Public Health News and Research

RSS

Health care workers in BC are on strike to protect health care

Health care workers are on strike at health care facilities across the province to back their fight for a fair, negotiated contract settlement that protects health services and decent jobs.

26 Apr 2004

Polio victory remembered on 50th anniversary of Salk Vaccine field trials

Fifty years ago today, thousands of parents drove their school-age children to designated sites across the country for immunizations of an experimental vaccine that they hoped would stop, once and for all, the raging polio epidemic that was leaving young Americans paralyzed and sometimes dead. Organized and funded by the March of Dimes, this was the largest voluntary clinical trial ever undertaken.

26 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

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

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

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

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

4th reported SARS case in China

The Chinese Ministry of Health has today reported an additional three cases of SARS, including one death. This brings the current number of persons with a clinical illness compatible with SARS in China to four.

24 Apr 2004

WHO calls for Sudan humanitarian assistance

Intensified and urgent action is needed in the Greater Darfur Region of western Sudan to address one of the most severe humanitarian emergencies today. Given the current situation, the humanitarian crisis will last several months.

23 Apr 2004

Nitric oxide, a chemical messenger involved in bodily functions shuts down a protein involved in Parkinson's disease

Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered that nitric oxide, a chemical messenger involved in bodily functions from erection to nerves' communication, also shuts down a protein involved in Parkinson's disease.

23 Apr 2004

GSK and WHO collaborate to fight malaria

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the World Health Organisation's Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (WHO-TDR) and the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) today announced the signing of a collaborative agreement, to develop a new-fixed dose artemisinin combination therapy drug (ACT), combining chlorproguanil, dapsone and artesunate (CDA) for the treatment of malaria.

23 Apr 2004

First Chinese case of case of SARS since January 2004

On April 22, 2004, the Chinese Ministry of Health reported a possible case of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in a 20-year-old woman who works as a nurse in a hospital in Beijing. If confirmed, this will be the first case of SARS since January 2004, when Chinese health authorities confirmed SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) infection in three persons in Guangdong Province.

23 Apr 2004

Public-health experts caution that the widening of the EU could have adverse effects on public health

Public-health experts writing in this week's issue of THE LANCET caution that the widening of the European Union (EU) to the east could have potentially adverse effects on public health-both for the new member countries, many of whom have poor health-care infrastructure, and for existing EU members.

23 Apr 2004

Access to effective malaria treatment for Africa threatened by drug shortages

Widespread use of a new fast-acting and potent treatment for malaria is finally on the horizon in Africa, where malaria is the number one killer of children.

22 Apr 2004

Possible new SARS case in Beijing, China

22 Apr 2004

Adult ADHD screening in New York

Despite wide recognition as a children’s disorder, ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) affects millions of adults who are undiagnosed and untreated.

22 Apr 2004

Supplements help prevent cavities in children where water quality and fluoride content is poor

Primary care clinicians who practice in areas where the water supply is deficient in fluoride should prescribe oral fluoride supplements to preschool children over the age of 6 months, according to a recommendation from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.

22 Apr 2004

Resolution of US-Chinese cosmetics mad cow disease issue

The Food and Drug Administration today announced a successful resolution of an issue arising out of the January, 2004 decision by the Chinese government to suspend on public health grounds the importation of United States cosmetics.

22 Apr 2004

Americans over using perscription drugs

Nearly 1.3 million Americans 12 and older abuse prescription drugs and require treatment for their problem, a new study concludes.

21 Apr 2004

PAHO's revolving fund for immunization

A quarter century ago, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and its member countries launched a unique procurement and financing mechanism to buy vaccines, syringes, and "cold chain" equipment – the basic components of their immunization programs.

21 Apr 2004