Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:
Drug-Resistant TB Poses Rising Threat: WHO
In the wake of a transatlantic health scare involving an American bridegroom with an extremely drug-resistant form of tuberculosis, the World Health Organization says similar infections could become the norm unless the world community does more to stop the spread of the disease, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
The case of Andrew Speaker isn't an isolated one, since the extremely resistant form of TB has been recorded in 37 countries. About 5 percent of the world's almost 9 million new cases of TB are resistant to standard drugs, a WHO official told the newspaper. Moreover, about 30,000 of these cases are considered extremely drug-resistant to first-line and second-line TB medications, the Times said.
Regions of greatest concern include Africa, where immune-compromised people with AIDS often develop TB. Other areas include China, Eastern Europe and India, the newspaper said.
On Tuesday, the WHO called on world nations to provide $1 billion over each of the next two years to fight the disease. The United Nations agency said its plan to help countries better diagnose, treat and prevent TB could save 134,000 lives over the next two years and 1.2 million people by 2015, the Times said.
While most cases of standard TB are easily cured, the cure rate falls to 67 percent for drug-resistant cases and to less than 30 percent for those considered extremely resistant, the newspaper said.
On Tuesday, the WHO called on world nations to provide $1 billion over each of the next two years to fight the disease. The United Nations agency said its plan to help countries better diagnose, treat and prevent TB could save 134,000 lives over the next two years and 1.2 million people by 2015, the Times said.
While most cases of standard TB are easily cured, the cure rate falls to 67 percent for drug-resistant cases and to less than 30 percent for those considered extremely resistant, the newspaper said.
The CDC has three private jets available for emergencies. The jets, which cost taxpayers $7 million a year, were used nine times in the last year. Until Congress started asking questions, one of the jets was used regularly for political travel by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt, ABC News reported.
Groups Seek Ban on Household Detergent Chemicals
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency should ban the use of chemicals commonly used in household detergents, because the compounds have been linked to gender changes in fish, environmental groups say.
The Sierra Club and five other groups have petitioned the EPA to ban nonylphenol and nonylphenol ethoxylates. Some 400 million pounds of the chemicals are produced annually in the United States, much of which ends up in rivers and other waterways, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.
The chemicals mimic the female hormone estrogen, and exposed laboratory fish, including rainbow trout, have wound up becoming part male and part female, the newspaper said.
The effects on people aren't known, the groups' petition says in calling for more research, notably on workers at dry cleaners and laundries.
A group representing companies that produce or use the chemicals says the compounds have been used for more than 50 years and "are among the most extensively studied compounds in commerce today."
Though use of the chemicals currently is unrestricted in the United States, some companies, including Procter & Gamble and Unilever, have stopped using them, the Times said.
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Chinese Soldier Dies of Bird Flu
A 19-year-old Chinese soldier is the nation's 16th reported human fatality from the virulent strain of bird flu that has global health officials concerned about a future human pandemic, the Associated Press reported.
World Health Organization officials said the soldier died Sunday from the H5N1 strain of avian flu after being hospitalized in mid-May with a fever and cough. He had been stationed in the southern province of Fujian.
The Chinese Health Ministry provided no additional details of the case, including how the virus may have been contracted and if other soldiers might be at risk, the wire service said.
While 25 cases of human H5N1 infection have been reported in China, there have been no reported outbreaks among poultry, sparking concerns of a weak surveillance system in China, the AP said.
Poultry-to-human and human-to-human cases are still considered rare, although experts worry that the virus will mutate into a form that's more easily passed between people.
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Nigeria Sues Pfizer Over Drug Trials
The government of Nigeria is suing Pfizer, charging that the world's largest pharmaceutical company conducted improper trials of the anti-meningitis drug Trovan in children.
The Nigerian government wants $7 billion in damages for the families of children who allegedly died or suffered serious side effects after being given the experimental antibiotic, BBC News reported. A few years ago, the Nigerian state of Kano filed a separate lawsuit against Pfizer seeking $2.7 billion in damages. That suit is still working its way through the legal system.
Pfizer tested Trovan in children during a meningitis outbreak in Kano in 1996. About 200 children died and others suffered mental and physical problems. In its lawsuit, the Nigerian government says Trovan caused the deaths and injuries and that the children were injected with the drug without approval from the country's regulatory agencies, BBC News reported.
Pfizer has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing and says the trials were conducted with the full knowledge of the Nigerian government, according to Nigerian and international law.
In the United States, Trovan is approved to treat adults, but not children.
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Ritalin User Higher Among Children of Divorced Parents: Study
Children of divorced parents are nearly twice as likely as other children to be prescribed Ritalin, says a study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. Ritalin is used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Researchers found that 6.1 percent of 633 Canadian children of divorced parents were prescribed Ritalin, compared with 3.3 percent of 4,151 children whose parents were still married, the Canadian Press reported.
Study author Lisa Strohschein of the University of Alberta said there may be a number of reasons why Ritalin use is higher among children of divorced parents.
The stress of divorce may aggravate a child's existing ADHD-related behavioral problems to the point where a doctor decides that Ritalin may be helpful. In other cases, children of divorced parents may channel their anger, anxiety and sadness into behavior that's mislabeled as ADHD-like.
In some situations, Strohschein said, parents and doctors may give Ritalin to children in anticipation of behavioral problems that may be caused by the stress of divorce, the CP reported.
Source : www.forbes.com
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