In order to help you find topics that interest you, this week’s news articles are categorized under:
- Disease and Medical
- Environmental Contaminants
- Environmental Health
- Food
- Gulf Oil Spill
- H1N1
- Water
- Work Place Health and Safety
- Misc
U.S.A.: Obesity Prevention in Women: Tipping the Scales Towards Health (14 May 2010) The Huffington Post.
By:S. M.D. Blumenthal. (On-line) Available: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-blumenthal/obesity-prevention-in-wom_b_576870.html. Cited 2010 May 17.
There is still inaquality in the way women receive medical care.“Most research studies in the past were conducted in men only, and women received male medical treat men”.”Until 15 years ago, this omission of females as research subjects and as the focus of prevention campaigns has put women’s health at risk – as is now seen with the rising rates of obesity and chronic diseases in females in the United States and worldwide”. Just looking at women and obesity, over the past 40 years, it as increased from 15.8% to 34.0%.“More than 64% of women in the United States are now overweight, with even higher rates in low income and minority populations”. Larger food portion increase women’s daily calorie intake three time the rate of men and a poor fitness level does not let women burn this excess calorie intake. “Overweight women are at an increased risk for heart disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis, gall bladder disease, birth defects in their babies, mental health problems, and some types of cancer including post-menopausal breast cancer”. “Obese women are 90% more likely than their male counterparts to experience difficulty finding employment”. This is creating a strong economic burden for the US government.
“This means that research on the effects of obesity in women and girls must be strengthened and preventive interventions targeted to their unique needs”. A new legislation “the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act”, will help women and men prevent and treat obesity. To aid in decreasing caloric intake, the legislation will require “more prominent labeling of the calorie and nutrient content of foods sold by markets, restaurants, movie theatres and other venues”. Other legislation will encourage “fast-food” establishment to provide healthier food choices, a tax will be added to calorie rich food and soda, subsidies will be available for fruits and vegetable and to help improved school food programs.” Women will be encouraged to eat a well balanced nutritious diet, to gett regular physical activity as well as more medical attention in the form of routine checkups and screening exams.
USA: Lost Sense of Smell Noted Among Ground Zero Workers Post-9/11 (18 May 2010) Health, US News
Available: http://health.usnews.com/health-news/managing-your-healthcare/environment/articles/2010/05/18/lost-sense-of-smell-noted-among-ground-zero-workers-post-911.html. Cited 2010 May 19.
New research from the nonprofit Monell Center in Philadelphia and their collaborators reveals that workers involved in clean-up, rescue, recovery and demolition at the World Trade Center experience a diminishing ability to detect odors and irritants. “The nose performs many sensory functions that are critical for human health and safety,” Monell environmental psychologist and lead author Pamela Dalton said in a news release. “The sensory system that detects irritants is the first line of defense to protect the lungs against airborne toxic chemicals. The loss of the ability of the nose to respond to a strong irritant means that the reflexes that protect the lungs from toxic exposures will not be triggered.” In total, 102 volonteers were investigated. “Of these, 44 percent were in lower Manhattan on the day of the disaster, and 97 percent worked at the site in the week following Sept. 11, 2001″. Two years after exposure, “22 percent of the workers were less able to detect odors, while almost 75 percent were less able to detect irritants that cause pain, tingling, burning, stinging and/or prickling”. Those that were at the World trade Center at the time of the collapse were “rendered almost totally unable to detect irritants, the researchers found”. “Dalton and her colleagues suggest that World Trade Center responders be routinely screened for smelling impairment”.
USA: A Burning Issue: Scientists take a hard look at wood-stove emissions (14 May 2010) Oroville Mercury Register.
By: D. Schoch. Available at: http://www.orovillemr.com/news/ci_15084795. Cited 2010 May 17.
It appears that wood burning is not as safe as gas and other modern fuels. “From California to Sweden and China, researchers are reporting that wood smoke contains large amounts of harmful pollutants, including some of the same toxic chemicals found in cigarette smoke”. “Is it as toxic as something coming out of the tailpipe? We’re not sure yet,” said Robert Devlin, senior scientist in the environmental public health division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C.”. This very popular way of heating houses in the West may exposed people to “thousands of chemicals, including certain toxic and carcinogenic substances” the results of incomplete combustion. The same is true when burning “organic matter — whether waste from orchards and rice fields or tobacco leaves wrapped up in cigarettes”.”In 2007, a 40-page review of those studies in the journal Inhalation Toxicology concluded, “It is now well established … that wood-burning stoves and fireplaces as well as wildland and agricultural fires emit significant quantities of known health-damaging pollutants, including several carcinogenic compounds”. The article inform us that “In 2006, wood smoke was labeled “probably carcinogenic in humans” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization. “We’re going after tobacco smoke in all sorts of ways,” Bard said. “We’ve banned it from workplaces and restaurants. And the exposures to wood stove pollution can be so much more concentrated in localized situations”.
