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Healthcare unions in Nova Scotia to suspend all collective activities till New Year in response to H1N1 flu

Three of the four major healthcare unions in Nova Scotia have agreed to suspend all collective bargaining activities until at least the New Year. This move is in response to the increased pressures that the H1N1 flu pandemic is placing on the province's health system.

5 Nov 2009

Symposium on H1N1 and seasonal flu

With the looming threat of both the H1N1 flu (also known as "swine flu") and the regular seasonal flu, area health officials fear that the worst may be in store this coming flu season.

5 Nov 2009

Study examines campaign to increase use of zinc to prevent childhood diarrhea

Scientific American reports on a multiyear PLoS Medicine study, published on Monday, which "followed a nationwide public health campaign to increase zinc use for childhood diarrhea in Bangladesh."

5 Nov 2009

Also in Global Health News: Childhood vaccines; USAID administrator; Pakistan polio fight; UNICEF fundraising; measles in India

As a follow-up to the release of the State of the World's Vaccines and Immunization by the WHO, UNICEF and World Bank last month, The International examines the findings that "despite child vaccinations hitting a record-high with about 106 million infants being immunised this year, life-saving vaccines fail to reach some 24 million children in 72 of the world's poorest countries," many of whom, "are estimated to be most at risk from vaccine-preventable diseases," the publication writes.

4 Nov 2009

AMFm subsidized malaria drugs to be delivered soon

Subsidized artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) under the Affordable Medicines Facility - malaria (AMFm) program will be available in select countries "in two week's time," SABC News reports. The announcement came Monday at the 5th Multilateral Initiative on Malaria (MIM) Pan-African Conference in Nairobi, Kenya.

4 Nov 2009

AHDI and MTIA support healthcare reform package

As health information managers and professionals across the country celebrate the health information & technology industry this week, the Association for Health Care Documentation Integrity (AHDI) and the Medical Transcription Industry Association (MTIA) announced their support for a healthcare reform package that improves electronic health records (EHRs) as well as patient safety.

4 Nov 2009

Researchers use fruit fly model for diabetes research

As rates of obesity, diabetes, and related disorders have reached epidemic proportions in the US in recent years, scientists are working from many angles to pinpoint the causes and contributing factors involved in this public health crisis. While sedentary lifestyles and diets high in sugar and fat contribute significantly to the rise in diabetes rates, genetic factors may make some people more vulnerable than others to developing diabetes.

4 Nov 2009

Symposium to address complex issues surrounding water and health

On November 13, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the New York Academy of Sciences will host a symposium to address the complex issues surrounding water and health.

4 Nov 2009

Hospitalization and death of H1N1 patients can occur at all ages, says study

In contrast with some common perceptions regarding 2009 influenza A(H1N1) infections, an examination of cases in California indicates that hospitalization and death can occur at all ages, and about 30 percent of hospitalized cases have been severe enough to require treatment in an intensive care unit, according to a study in the November 4 issue of JAMA.

4 Nov 2009

Leprosy: Man's persistent companion

For thousands of years an undesirable and persistent companion has been travelling with man wherever he goes. Mycobacterium leprae, the bacterium that causes leprosy, has only one known natural host - mankind.

4 Nov 2009

Guideline for newborn screening of preterm, low birth weight, sick and at-risk newborns published

Infants in special care baby units or neonatal intensive care units are at greater risk for missed or incomplete newborn screening than normal newborns. To minimize the risk of missing or delaying a diagnosis, Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) recently published a new document, "Newborn Screening for Preterm, Low Birth Weight, and Sick Newborns; Approved Guideline" (I/LA31-A).

4 Nov 2009

Report: Pandemic flu threat influences vaccine market to expand rapidly

MarketResearch.com has announced the addition of Datamonitor's new report "Seasonal Influenza Vaccines Market Forecast," to their collection of Healthcare market reports.

4 Nov 2009

Study sheds light on the rise in childhood asthma in developed countries

A University of Adelaide study may have shed light on the rise in childhood asthma in developed countries like Australia in recent decades.

4 Nov 2009

Breastfeeding: ADA position paper details health benefits for both infants and mothers

The American Dietetic Association has released an updated position paper on breastfeeding that details health benefits for both infants and mothers and encourages promotion of breastfeeding whenever possible.

4 Nov 2009

Lower total cholesterol may be caused by undiagnosed cancer: Study

A pair of studies in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, lay to rest the decades-long concern that lower total cholesterol may lead to cancer, and in fact lower cholesterol may reduce the risk of high-grade prostate cancer.

4 Nov 2009

Reid works to convince moderate Dems to vote for Senate health bill

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is in the "awkward position of looking for votes on a major health care reform bill that doesn't quite exist," Roll Call reports.

4 Nov 2009

Men with lower cholesterol less likely to develop high-grade prostate cancer

Men with lower cholesterol are less likely than those with higher levels to develop high-grade prostate cancer - an aggressive form of the disease with a poorer prognosis, according to results of a Johns Hopkins collaborative study.

4 Nov 2009

Health experts urge government authorities to declare a moratorium on new tobacco products

At the 6th Conference on Tobacco or Health being held in Montreal this week, numerous stakeholders are urging government authorities to declare a moratorium on new tobacco products to counter the innovative product launch and marketing strategies of cigarette manufacturers.

4 Nov 2009

Blood vessels good indicators of prostate cancer behavior

A diagnosis of prostate cancer raises the question for patients and their physicians as to how the tumor will behave. Will it grow quickly and aggressively and require continuous treatment, or slowly, allowing therapy and its risks to be safely delayed?

4 Nov 2009

News outlets examine first World Pneumonia Day

To mark the first World Pneumonia Day, Inter Press Service examines how vaccines and other strategies can be used to combat the disease, which kills more children under age 5 each year "than measles, malaria, and AIDS combined, according to the Global Coalition against Child Pneumonia."

4 Nov 2009