Untapped potential – some data
Kinshasa, Dr Congo (IRIN) – The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) boasts sufficient arable land and water sources to produce food well beyond its own needs, yet it has the world’s highest rates of malnutrition, as the following data illustrate: 80m: hectares of arable land. 90 percent: Proportion of arable land not cultivated, largely due to insecurity preventing access to fields and markets. 69 percent: Prevalence of under-nutrition in the DRC; up from 26 percent in 1990-92. Under-nutrition includes being underweight for one’s age, too short for one’s age (stunted), dangerously thin (wasted) and deficient in vitamins and minerals (micronutrient malnutrition). 61.1 percent: Proportion of preschool-age children suffering from a subclinical deficiency of Vitamin A. [...] Continue Reading…
CDC recommends HPV vaccine for boys
Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – The HPV vaccine should now be given to all males between the ages of 11 and 21, according to new guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices says that the human papillomavirus vaccine should be routine for all boys ages 11 to 21. It also recommends “catch-up” vaccinations for males ages 13 to 21. The committee first recommended the vaccine for boys last October, but recommendations were not formalized until they were published this week, the CDC said. The new recommendations are published in the Feb. 1 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, and in [...] Continue Reading…
U.S. readies for Yemen President Saleh, refuses to divulge details
Tejinder Singh – AHN News Correspondent
Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – The United States on Monday confirmed issuance of visa to ailing Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh for a limited time to undergo medical treatment but refused to divulge time-period for which the visa is issued. “We have issued a visa for Ali Abdullah Saleh,” said Victoria Nuland, the State Department spokesperson, adding, “It is strictly for medical treatment, and our expectation is that he will leave the United States when his medical treatment is complete.” Asked to comment on the time period for which this visa is issued, Nuland said, “He’s got a visa for the period that he anticipated the medical treatment would last. If [...] Continue Reading…
Government recalls faulty HIV test kits
Dodoma, Tanzania (IRIN) – Tanzanian health authorities have announced the withdrawal of a South Korean HIV test kit from circulation following warnings about its poor quality. In November, the UN World Health Organization removed the Standard Diagnostics Bioline® HIV 1/2 3.0 Rapid HIV Test Kit from its list of approved rapid test kits with immediate effect; the alert was issued after Bioline failed quality assurance tests. The Tanzanian government has followed neighboring Kenya in issuing an immediate recall of all Bioline testing kits in the country. “What we know so far is that 1,178 test kits have been used in the field, but we have yet to substantiate exactly how many of them were defective,” Hadji [...] Continue Reading…
Hepatitis B vaccine recommended for diabetic adults
Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
Washingotn, D.C., United States (AHN) – New government guidelines recommend the hepatitis B vaccine for all unvaccinated adults, aged 19 to 59, with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The U.S. Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices says the immunization should be done as soon as possible after adults in this age group are diagnosed with diabetes. Unvaccinated adults older than 59 can receive the hepatitis B vaccination at the discretion of their doctor. Between 700,000 and 1.4 million people in the U.S. are infected with the hepatitis B virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. Chronic HBV infection damages the liver and can lead to serious illness and death. [...] Continue Reading…
Few women get breast reconstruction after mastectomy
Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
New York, NY, United States (AHN) – Despite the known cosmetic and psychological advantages, few women undergo breast reconstruction after a mastectomy. Researchers from Columbia University Medical Center say that fewer than one in four women with invasive cancer opt for the immediate reconstruction of their breast, while more than one in three with early stage cancer opted for and received the procedure. For the study, the researchers looked at data representing 15 percent of U.S. hospitals. They found 108,992 women with invasive breast cancer who underwent a mastectomy, and 14,710 women with early stage cancer who did. From 2000 to 2010, 23.4 percent of those women with invasive cancers got [...] Continue Reading…
CDC: U.S. teens not eating enough fruits, vegetables
Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
Atlanta, GA, United States (AHN) – U.S. teens are not eating enough fruits and vegetables, according to a new study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The findings, based on data complied from nearly 10,800 students in grades nine through 12 who took part in the National Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Study 2010, found median consumption was 1.2 times per day for both fruits and vegetables. Median fruit consumption was much higher among males than females, and much higher among grade nine students than among students in grades 10 and 12. A little more than 28.5 percent, or one in four, of the high school students ate [...] Continue Reading…
New blood thinner cuts down repeat heart attacks
Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
Orlando, FL, United States (AHN) – A new anti-clotting drug reduces the risk of heart-related death, heart attack and stroke in patients who have been hospitalized with a heart attack or unstable chest pain. The findings were presented Sunday at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association. The drug, rivaroxaban, is marketed by Johnson & Johnson with Bayer AG under the brand name Xarelto. If approved for such use, the drug would open up a major new market and hopefully save scores of lives. About 1.2 million people in the United States alone are discharged from hospitals each year after a heart attack or heart-related unstable chest pain. Currently, [...] Continue Reading…
More American patients seek treatment abroad to escape high medical costs
Tom Ramstack – AHN News Legal Correspondent
Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – The number of Americans heading abroad for medical care rose sharply last year amid high health care costs and a poor economy in the United States, according to medical tourism industry figures. Some of their preferred locations for life-saving surgeries and other procedures are India and Mexico, the health information company Health Digital Systems reported. Surgeries like hip replacements, dental implants and heart bypasses can cost half as much in Southeast Asia and Latin America compared with the United States. Among the six million Americans who traveled abroad for medical care last year, 45 percent traveled to Asia, 26 percent to Latin America and [...] Continue Reading…
Arroyo goes abroad for medical care as corruption charges loom
Vittorio Hernandez – AHN News
Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines (AHN) – Former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo plans to seek medical treatment abroad for a pinched neck nerve. She has undergone three surgeries to correct the ailment, but still needs further medical attention. However, she and husband Miguel Arroyo are on the immigration watch list because of numerous corruption and plunder cases filed against the couple. House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said he is willing to grant the former president, now a congresswoman, travel authority to pursue medical treatment in Germany. Belmonte had previously issued an authority to Arroyo, but it had lapsed. Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, who placed Arroyo – her former boss – on the [...] Continue Reading…
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