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Public Health and Safety
Supplementing Diet
From the BBC, The Telegraph & The Daily Mail: Iodine deficiency ‘may lower UK children’s IQ’ Vitamin C kills drug-resistant TB in lab tests Vitamin B could stave off Alzheimers Vitamin D ‘helps beat symptoms of asthma’ Areas to think about: Hardly a day goes by without a news article suggesting that one or other … Continue reading
SARS-like virus spreading
From Reuters: World Health Organization (WHO) officials said on Sunday it seemed likely a new coronavirus that has killed at least 18 people in the Middle East and Europe could be passed between humans, but only after prolonged contact… A public health expert who declined to be identified, said “close contact” meant being in the … Continue reading
111 Troubles
From the BBC: The new NHS non-emergency 111 telephone service in England is in a fragile state in a number of areas ahead of bank holiday weekend, NHS bosses admit. Reports have been emerging for weeks of calls going unanswered and poor advice being given, leading to hospitals being inundated with patients. The problems plaguing … Continue reading
Welsh Measles epidemic now over 800
From the BBC: The number of measles cases in the Swansea epidemic has increased to 808, officials say. Areas to think about: What is measles? Why was the young population in Wales susceptible to a measles epidemic? How does vaccination work? What was responsible for a drop in MMR vaccination rates, and what do you … Continue reading
97% of GPs have recommended placebos
From the BBC: In a poll, 97% of 783 GPs admitted that they had recommended a sugar pill or a treatment with no established efficacy for the ailment their patient came in with. The PLOS One study authors say this may not be a bad thing – doctors are doing it to help, not to … Continue reading
Poor Sleep, Poor Health
From the BBC: Heart disease, diabetes, obesity and poor brain function have all been linked to substandard sleep. What missing hours in bed actually does to alter health, however, is unknown. So researchers at the University of Surrey analysed the blood of 26 people after they had had plenty of sleep, up to 10 hours … Continue reading
SARS-like virus death in the UK
From the BBC: A patient infected with a new respiratory illness similar to the deadly Sars virus has died in the UK… Of the 12 people known to have been infected with the virus around the world, six have died. The threat to the general population is thought to be small, although the virus has … Continue reading
Searching for Antibiotics
From the BBC: Researchers are embarking on an £8m project to discover new antibiotics at the bottom of the ocean… Few samples have ever been collected from ocean trenches – deep, narrow valleys in the sea floor that can plunge down to almost 6.8 miles (11km). Yet researchers believe there is great potential for discovering … Continue reading
Health News from Davos
From the BBC: … wealth is being squandered on a system that a chief executive of a European pharmaceutical company describes as “a sick system rather than a health system”. In fact, treating the sick and the injured, the old and the infirm, is so expensive that it has become a massive barrier to politicians’ … Continue reading
Suicide rates
From the BBC: Some 6,045 people killed themselves in 2011, an increase of 437 since 2010. The highest suicide rate was among men aged between 30 and 44. About 23 men per 100,000 took their own lives. On average, across both sexes, 11.8 people per 100,000 population killed themselves in 2011, up from 11.1 people … Continue reading
