Miscellaneous News

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Retrial drags on for six medics in Libyan cover up of hospital inadequacies

The retrial of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor accused of injecting hundreds of Libyan children with the AIDS virus was adjourned again on Tuesday until August 29.

9 Aug 2006

Probiotic drinks - not all brands live up to claims

According to experts as many as half of all probiotic health drinks do not contain the healthy bacteria they claim on the label.

8 Aug 2006

New national standard for handling substances suspected of being biological threat agents

Federal, state, and local agencies have reached consensus on the first validated national standard for collecting, packaging, and transporting samples of visible powders that are suspected of being biological threat agents, such as anthrax.

7 Aug 2006

WHO urges all parties to ensure safe passage of fuel to hospitals in Lebanon

WHO warns that if fuel is not delivered this week, 60% of all hospitals in Lebanon, in addition to other health facilities will simply cease to function.

7 Aug 2006

U.S. beaches a health risk for swimmers

The Environmental Protection Agency in the U.S. has come under fire for failing to update 20 year old beach water quality standards.

7 Aug 2006

Pollution-related closings and health advisories at U.S. beaches

Pollution-related closings and health advisories at U.S. beaches were more numerous than ever in 2005, according to NRDC's annual report (PDF 1.8mb) on beachwater quality.

4 Aug 2006

EPA accused of putting industry interests before public health

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is being put under pressure by a number of states to be transparent, especially when it comes to insisting pesticide manufacturers disclose all the ingredients on their product labels.

2 Aug 2006

Who are you kidding? Obese Americans eat a healthy diet and exercise!

If the results of a new survey in the U.S. on obesity are to be believed, most obese Americans are eating a healthy diet and are doing some form of vigorous exercise three times a week or more.

2 Aug 2006

Couple charged after home-style liposuction results in death

A Brazilian couple in the United States have been charged with drug possession and distribution, illegal possession of a hypodermic needle and unauthorized practice of medicine without a license after a female patient died following liposuction.

1 Aug 2006

Getting high on mothballs lands teens in hospital

Doctors were mystified when an 18-year-old French woman appeared at a hospital with scaly skin on her legs and hands, and was unsteady and mentally sluggish.

30 Jul 2006

Mad dogs and Englishmen should stay out of the midday sun!

In a timely release, as much of Europe and Britain in particular sizzles through an unusually hot summer, a new report is warning against the dangers of exposure to the sun.

30 Jul 2006

Blair threatens food and drinks industry with legislation

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has virtually given the food and drinks industry in the UK an ultimatum saying unless the "junk food" industry can sort itself out it will be forced to restrict advertising to children next year.

27 Jul 2006

Deadly duo of crime and drug abuse can be cut by effective treatments

According to a landmark scientific report released by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), money would be saved and crime would be reduced if communities put into place effective treatments for drug abuse and addiction.

26 Jul 2006

Breakdown of disease caused by UV radiation

Ultraviolet radiation from the sun causes a considerable global disease burden, including specific cancers, a new World Health Organization (WHO) report finds.

25 Jul 2006

Doctors increasingly unlikely to testify in child abuse cases

Doctors are increasingly unlikely to testify in child abuse cases because of high-profile cases in recent years, according to an editorial in this week's British Medical Journal.

21 Jul 2006

Going to court to get access to essential medicines should only be used as a last resort

Going to court to get access to essential medicines may be necessary and has been successful in several cases, but it should only be used as a last resort, according to an article in this week's issue of The Lancet.

21 Jul 2006

Dangers of unregulated herbal therapy

A Case Report in this week's issue of The Lancet highlights the dangers of unregulated herbal therapy.

21 Jul 2006

Bush adopts the so-called moral high ground and chooses to ignore scientific advice

The American President George W. Bush has used his presidential veto for the first time to block further federal taxpayers money from being used for embryonic stem-cell research.

20 Jul 2006

British American Tobacco and cigarette smuggling in China

New research based on the internal documents of one of the world's biggest tobacco companies, British American Tobacco (BAT), suggests that it been complicit in the smuggling of tobacco into China and has benefited from this illicit trade.

18 Jul 2006