Breast area augmentations may possibly postpone tumor medical diagnosis: review

Feed: Health Yahoo UK
Posted on: Wednesday, May 01, 2013 04:36
Author: Health Yahoo UK
Subject: Breast implants may delay cancer diagnosis: study

 

Breast implants may delay cancer diagnosis in women, said a study Wednesday that urged a thorough probe into the potential health risks of this type of cosmetic surgery. In a review of 12 earlier studies of breast cancer patients, a team of epidemiologists from Canada found that women with implants had a 26 percent higher risk of being diagnosed at a later stage of the disease. This was possibly because implants cast shadows on mammograms, blocking the view of breast tissue. A separate review of five other studies showed that women with implants also had a 38 percent greater risk of death from breast cancer, said the authors -- likely due to the later diagnosis. There was no data to suggest that the implants themselves were a cause of cancer. ________________________________________ Important Video to Watch: Sexy Hijab Collection White House Correspondents Dinner 2013 Why NBA center Jason Collins is coming out now ? Yvette Prieto and Michael Jordan Get Married (Exclusive) Farrah Abraham Sexy Pose Interview Amanda Knox - Exclusive ________________________________________ "The research published to date suggests that cosmetic breast augmentation adversely affects the survival of women who are subsequently diagnosed as having breast cancer," wrote the team. But they stressed the findings should be interpreted "with caution" as some of the studies included in the meta-analysis may have had scientific shortcomings. The studies analysed were all published after 1993, mainly in the United States, Europe and Canada. Commenting on the research, plastic surgeon Fazel Fatah, agreed the findings should be treated with caution. "This paper does raise however the important issue of possible problems with early diagnosis of localised breast cancer in some women who have breast implants due to difficulty with mammography," he told AFP. Implants did not prevent women from feeling lumps in their own breasts. "Further studies are required to see if other forms of breast scanning, such as MRI, could be preferable to mammography in women who have breast implants," said Fatah, a former president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons. Added Britain's Breast Cancer Campaign: "We need further robust research before we can say that breast implants impact on survival or that these women may benefit from different screening techniques." An estimated one in eight women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some time in their lives, according to the study. According to the World Health Organisation, there are about 1.38 million new cases and 458,000 deaths from breast cancer each year -- the most common type of cancer among women. Breast implants have been at the centre of a global health scare since French company Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) was found in 2010 to be using substandard industrial-grade silicone gel in manufacturing its prostheses. An estimated 300,000 women in 65 countries are believed to have received PIP implants, which some health authorities say are twice as likely to rupture as other brands -- though officials said there was no proven cancer risk. The PIP scandal has given rise to several court cases and calls for tougher medical controls.

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Do you want To understand How you can Teach Your own Manager In order to Move More than? Let loose Within 06!

Feed: Animal Fair
Posted on: Monday, April 29, 2013 19:25
Author: Animal Fair
Subject: Are You Ready To Learn How To Train Your Boss To Roll Over? Unleashed In June!

 

Do you want to know how to Get Fred Deluca, Subway's Founder, to rollover? There is only one book in the world which will tell you… Fred Deluca Founder of Subway – the most successful restaurant chain in total count! ________________________________________ Important to read: How to Weigh Yourself? Can we Catch a Bullet? Just for Drivers, Voice-to-Text Is Likewise Harmful ________________________________________ Animal Fair Media's Bestselling Author, Pet Lifestyle Expert, and Animal Advocate, Wendy Diamond's new book, How To Train Your Boss To Roll Over will revolutionize the workplace and have America's workforce rolling over with laughter! The Ultimate Boss – Bruce Springsteen:) How To Train Your Boss To Roll Over is an entertaining and instructional manual written with Diamond's trademark of levity and wit that reinterprets successful dog training strategies for the workplace. There are no treats without tricks – this read provides a positive incentive to creating a healthy work environment. This bright and whimsical read will not only grab the attention of the pet lovers across the cubicle, but also men and women who are looking for an amusing yet informative way to get ahead in the business world. Baby Hope received savvy advice on How To Train Your Boss To Rollover from Former Secretary of Agriculture under President Bush, also Former Executive Director of UNICEF, and currently Board Member NESTLE (parent of Purina:) Ann Veneman. Wendy Diamond knows much about working like a dog herself, as a small business woman-owner she started with few treats and helped bring animal rescue and welfare to the public forefront. After adopting her Russian Blue cat, Pasha and little Maltese, Lucky (may she rest in peace) in 1999, she was so inspired she created Animal Fair Media, and became the premiere entrepreneur to combine the pet industry, animal rescue, celebrity, and media! Diamond coined the term "pet lifestyle" and designed a career around her passion for helping animals through business. When she started Animal Fair Media the number of animals euthanized annually in the U.S. dropped by 58%, from 12 million to 5 million. We all can woof to that!  .

