has risen from 11 to 14.  View Article

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USNORTHCOM

22 brands of dog biscuits are added to pet food recall

6 April – The New York Times reported that a recall of pet food tainted with melamine, a chemical used to make plastic products, has been widened to include 22 types of dog biscuits. The biscuits, made by Sunshine Mills Inc., contain wheat gluten imported from China that contained melamine, said Stephen F. Sundlof, director of the Center for Veterinary Medicine at the F.D.A. Sunshine Mills, of Red Bay, Ala., manufactures branded and private label dry pet food and biscuits. The recalled biscuits include Nurture Chicken and Rice Biscuit, Ol’ Roy Peanut Butter Biscuit and Pet Life Large Biscuit.  View Article  View the Pet Food Recall

Alaska:  Anchorage sees tuberculosis outbreak in homeless population

7 April – KTUU reported that health officials in Anchorage say they are battling an outbreak of tuberculosis in the city's homeless population. The disease once ravaged Alaska and now it has made a comeback. In 2006, there were 40 cases in Anchorage and 26 of those were homeless. To date the municipality has about 25 TB cases, 17 of which are homeless people. Officials say getting treatment to the population is tough.  View Article

Canada:  Deadly fungus invades B.C.

9 April – The Toronto Star reported that a fungus, a member of the yeast family, called Cryptococcus gattii was apparently been brought to North America by a warming climate. The microscopic fungus is found in the bark of eucalyptus trees in Australia and other tropical zones. Cryptococcus causes a disease that, like bird flu and West Nile virus, affects animals and humans. The fungus appears to be more virulent than in Australia. There, it infects about four people per million and is rarely fatal. On Vancouver Island, the rate was 27 per million, and it kills more people.  View Article

Child recuperating at Chicago hospital from rare infection

7 April – The International Herald Tribune reported that a 2-year-old boy who contracted a rare and life-threatening infection, eczema vaccinatum, from his soldier father's smallpox vaccination is recovering and should be upgraded from critical condition soon. Doctors have relied on some untested measures to save the boy's life, including skin grafts and an experimental drug. The boy's pox lesions left him with the equivalent of second-degree burns, requiring grafts to let the underlying skin heal. The boy has been in pediatric intensive care for the past month with a virulent rash over 80 percent of his body.  View Article

Dengue surges in Mexico

8 April - The Plain Dealer reported that dengue fever is surging in Mexico and other areas of Latin America. Dengue cases in Mexico have increased more than 600 percent since 2001, with the deadly form of dengue hemorrhagic fever increasing dramatically. It now accounts for one in every four cases compared to one in every 50 cases seven years ago. Officials have sent special mosquito-eradication teams to Acapulco, Cancun and Puerto Vallarta to reduce the risks to tourists. Nationwide, Mexico has seen 1,549 cases this year in January and February. Paraguay declared a state of emergency in March with an estimated 400,000 infections, and the Dominican Republic is seeing 400 new cases a month.   View Article

FDA re-emphasizes warnings to consumers on risks of pet turtles

6 April - The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is urgently reminding the public that contact with baby turtles can pose a serious health risk to infants, small children, and adults with impaired immune systems as they can be natural hosts to Salmonella, a group of bacteria that can cause severe illness and death. Recently, a four-week old infant in Florida died of infection traced to Salmonella pomona, a bacteria that was also found in a pet turtle in the home.  View Article

Mexico: Hundreds sick in Mexico religious school mystery

6 April – Reuters reported that hundreds of girls at a Mexican boarding school run by Catholic nuns have been struck by a mystery illness that authorities say is psychological, raising questions about conditions inside the academy. Headmistress Margie Cheong, a nun from South Korea, said it was unclear what had caused the symptoms, which include difficulty walking and nausea. Some 600 of the 4,000 girls at the Villa de las Ninas school had been affected, she said, and 300 children had left the school, which offers a free secondary education to children from poor families.  View Article

Moisture led to salmonella outbreak

5 April – The New York Times reported that moisture from a leaky roof and faulty sprinkler helped salmonella bacteria grow and contaminate peanut butter at its Georgia plant last year, sickening more than 400 people nationwide, ConAgra Foods said Thursday. The Omaha-based company conducted a nearly two-month investigation into the contamination and pledged to ensure that Peter Pan peanut butter is safe when it returns to stores in mid-July.  View Article

