Public Health News and Research

RSS

Majority of small business owners do not support public health care option

Eighty-three percent of the owners of small businesses surveyed across Michigan do not support a government-operated health care plan as a public option for insurance, according to a new survey of the members of the Michigan Business and Professional Association (MBPA) and the Michigan Food and Beverage Association (MFBA) headquartered in Warren. This is intriguing data as Michigan's economy has been under national scrutiny and the bills were designed to help small business.

30 Dec 2009

Walgreens offers H1N1 vaccinations at all of its pharmacies throughout Massachusetts

Walgreens, the nation’s largest drugstore chain and industry leader with more than 17,000 certified or licensed immunizers, is now offering H1N1 vaccinations at all of its pharmacies throughout Massachusetts.

30 Dec 2009

Health gurus say recommit each Monday to resolve the smoking habit

On January 1st millions of Americans will resolve to quit smoking -- again. Yet many will resume their addiction by Groundhog's Day. Now authorities at Johns Hopkins and the American Cancer Society say it doesn't have to be that way. If a quitter falls off the wagon, the pros agree, just quit again the following Monday. And recommit to stay quit each Monday thereafter.

29 Dec 2009

NSP recalls E. coli contaminated beef steaks in six states

On Christmas eve the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a notice that National Steak and Poultry (NSP) was recalling 248,000 pounds of beef steaks contaminated with the highly virulent pathogen E. coli O157:H7. The steaks were mechanically tenderized “non-intact steaks”, and were shipped to restaurants nationwide.

29 Dec 2009

Over 5,000 "Not Recommended" Internet drug outlets

On December 11, 2009, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy(R) (NABP(R)) reached a bitter-sweet milestone in its ongoing review of Web sites selling prescription medications. NABP now lists more than 5,000 Internet drug outlets as Not Recommended. These sites -- 96% of the total number of sites reviewed -- have been found to be out of compliance with pharmacy laws and practice standards established in the United States to protect the public health.

29 Dec 2009

Selected store locations in Massachusetts, Virginia and California to receive H1N1 flu vaccinations

CVS/pharmacy announced today that it will provide H1N1 flu vaccinations at select store locations in Massachusetts, Virginia and Orange County, California beginning Tuesday, December 29.

29 Dec 2009

Childhood ETS may lead to emphysema

Children regularly exposed to tobacco smoke at home were more likely to develop early emphysema in adulthood. This finding by researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health suggests that the lungs may not recover completely from the effects of early-life exposures to tobacco smoke (ETS). The study is published in the December 2009 American Journal of Epidemiology.

29 Dec 2009

Sudden worldwide increase in antibiotic-resistant bacterium, a cause for concern

A sudden worldwide increase in an antibiotic-resistant bacterium is cause for concern, according to a review in f1000 Medicine Reports.

28 Dec 2009

Second part of the 2009 Food Safety Naughty and Nice list released

Food Safety News, the web-based newspaper that covers all things food safety, today released the second part of its 2009 Food Safety Naughty and Nice list. The web-based newspaper’s “Naughty” list was published yesterday and included food safety missteps, missed opportunities, and downright dirty deeds.

28 Dec 2009

APHA supports passing of healthcare reform legislation

"Thanks to today's Senate vote, we are one step closer to bringing much needed reform to our nation's health system," said Georges C. Benjamin, MD, FACP, FACEP (E), executive director of the American Public Health Association.

28 Dec 2009

Opinion: Food aid; HIV vaccine, microbicide research; Global Tobacco Surveillance

In a Washington Post letter to the editor, Alan Bernstein, executive director of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise, and Rafi Ahmed, science committee chairman of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise, challenge a recent Washington Post editorial that questioned the scientific progress being made in the search for an HIV vaccine and microbicide. "The search for a safe and effective method to prevent HIV infection and AIDS is a long journey in which we should expect both success and failure," the authors write, before highlighting the lessons learned from the recent microbicide gel study and AIDS vaccine trial in Thailand.

27 Dec 2009

Children's Health Fund lauds Reid over release of the final Senate health care legislation

Irwin Redlener, MD, President and Co-founder of the Children's Health Fund, a national organization that advocates for and develops primary care programs for disadvantaged and medically underserved children, today released the following statement on release of the final Senate health care legislation by Majority Leader Harry Reid: "First and foremost, we applaud the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on producing this historic health reform bill which will provide millions of currently uninsured children access to comprehensive health insurance coverage.

24 Dec 2009

New book on caries management

The International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) offers clinical criteria and codes, together with a framework to support and enable personalized comprehensive caries management for improved long-term health outcome. Based on the ICDAS, this publication provides an up-to-date synthesis of the fields of detection, assessment, diagnosis and monitoring of caries.

24 Dec 2009

CVS/pharmacy and MinuteClinic expand H1N1 vaccine outreach effort

CVS/pharmacy, the nation's leading retail pharmacy, and MinuteClinic, the largest retail health care provider in the U.S., announced today an expanded H1N1 vaccine outreach effort.

24 Dec 2009

CPF, ATS and health groups launch campaign to raise awareness on lung health

The Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis (CPF) announced today it is joining with the American Thoracic Society (ATS) and lung health organizations around the globe for 2010: The Year of the Lung, a multi-faceted campaign that aims to raise awareness about the importance of lung health, generate social and political support for preventing and treating lung disease and encouraging increased public and private funding for lung disease research and development.

24 Dec 2009

Growing public health threat from surge in drug-resistant strains of acinetobacter

A new study in the journal Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology reports a surge in drug-resistant strains of Acinetobacter, a dangerous type of bacteria that is becoming increasingly common in U.S. hospitals. This study is being posted online today and will appear in the journal's February print edition.

24 Dec 2009

Bacterial DNA reveals a rise in antibiotic resistant genes

Antibiotic resistance in the natural environment is rising despite tighter controls over our use of antibiotics in medicine and agriculture, Newcastle University scientists have found.

24 Dec 2009

More H1N1 vaccines available in U.S., many Americans don't want it

While an increasing number of H1N1 (swine flu) vaccines are available in the U.S., "more than half of American adults say they still don't want it, and one-third of parents say they don't want their children to get it either, according to two surveys," the Washington Post reports. "As of this week, 111 million doses of vaccine against the pandemic strain of H1N1 flu have been released to states and cities.

24 Dec 2009

Majority of Australians think H1N1 vaccination is not necessary

Australia risks a serious swine flu (H1N1 influenza virus) outbreak with two-thirds (65 per cent) of unprotected Australians stating they're unlikely to get vaccinated against the disease in the next 12 months, according to an MBF Healthwatch Poll.

23 Dec 2009

AAAP celebrates 10-year anniversary of its California Eldercare Initiative

The Association of African American Professionals, Inc. (AAAP) hosted a holiday party with area senior citizens to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of its California Eldercare Initiative. This Initiative helps seniors learn how to be their own eldercare advocates and understand public policy.

23 Dec 2009