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FW: Some Asian governments tighten airport controls on bird flu fears

 

 

Feed: Health Yahoo UK
Posted on: Thursday, April 25, 2013 17:58
Author: Health Yahoo UK
Subject: Some Asian governments tighten airport controls on bird flu fears

 

By Sui-Lee Wee BEIJING (Reuters) - Several governments in Asia have ordered tougher screening of air travellers from China in an effort to contain a possible spread of a new strain of bird flu that has killed 23 people in the mainland and infected one visitor from Taiwan. The H7N9 virus has infected 109 people in China since it was first detected in March. The Geneva-based World Health Organization said it has no evidence so far of sustained transmission between people but added that this strain was more easily transmitted than an earlier, more deadly H5N1 strain that has killed hundreds around the world since 2003. Taiwan, which reported the first H7N9 case outside of mainland China on Wednesday, said it would test air travellers for bird flu if they displayed suspicious symptoms. The island's first victim, a 53-year-old man who had returned from a visit to China's eastern city of Suzhou days before, was being treated in hospital. He said he had not had any contact with poultry. Vietnam began screening temperatures of all visitors at its airports, officials said on Thursday, while Japan said it will allow airports and seaports to make "thermographic inspections" of travellers from China starting in May. Thai Health Minister Pradit Sintawanarong said the country must step up precautions, adding that the health ministry will soon submit a plan to the prime minister to address the problem. "From our assessment of the situation, there is a chance that the H7N9 virus may spread to Thailand," Sintawanarong said. The moves came a day after a WHO expert said the H7N9 strain is "one of the most lethal" of its kind. An international team of scientists led by the WHO and the Chinese government said on Wednesday they were no closer to determining whether the virus might become transmissible between people after a five-day investigation in China. Singapore's health ministry said its healthcare institutions "remain on heightened alert". TAIWAN AIRLINES TANK Shares in Taiwan's airlines fell sharply on Thursday after news of the island's first bird flu victim sparked worries that the outbreak could spread and hurt travel. China Airlines shares shed 2.2 percent, the stock's worst daily loss since April 8. Eva Airways fell 2.4 percent to close at its lowest in about two weeks. Both underperformed the main TAIEX index, which finished flat on Thursday. However, most Asian airlines said they had not experienced a noticeable change in bookings to China. Raj Tanta-Nanta, a vice-president for investor relations at Thai Airways International, said the number of passengers to destinations in China had declined slightly but the national carrier had not cancelled flights to China. Thai AirAsia also said it is not trimming flights. "We're not cancelling flights and that may be because we fly to Yunnan, which has not faced bird flu disease," Chief Executive Tassapon Bijleveld told Reuters. Still, the current spate of cases has sparked reminders of the impact on travel from SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, which killed 774 people, mostly in China and Hong Kong in 2003. Japan's Sharp Corp. urged its employees to "take extra precaution" when visiting China, telling them on Monday to avoid contact with birds, wash their hands and wear a mask if they develop cold or flu symptoms. Many companies across Asia that have operations in China, including India's Tech Mahindra Ltd, said they were evaluating the situation but had not yet placed any restrictions on employees there. POULTRY IMPORTS BANNED Some countries tightened screening of poultry imports from China, where some bird samples had tested positive for H7N9. Vietnam banned poultry imports from China in early April, its agriculture ministry said. The Philippines, which has banned poultry imports from China since 2004, is tightening quarantine measures on all poultry products, said Davinio Catbagan, assistant secretary for livestock at the agriculture department. Manila has also strengthened measures to prevent the entry of smuggled poultry and other poultry products such as pigeons, Peking ducks and chicken, especially those coming from China, Catbagan said. "The department had been notified that there are businessmen in the Philippines who illegally imports these products, which may have been contaminated by the highly pathogenic H7N9 virus and are now openly served in five-star hotels and well-known Chinese restaurants in the country," Catbagan said. (Additional reporting by Pairat Temphairojana, Panarat Thepgumpanat and Manunphattr Dhanananphorn in BANGKOK, Kaori Kaneko and Tim Kelly in TOKYO, Clare Jim in TAIPEI, Kevin Lim in SINGAPORE, Sui-Lee Wee in BEIJING, Rosemarie Francisco in MANILA, Prak Chan Thul in PHNOM PENH, Prashant Mehra and Harichandan Arakali in NEW DELHI, Kazunori Takada in SHANGHAI, Hanoi Newsroom in HANOI, Jonathan Thatcher in JAKARTA, Writing by Sui-Lee Wee; Editing by Ken Wills)

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FW: AstraZeneca hit by generic drugs and Crestor shortfall

 

 

Feed: Health Yahoo UK
Posted on: Thursday, April 25, 2013 17:12
Author: Health Yahoo UK
Subject: AstraZeneca hit by generic drugs and Crestor shortfall

 