Dallas, Texas, USA: Evidence growing of air pollution’s link to heart disease, death (10 May 2010) American Heart Association
By: S.M.D. Rajagopalan, et al. (On-line) Available: http://www.newsroom.heart.org/index.php?s=43&item=1029. Cited 2010 May 20.
There is now stronger scientific evidence “linking air pollution to heart attacks, strokes and cardiovascular death”. Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) caused by fossil fuel combustion and also biomass burning, heating, cooking, indoor activities and forest fires have been identified has the cause of health issues. “Growing evidence also shows that longer-term PM2.5 exposures, such as over a few years, can lead to an even larger increase in these health risks. In this context, the American Heart Association said that PM2.5 should be recognized as a ‘modifiable factor’ that contributes to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality”. Susceptible people, such has the elderly and people with existing heath ailments or diabetes are at higher risks. Robert D. Brook, M.D. a cardiovascular medicine specialist and associate professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, feels that high risk groups “should control their modifiable traditional risk factors – blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, smoking”.
PM2.5’s leading components “can cause inflammation and irritate nerves in the lungs”. There is a possibility that chemicals can hitch a ride on PM2.5 and also “cause direct harm”. “These studies also indicate that there is no ‘safe’ level of PM2.5 exposure,” Dr. Brook said. He tells us that “Reducing exposure to air pollution takes effort at the population level by implementing national policies as well as at the individual level”. The American Heart Association “plans to monitor opportunities at the state and federal level to decrease the amount of particulate matter air pollution”.
United Kingdom: Organic farming shows limited benefit to wildlife (05 May 2010) EurekAlert.
By: Professor T. Benton. Available: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-05/uol-ofs050510.php. Cited 2010 May 20.
Many of us are pro organic agriculture, but what are the true impacts on food production and biodiversity? New research from the University of Leeds’ Faculty of Biological Science indicated only a 12 percent benefit to wildlife and increase in biodiversity compared to conventional farming. The productivity of organic farms is less than half the food production of conventional farming. Professor Tim Benton, who led the project feels that to feed our growing population, we will have “to double food production worldwide to keep pace”. “As the biodiversity benefits of organic farming are small, then the lower yield may be a luxury we can’t afford, particularly in the more productive areas of the UK”. Co-researcher on the project, Dr Doreen Gabriel found that an organically managed field “won’t affect enough of an area to impact on pollinating insects”. “However, if you aggregate organic farms together, the benefits can be seen across a wider range of species”.”Organic methods may be a useful part of the land management mix for the less productive parts of the UK, particularly if policies can encourage farmers to coordinate activities to maximise the benefit to wildlife across a larger area,” says Professor Benton. Organic farming will need to be matched with other types of agriculture to meet future food productivity demands. The article concludes that “we will need to keep farming our most productive areas in the most intensive way we can – and potentially offset that by managing some of our remaining land exclusively as wildlife reserves”.
U.S.A.:Protecting Children’s Health: A New Project is Underway to Draw the Connections between Toxins and Children’s Health (2010) Emagazine.com
By: B. Belli. Available: http://www.emagazine.com/view/?5172. Cited 2010 May 19.
Dr. Philip Landrigan of the Mt. Sinai Children’s Environmental Health Center is now embarqing on “The Autism and Learning Disabilities Discovery and Prevention Project”. The “Mt. Sinai team will be building a “biobank,” so that babies’ cord blood—collected with permission at the hospital—will be analyzed for some 200 chemicals of concern, and will undergo genetic and epigenetic analyses”.”The project is a perfect complement to the National Children’s Study already underway across the U.S. That study—with a consortium of partners that includes the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency—was launched in January 2010 and has set out to enroll 100,000 pregnant women in 105 counties and track the babies’ development until age 21. They’re collecting hair, blood and urine samples from pregnant women, testing household dust, water and carpeting and analyzing the samples for chemicals, for genetic makeup and for infections”. Dr. Landrigan suggest ” a complete overhaul—mandated testing of all old and new chemicals as has been proposed in New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg’s bill, The Kid-Safe Chemical Act”. “according to Sen. Lautenberg’s website: “would ensure for the first time that all the chemicals used in baby bottles, children’s toys and other products are proven to be safe before they are put on the market”.
