Medical News

RSS

Health Ministers’ meeting in Canberra, health reform

Today in Canberra, Tony Abbott has let slip a historic opportunity for health reform. Today the state and federal health ministers met and had Professor John Dwyer and some of the finest minds in health give them health reform proposals.

25 Apr 2004

New Australian report outlines the health benefits of breastfeeding

A new report released by the NSW Centre for Public Health Nutrition, Australia outlines the health benefits of breastfeeding, which is the foundation for a lifetime of good health.

25 Apr 2004

New Jersey announces automatic enrollment in new medicare drug discount program

New Jersey will take advantage of a recent decision by the federal government allowing states to automatically enroll low-income beneficiaries in the Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Aged and Disabled Program (PAAD) into the new Medicare Drug Discount Card Program.

25 Apr 2004

Public Health Advisory for medical professionals with patients on anti-depression medication

On Monday, March 22, 2004 the Food and Drug Administration issued a Public Health Advisory for medical professionals to monitor for signs of suicidal ideation in individuals who have recently started taking anti-depression medication or have had a recent change in dosage, especially for children who are taking these medications. Antidepressant medications involved in this warning include: Prozac (Fluoxetine), Zoloft, Paxil, Luvox, Celexa, Lexapro, Wellbutrin, Effexor,, Serzone, and Remeron.

25 Apr 2004

Health Canada funds HIV/AIDS project for Aboriginal communities in Montreal

Health Minister Pierre Pettigrew announced today that Health Canada will contribute $105,000 to the Native Friendship Centre of Montreal for an HIV/AIDS community development program.

25 Apr 2004

Latest update on SARS

On 22 April, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported a case of SARS in China, who was a 20-year-old nurse from Beijing. She was admitted to Jiangong Hospital on 7 April, transferred to Remin Hospital (Beijing People's Hospital) on 14 April and then to Ditang Hospital (in Beijing) on 19 April.

25 Apr 2004

Australia's health system is on alert for SARS

Australia's health system is on alert to detect any possible cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) following reports of four possible SARS cases in China, including one death.

25 Apr 2004

The cancer death rate for African-American males would drop by nearly two-thirds if their exposure to tobacco smoke was eliminated

The overall cancer death rate for African-American males would drop by nearly two-thirds -- without any other intervention -- if their exposure to tobacco smoke was eliminated, a new study suggests.

25 Apr 2004

Deakin University has been given World Health Organisation (WHO) Collaborating Centre status

Deakin University, Australia has been given World Health Organisation (WHO) Collaborating Centre status for research into obesity prevention and related nutrition and physical activity programs.

25 Apr 2004

Taiwan gives all clear to lab technicians from possible SARS infection

The Taiwan CDC reported a suspected SARS fever case on a return trip from Beijing was sent to hospital on the night of April 24, 2004.

25 Apr 2004

Paul Newman urges Princeton to stop tradition of alcohol abuse in honour of his name

Paul Newman, the Hollywood film star and salad dressing mogul, has appealed to Princeton University to end a campus tradition in which students attempt to consume a beer an hour for 24 hours.

24 Apr 2004

Los Angeles health officials urge public to take preventative measures against West Nile virus

Los Angeles health officials have issued a statement urging the public to take precautions against mosquitoes after crows in the county tested positive for the West Nile virus. "These findings are a clear warning that the virus is continuing to circulate and amplify in the environment. Now is the time to take precautions," said Steve West of the San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District.

24 Apr 2004

China braces for Labour Day "Golden Week" SARS outbreak

Chinese government officials have heightened surveillance of incoming and outgoing international passengers for SARS yesterday ahead of a 2 week holiday period.

24 Apr 2004

Overview of West Nile virus before season starts

West Nile virus is a newly emergent virus of the family Flaviviridae, found in both tropical and temperate regions. It mainly infects birds, but is also the cause of a number of conditions in humans, horses, and some other mammals. It is transmitted by bites of infected mosquitoes.

24 Apr 2004

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) overview

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) is an atypical form of pneumonia that first appeared in November 2002 in Guangdong Province, China.

24 Apr 2004

Sleepwalking into our technological future

There has been a lack of public debate and there is a very real danger that we are ‘sleepwalking’ into our technological future

24 Apr 2004

Health Canada prepares for West Nile virus

To prepare for the upcoming West Nile (WN) virus season, Health Canada, in collaboration with its many partners, is focussing its efforts in six main areas of activity

24 Apr 2004

New use of Botox helps voice disorders

An injection that’s best known for smoothing wrinkles also helps restore the voices — and the confidence — of people with a voice disorder caused by spasms in their vocal cord muscles, a new University of Michigan study finds.

24 Apr 2004

First pancreatic islet cell transplant in Alabama

A lifelong dependency on insulin shots and pumps may be over for a 24-year old Troy, Alabama, woman who is the first in the state to receive a pancreatic islet cell transplant. Within 24 hours after the procedure, performed at UAB Hospital on April 15, her new cells were beginning to function, doctors said.

24 Apr 2004