By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - AstraZeneca's sales fell by a bigger-than-expected 13 percent in the first quarter as patent expiries took a heavy toll, underscoring the turnaround challenge facing Britain's second-largest drugmaker. Much of the damage was caused by loss of exclusivity on antipsychotic medicine Seroquel and heart drug Atacand in many markets. But the company's top-selling cholesterol fighter Crestor was also hit by generic competition in Canada, pricing pressure in Australia and worse-than-expected sales in the United States. The poor performance suggests new Chief Executive Pascal Soriot has his work cut out to reverse the fortunes of the struggling drugmaker, despite some tentative signs of improvement in a few growth areas. Demand for Brilinta - a new heart drug for which AstraZeneca has high hopes - picked up modestly to $51 million (33 million pounds) from $38 million in the last quarter of 2012. Emerging markets were also a relative bright spot, with sales up 9 percent at constant currencies, largely driven by a 21 percent increase in China. Sales of a number of diabetes products, however, were lower than analysts had hoped. "While it may be premature to judge the performance of Astra's growth platforms at this early juncture, some investors may be disappointed," said Berenberg analyst Alistair Campbell. AstraZeneca reiterated its expectation for a mid-to-high single digit percentage fall in revenue this year, with earnings declining significantly more due to increased operating costs. Sales in the quarter of $6.39 billion generated "core" pre-tax profit, which excludes certain items, down 25 percent at $2.23 billion and earnings down the same amount at $1.41 a share, the company said on Thursday. Analysts had, on average, forecast sales of $6.51 billion and earnings of $1.31, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. The beat on earnings reflected a lower-than-expected tax rate and lighter-than-anticipated expenditure, although with the full-year outlook unchanged this phasing impact is not likely to affect full-year earnings forecasts. Shares in the group fell 2.6 percent by 0930 GMT. In addition to the weak sales picture, there was also uncertainty over a new U.S.-led inquiry into manufacturing standards at a site in northern England. BRILINTA INVESTMENT Chief Financial Officer Simon Lowth said AstraZeneca's strategy was on track, in terms of investing for future growth, with a lot more effort being put behind the promotion of Brilinta in the U.S. market in particular. "We expect to see the (Brilinta) trajectory really start to steepen and accelerate on the back of those investments towards the back-end of this year," he told reporters in a conference call. CEO Soriot, who joined from Roche last October, set out a far-reaching plan last month to return the group to growth by axing one in 10 jobs and reorganising its drug research operations. His plan promises no quick fixes, although he aims to double the number of drugs in late-stage development by 2016 and he says he will scour the industry for bolt-on acquisitions with which to replenish the company's medicine cabinet. Soriot has said on several occasions that he would prefer a series of smaller "bolt-on" deals rather than a large, transformational transaction. Whether Soriot will deliver in the long term remains to be seen - but his arrival at the group has not been cheap, leading to complaints from some shareholders about his pay package. A group representing local pension funds in Britain is recommending that its members vote against Soriot's pay at the company's annual meeting later on Thursday. AstraZeneca shares trade at a discount to other large pharma companies, at less than 10 times this year's expected earnings compared with close to 15 for GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis . That reflects analyst forecasts of sliding sales and profits for several years, with its two top drugs - Nexium for stomach acid and Crestor - facing loss of U.S. patent protection in 2014 and 2016, respectively. With cash flows set to decline, rating agencies have recently become more gloomy on AstraZeneca, with Moody's this month downgrading its credit rating for the company and Standard & Poor's cutting its outlook to negative. (Editing by Jane Merriman and Helen Massy-Beresford)

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FW: Japan, Russia to boost business ties, restart territorial talks

 

 

Feed: Health Yahoo UK
Posted on: Thursday, April 25, 2013 16:33
Author: Health Yahoo UK
Subject: Japan, Russia to boost business ties, restart territorial talks

 

