General practitioners and pediatricians in New Zealand consider not just the astonishingly high rates of rheumatic fever but also it’s mere existence as an embarrassing factor. Rheumatic fever occurs due to streptococcus throat infections and is fatal as it can lead to serious heart problems. Just last week in Northland, 600 children underwent screening for any cardiac damages caused by this fever. The research was focused mainly on children in Northland and South Auckland. However, the country’s overall rates are also quite alarming at 14 times higher than the OECD average. Some parts in Wellington were found to have terrible rates of rheumatic fever cases especially Porirua East which has [...]
Health News
Education Helps Compensate Dementia Effects
by admin on 26. Jul, 2010 in Health News
A study by UK and Finnish team suggest that education can help in compensating for the effects caused by dementia on the human brain. Though the signs of dementia in brains at death were more or less similar in both the highly educated and the less educated ones, the former were found to display symptoms less likely. But the scientists are yet to find the reason for this effect. Studies on dementia in the past few years have shown that the risk of dementia is reduced if an individual spends more time in education. But whether education actually protects against dementia in brain wasn’t proved. The study involved examination of [...]
DNA Test Industry Under Scrutiny
by admin on 25. Jul, 2010 in Health News
A Government Accountability Office probe last week caused a major setback to companies selling personalized genetic tests which were contradictory and misleading. The undercover federal investigation by 5 GAO staffers found that the DNA samples dispatched to 4 undisclosed companies showed differing predictions regarding a disease risk. The evaluations more often conflicted with the DNA donors’ own medical conditions and family medical histories. A donor who underwent a pacemaker implant due to irregular heartbeat was predicted to be below-average heart risk. Another prediction said that the donor was at average risk for developing colon-cancer even though he was a survivor for the same. Two firms were found to be selling [...]
Salmonella Outbreak Due To Headcheese
by admin on 25. Jul, 2010 in Health News
A salmonella outbreak has been reported in British Columbia and Ontario provinces in Canada. It involves a headcheese brand by the name FREYBE. The federal health officials have announced that the salmonella outbreak has hit 18 people in the two provinces. The Public Health Agency of Canada has made a public statement that Freybe brand cheese by G. Brandt Meat Packers in Missisauga, Ontario, is not safe and should not be consumed. Salmonella is a bacterium that occurs naturally and is found in the intestines of animals like poultry, swine and cattle. Eggs, Meat, dairy and raw fruits and vegetables are also contaminated in some cases. Meat from the head [...]
Misleading Mince Labels
by admin on 25. Jul, 2010 in Health News
Labels can be misleading just like the ‘lean’ mince out in supermarkets. This lean mince actually contains about 25% fat which is higher than the standard choice. Not only this, most of the meat being sold has much higher fat content than what the label displays. A research was carried out for Local Government Regulation body and commenced by local trading standards and environmental health officers. Over all, 500 plus mince packs from supermarkets and self-sufficient butchers were tested. Such a deceit surfaces every few months and the correctness of meat labeling is questioned. Farmers have also claimed several times that imported pork was sold in supermarkets by labeling it [...]
Health Gap due to Economic Inequalities
by admin on 24. Jul, 2010 in Health News
In a recent joint survey by the University of Sheffield and Bristol University, researchers have found that the health gap in Britain is greater than ever before amid the rich and poor. The study revealed that even though a lot of successful measures have been taken to increase the life expectancy, not much has been done to reduce the increased rates of premature death among the poor in comparison with the well-to-do. According to the findings in the survey, in 1990-91 the number of cases of premature deaths in the poor was approximately 1.6 times than among the wealthy individuals. But shockingly, this gap was increased to twice the number [...]
19 Days before Giving Up
by admin on 24. Jul, 2010 in Health News
Feeling miserable that you seem to be the only one to fail repeatedly when attempting a diet plan to reduce weight? Don’t be disappointed. A recent study by Engage Mutual Assurance shows that a typical woman can’t resist the temptations for fatty foods, when on a diet, for three weeks at a stretch. The study also found that on an average, women go on a low-calorie diet thrice a year only to resist common temptations like chocolate, wine and chips for 19 days average. 58% of women quizzed were of the opinion that chocolates are the chief temptations for them. The researchers also studied the expenditure a typical woman does [...]
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