USA: BPA present in most canned food, groups allege (18 May 2010) Paging Dr. Gupta, CNN Homepage.
By: C. Hellerman. Available: http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/18/bpa-present-in-most-canned-food-groups-allege/. Cited 2010 May 19.
The National Workgroup for Safe Markets sampled metal food containers from 19 US states and Canadian home pantries. The results indicated the presence of BPA in 46 out of 50 cans. “The median level was 35 parts per billion, but some food had much more, as high as 1,140 parts per billion in a can of Del Monte green beans”. Considered safe by FDA in 1963, the “National Toxicology Program now says there is “some concern” for BPA’s effects on the brain, behavior and prostate gland, in developing fetuses, infants and children”. “In January, the FDA posted guidelines urging parents to minimize infants’ exposure through bottles and feeding cups, but it stopped short of saying there is a definite risk of harm”. Pete Myers,a biologist chief scientist at the privately-funded group Environmental Health Sciences indicated that the BPA level “in baby bottles that triggered alarm, was less than 30 parts per billion, lower than the numbers reported Tuesday about canned food”. Myers informs us that BPA “may suppress the production of a hormone – adiponectin – that protects against heart disease”. “There are several [health concerns about BPA], but for me the most worrisome relate to diabetes and heart disease, triggered in infancy or in the womb”. “The Grocery Manufacturer’s Association and several makers of canned goods said Tuesday that BPA is not a safety issue”. However, both Del Monte and Conagra, are looking for alternatives.
South Africa: Medical waste problem probed (17 May 2010) Health, Daily News.
By: A. Sanpath. Available: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=125&art_id=vn20100517120642205C180335. Cited 2010 May 18.
Medical wastes from hospitals, clinics and doctors, were discovered last week at the Mariannhill landfill site. The provincial Health Department and local authorities are investigating. “Martin Paxton, manager of the Re-Ethical Environmental Re-engineering materials recycling facility based at the landfill site, said the find was so disturbing, that his operation had come to a standstill, out of fear for the safety of staff”. The landfill operation was halted when green and black municipal bags that usually contain domestic waste were full of medical waste. While Paxton’s team were removing the wastes, a second load was found. “Medical waste has been identified in some of the vehicles that are collecting general waste from the inner west region,” said John Parkin, deputy head of Plant and Engineering at Durban Solid Waste”. “We are dealing with the issue of poor waste management practices and will be speaking directly with those identified and through our environmental health officers who are assisting us with the investigations,” he said”. The medical waste collectors are responsible for following correct procedures such has autoclaving.
USA: Formaldehyde lurks in organic clothing (15 May 2010) Tainted Green.
By: B. Wolfe. Available: http://taintedgreen.com/general/formaldehyde-lurks-in-organic-clothing/000647. Cited 2010 May 18.
Going green is not a garantee that clothing made from natural fibers is a healthy choice. “Last year the Federal Trade Commission cracked down on companies that had been advertising their rayon cloth as pure bamboo”. The plant fibers are softened with petroleum products that are harmfull for the skin and the environment. “Fibers are spun, dyed, woven, rinsed and processed multiple times. Each rinse can release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and bleach into waste water. After weaving, fibers are often treated with formaldehyde and other VOCs to fix colors and make them wrinkle-free. The US Department of Health and Human Services considers formaldehyde a probable human carcinogen”.”Dr. Phillip Wakelyn testified that formaldehyde in clothing does not pose a health hazard because emissions are below the level of concern”. He insists that “in view of all the studies over the last 30 years indicting that there is not a problem with US textiles and regulations already in place concerning formaldehyde and textiles, no new regulations are necessary”. Linda Birnbaum of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences disagrees. She states that “Chemicals administered at low doses are more effectively absorbed through the skin than are chemicals administered at high doses”.”This may be important for human exposures, which usually occur at low doses over long periods rather than in high doses over short periods. “Bamboo is the fastest growing plant in the world… requires no pesticides or fertilizers and remains green all year round”. “Hemp is naturally resistant to pests and its fiber is three times stronger than cotton, while being more absorbant and more effective at blocking UV radiation. When woven, it holds its shape and doesn’t need chemical additives to stay wrinkle-free”.”Natural fibers like bamboo, hemp and wool have clear economic and environmental benefits”.
