March 24th 2009
This week in medicine
The following will appear in the Mar 28 issue of The Lancet:
Baby boomers 4 317 000 children were born in the USA during 2007, a new record. The figures, released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, represent an increase in birth rate for all reproductive ages, including teenagers. Also increasing are the number of unmarried mothers, who accounted for 40% of births in 2007, and deliveries by caesarean section, accounting for 32% of births.
Rabies strategy WHO and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have backed a programme to immunise stray and pet dogs against rabies in the Philippines, South Africa, and Tanzania. Canine rabies immunisations are cheaper and more readily available than are human vaccines, and it is hoped that this programme will boost efforts to fight rabies-a disease that kills one person every 10 min.
Alcopop tax The Australian Government’s proposal to increase tax on premixed spirit drinks (alcopops) by 70% has been rejected by the Senate. The government lost by one vote after failing to bow to pressure from an independent senator to remove alcohol advertising from daytime sports broadcasts. AUS$290 million in taxes that have already been collected must now be returned to distillers.
Bad bubble bath Chinese health authorities have begun testing Johnson & Johnson baby bath products after claims from a US consumer group that the products contain carcinogenic chemicals. The US Food and Drug Administration and other government agencies consider the trace amount of chemicals in these products safe. Nonggongshang Supermarket Group, based in Shanghai, has removed all affected products from its 3500 stores.
French revolution The French National Assembly has adopted a bill modernising the country’s health system. Measures set out in the bill will target accessibility, quality, and safety of care and create regional health agencies responsible for coordinating health care across facilities in each region, improving connections with social care, and undertaking public health campaigns.
Right-to-die debate Terminally ill patients in Uruguay might be granted the right to refuse life-prolonging treatment after the country’s Congress passed a law allowing the move last week. Relatives of terminally ill patients who are unconscious might also be allowed to suspend treatment under the new bill, which has yet to be approved by President Tabare Vazquez.
Child surgery risk A report from the UK’s Healthcare Commission has found that in 70% of hospital trusts the infrequency of child surgery has resulted in inadequate training and experience for surgeons and anaesthetists. The report also highlighted that three in ten trusts lack basic training in child protection and abuse recognition.
Philanthropy Pharmaceutical company Merck has donated a licence for an experimental antimalarial drug to the non-profit group, Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV). MMV will develop the drug, which Merck will have the option to partner in the future. It is hoped that the arrangement will allow for faster clinical development of drugs that are in demand in developing countries.
Suicide in Sri Lanka Suicide rates in Sri Lanka have fallen over the past few years, according to police records. The country used to have one of the world’s highest rates of suicide but numbers have dropped from 8449 in 1995, to 4504 in 2006, and 4225 in 2007. However, health professionals are concerned about the growing number of people who end their lives with poison.
Antibiotics A bill has been introduced in the US House of Representatives that would ban the non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in livestock. The use of antibiotics in healthy animals to counteract unsanitary conditions and encourage weight gain has led to claims that overuse has created strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that could pose a danger to humans.
Bird flu in Egypt WHO has confirmed that a 38-year-old Egyptian woman has been diagnosed with H5N1 avian influenza, bringing the national total to 59 cases, including 23 deaths since 2006. Reports from the Egyptian Health Ministry suggest that contact with sick or dead poultry could have been involved in the recent case.
Climate change The WHO European Region and German Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety have launched an initiative to protect health from climate change. Seven countries will participate, including Russia, with activities ranging from development of extreme-weather response plans to a focus on renewable energy sources for health services.
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