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July 2008
- US Health Care Stinks: Study
  
  newser | Reuters | Jul 17, 08 10:33 AM CDT
  
  The US health care system gets dismal grades in a ranking of 19 industrialized countries, Reuters reports. A private foundation looked at key indicators like efficiency and access, and found the US did very poorly despite spending the most money—putting it last on the list. Health-care dollars were squandered on administrative costs and illnesses caused by medical errors. More »
  
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  health care • public health • health study • health care costs • medical errors • mortality rates
- Teen Pregnancy on Rise for 1st Time in 15 Years
  
  newser | CNN | Jul 11, 08 5:06 AM CDT
  
  The teen pregnancy rate increased in 2006 for the first time since 1991, reports CNN. Officials from the National Institutes of Health aren't sure if the 2.8% increase in the number of teen moms is a blip or the start of a trend, but the figures are a "red flag that something has gone wrong," one expert told Bloomberg. More »
  
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  pregnancy • public health • teen pregnancy • teenager • National Institutes of Health
- Salmonella Now Largest Food-Borne Outbreak in US
  
  newser | LiveScience | Jul 9, 08 7:30 PM CDT
  
  The number of salmonella cases has surpassed 1,000, making it the nation's largest food-borne outbreak, says the CDC. Despite the volume of cases, investigators still can't quite pinpoint the exact cause or source, LiveScience reports. Certain types of tomatoes, hot peppers and cilantro—the main ingredients of salsa—remain the main suspects. More »
  
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  public health • food safety • tomatoes • salmonella • food contamination
June 2008
- Polluting Pentagon Rebuffs EPA Orders
  
  newser | Washington Post | Jun 30, 08 8:00 AM CDT
  
  The Pentagon is holding out on an Environmental Protection Agency order to clean up pollutants from three military bases where chemicals have become an "imminent and substantial" threat to the public health and environment, the Washington Post reports. The Defense Department also won’t sign contracts to clean up 12 other military sites listed among the most polluted areas in the US. Instead, it has sought federal backing to deny the EPA’s power to issue such orders. More »
  
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  environment • Pentagon • public health • Environmental Protection Agency • Department of Defense • Pentagon waste • hazardous chemicals • pollutants
- Percentage of Teen Smokers Holds Steady at 20%
  
  newser | Washington Post | Jun 28, 08 10:04 PM CDT
  
  The number of teens who smoke has stopped declining, and anti-smoking activists worry that complacency is setting in, the Washington Post reports. The latest survey shows that 20% of kids between the ages of 13 and 17 light up, a figure that has generally held steady since 2003. It remains a marked improvement from the figure of 36.4% n 1997, but the leveling off has health officials worried. More »
  
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  public health • teenagers • cigarettes • tobacco • tobacco companies • teen smoking
- Chicago Watchful for Second Helping of Tainted Taste
  
  newser | Chicago Tribune | Jun 27, 08 1:56 PM CDT
  
  With news still coming of people stricken by tomatoes tainted with salmonella, health officials say they're taking full precautions to prevent another outbreak at this year's Taste of Chicago, the Tribune reports. Booths will be inspected four times a day for sanitary conditions at the event, which begins today—though authorities warn they don't test actual dishes for safety. More »
  
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  Chicago • food • public health • tomatoes • salmonella • bacteria • Taste of Chicago
- City Plans to Test Every Bronx Adult for HIV
  
  newser | New York Times | Jun 26, 08 3:50 AM CDT
  
  City officials aim to test every Bronx adult for HIV by 2011 under an ambitious initiative to tackle the high rate of AIDS deaths in the borough, the New York Times reports. The voluntary testing would become routine in emergency rooms and storefront clinics and would pare down consent requirements into a 5-minute presentation health care providers could quickly run through. More »
  
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  New York • public health • AIDS • HIV/AIDS • AIDS prevention • Bronx
- Tomato Salmonella Cases Rise to 383 in 30 States
  
  newser | Associated Press | Jun 18, 08 7:31 PM CDT
  
  Federal health officials have learned of 106 more cases of salmonella linked to tainted tomatoes, putting the outbreak's total to 383 and counting. Most of this newest influx of cases were people who got sick weeks ago but had not been counted previously. Some states began doing closer checking for salmonella as the outbreak has dragged on. The last known sickness occurred on June 5. More »
  
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  FDA • public health • food safety • tomatoes • salmonella
- New Shower Curtains Smell Like Cancer
  
  newser | Los Angeles Times | Jun 12, 08 5:40 PM CDT
  
  Ever wonder about that smell given off by new shower curtains? Well, according to a new study, it’s poisonous. An independent organization has found that PVC shower curtains on shelves at Wal-Mart, Target, Sears and others may give off measurable amounts of dangerous, volatile organic compounds that could linger for up to a month, the Los Angeles Times reports. More »
  
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  public health • Environmental Protection Agency • retail • plastic • scientific study
- US Firms Balk at EU Crackdown on Chemicals
  
  newser | Washington Post | Jun 12, 08 1:57 PM CDT
  
  The European Union has passed a series of tough new laws requiring companies to prove that the chemicals in their products are safe, the Washington Post reports. The rule is the exact opposite of US law—which requires proof that a chemical is dangerous before it can be regulated—and manufacturers say it will add billions to their costs. More »
  
