Public Health
Australia’s ‘Dr Death’ kind, smart—Indian hometown
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An Indian-born surgeon dubbed “Dr Death” who has been linked to the deaths of 87 Australian patients is a kind and brilliant man with a passion for playing cricket, said his family and friends.
Jayant Patel, who left Australia in March and could face murder, negligence and fraud charges if he returns, was the brightest student ever to pass through the medical college in his hometown of Jamnagar, on the west Indian coast, they said.
Dutch doctor in UK organ scandal found guilty
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A Dutch doctor at the centre of a British hospital scandal was found guilty of serious professional misconduct on Monday for removing organs from the bodies of 850 dead children without their parents’ consent.
The General Medical Council (GMC) ordered Professor Dick van Velzen be struck off the UK medical register after his actions at the Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool, northern England.
Many child workers abused in Indonesian homes
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The Indonesian government is ignoring the widespread physical and sexual abuse of hundreds of thousands of young girls working as maids in homes around the country, an international human rights watchdog said on Monday.
Human Rights Watch said in a 74-page report that some of the children interviewed had described being denied food and wages and beaten and raped by their employers.
Indian women fight back against rape epidemic
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For years, rape victims in India were too afraid to speak out, traumatized by the assault and fearful they would be blamed themselves. Many don’t trust the police.
Now, they are learning to fight back.
Rattled by a series of brutal rapes across the country, almost 3,000 women from 15 to 50 packed into a park in the Indian capital last weekend for self-defense classes that included elements of judo, karate and taekwondo.
Embryos cloned from human eggs matured in lab
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Belgian scientists said on Monday they have cloned the first human embryos from unripe eggs matured in the laboratory, an achievement that could help to overcome a stumbling block in stem cell research.
Until now, scientists who have managed to clone human embryos have used donated mature eggs, which are in short supply.
Friends may be key to living longer
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Looking for the secret of a long life? Look closely at your friends. New research suggests that having a strong network of friends helps people live longer.
“Older people with better social networks with friends were less likely to die over a 10-year follow-up period than older people with poorer friends networks,” Lynne C. Giles of Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia, told Reuters Health.
But in what may come as a surprising finding to older people who rely on their children and other relatives, having a large network of relatives was not associated with longer life, Giles and her colleagues report in the July issue of the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
Somalia to begin anti-polio drive this week
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Volunteers in anarchic Somalia this week will launch a United Nations-backed polio immunization drive to prevent the disease from spreading to the country from nearby Ethiopia and Yemen. Both of those countries are the latest two of 16 previously polio-free west and central African nations where the paralysis causing disease has re-appeared.
“The outbreaks of polio in Ethiopia and Yemen, coupled with large population movements between Somalia and its neighbours have put Somali children at risk of polio,” Dr. David Heymann, the U.N. World Health Organization’s (WHO) polio eradication representative, said in a statement.
US speeding deaths up as speed limits rise
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Speeding-related deaths have gone up gradually on many major U.S. roads since Congress abolished the mandatory 55 mph (88.5 kph) per hour speed limit in 1995, an analysis of federal safety data showed on Wednesday.
A report released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showed about a third of all traffic deaths were related to speeding between 1983 and 2002, the last year figures were analyzed for speeding.
Brazilian doctors uncover ‘Michelangelo code’
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Two Brazilian doctors and amateur art lovers believe they have uncovered a secret lesson on human anatomy hidden by Renaissance artist Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling.
Completed nearly 500 years ago, the brightly colored frescoes painted on the Vatican’s famous sanctuary are considered some of the world’s greatest works of art. They depict Biblical scenes such as the “Creation of Adam” in which God reaches out to touch Adam’s finger.
No plan for Italy abortion campaign, cleric says
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A leading cleric has dampened speculation that the Vatican could campaign to change Italy’s abortion law after its victory in defence of the country’s highly restrictive fertility legislation.
Low voter turnout on Sunday and Monday sank a hard-fought referendum aimed at dismantling the fertility law as Italians heeded the Roman Catholic Church’s call for a boycott.
“We are certainly opposed to abortion, but we don’t want to change the law,” said Cardinal Camillo Ruini, president of the Italian bishops’ conference who spearheaded the boycott campaign.
Limited medical insurance not much help
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A little health insurance is not much better than none at all, according to a study released on Tuesday.
Officially, about 45 million people in the U.S. go without health insurance, but 16 million people pay for limited coverage that puts them in about the same boat financially and medically as those with no insurance at all, the study found.
These “underinsured” individuals are nearly as likely to be the target of medical bill collectors and to forego needed medical care, the study published in the journal Health Affairs found.
One in 15 UK doctors has drink/drug problem -BMA
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One in 15 British doctors has had a problem with alcohol or drugs but the profession is in denial and needs government help, a British Medical Association (BMA) chief said on Monday.
BMA Ethics Committee chairman Michael Wilks told the BBC the government needed to do more to help.
U.S. moves to spur digital health record network
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The U.S. government is taking steps to help spawn a nationwide network of electronic medical records that are easily accessible but protect patient privacy, Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt said on Monday.
A new advisory panel will make recommendations aimed at prodding the private sector to establish standards so medical records can be shared throughout the health-care system, Leavitt said.
No human clones this century - stem cell expert
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There will be no human clones this century because the work is dangerous, complicated and unethical, a South Korea scientist at the forefront of stem cell research and cloning technology said on Tuesday.
“I don’t think we will have any chance to meet a cloned human being within the next 100 years, at least,” said Woo-Suk Hwang, the head of a team of South Korean scientists who cloned the first human embryo to use for research.
Afghans head to remote mountains in polio battle
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Afghan health workers battling polio will set off into remote mountains next week hoping to reach about two million children who missed an immunization drive because they were cut off by heavy snow.
Afghanistan is on the verge of eradicating polio with only one case reported so far this year compared with 27 in 2000.
“The campaign is a vital step in ensuring that no children are missed in the nationwide effort,” Edward Carwardine, a spokesman for the U.N. Children’s Fund, said on Thursday.
