Blog #12 drug resistance increasing

Along with the increase in antibiotic use is the increase in the resistance of these antibiotics to the infections. In fact, it is that very reason that antibiotics are no longer working. People are using them either too much, for the wrong reasons, or both. In England, health care officials have now even came out with a guide for nurses showing them how to slow down the use and prescriptions they write off for patients.

Now, not only are antibiotics beginning not to work, but there are new diseases arising that don't have a cure or are causing these infections. Mark Sprenger, Director of the European CDFC, says "The need for concerted actions to curb growing resistance to antibiotics is now critical with the most recent listed antibiotic that has failed."

The use for antibiotics should now be looked at the same as our natural resources. It is important to reduce, reuse, and recycle with natural resources, however, with antibiotics, it is only important to reduce! A lot of the problems with antibiotics no longer working comes from us storing unused and leftover antibiotics. There is no need for that, what infection that antibiotic worked for may not work for the next. It may only cause resistance to that antibiotic to go up. Certain things like the common cold, sniffles, and runny nose can go away with some over the counter medicine or...just with a few days.

Blog #11 Greece's wildfire spread of HIV

HIV-a virus that causes AIDS and causes the immune system to allow life threatening infections and cancers to thrive. All across Greek, there is a rapid increase in patients testing positive for HIV. The sources are infected needles through drug users, unprotected heterosexual and homosexual sex, and mothers passing them to their babies unknowingly. The disease is not only bringing actual complications from being HIV positive, but also the up rise of suicide, prostitution, heroin substitution and antidepressant use. “By comparison in the United States, cases are increasing by around 7 percent annually.”

“’Contagion’ is the label financial markets use for the economic spread of the Greek crisis. For hundreds of people in an increasingly chaotic society, the word has a deadlier meaning.”

Since times are getting harder, more people are injecting drugs rather that smoking or sniffing it because the hit is bigger that way. More drug injecting means more infected needles being passed around. Some people are trying to correct their unfixable mistake by getting cleaned up and going to detox programs with the hope of having the government pay for their treatment. While some are able to attain this by making social security contributions, others are being “shot down” because they can’t find a job that pays enough to make those contributions. A large portion of these people are living in shelters with no hope now. The fact that there is so many people living in Greece have HIV is not what’s so shocking, it’s how fast it’s spreading.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/10/us-greece-hiv-idUSTRE7A961V20111110

Blog #10 Earthquakes and Disease

Dr. Susan Bartels and Dr. Michael Rooyen wrote a review about the health risks earthquakes pose. They basically were saying that when earthquakes hit, they usually hit in urban areas with poor structure resulting in the needed healthcare to be overcrowded or not fit for earthquake affects on people.

When earthquakes hit, they usually expose millions of people to them because most of the cities with the highest number of people living in them around the world were built on fault lines. For example, place such as Shanghai, New York, & Los Angeles. The aftermath of earthquakes comes in three different sections. First, there is the initial death poll as soon as it hits. Next, you have the second mortality rate. This stems from lacerations, fractures, and hematomas that catch up with the victim a few hours later. Then, the last peak comes anywhere from days to weeks later evolving from organ failure or them having to stop taking medicines they are using for chronic diseases previously acquired. After an earthquake in California, the amount of heart attacks rose by 35 percent the following week. After an earthquake in China hit, the rate of arrhythmias sharply increased. Also, after one in Japan, blood pressure increased for two weeks. Overcrowding in shelters and other places with minimum space after an earthquake spread diseases just by having to have skin touching.

I, personally, never really thought about these things occurring because of an earthquake but it all makes sense after reading that article. I don’t think many other people actually realize the full effect of an earthquake. Yes, we all realize the big picture that it kills people, but not about it increasing risk of diseases.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/237093.php

Blog #9 Bacteria Linked to Dolphins

Scientists are now looking at the deaths of hundreds of dolphins that were laying all around the northern Gulf o f Mexico last year. A total of 580 dolphins and whales between February ’10 and October 23^rd were found. So far, 5 of the 21 that they have looked at have the bacteria, Brucella. Brucella functions as facultative intracellular parasites. If a human is infected with this bacterium, it is characterized by acute undulating fever, headache, night sweats, fatigue, & anorexia.

Scientists are trying to determine if the dolphins were infected with the bacteria in the BP oil spill last year. The exposure to oil actually weakens the immune system of dolphins. The reason of death may be that the bacterium just became more lethal, because dolphins are more susceptible to being infected or the bacterium has actually changed causing a more serious disease.

