Hand hygiene removes influenza virus

17 July 2009

Dispensers of alcohol-based rubs are appearing in public places in an attempt to reduce the spread of pandemic influenza. Are these effective at removing virus from hands?
In a recent study, the hands of twenty vaccinated, antibody-positive volunteers were contaminated with 10,000,000 TCID₅₀ of a 1999 seasonal H1N1 influenza virus strain The virus solution was allowed to dry on the hand for 2 minutes. Then one of five different treatments were done:

• Soap and water handwashing
• Use of a gel containing 61.5% ethanol
• Use of a gel containing 70% ethanol and 0.5% chlorhexidine
• Use of a gel containing 70% isopropanol and 0.5% chlorhexidine
• No treatment

The amount of influenza virus on hands before and after treatment was then determined by determining infectivity in cell culture and by measuring viral RNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
There was an immediate reduction in culture-detectable and PCR-detectable virus after the 2 minute drying period. In 14 of 20 individuals, virus was detected by cell culture (average reduction of 1,000–10,000 TCID₅₀/0.1 mL), and in 6 of 20 no viable H1N1 virus was recovered. These results show that the human hand is a hostile place for influenza virus, possibly because of the combination of drying and natural defenses such as skin oils.
All four hand treatments showed marked antiviral efficacy: 14 of 14 individuals had no virus detected by culture or PCR. Soap and water washing was slightly better than the alcohol-based treatments, but the differences were very slight: 1– 100 virus copies/mL. Nevertheless, alcohol-based treatments are likely preferable because they are faster and more portable than washing with soap and water.
This study is not perfect – the number of subjects was small, and the effects of the treatments on different strains of influenza virus was not determined. Nevertheless, the findings that simple washing with soap and water or alcohol-based gels is effective at removing influenza virus from hands is likely to help prevent transmission of infection.
Grayson, M., Melvani, S., Druce, J., Barr, I., Ballard, S., Johnson, P., Mastorakos, T., & Birch, C. (2009). Efficacy of Soap and Water and Alcohol‐Based Hand‐Rub Preparations against Live H1N1 Influenza Virus on the Hands of Human Volunteers Clinical Infectious Diseases, 48 (3), 285-291 DOI: 10.1086/595845

http://www.virology.ws/2009/07/17/hand-hygiene-removes-influenza-virus/

Dengue Virus Circulating Between Monkeys and Mosquitoes Could Emerge to Cause Human Outbreaks

June 13, 2011 — More than a thousand years ago, somewhere in Southeast Asia, a fateful meeting occurred between a mosquito-borne virus that infected mainly monkeys and a large, susceptible group of humans.

