Health & WellnessS


Ambulance

Deadly New Strain: Hong Kong confirms second scarlet fever death

Scarlet fever
© Kronawitter/Wikimedia CommonsStrawberry tongue from scarlet fever.

Hong Kong health authorities on Thursday confirmed that a five-year-old boy had died from scarlet fever, the second death in the southern Chinese city as dozens of new cases were reported.

The number of infections in the territory has soared above 500, according to health authorities, who said that more than 9,000 people had been infected in the Chinese mainland -- doubling the average figure in recent years.

Local scientists said the outbreak may be linked to a deadly new strain of the disease which could make it more contagious than before.

It was discovered by researchers at the University of Hong Kong and appears to be resistant to antibiotics traditionally used to fight the illness.

Mr. Potato

Potatoes New Villain in Fat Epidemic

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© expressionsofsoul.com
The villain of the obesity epidemic isn't cupcakes, fizzy drink or the Double Down - it's the humble potato, no matter which way you slice it.

A long-running Harvard University study has found that daily consumption of an extra serving of spuds - french fried, sliced into crispy chippies, mashed with butter and garlic, or simply boiled or baked - caused more weight gain than downing an extra can of sugary drink or eating an extra helping of red or processed meats.

After tracking the diet and lifestyle of more than 120,000 people from around the United States for at least 12 years, researchers calculated that participants gained about 360 grams a year. Their findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine this week.

Comment: It's not just potatoes that are the culprit, but eating a diet high in carbohydrates. For more information on the link between carbohydrates and obesity read the review of Gary Taubes book Why We Get Fat and What to Do About It.


Info

More Details on the Mysterious German Microbe

E.coli
© unknownE.coli
Bit by bit, gene by gene, doctors and researchers in Germany and around the globe are cobbling together a profile of the microbe responsible for Europe's alarming outbreak of food poisoning.

Even as the grim toll climbed to 3,800 sick and 44 deaths, online articles in medical journals continue to shed light on the suspect bacteria known as E. coli O104:H4. And the authors appear to support the conclusion that the rare strain has properties that make it unusually toxic to its victims.

"Taken together, these data suggest that the pathogen in the current outbreak is exceptionally virulent," concluded a team of German doctors whose article was published online this week by the New England Journal of Medicine.

However, health authorities in the U.S. continued to cast doubt on the staggering statistics coming out of Germany. While the epidemic has undoubtedly been unusual, actual statistics depend on how health authorities define and diagnose illnesses, and how many less-severe cases may have gone unreported.

Either way, the latest papers affirm previous reports that the German E. coli strain has the pathogenic traits of two previously known strains -- a Shiga toxin similar to that of the more familiar E. coli O157:H7; and an ability to stack itself like bricks and cling to the interior surface of the intestine, thereby maximizing its ability to convey poison to its host.

Question

To Salt or Not to Salt, That is the Question

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© telling-secrets.blogspot.com
A new eight year long European study concludes that salt consumption is not dangerous and may in fact be beneficial. This is certainly contrary to advice from American Medical Association, American Heart Association and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, which says higher sodium consumption can increase the risk of heart disease. It's not unusual to see differing opinions, but what are we ordinary folks to make of the controversy?

The study followed 3,681 middle-aged Europeans who did not have high blood pressure or heart disease at the start of the study. They were divided into three groups: low salt; moderate salt; and high salt consumption. There were 50 deaths in the low salt group, 24 in the moderate consumption group and only 10 in the high consumption group. In fact, the heart disease risk in the low consumption group was 56% higher in the low salt group. What they concluded was that the less salt the participants ate, the more likely they would die from heart disease.

Comment: For more information about salt consumption and the benefits of natural salts read the following articles:


Radar

Climate Change May Worsen Plague

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© Flicker/Todd Huffman
When the climate gets wetter, plagues can get worse, according to a new study that reveals why the plague was much worse in China's north than in the south.

The results also suggest that climate change could mean more virulent plagues in northern China and North America, as parts of the globe get wetter.

A bacterium called Yersinia pestis, which is carried by rodents, is responsible for three types of plague: bubonic (also called Black Death), septicemic and pneumonic plague. Together, these illnesses have been responsible for the deaths of millions of people the world over, including an estimated third of Europe's population during the Middle Ages. While modern antibiotics can effectively treat plague, thousands of cases are still reported each year to the World Health Organization, and the bacterium has been identified as a possible biological warfare agent.

Comment: Although science considers plague to be controllable with antibiotics (regardless of drug resistance) the actual source and methods of dispersal may not be known or accepted at this time. New ideas contrary to popular beliefs are now emerging.

New Light on the Black Death: The Cosmic Connection


Health

Congo cholera outbreak spreads to populous capital

A cholera epidemic that has already killed 32 people in Democratic Republic of Congo has spread to the capital Kinshasa, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.

Three cases of the deadly waterborne disease have been confirmed since last week in Kinshasa, home to at least 9 million people, many of whom live in cramped, unsanitary conditions.

