2/12/15 Health News: Mad Cow Case in Canada -- STORE STOPS SELLING FROZEN RACCOONS -- Combat Illnesses During Flu Season-- Placenta accreta -- Women with type 1 diabetes at significantly higher risk of dying early

Mad cow case detected in Canada Food authorities on Friday confirmed a case of mad cow disease in Canada's Alberta province, this nation's first outbreak of the illness since 2011. Veterinary officials at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said that the infected cow was diagnosed before being slaughtered Continue Reading

CA STORE STOPS SELLING FROZEN RACCOONS AFTER HEALTH DEPARTMENT VISIT Inspectors from the Los Angeles County Health Department reportedly visited the Metro Supermarket in Temple City, CA, on Tuesday after being informed that the store was selling raccoons as food. Store employees indicated they had entire frozen and bagged raccoons selling for $9.99 per pound.Continue Reading

Cleaning, Sanitizing And Disinfecting To Combat Illnesses During Flu Season Eliminating illness causing germs from reaching our families is a focus during cold and flu season. To accomplish this, the use of chlorine bleach to sanitize surfaces is a common practice. “Chlorine bleach is a very effective sanitizer and disinfectant on disease causing germs Continue Reading

Pregnant woman with placenta accreta saved When Patricia Perich, 41, was 24 weeks pregnant with her fourth child, she was diagnosed with a potentially fatal condition called placenta accreta. This condition occurs when blood vessels from the placenta grow too deeply into the uterus Continue Reading

Women with type 1 diabetes at significantly higher risk of dying early compared with men Women with type 1 diabetes face a 40% increased excess risk of early death from all causes, and have more than twice the risk of dying from heart disease, compared to men with type 1 diabetes. Continue Reading

4/25/14 Mad Cow Disease in Brazil ♦ EPA ASKED TO HALT PESTICIDE USE ON APPLES ♦ Boston Banning Deadliest Pathogens ♦ Pentagon Seeks More Funds to Counter Bio Weapons

BRAZIL INVESTIGATES SECOND POSSIBLE MAD COW CASE SINCE 2010

A second possible case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or Mad Cow disease, in Brazil is coming in for public scrutiny much sooner than the first, which was discovered in 2010. Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture says it is investigating why an animal with symptoms of “nerve disease” collapsed at a slaughterhouse in the state of... Continue Reading

EPA ASKED TO HALT PESTICIDE USE ON APPLES UNTIL NEW SAFETY STUDIES ARE DONE

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to halt use of a pesticide commonly applied to conventionally grown apples to limit storage damage until EPA has done further safety studies. EWG’s president, Ken Cook, wrote EPA on Thursday asking that the agency launch a new investigation to determine... Continue Reading

Are You Programmed to Enjoy Exercise?

It’s possible that some of us are born not to run. According to an eye-opening new genetics study of lab rats, published in The Journal of Physiology, the motivation to exercise — or not — may be at least partly inherited. Continue Reading

Boston Considers Banning Deadliest Pathogens From new Biolab

Boston is set this week to debate whether to ban a new, downtown biodefense laboratory from studying some of the world's deadliest disease agents. A city council hearing is expected to consider a proposed city wide prohibition on so-called "Biosafety Level 4" research, which can involve diseases for which there are no known cures. Continue Reading

Pentagon Seeks More Funds to Counter Bio Weapons

The Pentagon wants to spend more money on a secret program to track weapons of mass destruction because of new information showing an increased need to locate chemical and biological weapons, military budget plans show. Continue Reading

1/22/14 Health News: "Mad Cow Disease" in Germany - Screening Pregnant Women for Diabetes - New Blood for Heart Attack,

GERMANY IDENTIFIES FIRST ‘MAD COW’ CASE SINCE 2009

German officials have identified one beef cow with a case of bovine spongiform encephalitis (BSE), the fatal neurological disorder also known as “Mad Cow Disease.” This is Germany’s first reported case since 2009. The cow was killed and its body destroyed, with none of the meat entering the human food chain. Health officials said that... Continue Reading

New ‘Sunshine Act’ Requirements Will Track and Publish Financial Relationships Providers Have With Healthcare Vendors

Some physicians fear disclosure of payments by drug and medical device companies could damage patient confidence and physician-patient relationships. Over the course of 2014, pathologists and medical laboratory managers will experience a different relationship with in vitro diagnostic (IVD) manufacturers and other lab industry vendors. That’s because a new federal law requires vendors to publicly disclose financial and other arrangements they have with providers. That law is the Physician Payment Sunshine Act, and it became effective on August 21, 2013. The intent of this new law is to shed light on financial aspects of relationships between physicians and healthcare vendors.Continue reading

Screen All Pregnant Women for Diabetes, Task Force Says

All pregnant women should be screened for gestational diabetes, an independent task force advised, endorsing a test that most doctors routinely perform. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force found an overall benefit to screening and treatment, including a reduced risk of preeclampsia in pregnant patients and of having an overly large baby and birth-related injuries to the newborn. The task force’s recommendation noted that 96 percent of obstetricians screen for the condition, and that other medical groups also recommend screening. The group said women with no history of diabetes should be screened after 24 weeks of pregnancy.Continue Reading

New Blood Test for Heart Attack?

A blood test might eventually help detect the early stages of a heart attack, and another challenger to warfarin takes its case to the FDA. Early clinical results suggested that it might be possible to develop a blood test to determine who is at the highest immediate risk for a myocardial infarction.Source continue reading