The result: the world's first outbreak of dengue fever.
Today, dengue virus -- which can produce high fever, excruciating joint pain and even death -- has spread throughout tropical Asia, Africa and South America, and in 2008 it re-appeared in the Florida Keys. It could be even more widespread along the U.S. Gulf Coast but there is no surveillance in place to detect it.
Annually dengue strikes about 100 million people and causes an estimated 50,000 deaths, thriving in the urban environments infested by Aedes aegypti, the mosquito species primarily responsible for human dengue transmission.
Meanwhile, the virus' forest-dwelling counterpart -- known as "sylvatic dengue" -- continues to flourish in Southeast Asia and West Africa, cycling between non-human primates and the mosquitoes that feed on them. Since the 1970s, sylvatic dengue has received very little scientific attention -- a situation that badly needs to be remedied, according to the authors of "Fever from the forest: Prospects for the continued emergence of sylvatic dengue virus and its impact on public health," an article published online June 13 in Nature Reviews Microbiology.
"This virus continues to circulate in the forests, and now economic and ecological pressures are driving more and more people into the forests in Africa and Southeast Asia," said University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston assistant professor Nikos Vasilakis, lead author of the paper. "In the last 10 years we've seen a number of outbreaks of disease with real public health impact caused by what we call zoonotic viruses, viruses that start out in wild animals but can also be transmitted to humans -- look at SARS, Nipah and Hendra, for example. Sylvatic dengue could be capable of a similar emergence -- or rather, re-emergence, since we know previous dengue spillovers into urban and near-urban settings have occurred."
Dengue virus may also be capable of movement from the widespread urban cycles into primates and forest mosquitoes of Latin America, which would establish a new reservoir for human infections in the New World.
In the paper, Vasilakis and his collaborators identify two factors that make a dengue re-emergence a "clear and present danger": rapid human population growth near and in tropical forests, and the fact that little or no genetic change would be needed for sylvatic dengue to adapt to human hosts and urban mosquitoes.
"Experiments show that there is little or no adaptive barrier to the emergence of sylvatic dengue into human populations," Vasilakis said. "In other words, the virus can emerge from its current environment at any time, without further adaptation."
The article also presents additional reasons for boosting research into sylvatic dengue, among them the possibility that its behavior in nonhuman primate animal models might offer critical new perspectives on the pathology of human dengue. (Most monkeys tested so far show no clinical signs of the disease, limiting their usefulness as experimental models.) Another significant issue is the possibility that vaccines against human dengue, which could be licensed in as little as five years, might push the virus to the brink of eradication in the urban, human transmission cycle, leaving an ecological opening that could be filled by sylvatic dengue.
"We see a precedent for this with yellow fever, where we have a very good vaccine -- urban yellow fever has been nearly eliminated in some regions -- but we don't have good vector control programs, and especially in South America we now have outbreaks fueled by sylvatic yellow fever," Vasilakis said. "If we eradicate human dengue and then stop vaccinating, as we often do after the disease disappears, we could see a re-emergence of dengue from a sylvatic source."
With the exception of a research program in Malaysia that ended in 1975, fieldwork on sylvatic dengue has been minimal, according to Vasilakis. In the article, he and his fellow authors call for new surveillance programs to monitor mosquitoes, non-human primates and humans in areas where sylvatic dengue is endemic, as well as the development of new diagnostic tools that will enable researchers to more easily accomplish those studies. (One such surveillance effort is now underway in Senegal, funded by the National Institutes of Health and led by UTMB professor Scott Weaver, the paper's senior author.)
"Of all the viruses with the potential to shift from animals into humans, the most likely to do so are those that, like sylvatic dengue, are carried by the non-human primates and/or bats," Vasilakis said. "For our own good, we need to know as much as we can about this virus."
Other authors of the paper include Jane Cardosa of the Universiti Sarawak Malaysia, Kathryn Hanley of New Mexico State University and Edward Holmes of Pennsylvania State University. The National Institutes of Health supported this work.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110613142235.htm

you are what you eat

you are what you eat

Colourful fruit and vegies

Mothers always badger their kids to eat their vegetables and it seems mum really does know best. Studies are increasingly demonstrating that consuming a range of colourful vegetables is the best way to ward off lifestyle-induced illnesses.

Dietitian Fiona Pelly, from Queensland’s University of the Sunshine Coast, says the rule that the more colourful the vegetable, the better its health properties, is true.

“When you’re looking at chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, hypertension and high blood pressure, all of these tend to be classed together as diseases that occur due to lifestyle,” Pelly says. 

“This means poor eating and no exercise. Improving the way you eat can make a difference to that.”

She says the National Health and Medical Research Council is redrafting its guidelines about how much fruit and vegetable matter people should consume daily to place greater emphasis on eating the right types of vegetables, such as those that are red, orange or green.

Pelly says colourful vegetables such as broccoli, watercress, pumpkin, capsicum and sweet potato and fruits including watermelon, oranges and papayas, are high in antioxidants, vitamin A and other health-giving nutrients, which can help reduce chronic health conditions by boosting the immune system.

Grains, oats and bran 

Another way to reduce chronic health problems including diabetes and high blood pressure is to switch from processed to wholegrain foods such as wholemeal bread, rice and pasta.

Dietitian Caitlin Reid, author of the website Health & The City, says switching to wholegrains can give an immense health boost.

“Wholegrains improve glucose metabolism in the body – this effect is thought to be because of the soluble fibre and magnesium in the wholegrains,” she says. “Insoluble fibre slows digestion, thereby reducing the absorption of glucose into the bloodstream and helping to control blood glucose levels after a meal.”

She says heart problems caused by high cholesterol can also be reduced by eating oats and bran, which can work to naturally block cholesterol entering the bloodstream.