"If there's an epidemic here it will be very, very dangerous," said Eugene Kabambi, communications officer for the WHO. "People are living in very precarious conditions, there are zones along the river which are very exposed."

Traders traveling by boat down the Congo River are bringing the disease from Bandundu province, he said, near an area where an outbreak has infected more than 680 people and killed 32 this month.

Ambulance

Scarlet fever outbreak in Hong Kong now 'an epidemic'

Scarlet fever
© Kronawitter/Wikimedia CommonsStrawberry tongue from scarlet fever.

A scarlet fever outbreak in Hong Kong, thought to be a mutant strain resistant to antibiotics, claimed the life of a second child on Tuesday and health officials there state they are dealing with "an epidemic."

Hong Kong officials have recorded 494 cases of scarlet fever this year, more than triple the total for 2010. It is the city's highest annual total. Thomas Tsang, controller for Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection, said: "We are facing an epidemic because the bacteria that is causing scarlet fever is widely circulating in this region -- not only in Hong Kong but in mainland China and Macau," according to Asia Pacific News (APN).

In mainland China, more than 9,000 people have been infected this year, double the numbers of recent years. Increased transmission of the disease is believed caused by a unique gene fragment in the bacteria's genome, a health protection centre statement said, APN notes.

Cheeseburger

What's Hiding in Your Veggie Burger?

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© UnknownMany popular veggie burgers are made with hexane-containing processed soy.
Many Veggie Burgers, Nutrition Bars and Other Soy Foods Contain Hexane

Soy-based foodstuffs like veggie burgers and nutrition bars are a go-to source of protein and generally considered "health foods." We eat them because we believe they are a healthy alternative to meat and because soy foods have a reputation for being produced in a more environmentally friendly or sustainable fashion than animal sources of protein.

But the benefits of highly processed forms of soy protein - to people or the environment - was called into question by a November 2010 report from the Cornucopia Institute, a Wisconsin-based nonprofit which claims that non-organic soy protein is commonly extracted from the soybeans by literally bathing the beans in n-hexane, a chemical byproduct of petroleum refining.

Even popular brands of nutrition bars, veggie burgers and other meat alternatives marketed as "natural" are often guilty of this practice unless they are specifically labeled "USDA Organic."

Soybeans were originally introduced to U.S. farmers in the 1930s from Southeast Asia where they were traditionally treated with hot water to yield soy milk and tofu or else fermented to obtain products like soy sauce, miso and tempeh. Soybeans were initially grown in the U.S. for use as soy cooking oil which was extracted mechanically (through pressure), and the protein-rich residue was and is still used as animal feed.

By the 1950s, soy oil was the most popular vegetable oil in the U.S., though rapeseed oil (canola) later surpassed it in popularity.

However, chemical extraction was applied to soybean processing in the latter half of the 20th century to derive the various protein derivatives now added to many human foods: soy protein isolate, soy protein concentrate, and textured soy protein. The first step in obtaining any of these is the chemical bath which extracts the soy oil, leaving behind "defatted" soy flour which undergoes further processing into the different forms of soy protein incorporated into foods.

Comment: For more information on other dangers relating to soy, see these Sott links:

The Truth about Soy

The War on Soy: Why the 'Miracle Food' May Be a Health Risk and Environmental Nightmare


Health

Cocaine cut with levamisole, drug used to de-worm animals, causing users' skin to rot off

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© KTLA-TVSnorting or smoking cocaine cut with levamisole, a drug used to de-worm farm animals, can cause large patches of rotting skin on users' face and body.
Cocaine used to just get you high. Now it rots your skin.

Doctors say the cocaine hitting the streets in New York and Los Angeles is now cut with a drug that veterinarians use to de-worm livestock, causing cokeheads' skin to rot off.

In a June report published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, doctors described six cases where users developed ghastly splotches of dead skin after snorting or smoking cocaine laced with the drug levamisole.

Dr. Mary Gail Mercurio, a dermatologist at the University of Rochester Medical Center who co-authored the study, said her hospital had treated five cases in the last year.

"We've seen very profound areas of necrosis -- dying skin -- usually located on scalp, ears, face and elsewhere on the body," Mercurio said. "It's very alarming."

Nearly a dozen more patients have been admitted to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, KTLA television reported.

Question

Utah, US; Mysterious illness making children and parents sick in Santaquin

Some residents of a Santaquin neighborhood have come down with a mysterious illness and they don't think they have just passed around the flu. The mother of a four-month-old tainted with E.coli believes there may be something wrong with the water.

Carolyn Thomas is obviously concerned. Her baby Kaycee is sick and they don't know why. Thomas asked, "How did my four-month-old get that much E. Coli in her system?"

All of Carolyn's children have been sick and tested positive for E. Coli. She thinks there is something in the water.

Thomas said, "Her formula is mixed with tap water and that's all I use for her. What else could it be for a four-month-old?