Officials question influenza shot as number of U.S. flu cases increase.
The influenza vaccine given to Americans may not protect as well as expected, U.S. health officials said on Friday as the number of flu cases increased nationwide.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said slightly more than half of the influenza virus strains reported to its surveillance system are not good matches against the strains included in this flu season's vaccine.
The number of states reporting widespread flu activity jumped to 31 this week compared with 11 a week ago, the CDC said. But Dr. Joe Bresee of the CDC's influenza division said there are no indications this flu season is worse than usual.
Health & Wellness
Paris - The French government on Saturday suspended the use of genetically modified corn crops in France while it awaits EU approval for a full ban.
Increases in young women's drinking during the transition from high school through the first year of college can have dangerous physical, sexual and psychological implications, according to a report out of the University at Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions.
Britain has become a "Prozac nation", with the use of antidepressants spiralling out of control amid a crisis in mental health care, the Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, will warn today.
In a speech to the Guardian public services summit, Clegg will commit his party to a maximum 13-week wait for NHS treatment for mental health problems. If the NHS misses the target, the patient will be entitled to go private and make the health service pick up the bill, he will say.
In a speech to the Guardian public services summit, Clegg will commit his party to a maximum 13-week wait for NHS treatment for mental health problems. If the NHS misses the target, the patient will be entitled to go private and make the health service pick up the bill, he will say.
Today's CDC media update raised issues for all three seasonal flu serotypes. 93% of influenza B isolates was B/Yamagata/26/88, which doesn't match the vaccine strain (B/Victoria02/87). 87% of the H3N2 was A/Brisbane/10/2007, which doesn't match the vaccine strain (A/Wisconsin/67/2005). H1N1 did match the vaccine strain (Solomon Island/3/2006), but 8.1% was Tamiflu resistant in the United States. Moreover the incidence of flu positives was above the epidemic threshold for the four week in a row. Last week it rose dramatically above the threshold.
Tobacco could kill up to a billion people during the 21st century, as cigarette sales soar in poor and middle-income countries even as they drop in wealthier ones, says a report issued Thursday by the World Health Organization.
The report, financed by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's foundation, suggests a six-point program for fighting the tobacco industry's influence.
The report, financed by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's foundation, suggests a six-point program for fighting the tobacco industry's influence.
Playing video games increases aggression in some children and young adults and normalizes killing, some doctors said.
Cape Town, South Africa - South Africa's health minister took another controversial foray into the AIDS debate Thursday by questioning international medical studies that say circumcision helps reduce HIV infections in men.
Comment:
"She remains a minister who is addicted to folly," Lewis said in an interview from Canada. "There is overwhelming scientific evidence that male circumcision is one of the important ways of preventing transmission of the virus. This is proven beyond a shadow of a doubt."Maybe there is no shadow of doubt in Lewis's mind, but what the article does not mention is that there is indeed doubt among several researchers.
Read this thread on the forum: Bogus Evidence That Male Circumcision Prevents HIV Spread
Other articles of interest:
Circumcision does not affect HIV in U.S. men
Male genital mutilation could save millions from HIV infection, AIDS conference told - and be an almost unlimited source for Western facial cream
Male circumcision overstated as prevention tool against AIDS
It sounds far-fetched - sticking needles in women to help them become pregnant - but a scientific review suggests that acupuncture might improve the odds of conceiving if done right before or after embryos are placed in the womb.
Babies exposed to lotion, shampoo and powder had more than four times the level of phthalates in their urine as those whose parents had not used the products. Previous research found that the substances altered the children's hormones.
Comment: read here for the bigger picture: Signs Supplement: The Flu Threat