“As little as three grams of soluble fibre a day has been shown to have a small but significant effect on reducing bad cholesterol levels,” Reid explains.

She says that other foods high in beta-glucan include psyllium and barley, which can also help with heart and blood-pressure health.

Legumes and nuts

Pelly says research is increasingly pointing to the benefits of legumes such as chickpeas, cannellini and kidney beans, and nuts, including walnuts and almonds, in the diet.

“In the past I don’t think people thought of legumes as an alternative to meat, but the recommendations these days are to eat a bit less meat, or balance it with other protein sources as well. Legumes are a good source of fibre and protein, they’re low in fat, and many, like walnuts and linseeds, are high in omega-3s.”

Reid says people suffering from heart disease, or potential heart disease, should boost their intake of plant sterols, which are found naturally in nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables and legumes. But she says a shortcut is to use plant sterol-enriched margarines such as Pro-activ or Logicol.

Fresh seasonal foods

For James Colquhoun, who has interviewed natural food advocates from around the world for his documentary, the best approach to eating well is a “natural and holistic approach that… sees the body as a whole operating system”.

“The best foods for supporting the human form include raw, organic, in-season, plant-cased fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, superfoods, herbs and sprouts,” he argues. “These foods promote health and boost energy.”

“Eating good food helps your immunity,” adds Pelly. “The best idea is to eat food as close to its natural state as possible, that hasn’t gone through a lot of refinement processes.”

Nourishing winter fuel

•    Chicken soup: US researchers have found that chicken soup has anti-inflammatory properties that can help ease chest         infections and reduce chills and fever.
•    Oranges, lemons and grapefruit: Packed with vitamin C, citrus fruits can help reduce the length and severity of     colds. Research has found that regularly consuming 200mg of vitamin C reduces the length of a cold by eight per cent     in adults and 14 per cent in children.
•    Garlic: Contains allicin, a property that is believed to help reduce the severity of colds.
•    Green tea: Full of powerful antioxidants, green tea can help boost the immune system, which will help the body fight     off bacteria and viruses.
•    Ginger tea: Ginger has several bacteria-fighting properties that can help suppress colds. It is also used as an     anti-nausea therapy and contains gingerol, which can suppress coughing fits.
•    Red meat: When eaten in moderation, red meat boosts the immune system and helps fight anaemia and feelings of     lethargy.
•    Oysters: One of the richest sources of zinc, oysters help aid the development of white blood cells, the body’s     natural immunity boosters.
•    Wasabi and chilli: Hot and spicy foods can clear out the throat and nose when congested and warm the body to ease chills and fever.

Too Much Tea Leads To Chronic Bone Disease, Teeth Loss

March 22, 2013

Image Credit: Photos.com

Brett Smith for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
Believing she had cancer, a woman found that the chronic bone pain in her hips, arms and legs was actually caused by her unusually high intake of extremely strong tea.
The woman’s daily tea intake, a pitcher made with 100 to 150 tea bags, caused her to have extremely high levels of fluoride, resulting in contracting symptoms such as extremely dense bones and brittle teeth, according to a report on the case in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).
Doctors at the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit found that the woman’s fluoride concentration in her blood was 0.43 milligrams per liter, which is much higher than the normal concentration of less than 0.10 mg per liter. They said that one pitcher of the woman’s strong tea added about 20 milligrams of fluoride to her system each day.
“Most of us can excrete fluoride extremely well, but if you drink too much, it can be a problem,” said the report’s co-author Dr. Sudhaker Rao, director of the bone and mineral research laboratory at the Henry Ford Health System. “There have been about three to four cases reported in the U.S. associated with ingesting tea, especially large amounts of it.”
Serendipitously, Rao was particularly well-suited for the woman’s case, having come from an area in India where fluoride levels in the water were naturally high. People in this region have been known to suffer from a condition called skeletal fluorosis as a result of ingesting too much fluoride. After consulting with the woman, Rao suspected that she could be suffering from that very condition.
When Rao attempted to investigate the woman’s bones by performing a biopsy, her bones were so hard that his instrument could not penetrate them.
“It was like steel,” he told US News. “Her bone density was very high, seven times denser than normal.”
After receiving the diagnosis, the woman reduced her tea intake and her symptoms began to subside. Her body should remove the excess fluoride naturally, but doctors are considering taking additional steps, according to the report.
The doctors may use supplemental parathyroid hormone to speed the body’s removal of fluoride from the bone, but too high a dose would also increase bone density to unsafe levels, Rao said. Putting the woman on a low-calcium, low-vitamin D diet could also assist in the removal of fluoride from her bones.
Dr. Joseph Lane, a bone specialist at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City who was not involved in the case, said the woman’s situation shows the risk associated with unusual diet, which some people might adopt in pursuit of better health.
“I had a patient who started taking a lot of fish oil, and then she had a minor injury and bled a lot, almost like hemophilia,” he told US News. “It turns out the patient had too much vitamin E in the blood.”
Doctors recommend that anyone who is thinking about adopting a diet out of the mainstream should consult with their physician first. Lane said that people should take time to examine the ingredient labels of any unique beverage, food or supplement items.

