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Seasonal flu vaccine ups the risk of getting H1N1 flu

Initial reports linking seasonal flu vaccine and getting swine flu or H1N1 flu emerged September 2009 in Canada. In spring 2009 many people who acquired pandemic H1N1 flu had been initially vaccinated with seasonal flu vaccine. This triggered four additional studies in Canada to explore the link further. The studies included 2,700 patients with or without H1N1. The first of the studies showed a surprising 68 percent rise of risk of development of H1N1 flu in those vaccinated with seasonal flu shot. The other 3 studies showed increase of risk of H1N1 flu by 1.4 to 1.5 times with the original flu shot.

2 May 2010

New book focusing on childhood TBI published

Pediatric traumatic brain injury is a major public health concern and a new book focuses on evaluating what is currently known about childhood TBI and the challenges faced by researchers and clinicians in this arena. The book is entitled "Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury: New Frontiers in Clinical and Translational Research," edited by Vicki Anderson and Keith Owen Yeates and published by Cambridge University Press.

30 Apr 2010

BCHC questions government's commitment to defend public health care

The BC Health Coalition is calling into question the provincial government's commitment to defend public health care in the courts in the wake of the recent appointment of Kip Woodward as chair of Vancouver Coastal Health - the province's second largest health authority.

30 Apr 2010

UCLA researchers show risks associated with heavy drinking among elderly adults

A new study by researchers at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA has found that more than a third of drinkers 60 years old and older consume amounts of alcohol that are excessive or that are potentially harmful in combination with certain diseases they may have or medications they may be taking.

30 Apr 2010

Communities with active participants demonstrate lower levels of crime, death rates

In a set of papers just published in two leading scholarly journals, LSU sociology professor Matthew Lee reports that both violent crime and all-cause mortality rates are on average substantially lower in communities with a vibrant civic climate.

30 Apr 2010

Practicing NPIs may help limit transmission of pandemic flu: Study

Practicing non-pharmaceutical interventions such as hand-washing and mouth covering may help limit the transmission of the pandemic flu, but more research on these measures is critical according to a new study appearing in the May issue of AJIC: American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc.

30 Apr 2010

Public health officials lay out opportunities, challenges related patient care at USP 2010 Membership Meeting

Four of the nation's leading public health officials laid out opportunities and challenges in the diverse area of patient care in the 21st century at the recently concluded U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention's 2010 Membership Meeting in Washington, D.C., emphasizing the critical nature of partnerships and the evolving role of quality standards to meet modern threats.

30 Apr 2010

Race and age play a major role in use of alternative therapies for chronic pain

In a University of Michigan Health System study, 1 out of 3 patients with chronic pain reported using complementary and alternative medicine therapies such as acupuncture and chiropractic visits for pain relief.

30 Apr 2010

A crystal ball into your future health!

Imagine knowing just what diseases you are likely to suffer from in your lifetime thanks to the sequencing of your genes. That is exactly what Professor Stephen Quake knows, because he has had his entire genome sequenced and studied. In fact he was in the news last year as well when he used new technology to sequence his genetic code for less than $50,000.

29 Apr 2010

Hullabaloo over the tobacco tax hike and planned plain cigarette packaging law

The Australian Federal Government this week announced an increase in taxes by 25% on cigarettes to discourage smoking and generate funds for more antismoking measures. In a new development Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott announced that the Coalition will support this move.

29 Apr 2010

Health care providers now have access to free toolkit to improve youth smoking cessation programs

Health care providers and educators nationwide who run youth smoking cessation programs now have access to a free toolkit to improve their programs.

29 Apr 2010

Preventing HPV infection could slow HIV epidemic, say researchers

Men infected with human papillomavirus are at greater risk of becoming infected with human immunodeficiency virus than men who are not HPV positive, according to researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

29 Apr 2010

Injection drug use contributes to transmission of syphilis

A binational team of researchers led by University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered that active syphilis infections are significantly greater in female sex workers who inject drugs and share needles than those who don't. The findings suggest that injection drug use may play as big a role as risky sexual behavior in the transmission of syphilis. It may also exacerbate the spread of both HIV and syphilis, as syphilis is frequently a co-factor for HIV infection.

29 Apr 2010

Cambodia closes 64.9 percent of illegal pharmacies

In a major crackdown, Cambodia has forced nearly 65 percent of illegal pharmacies operating in the country to close within the past five months. Led by an Inter-Ministerial Committee to Fight against Counterfeit & Substandard Medicines (IMC), the shops were targeted because of evidence that they were among the primary sources of substandard and counterfeit medicines in the country.

29 Apr 2010

Study finds WIC program has moderate effect on birth outcomes, but more research is needed

A new study that looked at the effect of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) to determine the effect on various birth outcomes found that the overall effects were only moderate.

29 Apr 2010

Elderly and whites seek alternative therapies for pain relief: Study

29 Apr 2010

Healthy food programs in grocery stores may help reduce diet-related illnesses

Bringing healthy food programs to corner grocery stores in the inner city might be a step toward improving residents' diet and reducing diet-related illnesses, a new study suggests.

29 Apr 2010

New study reinforces urgent need for life-saving vaccines in Africa

A new study released this week in The Lancet Infectious Diseases finds that African children who contract pneumococcus - a bacterial infection that causes pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis - are 36 times as likely to have sickle-cell disease, a blood disorder prevalent in African children that increases the risk for infectious diseases and early death.

29 Apr 2010

Report: Conditions in Zambian prisons fueling spread of HIV, TB

"Conditions in Zambia's prisons are so overcrowded and medical care so inadequate that they are breeding grounds for disease and pose a serious threat to public health, says a new report by Human Rights Watch, produced in association with the AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa and the Prisons Care and Counselling Association," BMJ News reports.

29 Apr 2010

More taxes and drab packages for cigarettes to deter the young from smoking

From 1st July 2012 companies making cigarettes will be allowed only to have a brand name and a graphic health warning on their cigarette packs. There has been a huge debate over this issue. Trade experts believe that this move could mean that the Federal Government may have to cough up more than $3 billion a year to cigarette companies. Tim Wilson from the Institute of Public Affairs also believes that this would cost taxpayers $3.4 billion a year in compensation to tobacco companies. However Australia will be the first country to introduce such a measure.

28 Apr 2010