The fact that there were so many neonatal deaths is what made their focus turn on Brucella. Of the 21 animals tested, nine were tested from waters off Louisiana and of those nine; five were tested positive for Brucella. Many of the dolphins that have been found are no longer useful to find more cases because of their decomposed state. “Only about 15% of dolphins stranded are what we consider ideal for a diagnostic workup,” says veterinary epidemiologist, Stephanie Venn-Watson. About 100-200 cases of this disease occur in the US each year but it is more common in much of the rest of the world where they do not have stable animal-disease programs.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/27/us/dolphins-bacteria/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brucella

Blog #8 Breast cancer advancements

Reoccurrence in breast cancer is usually within 10 years, causing the survivor to go through the cancer again. Sometimes, the cancer does not come back as breast cancer but maybe a different form. Regardless, who wants to be put through that again? Well, a new study says that after breast conserving surgery, radiotherapy cuts the rate of reoccurrence in the next ten years in half. Along with that, it reduces the death rate of breast cancer patients by about a sixth. Many people may question exactly how effective this is and it is the largest study on breast cancer thus far. Dr Hemant Singhal, director, Medanta Breast Service said 80% of women should undergo this in the west, however, in India, patients are forced to have full removal of the breast because of how large the tumor is. With this newfound study, if the cancer is found early enough, the breast can be saved, according to Dr. Singhal. Oddly enough, the rate of occurrence I patients who don’t undergo radiation is doubled compared to those who have to go through a mastectomy.

Breast cancer affects everyone around the world and even the smallest steps make me feel better about breast cancer research. No one wants to go through breast cancer, or any type of cancer, more than once and this new study lowers the chances of that happening, significantly.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Radiotherapy-reduces-breast-cancer-mortality/articleshow/10433960.cms

Blog #7 Black Death, Mother of All Plagues

Researchers have come to the conclusion that the bacteria causing the Black Death looks a lot like the modern versions of the bug. They discovered this by taking what is now black, powdery pulp to reconstruct the genetic blueprint of the bacterium. They coined the phrase ‘grandmother of modern plague because all modern, human-infecting strains looks to have appeared to have separated from a common ancestor. Researchers say this behavior was a result of Europeans already being in hard times, living in a wet period and probably already struggling with other diseases.

Analyzing this ancient DNA is not an easy task, say researchers. Not only is it present in tiny fragments, but sequences has degraded. The samples also may include things living in the graves surrounding dirt. To decode it, researchers synthesized modern DNA that matched up with segments from the DNA of the teeth, and then pieced them together. When compared, the different genomes had no unique mutations in the medieval genome. Krause and others calculated that all human-plague causing bacteria diverged from a common ancestor between 1282 & 1343 making the Black Death the original pandemic. It is understandable that a version of the bacterium emerged more that 2 millennia ago around China. The newly sequenced genome will help scientists study the changes of the bacteria by looking at the killer itself.

I think it is interesting how this came back up and the fact they are able to take what is now a powdery substance from the victim’s teeth to get to the bottom of it… years and years later. Also, how fast it took over since Europeans were already down and out by the time it reached them.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/10/13/black-death-is-grandmother-all-modern-plague/

Blog # 6 The Carter plan for the guinea worm

Former president, Jimmy Carter spoke in London along with world health organization director, Dr. Chan about his organization the Carter Centre. He said that they are in the process of holding $120 million to complete the effort of wiping the guinea worm from the earth. The guinea worm, also known as dracunculiasis, is caught by drinking contaminated water. It starts off as a blister on the leg or foot, usually, then it pops and the worm starts to come out causing an indefinite amount of burning pain. There is no cure or vaccine for this disease and it usually doesn’t kill.

He designed this program to help places in the world where there is a great need for this kind of help; however, their needs are being neglected. This plan started in 1980 when there were about 3.5 million cases of the disease. It started out all across Africa and Asia but now is only in Sudan, Ethiopia, and Mali. The Carter Centre plans to be rid of the disease completely by 2015.

I think what our former president, Mr. Carter, is trying to do is just wonderful. It’s good to see him reaching out to other countries to help solve a problem that doesn’t even affect the US and to stick with his plan and care so much. However, I hate that it has taken over 30 years and counting for them to completely eradicate it. Until reading this article, I never even knew this disease existed and that so many people across the world had the disease. What makes it even worse is that there is no cure or vaccine.

http://www.thestatecolumn.com/health/guinea-worm-jimmy-carter-eradication-cash/

Blog #5: Listeria outbreak in cantaloupes

There has been a terrible outbreak in the world dealing with cantaloupe. Cantaloupes grown on Jenson farm have been recalled because of listeria found in them. Listeria is more deadly, yet less known, than pathogens such as salmonella and E. coli. Symptoms of listeria include fever, muscle aches, gastrointestinal issues, and could even cause the victim to be unable to speak. Listeria is usually not found in produce, however, in the past two years there have been outbreaks in sprouts and celery. So far, there has been 72 illnesses and 16 deaths reported as a result of this outbreak. Officials say that even though these cantaloupes have been recalled and are no longer being sold, the count of deaths from this outbreak could keep increasing. The reason for that being is because you could get contaminated with listeria but not show symptoms until weeks later. Many of these deaths have been in older people. Listeria usually kills the elderly, pregnant women, and those with weak immune symptoms while giving most healthy adults no ill effects. FDA said these contaminated cantaloupes were shipped from Jenson farms from July 29^th through September 10^th to many different states. The FDA is not saying how this contamination happened. They are still investigating.

