Public Health News and Research

RSS

High rates of pertussis found in States with easy immunization exemptions

States that easily permit parents to opt out of vaccinating their children for nonmedical reasons are at increased risk of pertussis (whooping cough), according to a new study from researchers with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the University of Florida and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

10 Oct 2006

Generic hypertension drug a suspect in 19 deaths in Panama

As a result of a mystery illness that has claimed the lives of 19 people, officials in Panama have withdrawn all stocks of a hypertension drug used by thousands to treat high blood pressure.

9 Oct 2006

Canadians paralysed after drinking carrot juice

Carrot juice which was withdrawn from the market late last month is thought to be responsible for the illness of two Canadians who are paralyzed and are severely ill in hospital.

9 Oct 2006

Myths surrounding HIV/AIDS epidemic in Asia

"Five Myths About the HIV Epidemic in Asia," PLoS Medicine: Peter Godwin, senior adviser at the National Centre for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology and STDs in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and colleagues in the article discuss five "commonly held" myths regarding HIV/AIDS in Asian countries.

8 Oct 2006

FDA statement on foodborne E. coli O157:H7 outbreak in spinach

To date, 199 cases of illness due to E. coli O157:H7 infection have been reported to CDC, including 31 cases of Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS), 102 hospitalizations and three deaths.

8 Oct 2006

Palm Beach Post profiles physician John May's donation of expertise

The Palm Beach Post has profiled the work of John May -- chief medical officer for Coconut Creek, Fla.-based Armor Correctional Health Services and founder of Health Through Walls, which brings "support and supplies" to prisons in the Caribbean and Africa to fight the spread of HIV.

5 Oct 2006

Socioeconomic improvement for poor women has little effect on risk of delivering low-birthweight infants among blacks

Although improvement of socioeconomic status for poor women might reduce a white woman's risk of delivering a low-birthweight infant by nearly 50%, such upward mobility seems to have little effect for black women with similar socioeconomic status, according to a study published in the Oct. 3 online edition of the American Journal of Public Health, CQ HealthBeat reports (Crowley, CQ HealthBeat, 10/4).

5 Oct 2006

Teenage birth rate in Alabama continues to decline

The number of births among teenage girls in Alabama declined in 2005 from the previous year, continuing a downward trend in the teen pregnancy rate over the last 10 years, according to a new report from the Alabama Department of Public Health's Center for Health Statistics, the Birmingham News reports.

5 Oct 2006

NIH funds study that may prevent cognitive dysfunctions among HIV-positive people

NIH is funding a recent effort aimed at studying drugs that might prevent dementia and other cognitive dysfunctions among HIV-positive people, a condition also known as "neuroAIDS," the AP/ABC News reports.

5 Oct 2006

Schwarzenegger's veto of prison condom distribution bill politically motivated

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's (R) veto last week of a bill (AB 1677) that would have allowed not-for-profit organizations to distribute condoms in prisons is "another cynical political maneuver" and a "fundamentally irresponsible choice to make the world more dangerous for inmates and civilians alike," a Los Angeles Times editorial says (Los Angeles Times, 10/5).

5 Oct 2006

FDA approves FluLaval

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved FluLaval, an influenza vaccine to immunize people 18 years of age and older against the disease caused by strains of influenza virus judged likely to cause seasonal flu in the Northern Hemisphere in 2006-2007.

5 Oct 2006

FDA approves test to help diagnose HIV

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the APTIMA HIV-1 RNA Qualitative Assay, manufactured by Gen-Probe Incorporated (San Diego, Calif.).

5 Oct 2006

World challenge to improve air quality

The World Health Organization (WHO) is today challenging governments around the world to improve air quality in their cities in order to protect people's health.

5 Oct 2006

Feeling stressed? have a cuppa...then have another!

According to the latest research regular cups of tea can help speed recovery from stress.

5 Oct 2006

Federal response to Hurricane Katrina examined

"Federal Health Policy Response to Hurricane Katrina: What it Was and What it Could Have Been," Journal of the American Medical Association.

3 Oct 2006

One-third of U.S. kids unfit

Researchers in the U.S. report that as many as one-third of American children are physically unfit but boys are in better shape than girls.

3 Oct 2006

Dengue epidemic threatens India's capital

An outbreak of Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever (DHF) in Delhi, India has authorities concerned that they may be seeing the start of an epidemic.

2 Oct 2006

FDA issues guidance for development of cell-based viral vaccines

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued new guidance to aid manufacturers in developing safe and effective cell-based viral vaccines.

28 Sep 2006

WHO influenza pandemic task force meets for first time

The World Health Organization (WHO) Influenza Pandemic Task Force (IPTF) met for the first time on 25 September at WHO Headquarters in Geneva.

28 Sep 2006

Bird flu strikes again in Thailand

The death of a 59-year-old farmer in northeastern Thailand last month has taken the countries death toll from bird-flu to 17 since late 2003 and is the third death this year.

27 Sep 2006