Health

Pune, July 29: Two more schools in Pune reported swine flu cases among their students as the number of H1N1 infections in the city went up to 66, an addition of six during the day.

With detection of fresh cases, Maharashtra has recorded 101 cases of the viral pandemic, health officials said on Tuesday.

In Pune, Balshikshan and Spring Dale schools were added to the list of four educational institutions already hit by the spread of the infection. The authorities, who have closed down the four schools, were yet to take a decision on shutting down the two newly-affected schools.

Washington, July 29: Health experts from Oxford University have revealed that despite stringent efforts cigarette packaging styles are still misleading consumers over health hazards.

Most of the smokers believe that cigarettes are less hazardous when the packs display words such as “silver” or “smooth,” have lower numbers incorporated into the brand name or have lighter colours or pictures of filters on the pack.

Noida, July 28: Five people were arrested here Tuesday for allegedly marketing expired medicines worth Rs.3 million, police said.

During a check, a tempo carrying expired drugs was seized from Phase II Noida. The seized medicines had expired in 2007.

Five people — Kunal Sharma, Anil Kumar Yadav, Jahid Ali, Ikramuddin and Abdul Hakim — were arrested and several expired drugs were recovered from their possession, a police officer said.

Bhopal, July 28: One would expect the enrolment of children in primary schools to increase with the implementation of the midday meal scheme. This, however, has not been the case in Madhya Pradesh. In fact, a drop in students has been recorded, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report for 2007-08.

London, July 28: The National Supervisory Committee for Combating Swine Flu (H1N1 virus) has not issued any resolution demanding resident expatriates to produce a medical clearance certificate that proves they are not infected with H1N1 virus upon returning to the country, a senior health official affirmed today.

“The news about this issue is completely untrue,” Dr. Ali bin Shuker, Director of the Ministry of Health and Chairman of the Technical Health Committee for Combating Swine Flu, emphasised.

Geneva, July 28: A total of 816 people died of swine flu worldwide, with most of the deaths occurring in South America, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Monday.

So far, 707 people have died in the Americas, 44 in South-East Asia, 34 in Europe, 30 in the Western Pacific region and one in the Eastern Mediterranean region, the UN agency said.

In addition, more than 20 countries such as Afghanistan, Belize, Bhutan, Botswana, Haiti, Namibia, Sudan, Tanzania, and Solomon Islands, among others, have confirmed swine flu cases since July 6.

Chandigarh, July 28: A 23-year-old resident of Punjab’s Patiala town, admitted to a Chandigarh hospital, has tested positive for the influenza A (H1N1) virus.

Officials said the patient from Patiala, about 70 km from here, had returned from Thailand last week. On Friday, he approached doctors at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) here with complaints of fever and cold.

Patna, July 28: At least 21 students of a school at Khemanbigha in Nalanda district fell ill soon after having their mid-day meal, officials said Tuesday. Their parents told police that a lizard was found in the food.

‘They are suffering from food poisoning but after initial treatment they are out of danger,’ said a doctor at the hospital where the children have been admitted after their meal Monday.

Various such cases have been reported in Bihar in the last one month.

London, July 28: Researchers may be able to predict future severe cardiac events in patients with known, stable coronary artery disease (CAD), by measuring calcium levels, according to a new study.

CAD is a condition in which plaque, consisting of cholesterol, calcium, fat and other substances, builds up inside the arteries that supply blood to the heart.

When plaque builds up in the coronary arteries, blood flow to the heart is reduced and may lead to arrhythmia (irregular or erratic heart beats), heart attack or heart failure.

Moscow, July 28: Specialists plan to begin clinical testing of a new vaccine from the A(H1N1) flu by August 20, Oleg Kiselev, Head, National Flu Centre of the World health Organisation has said.

“The schedule of work to create the vaccine from the highly pathogenic A(H1N1) flu virus has been approved by the Ministry of Health and Social Development and has been complied strictly,” Kiselev said on Monday.

“The first Russians from the at-risk group will be vaccinated from the new flu before October 1,” he added.

London, July 28: Farmers in India are using the “cuddle chemical” oxytocin to boost plant growth, particularly of pumpkins and cucumbers.

Oxytocin is known to affect social behaviour in humans, as well as facilitating birth and breastfeeding, reports New Scientist magazine. However, the precise mechanism by which an animal hormone might stimulate plant development remains unclear.

Bangalore, July 28: President Nikolas Sarkozy, known to be a fitness enthusiast, was diagnosed with Near-Syncope on Sunday, after being rushed to hospital following a spell of dizziness. Doctors linked it to fatigue and exercise on a humid day.

“It is called Syncope when a person feels very giddy and loses consciousness. A near black out is called Near Syncope,” explains Dr Ravi Kishore, an electro-physiologist with the Syncope Clinic in Bangalore. President Sarkosy is in his 50s, but Syncope, according to Dr Kishore, can occur to a person in any age group.

Chicago, July 28: Obesity-related diseases account for nearly 10 percent of all medical spending in the United States or an estimated $147 billion a year, US researchers have said.