North San Diego, California, USA: REGION: Grand jury recommends eye gnat focus (13 May 2010) North Country Times.
By: S. Gordon. Available: http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/sdcounty/article_c667af1e-d263-542d-854d-f0b00053da7b.html. Cited 2010 May 17.
“A grand jury report released Thursday says the county should do more to control the annoying eye gnats that plague some inland North County residents each summer”. Eye gnats (Hippelates sp.) are naturally attracted to human and animal eyes to get protein for egg production. For the last two years, the presence of these insect have causes conjunctivitis, or pinkeye, among victims. It is so bad, that affected residents avoid going outdoors during the summer heat. It may “even cause economic losses by decreasing property values and discouraging commercial and residential development”. “Thursday’s grand jury report also recommends that any new facility that might generate an eye gnat infestation should be required to have an abatement plan as part of the permitting process. Additionally, any facility that has a known problem with eye gnats should be required to notify residents of the problem and its plans to correct it, the report recommends”. It is not clear exactly where all of Escondido’s eye gnats are breeding, but the main suspect is an organic farm on the edge of town.
Spain: Environmental health: an unresolved matter in Spain (14 May 2010) Divulga
By: R. Roman. Available: http://www.fundrogertorne.org/health-childhood-environmental/divulga/inspira-nuevo/2010/05/14/environmental-health-an-unresolved-matter-in-spain/. Cited 2010 May 17.
Data published in the Environmental and Health Information System (ENHIS) shows that “Spain obtains much worse values than the European countries average in too many questions related with environmental health”. Compared to the European average, Spain in the last third “in the percentage of people who lives in houses with damp problems. Besides, data show that our levels of exposure to small particles such as PM10 are quite high compared with the average”. When dealing with “reducing the risk of diseases and disabilities arising from the exposure to dangerous chemical products”, Spain is in the worst position, recording very high levels of dioxin in breast-feeding and very high levels of radon in houses. There is also higher than the average number of children affected by leukaemia under 15 and the same for melanoma rates on males under 55 years old. “Perhaps it is even more worrying the fact of knowing that Spain does not supply with data concerning the levels of lead on children’s blood or the excessive ingestion of metal through food”.”Spain is placed in the last third on the European countries ranking lead us to ask ourselves firstly the importance of keeping these statistics updated in order to know our situation nowadays and, the most important thing, knowing if we have improved regarding the previous stage. Finally, and not less important, what measures are being taken to improve our current position”…
Scotland: Concerns over environmental health as experts leave (20 May 2010) BBC News.
Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/8694089.stm. Cited 2010 May 21.
Budget cuts are interfering with the basic functions of Environmental Health departments. This is what happening right now in Scotland. The health authorities know they have the highest rate of E. coli infection in the world, but at the same time, senior Environmental Health staff are taking early retirement. Prof Hugh Pennington, Scotland’s leading microbiologist stated that “experts are struggling to maintain the fight against the infection (E. coli)”. Rod House, president of the Royal Environmental Health Institute for Scotland, said “councils seek to reduce their wage bills, yet fewer trainees are being appointed”. When addressing the loss of experienced personnel, Professor Pennington feels that this situation will reduce the department’s ability “to effectively deal with major public health outbreaks like E.coli O157, Anthrax and H1N1 (swine flu)”. “With regards to E. coli 0157 he said: “The regulators, mainly environmental health officers, in Scotland are doing a good job in protecting the public but are only just holding their own”. “Mr House said environmental health officers were not pleading a “special case” at a time when severe cuts are expected across the board in the public sector, but he feels that some areas of Scotland will be under-resourced to deal with any future outbreaks”.
CDC, USA: Disinfect public pools more frequently, CDC urges (20 May 2010) CBC News
Available: http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2010/05/20/swimming-pool-public-health.html. Cited 2010 May 21.
