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FDA did NOT find purified ricin in two baby food jars in Irvine

Contrary to the impression given by some early reports, FDA did NOT find purified ricin in two baby food jars involved in an apparent tampering case in the Irvine, California area.

29 Jul 2004

AMA (WA) welcomes Australian Government waiting list promise.

The Australian Medical Association (WA) today welcomed the commitment by Health Minister Jim McGinty to include all public hospitals, including Joondalup and Peel, on the state's elective surgery wait list.

29 Jul 2004

Launch of new Australian Medicare smartcard

The new Australian Medicare smartcard was launched in Launceston, Tasmania this week.

29 Jul 2004

GP leader supports new money to modernise GP surgeries

News of an extra £108 million to fund primary care premises is seen by the BMA's General Practitioners Committee (GPC) leaders as a welcome recognition by the Department of Health for England, that if GPs are to lead the way in modernising patient care they need improved surgeries to work in.

29 Jul 2004

New mobile safety center hits the streets of Baltimore

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions and the Baltimore City Fire Department are launching the Johns Hopkins CARES Mobile Safety Center to keep children safe from unintentional injury, which is the leading cause of death for children nationwide.

28 Jul 2004

Case for smoke-free work and public places

An economic case for smoke-free work and public places is being made today in an independent report from the Chief Medical Officer.

28 Jul 2004

Eradicating deadly E. coli O157:H7 from the bottoms of cows may prevent future outbreaks of food poisoning

According to an article in the August 2004 issue Microbiology Today, the quarterly magazine of the Society for General Microbiology, the majority of people with E. coli O157:H7, picked up the infection from cattle, either through direct contact with faeces or by consuming contaminated meat or milk.

28 Jul 2004

US adults spent an average of three days a month feeling sad

US adults spent an average of three days a month feeling “sad, blue, or depressed” during 1995-2000, according to a study published today in Health and Quality of Life Outcomes.

28 Jul 2004

PAHO and UNICEF to work jointly in disasters, immunization campaigns, prevention of HIV, and monitoring nutrition

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and UNICEF have signed an agreement that intensifies the ties between the two institutions to work jointly in disasters, immunization campaigns, prevention of HIV, and monitoring nutrition.

27 Jul 2004

Ozone loss caused genetic mutations at time of mass extinction

Research into the world’s worst mass extinction, which led to the loss of 90 per cent of living species 250 million years ago, has found that the historical tragedy also involved some disturbing genetics mutations.

27 Jul 2004

Bill Clinton lends support to Kerry, citing health care

Bill Clinton has leant his support to John Kerry at the Democratic Convention being held this week in Boston. The former U. S. President cited health care as a major Kerry concern.

27 Jul 2004

McGuinty government investing an additional $469.5 million to operate Ontario's hospitals

The McGuinty government is supporting quality health care in Ontario by investing an additional $469.5 million to operate Ontario's hospitals - an increase of 4.3 per cent over last year, Health and Long-Term Care Minister George Smitherman announced today. Hospitals will receive a total of $11.3 billion in 2004/05.

27 Jul 2004

New publication looks at the immediate effects of the Medicare Modernization Act

Before the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA), private plan options for beneficiaries had eroded substantially, with severely limited or no choice in most communities.

27 Jul 2004

Strategic analysis on impact of regulations on radiology practice in Europe

The absence of technical standards in the Medical Device Directive has forced medical imaging companies to conform to additional, country specific standards. The presence of multilayered and diffused national legislatives in a stringent regulatory environment has invariably complicated product and technology innovation.

27 Jul 2004

Australia is providing an additional $12 million in humanitarian assistance to Sudan

This takes Australia's humanitarian funding to $20 million, demonstrating the Australian Government's deep concern about the situation in the Darfur region of Western Sudan.

27 Jul 2004

New study suggests that WTC pollutants might have affected unborn babies

While public health officials reported that the air in lower Manhattan was safe to breathe, many residents suffering from symptoms such as raw throats, burning eyes, nose bleeds, and intermittent asthma attacks, were afraid, confused, and suspicious of what the authorities were telling them.

27 Jul 2004

New plan of action aims to reduce prescription drug costs by more than 50 percent

The United States Department of Health and Human Services has announced a new plan of action and regulatory mechanisms to deliver greater benefits. These benefits aim to reduce prescription costs by more than 50 percent for the average senior without coverage.

26 Jul 2004

Smart packaging that alerts consumers that a product is beginning to spoil

As food evolves to accommodate the demands of an increasingly on-the-go world, in many cases it's the packaging that drives the change according to experts gathered at the Institute of Food Technologists Annual Meeting and Food Expo. And those packages are getting smarter.

26 Jul 2004

Food safety experts cannot concede that organic is safer than conventional food, as their research shows it is not

For many shoppers the word “organic” is synonymous with “safe.” But food safety experts cannot concede that organic is safer than conventional food, as their research shows it is not. Dialogue on the confusion between fact and myth highlighted the Institute of Food Technologists Annual Meeting and Food Expo.

26 Jul 2004

Overcoming the problems associated with adding omega-3s to food

As the health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids reach the awareness of consumers eager to improve the functions of their body -- from the cardiovascular system to the brain -- food makers are scurrying to enrich and fortify products with omega-3s and get them to market. But one major obstacle tempers progress -- flavor.

26 Jul 2004