They said obese people spend 40 percent more — or $1,429 more per year — in healthcare costs than people of normal weight.

“It is critical that we take effective steps to contain and reduce the enormous burden of obesity on our nation,” Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told a news conference at a CDC obesity meeting where the study was presented.

Dhaka, July 28: Bangladeshi authorities said Tuesday they had found traces of a toxic chemical in paracetamol syrup believed to have killed two dozen children in the past six weeks.

Health Minister A.F.M Ruhul Haq said investigators had found diethyl glycol in the locally produced syrup.

“We conducted two tests on the paracetamol syrup and each time we found diethyl glycol. It’s a toxic chemical used in the textile and leather dyeing industries. It damages your kidneys if you consume it,” the minister told AFP.

Washington, July 28: : Tiny ovarian tumors lurk in the Fallopian tubes for an average of four years before they grow large enough to be detected, researchers revealed on Monday in a study that explains why diagnosis usually comes too late to save a woman’s life.

They said they were trying to find ways to improve testing for the cancer, one of the deadliest because it is so hard to detect before it has spread.

Sydney, July 28: Long-term consumption of soy products dramatically cuts down the risk of ischemic stroke, according to new research.

Ischemic stroke is the most common kind of stroke, caused by an interruption of the blood flow to the brain.

The research found people who consumed 50 grams of soy products a week reduced stroke risk. Those who ate between 50 to 300 grams of soy had a greater drop still, while those consuming 300 grams or more a week had the most health benefits.

Washington, July 28: It’s a piece of advice that yogis have given for thousands of years: take a deep breath and relax. Watch the tension melt from your muscles and all your niggling worries vanish.

Somehow we all know that relaxation is good for us. Now the hard science has caught up – for a comprehensive scientific study showing that deep relaxation changes our bodies on a genetic level has just been published.

Washington, July 28: More than half the patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) report drinking heavily. A study on failing memory has found that HIV infection and chronic alcoholism damage brain function.

“It has been consistently documented that chronic heavy drinking results in cognitive and motor deficits,” said Edith V Sullivan, professor of psychiatry and behavioural sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine (SUSM) and study co-author.

Tokyo, July 28: Prolonged consumption of tea, especially the oolong and black variety, could weaken human bones due to the presence of toxic fluorine in tea beverages, Japanese researchers say.

The researchers, including Tetsuo Shimmura, who is senior research scientist of Toyama Institute of Health in Toyama Prefecture, reported the existence of the chemical in beverages such as oolong tea and black tea at a meeting of Japan Society for Biomedical Research on Trace Elements in Tokyo recently, Kyodo news agency reported.

Geneva, July 28: At least 134,503 people have been infected by swine flu virus across the globe, with 816 confirmed deaths, the World Health Organisation reported Monday.

An official said at least 160 countries were hit by the new virus, technically known as influenza A(H1N1), but the tally was not broken down into countries.

The WHO had previously said it would not issue any further statistics on infections.

New Delhi, July 27: Twenty-one new cases of swine flu were reported on Saturday taking the total number of infected cases in India to 413.

“Twenty one new laboratory confirmed cases have been reported on Sunday – Delhi (2), Pune (10), Jaipur (4), Visakhapatnam (2), Hyderabad (1), Cochin (1) and Bangalore (1),” a health ministry statement said.

The ministry said so far 1,946 people have been tested so far out of which 413 were positive for Influenza A(H1N1). Of the 413 positive cases, 294 have been discharged. Rest of them remain admitted.

London, July 27: With the help of an ultrasound, researchers are hoping to find out if knee inflammation could be an early sign of osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis is known as a “wear and tear” condition in which cartilage wears away, leaving bones rubbing together painfully. Recently scientists have shown that inflammation in the joint lining may also play a role in its development.

At the moment osteoarthritis can only be identified by X-ray, which is limited to revealing changes in bones and degeneration of cartilage.

Washington, July 27: Uncooked meat products with food additives may contain high levels of phosphorus and potassium that find no place in food labels. This can make it difficult for people to limit these minerals that at high levels are harmful to kidney disease patients, according to a new study.

Dialysis patients must watch their intake of phosphate so that their blood phosphate levels do not rise, which may then cause premature death.

Kidney disease patients also must limit their intake of potassium, because high blood potassium levels can cause sudden death.

Washington, July 27: More than half the patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) report drinking heavily. A study on failing memory has found that HIV infection and chronic alcoholism damage brain function.

“It has been consistently documented that chronic heavy drinking results in cognitive and motor deficits,” said Edith V. Sullivan, professor of psychiatry and behavioural sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine (SUSM) and study co-author.

New Delhi, July 27: Popular as designer treatment for correcting eye disorders, Laser rays now promise a cure for infants suffering from retinopathy – a non-inflammatory damage to the retina of the eye.

“Over the years, it has been found that Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) has been found in children with birth weight of about 1,500 grams and born within 32 weeks of pregnancy,” Rajvardhan Azad, chief of ROP unit in the AIIMS Opthalmology department, said.