Medical Letter on the CDC & FDA articles from December 2000

Medical Letter on the CDC & FDA archives from December 2000

Injection Drug Users in Methadone Treatment More Likely to Reduce Risk Behaviors.(Brief Article)
December 10, 2000... 2000 DEC 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Injection drug users who stay in methadone treatment, or who interrupt and return to treatment, engage in fewer behaviors that increase risk of acquiring hepatitis viruses or HIV, public health...

Research Suggests U.S. NIH Guidelines Need Revision.(National Institutes of Health asthma guide)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2000... 2000 DEC 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Asthma is the leading chronic disease of childhood in the United States and the leading cause of hospitalization in children despite national guidelines adopted 10 years ago to increase control of the...

Many Medicare Patients Do Not Receive Necessary Care.(Brief Article)
December 10, 2000... 2000 DEC 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Underuse of necessary care is more likely among African Americans and those living in poverty areas of the U.S., a recent study shows. A measurement system using information from inpatient and...

Factors Contributing to High Cost of TB-Related Hospitalization Identified.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 10, 2000... 2000 DEC 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Depending on your reason for admittance, in-hospital care may help resolve your illness. And, in the U.S., it certainly will deplete your wallet. So it comes as no surprise that medical researchers...

FDA Close to Approving Eczema Drug.(United States. Food and Drug Administration)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2000... 2000 DEC 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The first new type of drug in decades to treat the troubling skin disease eczema moved a step closer to market in the U.S. as the government's scientific advisers unanimously declared Protopic ointment...

HIV/AIDS Poses Threat to American Indian and Alaska Native Communities.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 10, 2000... 2000 DEC 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- American Indians and Alaska Natives are experiencing an increasing rate of HIV/AIDS that, if left unchecked, poses a serious health threat that could devastate Native American communities in the United...

Significant Improvement Reported in Americans' Relative Health.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 10, 2000... 2000 DEC 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- UnitedHealth Group State Health Rankings reports New Hampshire is healthiest state in the United States. Study findings were released November 14, 2000, at the American Public Health Association's...

Petting Zoos "Notorious" for E. coli.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 10, 2000... 2000 DEC 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The potentially lethal bacterium, Escherichia coli, mostly associated with contaminated meat, can also be contracted through contact with animals at children's petting zoos, although few parents...

Emergency Workers' Health Threatened by Methamphetamine Labs.(Brief Article)
December 10, 2000... 2000 DEC 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Chemicals used to make methamphetamine caused fumes, fires, and explosions that injured dozens of police and emergency workers dispatched to illegal drug labs in the late 1990s, according to the U.S....

Common Methods Used by Communities to Reduce or Stop Smoking are Effective.(Brief Article)
December 10, 2000... 2000 DEC 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Task Force on Community Preventive Services, an independent non-federal U.S. public health panel, reported that scientific evidence now proves the effectiveness of many of the most common methods...

FDA Advisory Committee Says Phenylpropanolamine is Not Safe.(Brief Article)
December 10, 2000... 2000 DEC 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's scientific advisory committee determined that phenylpropanolamine (PPA) cannot be classified as safe - a classification critical to drugs' ability to be sold...

Tick-Vectored Disease Can Be Deadly in HIV Patients.(Brief Article)
December 10, 2000... 2000 DEC 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Ehrlichiosis in HIV patients is not a commonly reported infection, but when it does occur, the results can be severe and even fatal. Infection by rickettsiae in the genus Ehrlichia - apparently via...

Study Suggests Upcoming Epidemic of Type II Diabetes in North Carolina Children.(Brief Article)
December 10, 2000... 2000 DEC 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A national epidemic of type 2 diabetes likely will follow the current epidemic of obesity in U.S. children, a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study of 688 randomly selected, apparently...

Mystery Disease Kills Seven in Brazil.(Quarantine near Rio de Janeiro?)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2000... 2000 DEC 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The mayor of a small city in Brazil is considering quarantining two neighborhoods where a mysterious illness is thought to have killed seven people and left 43 more seriously ill, local media reported...

Bicycle Helmets Recommended for All Children.(Brief Article)
December 10, 2000... 2000 DEC 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Boys between the ages of five and 14 have the highest incidence of bicycle-related injuries, although children between the ages of one and four years are also commonly injured, according to an article...

FDA Allows Exemption for World's Smallest Pacemaker.(Food and Drug Administration allows use of experimental device)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2000... 2000 DEC 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A premature baby with a heart defect was fitted with what doctors say is the world's smallest pacemaker after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted doctors an exemption to use the experimental...

Combination Typhoid Fever/Hepatitis A Vaccine Shown Effective, Well Tolerated.(SmithKline Beecham Biologicals)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2000... 2000 DEC 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Good news for travellers to regions endemic for typhoid fever and hepatitis A: there may be one less shot in the arm in your future. Researchers with SmithKline Beecham Biologicals, Rixensart,...