By Antoni Slodkowski TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan and Russia expect to clinch up to 20 deals, launch an investment fund and reopen talks on a territorial row that has kept them from signing a peace treaty formally ending World War Two when Japan's prime minister goes to Moscow next week. Japan also expects Russia to present a proposal for Japan's participation in building a pipeline connecting East Siberian gas fields and a planned $38 billion Vladivostok gas hub built by Gazprom, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroshige Seko told Reuters on Thursday. The summit between Shinzo Abe and President Vladimir Putin, the first between leaders of the two countries in a decade, may open the door to progress in the long-stalled territorial talks given converging strategic interests and a Japanese premier who, for the first time in a decade, appears to have the influence and staying power needed to make commitments. Japan is the largest importer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the world and could provide Russia with the money and technology to develop its under-populated east. Japan, for its part, sees Russia as a strategic partner as it looks to diversify and cut the costs of LNG imports, which shot up after a 2011 disaster at its Fukushima nuclear plant. "With the aim of diversifying energy supplies in mind, we look forward to an offer from the Russian side during this visit," Seko said. He added, however, that a major deal on the project was unlikely during Abe's visit. Abe's trip follows two months of talks on expanding gas-supply agreements in which Japan has been pressing Gazprom to present a detailed plan of the Vladivostok project that would spell out the potential role of Japanese companies. Abe will be accompanied by a 120-strong business delegation including 30-40 chief executives of trading houses, banking, healthcare and agriculture companies, Seko said. "We want to sign up to 20 MOUs (memoranda of understanding) between Japanese and Russian companies and launch an investment platform," he said. Japan Bank for International Cooperation and the Russian Direct Investment Fund are looking to start a fund of up to $1 billion to encourage investment in Russia, sources told Reuters. PERSONAL TIES The two countries will hold a business seminar on Tuesday attended by, among others, representatives of Olympus Corp, Sumitomo Heavy Industries and Kawasaki Heavy Industries according to an agenda seen by Reuters. "With this business mission, we want to convince Russia of the merits of having a good long-term relationship with Japan," Seko said. "Through forming strong personal ties between the leaders, we want to make Russia feel that by quickly solving the Northern Territories issue, Japan can contribute to the development of Russia and Siberia in particular." A dispute over four sparsely populated islands in the Pacific, known as the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kuriles in Russia, has prevented the countries from signing a peace treaty ending World War Two. The issue has overshadowed relations for more than 60 years. "Until now, because of the Northern Territories, Japan wasn't able to talk to Russia about matters other than energy. That issue has always been a major bottleneck," Seko said. In February, Abe said he wants to find a "mutually acceptable solution" to the row. The islands were seized by the Soviet Union after it declared war on Japan on August 8, 1945, just days before Japan surrendered, forcing about 17,000 Japanese to flee. They are near rich fishing grounds and close to oil and gas production regions of Russia. Abe's visit comes a month after a Moscow trip by Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Deals between the world's biggest energy producer and its biggest customer, China, have been hard to come by. Xi's visit yielded a deal for Russian state giant Rosneft to gradually treble oil supplies to China, but the sides are short of a deal on the supply of pipeline gas to China, thwarted for years by prices. (Editing by Linda Sieg)

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FW: AstraZeneca gets U.S. subpoena over UK drug factory

 

 

Feed: Health Yahoo UK
Posted on: Thursday, April 25, 2013 16:32
Author: Health Yahoo UK
Subject: AstraZeneca gets U.S. subpoena over UK drug factory

 

LONDON (Reuters) - AstraZeneca said on Thursday it had received a subpoena from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston, Massachusetts, related to manufacturing standards at its Macclesfield facility in the north of England. Britain's second biggest drugmaker said the approach was made on March 28 and the company was coordinating its response and intended to cooperate with the inquiry. Chief Financial Officer Simon Lowth declined to go into further details about the case during a conference call with reporters following first-quarter results. "It's a very early approach," he said. The Macclesfield facility is AstraZeneca's second largest manufacturing site and its European centre for packing medicines. More than 800 people work at the site on the manufacturing, packing and distribution of drugs for 130 global markets. The facility includes a unique production line for making Zoladex, used to treat hormone-sensitive cancers of the prostate and breast, according to AstraZeneca's website. (Reporting by Ben Hirschler. Editing by Jane Merriman)

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FW: England prepares mass-vaccination as measles cases rise

 

 

Feed: Health Yahoo UK
Posted on: Thursday, April 25, 2013 13:13
Author: Health Yahoo UK
Subject: England prepares mass-vaccination as measles cases rise

 

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FW: Algerian president in France for medical tests after minor stroke

 

 

Feed: Health Yahoo UK
Posted on: Sunday, April 28, 2013 10:56
Author: Health Yahoo UK
Subject: Algerian president in France for medical tests after minor stroke

 

By Lamine Chikhi ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has been transferred to France for further medical tests after suffering a minor stroke on Saturday, Algeria's official news agency said. The APS agency said late on Saturday that Bouteflika, 76, was in Paris at the recommendation of his doctors. He was hospitalised after a minor stroke, according to an earlier state press agency report that quoted the prime minister as saying his condition was "not serious." The health of Bouteflika is a central factor in the stability of the oil-exporting country of 37 million people that is emerging from a long conflict against Islamist insurgents. APS said Bouteflika had an "ischemic transitory attack," or mini-stroke, at 12:30 p.m. (1130 GMT) on Saturday. "A few hours ago, the president felt unwell and he has been hospitalised but his condition is not serious at all," Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal was quoted as saying. Elected in 1999, Bouteflika is a member of a generation of leaders who have ruled Algeria since winning independence from France in a 1954-62 war. They also defeated Islamist insurgents in the 1990s and saw off the challenge of Arab Spring protests two years ago, with Bouteflika's government defusing unrest through pay rises and free loans for young people. Bouteflika has served three terms as president and is thought unlikely to seek a fourth at an election due in 2014. Leaked U.S. diplomatic cables said in 2011 that Bouteflika had been suffering from cancer, but that it was in remission. It is unknown who might take over Africa's biggest country by land area, an OPEC oil producer that supplies a fifth of Europe's gas imports and cooperates with the West in combating Islamist militancy. More than 70 percent of Algerians are under 30. About 21 percent of young people are unemployed, the International Monetary Fund says, and many are impatient with the gerontocracy ruling a country where jobs, wages and housing are urgent concerns. (Reporting by Lamine Chikhi; Editing by Peter Cooney)

