Flu viruses can quickly swap genes—study
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Strains of the influenza virus are constantly swapping genes among themselves and giving rise to new, dangerous strains at a rate faster than previously believed, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.
They found that slightly mutated influenza A strains in New York that circulated between 1999 and 2004 gave rise to the so-called Fujian strain that caused a troublesome outbreak in the 2003-2004 flu season.
Such events probably are what lead to the occasional pandemics of flu that can kill millions of people, David Lipman and colleagues at the National Institutes of Health found.
S. African donates blood for record 350th time
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An elderly South African broke his own Guinness world record Tuesday when he donated blood for the 350th time, inspired by the enduring memory of a terrible accident he witnessed as a child.
The South African National Blood Service said in a statement that 79-year-old Maurice Creswick had cracked his own record for the fourteenth time and that he donated 480 mL of his blood every 56 days.
Weaker strain may explain nonfatal monkeypox in US
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When a monkeypox outbreak in 2003 affected 72 individuals in the US but not one of them died, scientists were puzzled because the virus’ fatality rate is commonly reported to be 10 percent. A new study, reported in the July issue of Virology, provides a possible answer for this mystery: the monkeypox virus introduced in the US was a different, less virulent strain than the typical strain.
The 2003 US outbreak was blamed on the importation of monkeypox-carrying pets from Africa. As it turns out, not all monkeypox viruses in Africa are the same. The strains from the Congo basin can be deadly, whereas those from West Africa cause a less severe infection.
High DDT levels found in breast milk of HK mothers
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High levels of DDT were found in the breast milk of new mothers in Hong Kong even though the pesticide has long been banned in many places, including Hong Kong and China, a scientist said on Friday.
The findings by researchers from Hong Kong’s Baptist University suggest that DDT is still being illegally used in mainland China, on which Hong Kong depends for most of its food supplies, he said.
Suspected Russia bird flu seen no threat to humans
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A disease discovered in poultry in Russia and suspected to be the country’s first case of bird flu is unlikely to pose a threat to humans, a senior Health Ministry official said on Friday.
“The disease was discovered some 10 days ago and people who have since come into contact with the affected birds have shown no symptoms of illness. And the flu shows itself in one or two days,” said Galina Lazikova, deputy chief epidemiologist.
Study question effectiveness of alcoholism therapy
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An alcoholic’s desire to quit drinking, rather than the effects of therapy, may be what determines success, according to a new report.
The report, based on a reanalysis of a major study of three approaches to alcoholism, concludes that none of the strategies is particularly effective if the patient is not motivated to quit.
Many Indonesians brush off bird flu risk
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Indonesians have mostly shrugged off the risks from bird flu despite the deaths of three members of a family this month from the virus, the first in the world’s fourth most populous country.
“In the streets of Jakarta, we still find motorists carrying dozens of chickens without protection,” an editorial in Media Indonesia newspaper said on Friday.
French charity airlifts emergency food to Niger
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A French charity airlifted emergency food supplies to Niger on Thursday where aid workers have been calling for months for help to save thousands of children from starving to death, a U.N. agency said.
Relief groups are beginning to expand operations in Niger to help some of the 3.6 million people facing severe food shortages, following increasingly urgent appeals from the few aid workers present since harvests failed in October.
Indonesia prepares hospitals for bird flu care, checks
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Indonesia is preparing 44 hospitals across the sprawling archipelago for treatment and detection of bird flu after recording its first deaths from the virus, the health minister said on Thursday.
Siti Fadillah Supari also told reporters authorities were yet to determine how a government official and his two young daughters living in a Jakarta suburb contracted the H5N1 strain of the virus.
Carbon monoxide poisoning tied to generator use
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In a study of 10 hospitals in Florida, the vast majority of carbon monoxide (CO) poisonings that occurred during the 2004 hurricane season were related to the use of gasoline-powered portable generators. Six of the generator-related poisonings proved fatal.
“To avoid CO poisoning, portable generators need to be operated outside of any building and far away from doors, windows or air conditioners,” study co-author Dr. David Van Sickle, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, told Reuters Health.
Wife influences husband’s marijuana use
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A newlywed wife can help determine whether her husband smokes marijuana, New York state-based researchers reported Wednesday.
The researchers found that when people in their 20s first marry, husbands are more likely to start or resume smoking marijuana if their wives smoke it, and are more likely to stop smoking marijuana if their spouses do not smoke.
U.S. lawmakers renew call for abortion pill ban
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Several conservative lawmakers on Wednesday urged Congress to order a halt to sales of the abortion pill RU-486 and require further safety review after the drug’s maker announced that five women taking it had died from bacterial infections.
The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday alerted the public to the deaths and new warning information on the drug’s label. But the lawmakers said that is inadequate.
“Congress needs to act to take this deadly drug off the market and force a serious review of its safety,” said South Carolina Republican Sen.
Relationships matter for sex after menopause
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Changes in relationship status or negative feelings about partners both have significant impacts on women’s sex lives after menopause, and have a stronger influence than hormone levels, researchers from Australia and Europe have found.
These findings demonstrate “the powerful effects of psychosocial factors on female sexual function,” write Dr. Lorraine Dennerstein of the University of Melbourne and her colleagues in the journal Fertility and Sterility.
Croatia confronts sexual abuse of children
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Croatia is coming to terms with a type of crime it never addressed under communism - the sexual abuse of children.
Several investigations undertaken by prosecutors in recent weeks show child abuse and paedophilia may be more widespread than the staunchly Roman Catholic country cares to admit.
Officials ordered inspections of state orphanages earlier this month after two girls in a state-run home in the coastal town of Pula said a cook tried to rape them.
Antidepressant efficacy may be overblown
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Antidepressants, for the most part, do not provide meaningful benefit, two investigators in the UK argue in a report in the British Medical Journal this week, having reviewed published medical evidence on antidepressant efficacy.
Most people with depression are often initially prescribed an antidepressant by their doctor. Prescriptions for these medications have risen dramatically in the last decade.
In an interview with Reuters Health, Dr. Joanna Moncrieff, an author of the report, said, “I do not think there is such a thing as a drug that will specifically relieve depression.