CDC Issues New Report on STD Epidemics.(Centers for Disease Control studies sexually transmitted diseases)
December 24, 2000... 2000 DEC 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- After stabilizing from 1996 to 1997, gonorrhea rates in the United States increased by 9% between 1997 and 1999, raising concerns that steady declines in the disease over the past two decades could...

Back Belts Not Associated with Reduction in Pain or Injury Claims.(Brief Article)
December 24, 2000... 2000 DEC 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Neither the frequent use of back belts nor a store policy that requires belt use is associated with a reduced incidence of back injury claims or low back pain among material handlers in retail stores,...

Zinc Supplements Reduce Duration of Symptoms.(diarrhea)(Brief Article)
December 24, 2000... 2000 DEC 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health have found that zinc supplements help children suffering from acute and persistent diarrhea, significantly reduce the duration of their...

Improperly Cleaning Spray Paint Guns Can Result in Serious Injury.(Brief Article)
December 24, 2000... 2000 DEC 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Professional painters and do-it-your-selfers alike risk losing a finger if they clean a clogged spray paint gun by wiggling one of their digits into the nozzle, according to research presented at the...

Largest Outbreak in the U.S. in Five Years Moved from Work Environment to Community.(Rubella)(Brief Article)
December 24, 2000... 2000 DEC 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A large rubella outbreak in 1999 among unvaccinated persons spread from the workplace to the community, with transmission facilitated by crowded working and living conditions, according to an article...

FDA Ban on Poultry Drug Challenged.(Baytril ban)(Brief Article)
December 24, 2000... 2000 DEC 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A major drug manufacturer on November 30, 2000, challenged the U.S. government's attempt to ban an antibiotic given to poultry - a ban proposed because of evidence that the drug's use in chicken causes...

CDC Releases New Guidelines on HIV Counseling/Testing of Pregnant Women.(Centers for Disease Control recommendations)(Brief Article)
December 24, 2000... 2000 DEC 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In an effort to increase HIV counseling and testing rates of pregnant women through revised counseling and testing guidelines, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued...

Red Cross Blood Center Said Flawed.(noncompliance with regulations)(Brief Article)
December 24, 2000... 2000 DEC 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- American Red Cross blood processing centers have repeatedly failed federal inspections over the last 15 years and continue to have problems that present a "potential for harm" to patients, federal...

Novel Vaccine Protects Monkeys from Deadly Infection.(Ebola virus)(Brief Article)
December 24, 2000... 2000 DEC 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Few viruses are more feared than Ebola virus, the deadly microbe that periodically attacks African villages and kills up to 90% of those it infects. Although other viral diseases claim more lives each...

Study Mulls Hepatitis B Vaccination Rate.(Vietnamese-Americans)(Brief Article)
December 24, 2000... 2000 DEC 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A study of three large Vietnamese-American communities found extremely low rates of vaccination among youngsters for hepatitis B, a sometimes fatal liver disease that is prevalent among Vietnamese...

CDC: Flu Shot Shortages Easing.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)(Critical Essay)
December 24, 2000... 2000 DEC 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The shortage of flu vaccine in the U.S. is expected to ease by mid-December, allowing people who have postponed getting a shot to be vaccinated. Nearly 70% of the expected 75 million vaccinations...

Screening Hepatitis B Virus Carriers for Alpha-fetoprotein Prolongs Survival.(Brief Article)(Critical Essay)(Statistical Data Included)
December 24, 2000... 2000 DEC 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- People who are known carriers of the hepatitis B virus could benefit in terms of survival by being screened twice a year for a marker in the blood called alpha-fetoprotein. The presence of this marker...

Global Partnerships for Health, Biotech Content Announced.(partnerships between NewsRx.com, EBSCO Online, Factiva and iSyndicate Europe-Bertelsmann venture)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)(Critical Essay)
December 24, 2000... 2000 DEC 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- NewsRx.com(TM), Atlanta, Georgia, recently announced partnerships with several international firms, including EBSCO Online, Factiva, and the new iSyndicate Europe-Bertelsmann venture. "iSyndicate...

Hepatitis E Virus Transmission Reported in North Carolina Swine Workers.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)(Critical Essay)
December 24, 2000... 2000 DEC 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A collaborative research project led by medical researchers at the Walter Reed Army Institute has presented more evidence that hepatitis E virus (HEV) may be a zoonotic disease. Zoonotic diseases...

New Outbreak Raises Questions About Whether Vaccinations Can Stop.(Brief Article)(Critical Essay)(Statistical Data Included)
December 24, 2000... 2000 DEC 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The first outbreak of polio in the Western Hemisphere in nearly a decade is raising questions about whether vaccinations can ever be stopped, and the type of vaccine being used in most countries. "This...

Chemical Contamination Linked to Early Puberty.(polybrominated biphenyl)(Brief Article)
December 31, 2000... 2000 DEC 31 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Foods that were contaminated in Michigan in 1973, when a fire retardant containing the chemical polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) was accidentally mixed with animal feed, have been associated with an early...