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FW: Gates' foundation to fund $1.8bn to eradicate polio

 

 

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Posted on: Thursday, April 25, 2013 22:38
Author: Health Yahoo UK
Subject: Gates' foundation to fund $1.8bn to eradicate polio

 

Bill Gates announced in Abu Dhabi on Thursday his foundation will contribute $1.8 billion to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, a third of the total funds needed. "I am pleased to announce for the foundation that we are committed to fund a third of what is needed for this campaign," the Microsoft co-founder told the Global Vaccine Summit in Abu Dhabi. "So for the fully funded campaign, that would be $1.8 billion that we are committed to." "There has been a total of four billion dollars raised here. That gives us 73 percent of" the $5.5 billion needed, he said. Other participants at the summit also announced their contributions -- $457 million from Britain, $250 million from Canada, and $240 million from Norway. Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahayan announced he will donate $120 million. Germany, which had already pledged 100 million euros, announced it will donate a similar amount again. Meanwhile, the Islamic Development Bank offered $227 million. The number of worldwide polio infections plunged to 223 in 2012, compared to 360,000 in 1988 when the United Nations launched a campaign to eliminate the highly contagious and crippling illness. Only three countries are still considered polio endemic -- Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Nigeria, where an Islamist insurgency in the country's north has taken a hit on immunisation campaigns and at least 10 people were killed in attacks on two vaccination centres in February, saw most of the cases in 2012. At least 20 people have been killed in such attacks in Pakistan since December. Gates, listed by Forbes as the world's second-richest person, had said the global campaign to eliminate polio was currently spending about $900 million a year. But Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) has criticised the high prices of the vaccines. "High prices for new vaccines could put developing countries in the precarious situation of not being able to afford to fully vaccinate their children in the future," warned the medical charity. "Urgent action is needed to address the skyrocketing price to vaccinate a child, which has risen by 2,700 percent over the last decade," said Dr Manica Balasegaram, executive director of MSF's Access Campaign. "The lack of transparency by companies on vaccine manufacturing costs and their focus on profits above ensuring sustainable prices for vaccines for low-income countries are at the root of the problem," she said. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is a major contributor to the GAVI Alliance, which helps make vaccines available to developing countries. The two-day Global Vaccine Summit was aimed at highlighting the need for continued support for immunisations, as well as discuss a six-year plan to eliminate polio.

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FW: Scientists confirm new H7N9 bird flu has come from chickens

 

 

Feed: Health Yahoo UK
Posted on: Thursday, April 25, 2013 20:48
Author: Health Yahoo UK
Subject: Scientists confirm new H7N9 bird flu has come from chickens

 

By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - Chinese scientists have confirmed for the first time that a new strain of bird flu that has killed 23 people in China has been transmitted to humans from chickens. In a study published online in the Lancet medical journal, the scientists echoed previous statements from the World Health Organization (WHO) and Chinese officials that there is as yet no evidence of human-to-human transmission of this virus. The H7N9 strain has infected 109 people in China since it was first detected in March. The WHO warned on Wednesday that this strain is "one of the most lethal" flu viruses and is transmitted more easily than the H5N1 strain of bird flu, which has killed hundreds around the world since 2003. Kwok-Yung Yuen of the University of Hong Kong, who led the study, said its findings that chickens in poultry markets were a source of human infections meant that controlling the disease in these places and in these birds should be a priority. "Aggressive intervention to block further animal-to-person transmission in live poultry markets, as has previously been done in Hong Kong, should be considered," he told the Lancet. He added that temporary closure of live bird markets and comprehensive programmes of surveillance, culling, biosecurity and segregation of different poultry species may also be needed "to halt evolution of the virus into a pandemic agent". "The evidence ... suggests it is a pure poultry-to-human transmission and that controlling (infections in people) will therefore depend on controlling the epidemic in poultry," he said. Yuen's findings do not mean all cases of human H7N9 infection come from chickens, or from poultry, but they do confirm chickens as one source. The WHO has said 40 percent of people infected with H7N9 appear to have had no contact with poultry. Other so called "reservoirs" of the flu virus may be circulating in other types of birds or mammals, and investigators in China are working hard to try find out. CASE STUDIES Yuen's team conducted detailed cases studies on four H7N9 flu patients from Zhejiang, an eastern coastal province south of the commercial hub Shanghai. All four patients had been exposed to poultry, either through their work or through visiting poultry markets. To find out whether there was transmission of the virus from poultry to humans, the researchers took swabs from 20 chickens, four quails, five pigeons and 57 ducks, all from six markets likely to have been visited by the patients. Two of the five pigeons and four of the 20 chickens tested positive for H7N9, but none of the ducks or quails. After analysing the genetic makeup of H7N9 virus in a sample isolated from one patient and comparing it to a sample from one of the chickens, the researchers said similarities suggest the virus is being transmitted directly to humans from poultry. The team also checked more than 300 people who had had close contact with the four patients and found that none showed any symptoms of H7N9 infection within 14 days from the beginning of surveillance. This suggests the virus is not currently able to transmit between people, they said. But they noted that previous genetic analysis shows H7N9 has already acquired some gene mutations that adapt it specifically to being more able to infect mammals - raising the risk that it could one day cause a human pandemic. "Further adaptation of the virus could lead to infections with less severe symptoms and more efficient person-to-person transmission," the scientists wrote. (Editing by Kevin Liffey)

