public health

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US AIDS Numbers Adjusted Up
US AIDS Numbers Adjusted Up
Dec 1, 2007 6:22 AM CST

US AIDS Numbers Adjusted Up

New testing method discovers infection spreading faster

(Newser) - AIDS is spreading faster among Americans than had been thought, the Washington Post reports. A new method of testing that distinguishes recent infections from older ones shows that the number of people becoming infected each year in the US is 50% higher than previously estimated, for an average of 60,...

Twentysomething Virgins Risk Later Sex Problems

Starting sexual activity in 20s linked to dysfunction later

(Newser) - People who wait to have sex until their 20s or beyond are more likely to suffer from sexual dysfunction later in life, scientists say. In particular, men who lose their virginity in their 20s tend to experience later sex-related troubles, ABC News reports. The delay doesn't necessarily cause the difficulty,...

Salt May Get an FDA Shakedown
Salt May Get an FDA Shakedown
Nov 29, 2007 12:05 PM CST

Salt May Get an FDA Shakedown

Increased regs likely on concerns about overconsumption, health effects

(Newser) - As the White House readies a national campaign against obesity, the FDA today will consider whether to reclassify one of the biggest dietary concerns of all: salt. The American Medical Association says that for Americans, who each day consume around 2,000 milligrams more than recommended, cutting salt intake by...

Starchy Foods Increase Diabetes Risk

But adding whole grains to the diet improves the odds

(Newser) - African-American and Chinese women whose diets are high in starchy foods like white rice are at bigger risk for developing Type 2 diabetes, researchers have discovered. The good news is that eating whole-grain foods can help reduce the risk, according to two studies in the Archives of Internal Medicine. As...

LA Will Certify Eateries as Trans Fat-Free

Restaurants that submit to testing will get decal to display

(Newser) - Los Angeles County will begin certifying trans-fat-free restaurants and rewarding those that pass muster with a decal in a voluntary campaign rolled out yesterday, the Los Angeles Times reports. Restaurants that pay a $204 application fee will get a surprise visit from inspectors to confirm that their kitchens are free...

Lethal Strain of Cold Virus Spreads in US

Bug has killed 10, hospitalized dozens in last 18 months

(Newser) - A virulent strain of adenovirus, a prevalent cause of the common cold and other respiratory infections, has been identified in parts of the US, including New York, Oregon, Washington state, and Texas, Reuters reports. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the new strain—adenovirus 14—has killed 10 people,...

Deadly Bird Flu ID'd on UK Farm
Deadly Bird Flu ID'd on UK Farm
Nov 13, 2007 4:57 PM CST

Deadly Bird Flu ID'd on UK Farm

Human-transmissible H5N1 strain detected; 6,000 birds killed as precaution

(Newser) - The avian flu that decimated a British turkey farm is the dangerous H5N1 strain, which can spread to humans. Authorities are taking extreme precautions, reports the Telegraph, slaughtering about 6,000 birds and forbidding the transportation of poultry within a 6-mile "surveillance zone.” The H5N1 strain has killed...

Organ Donor Gives HIV to 4 Chicago Patients

Flaw in tests allowed disease to go undetected

(Newser) - A flaw in HIV testing procedures led to the infection of four organ-transplant recipients in Chicago, the Tribune reports, the first such cases in more than 20 years. Follow-up tests were never performed, so the four are only now discovering their infections from the January transplants. The donor was flagged...

Superbug Shuts Down Entire School District

23 schools disinfected after single case of drug-resistant staph

(Newser) - A single confirmed infection of antibiotic-resistant staph has convinced officials to shut down all 23 schools of an eastern Kentucky district so cleaners can scour classrooms, cafeterias, locker rooms, buses and playgrounds. The district superintendent called the massive disinfection a "preventive measure" to ward off a large-scale outbreak of...

Brits Plotting Battle of Bulge on Plumpies

Europe's fattest nation could rack up millions in health care

(Newser) - Two sobering reports have frantic Brits casting about for ways to combat their obesity epidemic, reports the Christian Science Monitor. England is the fattest country in Europe and half of its population could be obese by 2050, the reports warn. Now the country is looking into everything from regulating junk...