Study finds ‘mind-boggling’ increase in morbidly obese

11 April – USA Today reported that a study released Monday shows the prevalence of American adults who are 100 or more pounds over a healthy weight has risen dramatically since 2000. About 3% of people, or 6.8 million adults, were morbidly obese in 2005, up from 2% or 4.2 million people in 2000, says Roland Sturm, an economist with the RAND Corp., a non-profit think tank. The evidence of such a significant increase in the number of Americans who are extremely heavy "is mind-boggling," he says. Sturm analyzed government data on about 1.5 million people who reported their own weights and heights. Participants were categorized as severely or morbidly obese if they had a body mass index (a height-weight ratio) of 40 or higher.  View Article

West Virginia: More mercury found in Clendenin

7 April – The State Journal reported that more mercury was found in Clendenin on Friday. State Department of Environmental Protection workers have been concentrating on the local elementary school this week, but Mayor Bob Ore said a young girl discovered more drops in front of the library Friday. More was then found near the former dentist office where the mercury is suspected to have been stolen from.  The DEP has since cleaned it all up.   View Article

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USPACOM

China issues human organ transplant rules in attempt to clean up industry

6 April – The International Herald Tribune reported that China has published rules governing human organ transplants in its latest effort to clean up a business that has been criticized as being profit-driven, with little regard for medical ethics. A human rights group said the rules did not go far enough and failed to address the "crucial issue" of procurement of organs from executed prisoners. The new regulations include a ban on the sale of human organs for profit and on donations by people under 18. The rules also make it illegal to harvest human organs without permission, and standardize transplant procedures at the limited number of hospitals licensed to perform such operations.  View Article

China to send 5,500 urban medics to countryside

4 April – People’s Daily reported that roughly 5,500 doctors and nurses from Chinese cities will be sent to the countryside this year where qualified medical professionals and decent facilities are in short supply.  They are expected to take up the rural posts during the year and stay there for twelve months, helping treat rural patients, introduce new facilities and train local medical staff on diagnosis and operation techniques, according to the Ministry of Health. So far, nearly 10,000 urban medical staff have assumed their temporary rural posts and treated 2 million patients. About 560,000 rural doctors and nurses have been trained.  View Article

TB reaches alarming levels in Marshall Islands

8 April – France 24 reported that tuberculosis has reached "alarming" levels in the Marshall Islands despite aggressive attempts to detect and treat the deadly disease. Some 126 new cases were recorded in the Pacific island nation of 60,000 people last year, statistics released by the Ministry of Health showed. The infection rate is nearly four times the average in the Pacific region and 47 times the rate in the United States. The geography of the nation is a challenge to controlling the disease. Although the population is relatively small, people live on islands scattered across 500,000 square miles of ocean.  View Article

Tobacco tightrope – Balancing disease prevention and economic development in China

12 April – The New England Journal of Medicine reported that during the past 20 years, as smoking rates have fallen in high-income countries, the tobacco industry has found new and bigger markets in the developing world. One third of current smokers live in China — more than in the United States and all European countries combined. The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that 70% of the deaths from smoking-related illnesses will occur in low- and middle-income countries by 2020. Smoking is likely to have a particularly devastating effect on China, where the annual death toll from smoking-related diseases already exceeds 1 million — 2.5 times that in the United States — and is expected to double by 2025 if smoking rates are not reduced.1 The ripple effects are painfully visible: because China has no national health care system and little private health insurance, many Chinese people go bankrupt taking care of sick family members. "With other health problems," says Kathryn Mulvey, executive director of the nonprofit organization Corporate Accountability International, "you've got rats or mosquitoes, but in this case the tobacco industry is the vector of disease."  View Article


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USSOUTHCOM

Jamaica: Malaria cases continue to climb since outbreak

5 April – Radio Jamaica reported that new data from the Ministry of Health show that the number of malaria cases reported since last December's outbreak has increased to 340. The figure includes four new cases which have been identified since the start of this week. Health Minister Horace Dalley said the communities of Greenwich Town and Tivoli Gardens remain a challenge even as the rate of increase in malaria cases continues to decline. He added that while the vector control programme has been intensified in these communities it appears that the breed of mosquito transmitting the disease is resistant to the insecticide.  View Article

Type 1 diabetics live without insulin in stem cell experiment

10 April – CNN reported that thirteen young diabetics in Brazil have ditched their insulin shots and need no other medication thanks to a risky, but promising treatment with their own stem cells -- apparently the first time such a feat has been accomplished. Though too early to call it a cure, the procedure has enabled the young people, who have Type I diabetes, to live insulin-free so far, some as long as three years. The treatment involves stem cell transplants from the patients' own blood. "It's the first time in the history of Type 1 diabetes where people have gone with no treatment whatsoever ... no medications at all, with normal blood sugars," said study co-author Dr. Richard Burt of Northwestern University's medical school in Chicago, Illinois.  View Article

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