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FW: New $5.5 billion plan aims to rid world of polio by 2018

 

 

Feed: Health Yahoo UK
Posted on: Thursday, April 25, 2013 18:49
Author: Health Yahoo UK
Subject: New $5.5 billion plan aims to rid world of polio by 2018

 

By Kate Kelland, Health and Science Correspondent LONDON (Reuters) - Health groups said on Thursday they could rid the world of polio by 2018 with a $5.5 billion (3.5 billion pounds) vaccination and monitoring plan to stop the disease taking hold once more now there are only a handful of cases worldwide. Experts say the plan offers the best chance yet to eradicate a disease that until the 1950s crippled many thousands of people every year but has been brought almost to extinction though effective vaccine campaigns. In 1988, more than 350,000 children were paralysed by polio and the disease was endemic in more than 125 countries. Last year, worldwide polio cases plunged from 650 in 2011 to 223, the largest drop in a decade. So far in 2013, 19 cases have been reported and polio remains endemic in just three countries - Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria - after India celebrated its second polio-free year. "Today we have the fewest cases in the fewest places ever, making it critical to use the best opportunity the world has ever had to put an end to this terrible, preventable disease," Anne Schuchat, a global health specialist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said in a statement. The virus attacks the nervous system and can cause irreversible paralysis within hours of infection. It often spreads in areas with poor sanitation and children under five are the most vulnerable, but it can be halted, as it was in many developed countries, with comprehensive vaccination programmes. The polio plan's $5.5 billion budget includes the costs of reaching and vaccinating more than 250 million children multiple times every year, monitoring and surveillance in more than 70 countries, and securing the infrastructure that health campaigners hope will go on to help other health programs. CASH BACKING In a statement issued by the World Health Organisation, world leaders and individual philanthropists backed the plan by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) by pledging almost three-quarters of the funds up front. "After millennia battling polio, this plan puts us within sight of the endgame," said the WHO's director-general Margaret Chan. "We have new knowledge about the polio viruses, new technologies and new tactics to reach the most vulnerable communities." The GPEI, launched in 1988, is a grouping of governments, the WHO, Rotary International, the CDC and the United Nations children's fund UNICEF, supported by philanthropic groups such as the Gates Foundation. Speaking at a summit on vaccines in Abu Dhabi, Bill Gates said his foundation would stump up $1.8 billion - a third of the total cost of the GPEI's six-year budget. Another $335 million was promised by a seven-strong group of other philanthropists, including the Tahir Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Carlos Slim Foundation. Multiple government donors - among them Britain, Germany, Norway, Pakistan and Nigeria - also made pledges, bringing the total promised so far for the plan to just over $4 billion. Public health experts say if the polio eradication campaign succeeds, the world would not only declare its second eradicated disease - smallpox was wiped out in 1979 - it would also be billions of dollars richer. A 2010 analysis found that if polio transmission were to be stopped by 2015 the net benefit from reduced treatment costs and productivity gains would be $40 billion to $50 billion by 2035. (Editing by Alison Williams)

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FW: Dog Health

 

 

Feed: Dog Health Care
Posted on: Saturday, April 27, 2013 08:23
Author: Dog Health Care
Subject: Dog Health

 

On this page you will find dog health care to include dog first aid instructions and dog first aid kit, dog cpr, dog vitamin information, and a dog health care guide for dog health problems. There's also links to more specific dog health care problems, like Dog Seizures, Dog Heartworms and Worms, Dog Diarrhea and Constipation, Dog Ringworms, Dog Ear Mites, Dog Medicines, and Their Side Effects, Dog Allergies, Dog Arthritis, Dog Fleas, and Aggressive Dogs that list the common dog medicines used with their side effects and suggests a much better alternative pet medicine.

