Health & WellnessS


Question

Doctors punished in China for mishandling deadly virus: Xinhua

Beijing - Ten doctors and officials in China have been punished for mishandling a virus that has killed 26 children, state media reported as the number of infected youngsters rose to nearly 12,000.

The punishments have been meted out in the eastern Anhui province, where the bulk of the deaths have occurred and local officials have been accused of being too slow to report the disease, Xinhua news agency said late on Monday.

Bell

Child virus fears spread to China's capital

Beijing - Fears of a virus that has killed at least 26 children in China gripped parents in Beijing as officials on Tuesday temporarily closed two kindergartens amid a spreading outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease.

The health scare prompted the Foreign Ministry to seek to assure the country it was doing its best to contain the outbreak.

"The Chinese government is paying great attention to the virus and related departments are taking effective measures to stop it from spreading," ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a news conference.

Health

EV71 virus has caused deaths in Vietnam: health official



boy affected by EV71
©AFP
A boy suspected of being infected with the deadly enterovirus 71 (EV71)

Hanoi - A virus that causes hand, foot and mouth disease has infected around 400 people in Vietnam this year and led to an unknown number of deaths, a health official in the communist country said Tuesday.

Attention

Vietnam: Bird flu breaks out in one more southern province



vietnam ducks
©VietNamNet

Bird flu has been discovered in the southern province of Vinh Long, killing nearly 400 chickens of a farmer family in Xuan Hiep commune, Tra On district, reported the local veterinary agency.

Syringe

Critics fear worst for new SA HIV vaccine

An attempt to halt South Africa's latest HIV/Aids vaccine trial has sparked a furious row among the country's medical fraternity.

Bulb

Lilly discovery could help control 'hunger hormone'

In the battle to help Americans slim down, scientists have tried for years to unlock the mysteries of the "hunger hormone."

The hormone, made in the stomach, tells the brain it's time to eat. Around the world, obesity researchers have wondered whether it was possible to manipulate the hormone, known as ghrelin, and help people tame their hunger.

Pills

US delays approval for Discovery Labs' Surfaxin

New York - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration declined to immediately approve Discovery Laboratories Inc's drug to help prevent respiratory distress syndrome in premature babies, the company said on Friday, sending shares down 41 percent.

The small biotechnology company said it received a so-called "approvable letter" from the FDA about the drug, Surfaxin.

Magic Wand

The undo effect



happy nun
©iStockphoto
Secret to old age: Happy nuns live longer according to research from the University of Kentucky - but why is that, and what can we learn to benefit from it?

Happiness has a positive influence on longevity and health, but what's behind this effect? Psychologists are uncovering evidence that positive emotions undo the physical damage done by stress, fear and anxiety.

Magic Wand

The health-fulfilling prophecy



Chris Van Berkum
©Peter J. Thompson/National Post
Chris Van Berkum, his daughter Grace and their dog Brendal

From breast cancer to diabetes, the modern response to major illness is often a group physical activity to raise money and awareness. In an occasional series, reporter Katie Rook is documenting how such an event begins.

Health

Adopted youths more likely to have mental disorders

Adolescents who were adopted as infants are significantly more likely to have a psychiatric disorder than those who were not adopted, a study released Monday has found.

The researchers -- emphasizing that most of the adoptees in the study were psychologically healthy and faring well -- the said that as a group those adolescents faced a greater risk for two psychiatric conditions: attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder.