Health & WellnessS


Health

India: Gastro outbreak claims 10 in a week


The Telegraph
Sun, 12 Oct 2008 22:25 UTC
At least 10 people, including five children, have died of diarrhoea at Kulti near Asansol over the past week. Over 2,500 have been afflicted with the disease.

Nearly 300 patients have been admitted to the Asansol Subdivisional Hospital and the two hospitals of Eastern Coalfields Ltd and nursing homes in Asansol and Kulti, about 260km from Calcutta.

A large section of patients is being treated at home with the help of three medical camps set up by the Burdwan health authorities.

"There have been 10 diarrhoea deaths in the past one week and over 2,500 cases have been reported. We suspect contaminated drinking water is the reason behind the outbreak," said Abu Ershad, the district's chief medical officer.

Of the 2,500, over 1,000 are children.
Read More...
Cow

Listeriosis bacteria found at Toronto plant

Bill Curry
Globe and Mail
Wed, 08 Oct 2008 22:13 UTC
Maple Leaf Foods worker
© The Canadian PressA Maple Leaf Foods worker clad in protective clothing refills cleaner bottles while spraying down equipment on one of the suspect food processing lines at the facility in Toronto.
Ottawa - Four new positive tests for listeriosis have been confirmed in samples of meat at the Maple Leaf plant at the centre of the outbreak that has left 20 Canadians dead.

The plant was allowed to reopen on Sept. 17, but no product has so far been allowed to enter the market.

Late Wednesday, federal officials from the Prime Minister's Office, the Privy Council Office and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency met to discuss the new findings that the bacteria is still present in the plant.

Since the plant resumed production, there have been 2,700 product samples and four positive test results for Listeria monocytogenes.
Read More...
Health

Deadly strep outbreak in northern Ontario largely impacting homeless, drug users


The Canadian Press
Thu, 09 Oct 2008 22:07 UTC
A deadly outbreak of streptococcal infections that's killed 10 people in northern Ontario is likely to spread but doesn't pose a widespread threat because it appears to be clustered around distinct groups of people, the province's chief medical officer of health said Thursday.

"It doesn't seem to be showing and spreading throughout the community there but spreading within a very specific subgroup of the community," Dr. David Williams said a day after Thunder Bay's public health unit announced the deaths.

"It seems to be a very limited part of the community... Some related with homeless, some with an intravenous drug user group, some related with some urban populations we're trying to follow-up on.
Read More...
Gear

The Pharmaceutical Get Out of Jail, Free Card

Ethan Huff
Natural News
Tue, 14 Oct 2008 20:42 UTC
Monday commenced the new Supreme Court term and one of the primary issues on the table concerns the "Final Rule" established by the Food and Drug Administration that provides lawsuit immunity for pharmaceutical companies whose drugs have inflicted harm on consumers. In a case currently before it, the Supreme Court is evaluating a lawsuit against drug-maker Wyeth regarding a drug called Phenergan. A musician from Vermont filed suit after getting gangrene in her arm following the injection of this nausea drug to treat a severe migraine attack. Consequently, she had to get her arm amputated and is seeking resolve for allegations of inadequate warnings and labeling from Wyeth about the risks involved with this particular type of injection.
Read More...
Attention

England: Mutant rats plague Hampshire

Peter Law
This is Hampshire
Sun, 12 Oct 2008 23:13 UTC
Rat
© UnknownRat
Mutant super-rats immune to normal poisoning techniques are swarming Hampshire, according to one of Britain's leading rodent experts.

The revelation comes as a survey of councils reveals the number of rats infesting Hampshire has skyrocketed in recent years.

The pesky rodents are also proving a costly menace, with spending soaring by more than £40,000 in one borough.

DNA tests on rats collected across the county confirmed the presence of a mutant gene that helps rodents develop the resistance.
Read More...
Health

US: Bubonic plague found in Four Corners area

Nate Carlisle
The Salt Lake Tribune
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 23:07 UTC
A northeast Arizona man has contracted bubonic plague and health agencies are urging Four Corners residents to help prevent the spread of the disease.