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FW: Dog Beds

 

 

Feed: Dog Health Care
Posted on: Saturday, April 27, 2013 08:29
Author: Dog Health Care
Subject: Dog Beds

 

Large dog beds, Small dog beds, Orthopedic dog beds, Heated dog beds, and even Designer dog beds, they're all here! Let your dog be comfortable and feel safe with their very own place to lay and sleep!

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FW: Dog Collars

 

 

Feed: Dog Health Care
Posted on: Saturday, April 27, 2013 08:24
Author: Dog Health Care
Subject: Dog Collars

 

Leather dog collars, Designer dog collars, Fancy dog collars, Personalized dog collars, and Rhinestone dog collars, they're all here! My owner Deb the flowergardener has put together this page so that you can shop for dog collars in an easy way. The flowergardener (Deb) named me Mocha Mo, but she usually calls me Moke or Mokey. Yep, I'm wearing a dog collar under all my neck hair in this picture. I was found running by a highway with no collar or id and turned over to the vet, because I was very sick. Deb adopted me, and now I also have a id chip.

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Turkey's leader hits a nerve over country's "national drink"

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Posted on: Saturday, April 27, 2013 18:47
Author: Health Yahoo UK
Subject: Turkey's leader hits a nerve over country's "national drink"

 

If you are looking for one sure way to split public opinion in Turkey, just bring up the word alcohol. That is what Turkey's often divisive prime minister did late on Friday when he pronounced that the national drink was not beer, nor the aniseed spirit raki - choice tipple of Turkey's founding father - but the non-alcoholic yoghurt drink ayran. Given the setting of his speech - a symposium on global alcohol policy in Istanbul - Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's comments appeared far from controversial, but so sensitive is the topic that the mere mention of it by the pious leader, known for his dislike of alcohol, has Turkey's secularists up in arms. During the single-party rule of the Turkish Republic's early years by what is now the country's main - and staunchly secularist - opposition party, state promotion of alcohol amounted to propaganda, Erdogan said. "Beer was unfortunately presented as a national drink. However, our national drink is ayran," he said, referring to the staple lunchtime refreshment of yoghurt, water and salt, usually swilled down with a meaty kebab. ________________________________________________________ Also read: How to Jump from a Moving Car HIV vaccine test finishes in disappointment Comedian begins their own discussion with 'Oopsie-Daisy Homophobe' ________________________________________________________ "There is no way you can defend as a lifestyle the consumption of alcohol which has no benefit to society, but on the contrary inflicts harm," Erdogan continued. No sooner had he made his remarks, broadcast live on television, than social media lit up with derisive comments symptomatic of the gaping divide between Turkey's conservative Muslims on the one hand and secularists on the other. "It's true, all of you drink ayran with your pasta inside your mosques," read one comment directed at Erdogan's official Twitter account. "We take example from our FOREFATHER who drank our National Drink: raki," the message continued, referring to Turkey's founder, soldier-statesman Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who was often photographed with a glass of the anisette spirit in hand. "Erdogan, will you do a shot of ayran with me?" taunted another user on Twitter, while others lamented the prime minister's intrusion into their lives: "What's it to you what the nation drinks? You go drink ayran. Leave me alone." SECULAR UNEASE Behind the jibes lies a deeper unease among Erdogan's opponents who say his government, which has its roots in political Islam, is eroding the secular foundation of modern Turkey, not least through its policies on alcohol. Erdogan's government has imposed some of the highest consumption taxes on alcohol in the world, and under its tenure an increasing number of municipalities have imposed restrictions on drinking in public as well as on national advertising. Most recently it banned alcohol sales on all domestic and some international flights of its national carrier. The government says it is not attempting to interfere in people's lives and is simply trying to bring the country up to European norms by controlling alcohol sales and protecting the younger generation as it negotiates to enter the European Union. But unlike Western countries, which also impose restrictions, Turkey does not have an alcohol problem. Only six percent of Turkish households consumed alcoholic drinks in 2008, down from eight percent in 2003, according to the Betam research centre at Istanbul's Bahcesehir University. For many Turks it is simply the prime minister's authoritarian style they have an issue with. Often brusque in manner, Erdogan can come across as a stern father, also lecturing people on the dangers of cigarettes and even suggesting how many children families should have. But in a country where Erdogan has dominated politics virtually unchallenged for the past decade, his word is final. Shares in Turkey's top listed dairy producer Pinar Sut, which makes ayran, rose 3 percent shortly after Erdogan's remarks.

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Can you Learn how Ingenious Will be your Doggy? The Science Driving The particular Sound off!

Feed: Animal Fair
Posted on: Thursday, April 25, 2013 17:55
Author: Animal Fair
Subject: Do You Understand How Clever Is Your Dog? The Science Behind The Bark!