Twelve percent of public pool inspections end in closure. This conclusion stems from a CDC review that looked at “120,000 public pool inspections done in 2008 in 13 states”.” Of the pools that had to be temporarily closed, 17.2 per cent were in child-care facilities, 15.3 per cent were in hotels or motels and 12.4 per cent were in apartment or condominium buildings”. “Each year, 15 to 20 outbreaks of stomach bugs are blamed on pools, the CDC said. Studies suggest a quarter of these are caused by bacteria, viruses or parasites that should have been killed by proper pool treatment such as chlorination”. Kiddie/wading pools and interactive fountains are the hardest to maintain and require frequent measurement of desinfectant and pH level…
USA: Processed Meat Products Increase Health Risks (19 May 2010) Health News
By: S. Brady. Available at: http://www.healthnews.com/nutrition-diet/processed-meat-products-increase-health-risks-4258.html. Cited 2010 May 20.
Processed meats such as bacon, corn dogs, sausages or even processed luncheon meats were associated with a 42 percent higher risk of heart disease and 19 percent increased risk of diabetes. These are the results from a study done by Renata Micha of the Harvard School of Public Health. It appears that the salt and chemical content in processed meats are the culprits. Processed meats should only be eaten in moderation once a week ….
Madison Wisconsin USA:
- Opposition growing against raw milk bill (16 May 2010) WSAU.com News Talk . Available: http://www.wsau.com/news/articles/2010/may/16/opposition-growing-against-raw-milk-bill/. Cited 2010 May 18.
- Wisconsin Raw Milk Bill – Senate Bill 434 – Should Fail (16 May 2010) Marler Blog. By: B. Marler (On-line) Available: http://www.marlerblog.com/2010/03/articles/legal-cases/wisconsin-raw-milk-bill-senate-bill-434-should-fail/. Cited 2010 May 18.
Several groups call on Wisconsin’s governor to veto a bill legalizing the sale of raw milk
Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association President Brian Baker says the bill allowing the sale of unpasteurized milk products could badly damage the 26 billion dollar dairy industry — if even one outbreak were to occur because of tainted milk. Baker says that could seriously hurt confidence in dairy producers across Wisconsin and harm the billions of pounds of milk produced in the state that are sold each year
Bill Marler, an attorney who specializes in personal injury and product liability feels that a strong warning sign should be posted on raw milk containers: “WARNING: This product has not been pasteurized and may contain harmful bacteria (not limited to E. coli O157:H7, Campylobacter, Listeria and Salmonella). Pregnant women, infants, children, the elderly and persons with lowered resistance to disease (immune compromised) have the highest risk of harm, which includes Diarrhea, Vomiting, Fever, Dehydration, Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, Reactive Arthritis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Miscarriage, or Death, from use of this product.” . In addition, he feels that the farmer should be liable for selling raw milk.
USA: Oil Spill Meets Match with Hair Mats (08 May 2010) Disaster in the Gulf, CBS Evening News.
By: J. Blackstone. Available at: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/05/08/eveningnews/main6469575.shtml?tag=cbsnewsTwoColUpperPromoArea. Cited 2010 May 17.
Who would have guessed that human hair and even pet hair could be recycled into booms to soak up oil? This is exactly what a non-profit organization called “Matter of Trust” is doing. Hair is apparently excellent for soaking up leaking oil. The hair collected from salons is stuffed into recycled nylon socks which are then used as booms or mats to soak up oil. Once the oil is absorbed, the mats are exposed to a process called thermophilic composting where three types of bacteria are used to break down the waste. The first bacteria are called “psychrophilic bacteria”. They are active between 0°F to 55°F and as they work they give off enough heat for the second bacteria, the “mesophilic bacteria” to work. Working at a temperature range of between 70°F to 90°F, these bacteria break down more of the organic material and raise the temperature to 104°F to 160°F where bacteria number three, “thermophilic bacteria” take over [1]. The end product is homogenized nutrient product that has the consistency of soil. Worms, either red wigglers, white worms, and earthworms, will be introduced into this soil to feed.“This vermiculture method took 2 years outdoors at the Presidio, and there was a control study done at Norman Terry’s Lab at UC Berkeley” [2].
References:
[1] Thermophilic Composting (2010) BioSystem Solutions. (On-line) Available: http://www.biosystemsolutions.com/learn/thermophilic_composting.html. Cited 2010 May 17.
[2] Gulf Oil Spill Response Hair Booms Made From Hair / Fur Clippings and Recycled Nylons (2010) Matter of Trust. (On-line) http://www.matteroftrust.org/programs/natural.html. Cited 2010 May 17.
USA: “We hope people have gloves” – Health and safety questions persist for Deepwater Horizon responders and Gulf Coast communities (17 May 2010) The Huffington Post.