Coming from a family that loves to eat cantaloupe, this is just very shocking because cantaloupe is one of the last things you would expect to be killing people. I would really like to know how the contamination even started, where they went wrong. Also, if they were grown on a farm that sells other things, wouldn’t there be a high chance that everything else or some other things grown on that farm are contaminated as well? It’s very disturbing knowing that so many people are dying from eating cantaloupes right now.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/28/ap/health/main20113075.shtml?tag=re1.channel

Blog # 4 UN Promises on Non-communicable Diseases

The United Nations general assembly met this week in New York to touch bases with global problems such as climate change & health that could have negative long-term effects later in life. During this meeting, they had a special meeting all for non-communicable diseases like cancer, heart disease, & respiratory illness. The last “special meeting” they had about health issues was about 10 years ago to talk about HIV & AIDS. That meeting led to the creation of UNAIDS. Professor K. M. Venkat Narayan of Emory University says that there is not enough commitment to reduce these non-communicable diseases. Basically, trying to lower the statistics of these types of diseases is much harder then fighting the infectious diseases seeing as how some of those are completely gone, yet, the non-communicable diseases are increasing exponentially. They say the a major step in this process must take place in the policy & corporate arena, that is, discourage harmful things such as smoking & processed foods & getting people to change. However, Michael Bloomberg states that “there are powers only governments can exercise, policies only governments can mandate and enforce, and results only governments can achieve.”

I definitely agree that more steps should be taken on the government level to prevent these type of diseases. My mother and grandmother both survived cancer while my grandfather passed away in March from lung cancer. So, things like going that extra mile to lower the rates of these diseases really mean a lot to me. However, I do think they should have held this meeting a lot sooner. After all, the last meeting of this sort was about 10 years ago. Very, very recently am I starting to see more promoting of healthier foods instead of the “food” they sell at fast food restaurants. On the contrary, it seems as if they have stopped showing the anti-smoking commercials. I wonder why…? These diseases can’t be stopped completely, however, as Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser states “NCDs are altering demographics, they are stunting development and they are impacting economic growth” & I completely agree.

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2011/09/22/u-n-health-talks-promise-global-action-on-heart-disease-diabetes-cancer/

Blog #3 Afghanistan & the Fight against Polio

Afghanistan is taking ultimate measure to eradicate polio by the end of next year. Polio (Poliomyelitis) is a viral disease that can affect nerves and can lead to partial or full paralysis. Polio has become a serious problem in children mainly under 2 in places such as Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nigeria, & Chad. Security has become a huge factor in slowing down the process of getting completely rid of the disease.

Officials are unable to give a lot of children under the age of 5 the vaccine because of insecurities. 85 % of the population is now polio free but it’s still going around in 13 districts. Officials are doing everything from making it a public issue, to campaigning, to going door to door to inform everyone & put a stop to it.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=93735 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002375/

Blog #2 Brazilian Blowouts

Brazilian Blowout- Through the use of a Brazilian Super Nutrient Complex and a proprietary polymer system, the Brazilian Blowout actually improves the condition of the hair by creating a protective protein layer around the hair shaft to eliminate frizz and smooth the cuticle. The end result is smooth, healthy, frizz-free hair with radiant shine.

They provide all these great details about it and everything but don’t include any warnings such as “this product contains formaldehyde and could cause cancer.” It was first brought to attention by a hairstylist who began to get nosebleeds, trouble breathing, & other serious symptoms. Oregon’s Health & Science University’s Center for Research on Occupational & Environmental Toxicology looked into it. There were even lawsuits put into action over this but the lawsuits keep going back and forth.

“OSHA requires manufacturers to list formaldehyde on a product’s material safety data sheet at levels exceeding 0.1 %” Certain products used for Brazilian blowouts failed to do so. It’s like they’re playing the Zero-Sum game with the world- they know it could cause patients in people yet they’re determined to still make a profit off of it. Now, even with tons & tons of people knowing about this & what risks it brings, they’re STILL using it, even taking such measures as wearing gas masks just to go get these Brazilian Blowouts. It started out as a SOCIAL PROBLEM but now it’s turning into a PERSONAL ISSUE.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/brazilian-blowout-fda-warns-formaldehyde-false-labeling/story?id=14471900&page=2

http://www.brazilianstyles.com/what-is-the-brazilian-blowout.html

Blog #1: Asia & Bird Flu Virus

The UN (United Nations) Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) warned Asia that the deadly bird flu has returned. Also known as H5N1-2.3.2.1. Since 2003 it has infected 565 people and killed 331. The latest death being earlier in the month in Cambodia.

Not too long ago, the world was affected by H1N1, which is another strand of the virus (also called swine flu). It's cause was pigs, hence "swine" flu. Now the birds are carrying it to Europe and Asia.

Asides from keeping it from returning, officials are taking steps to further prevent it by keeping a close eye on the animals as well as importing new vaccines, HOWEVER, no vaccines have been created for the new strand of H5N1. Bangladesh, China, India, Egypt, Indonesia, and Vietnam are the one's to be affected most.

http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/Social-Isssues/214966/UN-warns-Asia-of-mutant-strain-of-bird-flu-virus.html

Lesa Barnum. 9/1/11 Health/Disease