Parents Leaning on Religion to Dodge Vaccines for Children

Faith often used to cover other objections

(Newser) - Parents are turning to state laws allowing religious exemptions to keep their children from being vaccinated, the Associated Press reports. Such shots are often required for children to attend preschool; though sects such as the Christian Scientists have real religious objections to medicine, some parents distrustful of the science behind...

Study Finds Rats Are Winning the Rat Race

New York rated most vulnerable to boom in rodent population

(Newser) - Rodent experts labeled New York the US city most open to large-scale rat infestation today, after conducting a nationwide survey that took into account climate, waste management, population density, and age of infrastructure, Reuters reports. New York's appearance atop comes months after a KFC/Taco Bell restaurant was overrun by rats...

City OKs Day of Public Toking
City OKs Day of Public Toking
Sep 20, 2007 7:09 PM CDT

City OKs Day of Public Toking

Ban on smoking in Santa Cruz parks lifted for medical-marijuana fest

(Newser) - Two kinds of "green laws" collided in Santa Cruz, Calif., when a local group that distributes free medical marijuana came up against a smoking ban in the park where the group holds its annual festival. The city council reached a healthy compromise, providing attendees in need of self-medication with...

SF Pioneers Health Care for All
SF Pioneers Health Care
for All
Sep 14, 2007 11:50 AM CDT

SF Pioneers Health Care for All

Groundbreaking plan targets city's 82K uninsured adults

(Newser) - San Francisco will provide health care for every uninsured adult in the city, pioneering an approach that works around the limits of the federal system. The program goes citywide on Monday and will serve adults under the poverty line through November; after that, it will be open to everyone regardless...

Brits Will Pay Moms-to-Be to Eat for Two

Pregnant women in the UK will be given $240 to support a healthy diet

(Newser) - Starting 2009, all expecting moms in the UK will receive a lump sum of $240, intended to be spent on a healthy diet of fruits and vegetables to help prevent low-birth-weight complications in newborn children. The "pregnancy grants" are part of Britain's new health secretary's plan to close the...

Worst Chronic Disease Is Depression

Docs tie better mental health treatment to better overall health

(Newser) - Depression is more debilitating than diabetes, asthma, arthritis, or angina—and people suffering from chronic illness and depression are in worse health than those diagnosed with any other combination of diseases, the BBC reports. "These results indicate the urgency of addressing depression as a public health priority," says...

Online Daters Get Hotter on First Night

Women take more sexual risks with men they've 'met' online

(Newser) - A third of women have sex on the first date with men they've previously met online, and 77% of those don't use condoms, a new study reports. "They may not think of it as being risky sex," the survey's author tells the Houston Chronicle, citing "virtual intimacy"...

Asthma Hits 9/11 Rescuers at 12 Times Normal Rate

Rates highest for those who arrived first, worked longest and didn't wear masks

(Newser) - Ground Zero rescue and cleanup workers are developing asthma at 12 times the normal rate, a New York City health report has found. Among 25,000 workers interviewed, 3.6% of them—926 firefighters, police officers, construction workers and volunteers—have been diagnosed with the respiratory illness since 2001. The...

Go Easy on Pregnancy Weight Gain, Say Docs

Review of current guidelines in the works

(Newser) - The current guidelines for weight gain during pregnancy may be contributing to the nation's obesity epidemic, some doctors say, and radical changes in the recommendations are under consideration. Docs say a revision is long overdue, the AP reports. "Most of us think overall the weight gain recommendations are too...

Ex-Surgeon General Alleges Censorship

Former top doc says administration plays politics with science

(Newser) - The Bush administration "did not want to hear the science" on subjects such as stem-cell research and abstinence-only sex ed, the ex-surgeon general says, and he was muzzled and marginalized when he tried "to be the doctor of the nation—not the doctor of a political party."...

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