Public Health News and Research

RSS

One billion people still use unsafe sources of drinking water

More than 2.6 billion people - over 40 per cent of the world's population - do not have access to basic sanitation, and more than one billion people still use unsafe sources of drinking water, warns a report released today by the World Health Organization and UNICEF.

26 Aug 2004

$700,000 to help prevent or control diabetes among New Yorkers

Governor George E. Pataki has announced that 14 community-based organizations in New York State have been awarded grants totaling $700,000 to help prevent or control diabetes among New Yorkers.

25 Aug 2004

Sugar-sweetened beverages increase women's risk of developing type 2 diabetes

Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital have found that women who increased their intake or consumed higher amounts of sugar-sweetened beverages had a greater magnitude of weight gain and a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to women who consumed fewer sugar-sweetened drinks.

25 Aug 2004

Day care or nursery school attendance may reduce risk of developing Hodgkin's disease

Young adults who attended day care or nursery school when they were children were more than a third less likely to develop Hodgkin's disease, according to a new study by Harvard School of Public Health researchers.

25 Aug 2004

U.S. to vigorously defend against Vermont's lawsuit on importing drugs from Canada

The lawsuit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief based on FDA's denial of the State of Vermont's December 4, 2003, citizen petition requesting that the Vermont State Employee Medical Benefit Plan (VSEMBP) be allowed to establish a program for the importation of prescription drugs from Canada.

25 Aug 2004

Air researchers measure diesel fumes to search for link to health problems

Now, researchers at Clarkson University are looking at a population located near a major international trucking route to determine whether high levels of diesel emissions released in the air may be linked to increased rates of respiratory illnesses in an adjacent community.

25 Aug 2004

Los Angeles County Health Department confirms third West Nile virus victim

Los Angeles County Department of Health Services is reporting a death from locally acquired West Nile Virus. The victim is a 62-year-old male from the eastern region of the county who passed away last week.

23 Aug 2004

Another large tobacco company has joined the Master Settlement Agreement with Iowa and other states

Iowa's share of payments will be about $14.8 million over the next ten years, with over one-fifth of that going to State coffers.

23 Aug 2004

Striking increase in high blood pressure in the U.S.

A new analysis of the prevalence of high blood pressure in the US shows a striking increase over the last 10 years in the number of adults with this condition.

23 Aug 2004

Exposure to simian virus 40 (SV40) is not associated with cancer in humans

Two upcoming studies by scientists at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), provide further evidence that exposure to simian virus 40 (SV40) is not associated with cancer in humans.

23 Aug 2004

Study finds no link between dental amalgam fillings containing mercury and disease

A new study into whether dental amalgam fillings containing mercury are hazardous to health has found little evidence of an association between amalgam and disease.

23 Aug 2004

Peginterferon and Ribavirin combination promising for those with HIV and HCV

Since the introduction of highly active combination drug therapy for HIV, liver failure attributable to infection with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) has become a leading cause of death among those infected with the virus that causes AIDS.

22 Aug 2004

Current information on the use of antidepressants in pediatric patients

The Food and Drug Administration has issued an update to provide health care providers and patients with the most current information on the use of antidepressants in pediatric patients.

21 Aug 2004

Number of newborn screening tests more than doubles in Washington

The Washington State Department of Health's Newborn Screening program has more than doubled the number of screening tests it performs on newborns in our state from four to nine.

20 Aug 2004

Fruit and vegetables eaten before pregnancy lowers risk of leukemia

A new study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, suggests that women who eat more vegetables, fruit and foods containing protein before pregnancy may have a lower risk of having a child who develops leukemia, the most common childhood cancer in the United States.

20 Aug 2004

$1.7 Billion dollar public health settlement with major tobacco company

Attorney General Baker stated that, “Georgia’s citizens receive two major victories from this settlement. The first is that Sun Tobacco now will be subject to the same marketing restrictions as other MSA participants, prohibiting them from marketing tobacco products to our youth.

20 Aug 2004