A new virus that causes fatal hemorrhagic fevers has been discovered in southern Africa. It killed four people in South Africa and sickened a fifth, but health authorities believe the outbreak has been contained.
The virus is a member of the arenavirus family, which also includes the causes of Lassa fever in West Africa and several South American fevers. While new viruses are often found in animals - a new blue-tongue virus was found in Swiss goats last month, for example - it is relatively rare to discover one fatal to humans, like the SARS coronavirus in 2002 or the sin nombre hantavirus in 1993.
How the first victim was infected is unknown, but arenaviruses are common in rodents; their dried urine, inhaled while sweeping, can transmit infection.
Health & Wellness
Schools are being urged to buy bigger chairs because of booming obesity rates among children.
Many young people in Britain are now too fat for classroom furniture that has remained almost unchanged since the 1960s, it is claimed.
A policy commission - led by Charles Clarke, the former Education Secretary - said growing numbers of children were also suffering from back pain due to unsuitable school chairs.
Most schools are continuing to stock cheap furniture built to 50-year-old specifications to save cash, it suggests.
Many young people in Britain are now too fat for classroom furniture that has remained almost unchanged since the 1960s, it is claimed.
A policy commission - led by Charles Clarke, the former Education Secretary - said growing numbers of children were also suffering from back pain due to unsuitable school chairs.
Most schools are continuing to stock cheap furniture built to 50-year-old specifications to save cash, it suggests.
Snakebites cause considerable death and injury worldwide and pose an important yet neglected threat to public health, says new research published in this week's PLoS Medicine.
The study used the most comprehensive methods yet to estimate that at least 421,000 envenomings (poisonous bites) and 20,000 deaths from snakebites occur each year, especially in South and South East Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
To estimate death and injury from snakebite, Janaka de Silva (University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka) and colleagues conducted a systematic review of the scientific literature, reviewed county-specific mortality data from databases maintained by United Nations organizations, and identified unpublished information from Ministries of Health, National Poison Centres, and snakebite experts on snakebites in countries that do not have reliable data on snakebite incidence and mortality.
The study used the most comprehensive methods yet to estimate that at least 421,000 envenomings (poisonous bites) and 20,000 deaths from snakebites occur each year, especially in South and South East Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
© iStockphoto
Rattlesnake.
Rattlesnake.
To estimate death and injury from snakebite, Janaka de Silva (University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka) and colleagues conducted a systematic review of the scientific literature, reviewed county-specific mortality data from databases maintained by United Nations organizations, and identified unpublished information from Ministries of Health, National Poison Centres, and snakebite experts on snakebites in countries that do not have reliable data on snakebite incidence and mortality.
WASHINGTON - Think achy joints are the main reason we slow down as we get older? Blame the brain, too: The part in charge of motion may start a gradual downhill slide at age 40.
How fast you can throw a ball or run or swerve a steering wheel depends on how speedily brain cells fire off commands to muscles. Fast firing depends on good insulation for your brain's wiring.
How fast you can throw a ball or run or swerve a steering wheel depends on how speedily brain cells fire off commands to muscles. Fast firing depends on good insulation for your brain's wiring.
Researchers have detected abnormalities in the brains of people with fibromyalgia, a complex, chronic condition characterized by muscle pain and fatigue.
"We showed in our study that the functional abnormalities observed were mainly related to disability," and not to anxiety and depression status, said Dr. Eric Guedj, the study's lead author and a researcher at Centre Hospitalier-Universitaire de la Timone in France.
"We showed in our study that the functional abnormalities observed were mainly related to disability," and not to anxiety and depression status, said Dr. Eric Guedj, the study's lead author and a researcher at Centre Hospitalier-Universitaire de la Timone in France.
Children in California, Oregon and Washington are more likely to develop autism if they lived in counties with higher levels of annual rainfall, suggesting that something about wet weather might trigger the disorder, according to a study released Monday.
Not too long ago, I read a paper titled "Burnout and Suicidal Ideation Among U.S. Medical Students" in The Annals of Internal Medicine. It brought back a flood of memories.
Girls Who Avidly Watch Racy Programs Have Higher Pregnancy Rates, Research Claims
Groundbreaking research suggests that pregnancy rates are much higher among teens who watch a lot of TV with sexual dialogue and behavior than among those who have tamer viewing tastes.
Groundbreaking research suggests that pregnancy rates are much higher among teens who watch a lot of TV with sexual dialogue and behavior than among those who have tamer viewing tastes.
Washington - The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been hard not only on U.S. troops sent to fight them but on the young children they have left behind, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
Children aged 3 to 5 with a parent deployed to one of the two war zones exhibit more behavioral problems such as aggressiveness than similar children in military families without a parent deployed, according to the study.
More than 2 million U.S. children have had parents deployed to fight in Iraq since 2003 or in Afghanistan since 2001.
Children aged 3 to 5 with a parent deployed to one of the two war zones exhibit more behavioral problems such as aggressiveness than similar children in military families without a parent deployed, according to the study.
More than 2 million U.S. children have had parents deployed to fight in Iraq since 2003 or in Afghanistan since 2001.
Pollution caused by coal dust is again fuelling protests in the port town of Vasco, with residents alleging that the pollution control measures suggested by National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) are not being honoured by Mormugao Port Trust.
Residents alleged that illegal overloading of coal-transporting trucks was compounding the problem. The allegations follow two recent accidents of coal-laden trucks overturning at Chicalim slope. Though the six-wheeler trucks are expected to carry only 9.5 tonnes, they were allegedly overloaded.
Residents alleged that illegal overloading of coal-transporting trucks was compounding the problem. The allegations follow two recent accidents of coal-laden trucks overturning at Chicalim slope. Though the six-wheeler trucks are expected to carry only 9.5 tonnes, they were allegedly overloaded.