The Navajo Nation and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Friday warned of a new possible outbreak of plague. The Apache County, Ariz., man who contracted the disease began showing symptoms in late September, the Navajo Nation said, including a 103-degree fever, chills, diarrhea and groin tenderness. He has responded well to treatment, the nation said.
Read More...
Health

US: Weld County prairie dogs test positive for plague


The Denver Post
Fri, 03 Oct 2008 22:16 UTC
Colorado - Prairie dogs found dead south of Briggsdale have tested positive for plague, the Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment confirmed.

The highly infectious bacterial disease is transmitted primarily by flea bites. Although human cases are rare, the illness can be life-threatening.

This year, 22 positive tests for plague have been confirmed in animals in the state.
Read More...
X

The three best reasons why you should avoid fructose like the plague ASAP

Jimmy Moore
Examiner
Thu, 02 Oct 2008 21:56 UTC
Fructose
© UnknownFructose is literally EVERYWHERE nowadays
We all know that consuming sugar can be detrimental to your weight loss plans, especially if you are livin' la vida low-carb. The overconsumption of sugar is arguably one of the most ignored causes of obesity, diabetes, and other health ailments in the world today. But why has sugar become such a major part of our society unlike in past generations? It all goes back to around the time my generation was born in the early 1970s when manufacturers decided to stop using sucrose, aka table sugar, as the primary sweetening agent found in most soft drinks at the time and switch it over to fructose, a form of sugar extracted from fruit, instead. Sounds innocent enough, doesn't it? But not so fast. Prior to the switch from sucrose to fructose in the 1970s, the average American consumed about 1/2 pound of fructose, mostly in the form of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), annually. In 1997, wanna know how much fructose people in the United States were eating? Hold on to your hat because this is a SHOCKER - 60 POUNDS A YEAR!!!

Comment: There is something else you should be aware of and that is sugar, fructose and all other sweetners feed candida. And candida is more dangerous than you might think.

Read More...
Syringe

US: Parents, at Statehouse rally, protest mandatory vaccinations for children

Carol Ann Campbell and Susan K. Livio
The Star-Ledger
Thu, 16 Oct 2008 21:06 UTC
Some 300 people, many of them parents and children, marched outside the Statehouse today to protest mandatory children's vaccinations, a simmering issue that has bubbled over since New Jersey began requiring babies and children in day care to get flu shots.

The marchers pushed for a bill to allow children to skip some, or all, vaccines required by New Jersey. Many parents said their children were injured by vaccines, or that vaccines cause autism, a neurological disorder on an inexplicable rise. The link between autism and vaccines has been disproven by recent studies.


Comment: Well, now, the link between autism and vaccines has been disproven? That's a very strong assumption on the part of these two reporters who have either not really dug very deeply into the issue, or are being told what to report on this issue. There are lots of articles you can read on SOTT that refutes this assumption just by putting the words +autism +vaccine into the search function. Here's two to start you off:

Major Court Rules That Parents of Children with Autism May Sue Vaccine Makers
Stunning New Link Between Vaccines and Autism Rates



"Governor Corzine," speaker Louise Kuo Habakus said as she addressed the crowd. "Are you the one with the courage to lead us through this health care crisis? If so, give us vaccination choice. The parents of New Jersey are moving ahead with or without you."
Read More...
People

US: Hospitals protest new California rules on patient billing

Lisa Girion
Los Angeles Times
Wed, 15 Oct 2008 20:44 UTC
California - Emergency room patients can no longer be stuck with the bill when hospitals or physicians disagree with insurance companies on their fees.

Under new state rules that take effect today, hospitals and physicians are barred from billing patients for the balance of emergency care not covered by insurers.

But the relief for patients may not last long. Hospitals and physicians are protesting the rules in court. Meanwhile, the state Supreme Court is set to hear another "balance billing" challenge next month.

And another court test may come sooner in a challenge by hospital chain Prime Healthcare Services Inc. of Victorville.
Read More...