By: E. Grossman. (On-line) Available: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elizabeth-grossman/we-hope-people-have-glove_b_579569.html. Cited 2010 May 18.
“Pictures of oiled pelicans are in the news. Less photogenic and less obvious are potential adverse health impacts to responders or to Gulf Coast communities. But the recovery effort is putting tens of thousands of people in the path of toxic substances they would not otherwise encounter and there’s concern among environmental health professionals that more – and more immediate – attention must be paid to potential public and occupational health impacts. Health and safety experts involved in the response are asking these questions with the experience of the World Trade Center and Hurricane Katrina emergencies weighing heavily. “We don’t think adequate protection is being provided, but we think it will be,” said a federal health official late last week….”
USA: EPA demands a less toxic dispersant in Gulf spill (20 May 2010) AP Associated Press
By: M. Daly Available: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j7vkPPClc0lhglDZGwYrrcVS185QD9FQP1806. Cited 2010 May 21.
“The Environmental Protection Agency has directed oil giant BP to use a less toxic form of chemical dispersants to break up the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico”. Corexit 9500, a “moderate” human health hazard, is being shot “thousands of feet beneath the sea… to break apart the oil and keep it from reaching the surface”. “White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said the Obama administration was being as cautious as possible about chemical dispersants”. Since they have to use dispersant, they want to use the least toxic; that is why they have given BP “24 hours to identify at least one approved dispersant product that is effective, available in large quantities and meets specified toxicity limits”. An order to find an alternative was served this past Wednesday. “BP must begin using only the approved alternative within 72 hours of submitting its list of alternatives to the EPA and getting EPA approval”. BP defended their decision by claiming that they are using “dispersant products that are preapproved for use in the Gulf of Mexico”. Corexit was selected because it is available in large volumes and is quite effective. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said in front of a Senate environment committee hearing said that “we also need to be able to answer questions about what’s out there and what’s available for use”…and “that the dispersants that are used are as non-toxic as possible”. She added that “The agency has been working with manufacturers, BP and with others to get less toxic dispersants to the response site as quickly as possible”. “Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., chairman of a House global warming committe had sent a letter to Jackson earlier this week raising questions about the potential toxicity of Corexit, and whether the chemical agent could be contributing to reports of large undersea “plumes” of oil suspended thousands of feet below the water’s surface”.
USA: The Public’s Response to the 2009 H1N1 Influenza Pandemic (19 May 2010) The New England Journal of Medicine.
By: G.K. SteelFisher, Ph.D and al. (On-line) Available: http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/NEJMp1005102. Cited 2010 May 20.
The Harvard School of Public Health published the results of 20 opinion polls on H1N1 conducted by telephone between April 2009 and January 2010. This study is interesting because they did the polls during three periods: “the early months of the pandemic, when no vaccine was available; at the time of the initial, delayed release of vaccine to high-priority groups; and after the vaccine was widely available. We also examined the reasons why many Americans did not get vaccinated and reviewed the public’s view of the government’s response to the pandemic. In instances in which multiple polling questions were relevant, we present a range of findings”. Did the public adopt hand washing and the use of sanitizer? 59 to 67% said that “they or someone in their family” had done so. Preparation to stay home if they or a family member got sick was embraced by 55% of the respondents. Avoiding close contact with someone exhibiting influenza-like symptoms was followed by 35 to 38% while 16 to 25% avoided public places and “20% had “reduced contact with people outside [their] household as much as possible”. Fewer people adopted related measures, for example, “4 to 8% said they or family members had worn a face mask, and 1 to 3% got a prescription for or purchased antiviral drugs”, and 47 to 50% did not believe that they would become sick from H1N1.
When asked about vaccinations, a total of 87% believed the H1N1 influenza vaccine was “very safe” or “somewhat safe”. “Among adults who said they would not or might not get the H1N1 vaccine, concerns about getting H1N1 influenza, another serious illness, or other side effects from it were top “major reasons” for their decision (cited by 21%, 20%, and 30%, respectively)”. 47 to 50% were not very concerned over coming down with H1N1. 28% of those did not believe to be at risks, 26% felt that medication will take care of the problem and 27% of parents believed that their children were not at risk. In the high-priority adults group only 7% were vaccinated. 14 to 17% of parents had their children vaccinated. Among people who tried and failed to get the vaccine, more than half (55%) said they were frustrated, but 91% said they would try again”.