Foreign-Born People in the U.S. Have High Rate of Tuberculosis.(Brief Article)
December 31, 2000... 2000 DEC 31 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The tuberculosis case rate among foreign-born people in the United States was markedly higher than among those born in the U.S. during the years 1993 to 1998, report U.S. Centers for Disease Control...

Most Teens Not Provided STD or Pregnancy Prevention Counseling During Check-Ups.(sexually transmitted diseases)(Brief Article)
December 31, 2000... 2000 DEC 31 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Most high school students undergoing routine physical examinations do not talk to their health care practitioner about preventing sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) or pregnancy, according to a U.S....

Tubal Sterilization Poses No Greater Risk of Menstrual Abnormalities.(Brief Article)
December 31, 2000... 2000 DEC 31 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The largest, most comprehensive study of its kind to date has found that women who have undergone tubal sterilization are at no greater risk for menstrual abnormalities than are women who have not had...

Antioxidants Play a Role in Deadly Malnutrition Disease.(kwashiorkor)(Brief Article)
December 31, 2000... 2000 DEC 31 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Mainstream America has been bombarded in recent years with advertisements touting the health benefits of antioxidants such as vitamin E and beta-carotene. But a new study from the University of...

African Americans Disproportionately Affected by STDs.(sexually transmitted diseases)
December 31, 2000... 2000 DEC 31 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Following years of steady decline, gonorrhea infections among African Americans increased by more than 5% from 1997 to 1999, according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and...

Hepatitis and Rubella Screening Policies Not Always Followed in Hospitals.(standard of care for pregnant women)(Brief Article)
December 31, 2000... 2000 DEC 31 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Some hospitals do not always screen pregnant women the way they should prior to and following delivery, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention epidemiologists stated recently in the American...

Studies Examine Role of the Internet in STD Transmission and Prevention.(sexually transmitted diseases)(Brief Article)
December 31, 2000... 2000 DEC 31 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Increasingly, the Internet has become a focal point for more widespread communication linking potential sexual partners, a matter of concern for public health officials, noted researchers at the...

Gay Men Lack Information about "Forgotten" STD.(syphilis)(Brief Article)
December 31, 2000... 2000 DEC 31 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Many gay and bisexual men lack key information about syphilis, including how to identify signs and symptoms of the sexually transmitted disease (STD), according to a study presented at the National STD...

Rate Declines Among African Americans.(syphilis)(Brief Article)
December 31, 2000... 2000 DEC 31 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The syphilis rate among African Americans declined 29% between 1997 and 1999, helping to bring the overall syphilis rate in the United States to a record low, according to a new report released by the...

Starving Bacteria Elude Diagnostic Tests.(E. coli O157:H7)(Brief Article)
December 31, 2000... 2000 DEC 31 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The virulent Escherichia coli O157:H7 bacterium can lose its ability to be detected by certain diagnostic tests if it has experienced extended periods without food, said researchers from the National...

CDC: 61% of U.S. Adults are Overweight.(Centers for Disease Control study)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 31, 2000... 2000 DEC 31 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The American waistline continues to expand, with 61% of adults now considered overweight, the U.S. government reported on December 14, 2000. And a growing number of Americans are not just...

FDA May Bar Doctor from Gene Research.(Food and Drug Administration considering case against Dr. James M. Wilson)(Brief Article)
December 31, 2000... 2000 DEC 31 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A University of Pennsylvania scientist who led a gene therapy research project in which a teenager died could be permanently barred from testing drugs on humans under a proceeding started by the U.S....

Malarone Recommended for Prevention and Treatment.(malaria)(Brief Article)
December 31, 2000... 2000 DEC 31 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, recently changed its recommendation on malaria to include Glaxo Wellcome Inc.'s (GLX) Malarone (atovaquone and proguanil...

Coalition Files Lawsuit Against FDA, Claiming Withheld Information on Clinical Trials.(Food and Drug Administration refuses to release info on animal-human transplants)(Brief Article)
December 31, 2000... 2000 DEC 31 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Campaign for Responsible Transplantation (CRT), a coalition of 90 public interest groups, filed a lawsuit in Federal District Court on November 27, 2000, to obtain records from the U.S. Food and...

Outbreak Hits Latin America.(dengue)
December 31, 2000... 2000 DEC 31 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Maria thought her son Cristian was over the worst. The five-year-old's fever was all but gone, his wiry black hair no longer dripped with sweat, and there was no trace of the crippling muscle pains...

Guidelines Issued for Safe Use of Snowmobiles by Children.(Brief Article)
December 31, 2000... 2000 DEC 31 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A child younger than 16 should not be allowed to drive snowmobiles, says the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in its journal Pediatrics. Each state regulates use of snowmobiles in public areas,...

Genetic Basis of Disease Caused by Environmental Pollution Studied.(Brief Article)
December 31, 2000... 2000 DEC 31 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced it has established a program that will apply techniques for studying gene...