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Mesothelioma: A Killer
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Snow peas blamed for diarrhea outbreak
Last Updated: 2004-09-24 13:01:42 -0400 (Reuters Health)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Several cases of food poisoning that occurred in Pennsylvania earlier this year represent the first time infection with the parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis (cyclosporiasis) has been associated with snow peas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Between June and July, public health officials were informed of several cases of cyclosporiasis among residents, staff, and volunteers associated with a residential facility. CDC investigators examined stool samples from several patients and confirmed it was cyclosporiasis, caused by C. cayetanensis.
The findings appear in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
A total of 40 laboratory-confirmed and 56 probable cases of cyclosporiasis were identified. The investigators found that everyone who got sick had attended at least one of five special events catered by the facility. This led them to look for a food item that was served at all of these events, but not at other events--only a pasta salad fulfilled this requirement.
Examination of the salad revealed that only one ingredient--snow peas--was used in all the batches served at the events, was taken from one container, and was not served at other meals outside of the events.
The investigators were unable to directly implicate the snow peas because they were discarded after the last event and, therefore, could not be tested for evidence of the presence of C. cayetanesis.
Still, the circumstantial evidence strongly implicated the peas as the source of the outbreak. The US Food and Drug Administration later became involved and traced the peas to an exporter in Guatemala.
SOURCE: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, September 24, 2004.
Copyright © 2004 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
Bird flu may have killed two more Thais
Last Updated: 2004-09-23 10:56:05 -0400 (Reuters Health)
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand fears bird flu, which has already killed nine people in the country this year, may have killed two more, officials said on Thursday.
Laboratory tests were being carried out after two children died in Kamphang Phet Province, 360 km (225 miles) north of Bangkok following the deaths of chickens at their homes, the Health Ministry said in a statement.
An 11-year-old girl died from severe lung infection on September 12 after five chickens raised by her family died late last month, it said.
A 13-year-old boy died on Tuesday after being ill for a week following the death of 20 chickens at his home.
The ministry said it was still monitoring 11 suspected cases of the H5N1 bird flu, which has also killed 20 Vietnamese since it swept through much of Asia early this year.
Thailand , Vietnam, Cambodia and China have reported recurrences in recent weeks and Malaysia has been hit for the first time by a disease that has prompted the slaughter of tens of millions of poultry.
Copyright © 2004 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
Report: fat kids cost U.S. schools money and more
Last Updated: 2004-09-23 15:19:06 -0400 (Reuters Health)
By Maggie Fox
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Obese children are costing U.S. schools millions of dollars every year in lost funding and may be lowering test scores as well, a report released by a former U.S. surgeon general said on Thursday.
It urges schools, along with parents, to get kids moving and improve their nutrition.
"Schools have the unique opportunity, even the responsibility, to teach and model healthful eating and physical activity, both in theory and in practice," said Dr. David Satcher, a former U.S. surgeon general who helped found a nonprofit group called Action for Healthy Kids.
"Improving children's health likely improves school performance, and it may even help a school's bottom line. Therefore, schools have a vested interest in improving the nutrition and increasing the physical activity of their students," added Satcher, who served as surgeon general from 1998 to 2002.
The group reviewed several studies to find evidence linking fat, malnourished children with poor grades.
They found, for example, that:
-- Schools with high percentages of students who did not regularly exercise or eat well had smaller gains in test scores than did other schools.
-- Children who do not get the recommended basic vitamins and minerals have lower test scores, are absent more, have difficulty concentrating and have less energy.
-- Physical activity programs are linked to increased concentration and improved math, reading, and writing test scores.
-- Students taking daily physical education classes missed fewer classes, had a more positive attitude to school and earned better grades.
"The majority of American youth [is] sedentary and do not eat well," the report says.
"These unhealthful practices can lead to learning problems in school and health-related problems that may begin during school-age years and continue into adulthood."
The percentage of U.S. children who are overweight has tripled since 1980 to 16 percent, or 9 million, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Not only do they risk early heart disease, diabetes and cancer, but their learning can be affected, too, the report says.
"One study found that severely overweight students miss, on average, one day per month or nine days per year, and that absenteeism rates among these students are six times higher than for their non-overweight peers," the report reads.
ATTENDANCE, STATE FUNDING
The report made an estimate of the potential impact of poor nutrition, physical inactivity, and weight problems on attendance, and thus on school funding.
Some states use attendance to help determine state funding for schools, and a single-day absence by one student costs anywhere between $9 and $20.
"Using an estimate of the rate of absenteeism among overweight students, combined with an average prevalence of overweight students, this may lead to a potential loss of state aid of $95,000 per year in an average-sized school district in Texas, and $160,000 per year in an average-sized California school district," the report reads.
"The loss in large cities is likely to be much higher; for example, New York City could lose about $28 million each year, while Chicago could forfeit an estimated $9 million and Los Angeles an estimated $15 million."
Other costs include extra staff time to help troubled students as well as time needed to give drugs to children with chronic weight- and nutrition-related illnesses.
"Schools cannot afford to act as if student health is somebody else's problem," said the Action for Healthy Kids' Gene Carter.
Copyright © 2004 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
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