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  cancer • European Union • public health • chemicals • product safety • consumer safety
- $10 Mosquito Nets Move Young Donors to Save Lives
  
  newser | New York Times | Jun 2, 08 9:11 AM CDT
  
  Mosquito nets, at $10 a pop, are a low-cost, effective way to prevent malaria—and they've become a cause célèbre for young people across the country, who've raised millions in donation drives, the New York Times reports. “You can say $10 saves a life,” says one young fundraiser. “That makes students feel they can help a lot. And every student has $10.” More »
  
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  Africa • public health • malaria • mosquito
May 2008
- San Francisco, Seattle Top US Fittest Cities List
  
  newser | USA Today | May 30, 08 12:50 PM CDT
  
  San Francisco has narrowly edged out Seattle for the distinction of being America's fittest big city, says a new study released by the American College of Sports Medicine. Judging 16 large metropolitan areas on factors ranging from exercise frequency and fruit intake to the availability of parks and public transportation, the study put Los Angeles near the bottom, reports USA Today. More »
  
  Tags
  
  Los Angeles • San Francisco • Detroit • public health • Boston • exercise • Seattle • fitness • healthy eating • commuting • parks
- C-Sections Propel Jump in Preemies
  
  newser | Los Angeles Times | May 29, 08 11:56 AM CDT
  
  The number of US babies born before reaching normal gestation jumped by a third from 1996 to 2004, the Los Angeles Times reports, with Cesarean sections accounting for much of the rise. With health risks and high costs associated with premature babies, the trend presents "a serious problem," the March of Dimes Foundation's medical director warns. More »
  
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  public health • childbirth • premature birth • premature babies • preterm birth rate • cesarean section
- Bad Habits: It's Who You Know
  
  newser | Washington Post | May 26, 08 4:48 PM CDT
  
  If your friends all jumped off a bridge, you'd probably listen to your mom and not follow them, but how about if they started exercising? New research into social networks—in 3D, not on MySpace or Facebook—shows people are more likely to quit smoking or lose weight if someone close to them does likewise. The search for other applications is on, reports the Washington Post. More »
  
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  social networking • obesity • public health • smoking
- Toad Venom Aphrodisiac Kills NYC Man
  
  newser | Associated Press | May 23, 08 9:25 PM CDT
  
  New York City officials warned people today to avoid a toad venom-based aphrodisiac that recently killed a man, the AP reports. The illegal love drug, often sold as Jamaican Stone or Chinese Rock, is harmful whether ingested or applied to the skin. "There is no definitely safe way to use it,” one official said. Similar drugs have killed at least five New Yorkers since the early 1990s. More »
  
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  New York City • public health • accidental death • frogs • aphrodisiacs
- Organic Formula Stirs Worries About Sugar
  
  newser | New York Times | May 19, 08 11:40 AM CDT
  
  Although it controls more than a third of the organic baby formula market, Similac Organic also carries a less coveted distinction: It is the only brand in the category that contains cane sugar, or sucrose. The company says its is FDA approved, but many parents and doctors worry about starting babies on the extra-sweet formula, the New York Times reports. More »
  
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  public health • organic food • sugar
- Illegal Workers Must Rely on Healers, Home Remedies
  
  newser | New York Times | May 10, 08 12:50 PM CDT
  
  Faced with high medical costs and fearing deportation, many illegal immigrants avoid doctors and instead seek their cures among traditional healers, the New York Times reports. With an estimated two-thirds of illegal immigrants uninsured, visits to a doctor are often reserved for emergencies. Instead, the immigrants—most of whom toil in demanding jobs where injuries are common—turn to herbal remedies and incantations, or substitute massages for more substantive care. More »
  
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  health care • public health • illegal immigrant • alternative treatment • herbal medicine
- Death, Illness on Canada Train Not Related
  
  newser | CTV | May 9, 08 4:39 PM CDT
  
  Canadian authorities are set to lift the quarantine on a train en route from Vancouver to Toronto after determining that the 60-year-old passenger who died aboard earlier today "most likely did not have an infectious disease," CTV reports. Ten other passengers came down with flu-like symptoms; "we do not believe they're related,” an Ontario police officer told the Globe and Mail. More »
  
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  Canada • public health • train • flu • Vancouver • Toronto • quarantine
- Hormone Makes Food More Appetizing
  
  newser | LiveScience | May 7, 08 3:35 PM CDT
  
  What makes people eat more than their bodies need? It might have a lot to do with the hormone ghrelin, a new study at McGill University finds. The chemical tells the brain to find food more appealing, and causes hunger, LiveScience reports. Work has already started on ghrelin-blocking drugs, but the probability of severe effects on mood is a significant hurdle. More »
  
  Tags
  
  food • obesity • public health • hormones
- Quit Sooner, Live Longer
  
  newser | WebMD | May 7, 08 2:59 PM CDT
  
  Smokers who kick the habit see their risk of dying drop drastically after 5 years, and their risk level nears that of nonsmokers within 20 years, new research finds. In a study that followed 100,000 women over 3 decades, researchers recorded a 13% drop in death from all causes for ex-smokers 5 years after their last puffs, WebMD reports. More »
  
  Tags
  
  public health • heart disease • smoking • lung cancer • smoking cessation • health risks

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