 

Brian Hare with his clever shelter rescue canine, Tassie.  Almost every dog pet parent out there at one time or another has said to themselves, "My canine is quite clever, even downright smart." Brian Hare's new book, The Genius of Dogs, released today, helps pet parents discover exactly how their dog thinks and why! Hare is fast and a smarty himself, he received his PH.D., from Harvard and is a professor of Evolutionary Anthropology at Duke University, where he founded the Evolutionary Anthropology at Duke University. He also founded the website Dognition.com; "For People, By Dog People." Brian Hare met his wife Vanessa Woods in the Congo. They work together on comparative studies and the cognitive development of bonobo apes, chimpanzees and humans. Woods, a former journalist from Australia, published a book about their marriage and work, titled; Bonobo Handshake: A Memoir of Love and Adventure in the Congo. A bonobo is a chimpanzee with a black face and black hair, found in the rain forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Bonobos are our closest living relative, but we still know very little about them. Sadly, as few as 10,000 are left in the wild, making them the world's most endangered ape. Bonobos are quite special and also the most loving chimps. ________________________________________________________ Also read: How to Jump from a Moving Car HIV vaccine test finishes in disappointment Comedian begins their own discussion with 'Oopsie-Daisy Homophobe' ________________________________________________________ The Dognition website provides pet parents a unique experience by playing a series of science-based games that will reveal your dog's unique abilities. It will be a real treat to discover what your four-legged furry friend is really thinking – maybe even about you!  Animal Fair Media's Wendy Diamond sat down with Brian Hare for an intelligent chat about canine cognition and Dognition! Dog Barking WD: What inspired your work with dogs? BH: It was an accident really. I was working with chimps over 15 years ago, trying to figure out how they were similar and different to humans. There was this one task where chimpanzees had to follow a human point to find food. They weren't doing very well, and I thought 'my dog can do that'. I tried it with my childhood dog, Oreo, and he was amazing. That's where the dog work began. WD: What dog resides with you at home? BH: I have a black shelter mutt called Tassie that we adopted from the Orange County shelter. Tassie is short for Tasmanian Devil, since he was a total hurricane as a puppy. WD: How are dogs smarter than humans? BH: Different animals are better at different things. It's like asking whether a hammer is a better tool than a screwdriver, it depends what you need it for. For instance, dogs depend on their sense of smell, so they have a much larger part of their brain dedicated to olfaction than we do. WD: What are three principals people can learn from their dogs? BH: Sometimes it's easier to ask for help than to try and figure things out on your own. It's not always the survival of the fittest, sometimes it's survival of the friendliest. You can flunk physics, fail obedience training, and drink out of the toilet bowl and still be a genius. WD: How are dogs similar to the Bonobos? BH:  Bonobos are the dogs of the ape world. When it comes to aggression, the differences between chimpanzees and bonobos mirror those between wolves and dogs. Dogs and bonobos show much less severe aggressive than their counterparts. Feral dogs, believe it or not, have very rarely been observed to inflict mortal wounds on another dog. Instead of using physical aggression dog packs usually work things out by barking at each other until one pack decides to leave. Feral dogs also have not been observed to kill the puppies of other pack members. As we have all seen, dogs are so tolerant they even let strangers sniff their bottoms. Less well known is that wolves do not tolerate this even from their own fellow pack members. Adult dogs are more playful than adult wolves playing like juvenile wolves throughout their lives. Bonobo adults play with each other the way juvenile chimpanzees play with adults, initiating more play and using more play faces. Also, feral dogs show more sexual behavior, including mounting and mating outside of reproductive seasons. As for bonobos, promiscuous, non-conceptive sex is what they have become best known for. Their sex lives make chimpanzees and even humans look dull.  Feral dogs are poor hunters while bonobos rarely have been observed hunting (in fact bonobos may be as likely to play with monkeys as they are to try to hunt them). Physically, bonobos are more slender and have smaller canine teeth than chimpanzees. Although bonobos do not have splotchy coats like dogs, they can have pink lips as a result of loss of pigmentation around their mouth and a white tuft tail (chimpanzees lose this when they become juveniles). WD:  What can people learn about their dogs from Dognition? BH: We all know dogs are geniuses but the fun is in finding out how. Dognition.com  is where owners can find out the unique genius of their dog. You log on, play fun games with your dog, and at the end you get a personalized report that describes the cognitive style of your dog. Also, the data you enter about your dog is uploaded to a massive database that we can use to find out about all dogs. It's incredibly exciting because we will be able to answer questions we've only been able to speculate on. Like which breed is the most empathetic or communicative? What are all dogs capable of? WD: What is your favorite animal charity? BH: The bonobos! We work at an orphan bonobo sanctuary in Congo, and they do wonderful work, educating school children about caring for animals – including dogs! www.friendsofbonobos.org. Don't overthink the fact that your canine might be a furry Einstein (Treats = mc2), Take a look at Brian Hare's new book, The Genius of Dogs and his website: Dognition.com – and simply find out!

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