What is surprising is that “By December, a quarter (24%) of adults had talked to a doctor or other health care professional about getting the H1N1 vaccine for themselves, 17% said that the practitioner had recommended against it and 30% made no recommendation”. As for parents requestion H1N1 for their children, “10% said that the practitioner had recommended against it, and 25% said that the practitioner had made no recommendation”. The vaccination shortage and the safety of the vaccin were two particular concerns about the government’s response mentioned by the respondents.
San Mateo, California USA: County closes Marchi farms housing (19 May 2010) Half Moon Bay Review.
By: M. Noack. (On-line) Available: http://www.hmbreview.com/articles/2010/05/19/news/doc4bf418e06a33b243422518.txt. Cited 2010 May 20.
“The discovery of dangerously contaminated water being piped into workers’ homes at Marchi Central Farms in Pescadero had led San Mateo County health inspectors to begin evicting dozens of farm laborers and their families.
About 40 tenants living at the farm, including many children, were being exposed to a high level of toxic nitrates, a chemical known to deplete oxygen in blood, which can be fatal in high doses, according to county investigators.
A routine check revealed water at the farm’s employee housing had a nitrate concentration six times higher than the legal limit for potable water.
“(At a level this high) it’s immediately dangerous,” said Dean Peterson, director of the San Mateo County Department of Environmental Health. “This is water people could have been drinking, cooking with, showering in, bathing in. The levels were too high, and we needed them to move out immediately….”
Canada: Alberta government doing poor job of enforcing safety regulations: auditor general (19 May 2010) Journal of Commerce.
By: R. Gilbert. Available: http://www.journalofcommerce.com/article/id38905. Cited 2010 May 19.
“The Alberta government is doing a poor job of enforcing safety regulations on employers who ignore the rules and force their workers to face a significantly higher risk of injury.
The acting auditor general of Alberta, Merwan Saher, recently released a report that aims to improve the province’s planning and reporting systems for occupational health and safety (OHS).
The report has revealed there are serious weaknesses in the Department of Employment and Immigration’s systems to deal with persistent non-compliance…..”
Nigeria: Labour Ministry Moves to Tackle Emerging Workplace Hazards (20 May 2010) Vanguard
By: Ahiuma-Young, V, and Emeribe, D. Available: http://allafrica.com/stories/201005200221.html. Cited 2010 May 21.
Nigeria’s Ministry of Labour is faced with high rates of industrial accidents, causing Nigeria to adopt this year’s international theme of “Safety and health at work 2010” . The Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Chukwuemeka Wogu, is appaled at the “2.3 million occupational fatalities occur annually [globally] while nothing less than 100 occupational fatalities and some billions of capital losses have been recorded this past 12 months in Nigeria”. “The ministry has sent two Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) bills among others to the National Assembly and is expecting the passage before the end of the year. The improved legislation is expected to strengthen the National OSH Management System and therefore improve working conditions in our work places. In the same vein, the Federal Government has just appointed some inspectors to boost the number of inspections and therefore the monitoring of the workplaces”. …
USA: Hot exhibits make science accessible, and lots of fun (17 May 2010) USA Today
By: B. Marcus. Available: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2010-05-16-science-museums17_N.htm. Cited 2010 May 18.
No more static displays! That’s the massege from Sean Smith, director of government and public relations at the Association of Science-Technology Centers in Washington, an international non-profit organization of science centers and museums. “Dozens of major cities in the USA are home to science centers where visitors can do everything from spending an afternoon observing real-time open-heart surgery while discussing it with the surgeons to checking out their own DNA under a microscope”. Six to eight years ago, space was in the forfront of exibit. “Now it’s health’s turn,” says Coughlin, whose museum launched Expedition Health last year, “which has attracted more than 450,000 visitors to date”. Lori Erickson, curator of collections and the exhibit director for the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry’s feels that previous approach to health were ineffective. “I think places like the National Institutes of Health are thinking, ‘How can we reach people with a health message in a different way?’ So now they’re trying to do that through museums,” says Erickson, whose museum received an NIH grant recently to build Everybody Eats, an interactive nutrition exhibit”. “Are science museums making a difference? An April editorial in the journal Nature that summarized and promoted the role of informal science education suggests so, says Dennis Wint, president and CEO of The Franklin Institute” which is famous for its large size interactive displays of the heart, Hurricane Katrina, tsunami and tornadoes.
{ 5 trackbacks }
{ 0 comments… add one now }