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Infectious diseases experts applaud STAAR Act

With methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections, extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, and other "bad bugs" routinely making headlines, infectious diseases physicians are applauding Sens.

1 Nov 2007

Bush threatens to veto combined appropriations bill

President Bush on Tuesday said he would veto a more than $700 billion package under consideration by Democrats that includes the fiscal year 2008 Defense (HR 3222), Labor-HHS-Education (HR 3043) and Military Construction-Veterans Affairs (HR 2642) appropriations bills, The Hill reports (Soraghan et al., The Hill, 10/31).

31 Oct 2007

Congressional Democrats consider combining labor-HHS-education, veterans, Pentagon spending bills

Congressional Democrats have begun to "prep for a pre-Thanksgiving budget showdown" with President Bush, as lawmakers seek to finalize a more than $700 billion package that includes the fiscal year 2008 Defense (HR 3222), Labor-HHS-Education (HR 3043) and Military Construction-Veterans Affairs (HR 2642) appropriations bills, CongressDaily reports (Cohn, CongressDaily, 10/29).

30 Oct 2007

The cost of having a baby

The cost of having a baby, from the first prenatal visit to the baby's delivery, averaged roughly $7,600 for an uncomplicated birth, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

25 Oct 2007

WHO publishes new standard for documenting the health of children and youth

WHO publishes the first internationally agreed upon classification code for assessing the health of children and youth in the context of their stages of development and the environments in which they live.

24 Oct 2007

Public access policy for NIH-funded research set to become law

The U.S. Senate last night approved the FY2008 Labor, HHS, and Education Appropriations Bill (S.1710), including a provision that directs the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to strengthen its Public Access Policy by requiring rather than requesting participation by researchers.

24 Oct 2007

Surge in E. coli food contamination recalls prompts aggressive action

As a result of the increasing numbers of food recalls this year involving food contaminated with E. coli, the U.S. Agriculture Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) says it will expand tests and recall infected meat more rapidly.

24 Oct 2007

New flu pandemic plans for U.S.

In the event of a flu pandemic in the United States new government plans detail who will be the first to get vaccinated.

24 Oct 2007

Errors by hospital residents often down to poor teamwork, communication

Physicians-in-training are highly vulnerable to making medical errors that stem from teamwork breakdowns, especially a lack of supervision by experienced staff, according to a new study funded by HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

22 Oct 2007

NIH and India partner to develop low-cost health-care technologies

The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) of the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of India, have entered into a bilateral agreement to develop low-cost health-care technologies aimed at the medically underserved.

22 Oct 2007

19,000 Americans died in 2005 from MRSA

A new study that estimates nearly 19,000 Americans died in 2005 from a virulent, antibiotic-resistant infection acquired mostly in the hospital underscores the need for Congress to require public reporting of patient infection rates, according to Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports.

19 Oct 2007

Bypass surgery more likely than angioplasty to relieve coronary artery disease pain

Patients with mid-range coronary artery disease are more likely to get relief from painful angina and less likely to have repeat procedures if they get bypass surgery rather than balloon angioplasty with or without a stent, according to a new report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

17 Oct 2007

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality expands research on therapeutics program

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, announced the award of $41.6 million over the next 4 years for a new coordinating center and 10 research centers as part of its Centers for Education and Research on Therapeutics (CERTs) program.

16 Oct 2007

HiFi DNA Tech files lawsuit against FDA

A lawsuit was filed Oct. 12 in U.S. District Court against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) related to reclassification of HPV DNA tests from class III to class II devices. The inaction by both agencies hinders introduction of new and affordable HPV testing to improve women’s health care.

15 Oct 2007

Folic acid supplements dramatically lower blood arsenic levels in those exposed to contaminated water

A new study conducted in Bangladesh finds that folic acid supplements can dramatically lower blood arsenic levels in individuals chronically exposed to arsenic-contaminated drinking water.

10 Oct 2007

Largest ever national children's study in the U.S. gets $26 million government grant

The Saint Louis University School of Public Health has been awarded a government grant of 26 million dollars to conduct what will be the largest study of child and human health ever carried out in the United States

7 Oct 2007

Largest study of child health ever conducted in the United States

The UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities has been selected as one of 22 new study centers for the National Children's Study, a nationwide project designed to assess the effects of environmental and genetic factors on children's health in the United States.

4 Oct 2007

Federal jury in Miami convicts company owner of Direct Nursing Assistance Inc

A federal jury in Miami has convicted the owner and operator of Direct Nursing Assistance Inc. of Medicare fraud, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta of the Southern District of Florida announced today.

4 Oct 2007

Men who learn more about PSA test are less likely to seek screening

When men get a little extra help in understanding prostate cancer screening tests, they come away more educated and confident about their choices.

3 Oct 2007

Doctor involved in HIV infusion therapy scam sentenced to 18 months

A doctor involved in a $7 million HIV infusion therapy scheme to defraud Medicare has been sentenced to 18 months in prison, seven months home confinement, and three years supervised release, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta of the Southern District of Florida announced today.

3 Oct 2007