public health

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US Swine Flu Cases Hit 40; Mexican Death Toll 149

(Newser) - The US is now confirming 40 cases of swine flu, while the death toll in Mexico is thought to have risen to 149, the Wall Street Journal reports. Of more than a thousand suspected cases in Mexico, only 26 have been confirmed, along with six in Canada and one in...

Obama Exposed to Possible Swine Flu Case

(Newser) - President Barack Obama was exposed this month in Mexico to a potential case of swine flu the day before the ailing Mexican official died, reports the Independent. Distinguished archeologist Felipe Solis, who met Obama at a state dinner, showed the president around Mexico's anthropology museum 11 days ago during Obama's...

With 20 Sick, US Declares Swine Flu Emergency

Napolitano stresses declaration is 'standard operating procedure'

(Newser) - The White House declared today a public health emergency to fight the spread of swine flu, the New York Times reports. With 20 confirmed infections in the US, the declaration frees up money and resources for diagnosis, prevention, and antiviral medication. “We’re preparing in an environment where we...

Case on Vaccines Far From Closed: Carrey

Scant, biased evidence not enough to rule out dangers

(Newser) - The media act as though questions about vaccines’ potential harm to children have all been answered, but that’s based on “a huge leap of logic,” Jim Carrey writes for the Huffington Post. The court convened to rule on the vaccine cases said vaccines hadn’t caused autism...

Minnesota May Have Saved Your Innards

In detecting outbreaks of tainted food, some states are far superior

(Newser) - When it comes to salmonella and other food-borne illnesses, federal agencies are rightly putting money into preventing future outbreaks, but few agencies are focused on detecting them. That task falls mostly to state and local officials, which means the ability to connect several sick citizens and call it a salmonella...

US Food Safety Not Improving: Feds

CDC shows plateau in food sickenings over the last three years

(Newser) - The safety of the US food supply from disease or contamination has not significantly improved in recent years, the New York Times reports today. A survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that occurrences of major illnesses from tainted food have held steady for the past 3...

Cholesterol Drugs Cut Clot Risk
 Cholesterol Drugs Cut Clot Risk 
Mar 30, 2009 11:47 AM CDT

Cholesterol Drugs Cut Clot Risk

Large study looked at other possible drug benefits

(Newser) - Cholesterol-lowering drugs showed sizable effects on patients in a new study, but not only in the realm of lowering heart attack and stroke risk. The statins, which are sold under the brand name Crestor, also dramatically cut the occurrence of potentially deadly blood clots in healthy people, reports the New ...

Eat 'Real' Rather Than Organic
 Eat 'Real' Rather Than Organic 
OPINION
Mar 22, 2009 1:03 PM CDT

Eat 'Real' Rather Than Organic

The o-word may not mean it's better for you

(Newser) - It seems to be a widespread assumption, but eating organic doesn’t necessarily equal healthy eating, writes Mark Bittman in the New York Times. Organic food consumption is soaring, but the organic label is part of a “marketing program.”  To be healthy and help the planet, people...

Study: Obesity as Bad as Smoking
Study: Obesity as Bad as Smoking 
Mar 18, 2009 2:09 AM CDT

Study: Obesity as Bad as Smoking

Being extremely overweight can trim a decade from lifespans

(Newser) - Obesity can take years off a life, and in some cases is as dangerous to health as smoking, reports USA Today. Researchers analyzing studies involving almost a million people found that obese adults died an average of three years earlier than people with a healthy body-mass index. Extremely obese adults—...

Wal-Mart to Offer Doctors Digital Health Record System

(Newser) - Wal-Mart is moving to provide a low-cost way for physicians in small offices to use electronic health records, the New York Times reports. The company—teaming with Dell for computers and eClinicalWorks for software—plans to offer a system for under $25,000, about half the current cost. The idea...

Obama Open to Compromise on Health Care

He tells summit: 'I just want to figure out what works'

(Newser) - President Barack Obama said today's health care summit at the White House made clear the immediate need for reform, and he signaled he's open to compromise. Obama told participants at the end of the summit that although he offered a plan during last year's campaign, he isn't wedded to that...

Gupta Won't Be Surgeon General

(Newser) - Sanjay Gupta is sticking with CNN and brain surgery. Gupta has withdrawn his name from contention to be the next surgeon general, the network reports. Gupta apparently had reservations over a big pay cut and the idea of reporting to more than one boss, notes Fox News. Gupta will discuss...

Low-Carb or Low-Fat? Doesn't Matter
Low-Carb
or Low-Fat? Doesn't Matter
Feb 25, 2009 8:20 PM CST

Low-Carb or Low-Fat? Doesn't Matter

When it comes to diet, only calories count, says federal study

(Newser) - Low-fat, low-carb, high-protein—the kind of diet doesn't matter, scientists say. All that counts is cutting calories and sticking with it, says a federal study that followed hundreds of people for two years. Millions have turned to popular diets such as Atkins, Zone, and Ornish that tout the benefits of...

Coffee: Good? Bad? Whatever. Just Don't Smoke

No need to obsess over every study, experts say

(Newser) - It can seem impossible to sort through the health news that comes out every day: Is coffee good for you? Is it bad? Does this or that give you cancer? The best solution, for now, may just be not to worry about it, Trine Tsouderos writes in the Chicago Tribune....

Peanut Corp. Files for Bankruptcy

(Newser) - The latest victim of the nationwide salmonella outbreak is the Peanut Corporation of America, which filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy today, the Lynchburg News & Advance reports. “Given the events of the past month, including the broad-based recalls, the company has no alternative but to cease operations,” a...

Plant Found Salmonella, Still Sold Peanut Products

(Newser) - The plant in Georgia implicated in the latest salmonella outbreak knowingly sold peanut products even after its own tests turned up evidence of the bacteria, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The plant's internal labs showed evidence of salmonella 12 times in the past two years, but the company sold the products...

A Surgeon's Case for Universal Health Care

If every other industrialization nation and Massachusetts can do it, so can the feds

(Newser) - If Americans are smart, they'll learn from other nations—and Massachusetts—in building a system of universal health care, writes surgeon Atul Gawande in The New Yorker. The rise of health reform "is surprising and instructive" in nations like the UK and France, which made controversial changes after...

Don't Eat Peanut Butter Products, FDA Warns

(Newser) - Federal health authorities today urged consumers to avoid eating cookies, cakes, ice cream, and other foods that contain peanut butter until authorities can learn more about a deadly outbreak of salmonella contamination. Most peanut butter sold in jars at supermarkets appears to be safe. More than 470 people have gotten...

Obese Americans Now Outnumber Overweight

Over a third of adults classed as one step up the scale from overweight

(Newser) - Americans who are merely overweight are now outnumbered by the obese, Reuters reports. New government statistics reveal that 34% of adults are obese and almost 6% extremely so, whereas 32.7% are classed as overweight. The proportion of Americans who are overweight has stayed much the same since 1980—but...

Daschle: Health Reform About Facts, Not Ideology

Obama nominee pledges bipartisan effort despite controversial plan

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s pick for Secretary of Health and Human Services promised today a bipartisan effort to reform health care, the New York Times reports. “When it comes to health care, we really are in it together,” Tom Daschle said during Senate confirmation hearings, where chairman Ted Kennedy...

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