Source: Brett Smith for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online

 

http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1112808805/tea-leads-to-tooth-loss-bone-disease-032213/

Bubble tea

Bubble tea shops are popping up all over the place - in malls, on corners, and anywhere else thirsty teens tend to gather. Bubble tea, also called pearl milk tea or boba tea, originated in Taiwan and has become a worldwide sipping - and chewing - phenomenon.
But what is bubble tea anyway? Take a cup, plop in a handful of round, gelatinous pearls of tapioca, top it with brewed black or green tea, mix in some milk, sugar, flavouring, and ice. Then shake it all up, and you've got yourself a bubble tea.
Oddly enough, the "bubbles" in bubble tea are not those starchy tapioca pearls, which are similar to the little black spheres of cassava you'd find in tapioca pudding. No, the "bubble" comes from the way the drink bubbles up when it is shaken. In fact, the first bubble tea didn't contain tapioca pearls at all.
Because of the shaking required, most bubble tea shops seal their plastic cups with cellophane and give customers a straw to poke through the top. The size of the straw may vary, depending on the size of the tapioca pearls: smaller pearls, thinner straw. To sip the more common 6-millimetre pearls, you'll need a fatter straw.
Adventurous sippers then pop their straw through the top and enjoy - or not. Some liken the sensory experience of drinking bubble tea with tapioca pearls to drinking a smoothie full of gummy bears. The tapioca pearls lend a texture to drinking that some just can't get used to (it is odd to have to chew a beverage).
Whether or not that sounds appetizing to you is, of course, a matter of personal taste. Some people develop a full-blown bubble tea habit, downing the drinks day after day, especially during warmer seasons. And with a wide range of flavours - red bean, avocado, taro root, coconut, guava, ginger, jack fruit, watermelon, mango, lemon, lychee, mocha, sesame, strawberry, the list could go on and on - you could try a new bubble tea everyday. But would that be such a good idea?

To get a better idea of bubble tea's nutritional profile, we need to look at the main ingredients. The base of bubble tea is usually black or green tea. Tea is a low-fat, low-calorie beverage rich with cell-supporting antioxidants. Though tea generally contains less caffeine than coffee, it affects everyone differently. Watch out for restlessness, irritability, and disturbed sleep.
To add a hint of fruity flavour, bubble tea establishments will sometimes add in a purée of fresh fruit (good!). Unfortunately, many shops go the cost-effective route, using fruit syrups, which can be high in sugar and all the fat and calories that come with it.

Milk products add a creamy thickness to bubble tea, but they also add fat and calories and are a pain for people with lactose intolerance. Plain bubble tea has 160 calories. Swirl milk in and it goes up to 230 calories. Ask if a shop can forgo condensed milk in favour of soy milk, low-fat milk, or non-dairy creamers.
And sorry to burst your bubble, but tapioca pearls place boba tea's calorie count firmly in the "Yikes!" category. Once you plop pearls into your milky tea, you're looking at over 300 calories - and a lot more sugar! Some estimates claim that just one ounce of tapioca pearls contains 100 calories. Considering that recipes call for 2 to 3 ounces of pearls per cup of tea, you're sucking back some major calories.
Still on the bubble about bubble tea? Like other delightfully decadent drinkables - think ice-whipped lattes and mega-sized smoothies - bubble tea is really more of a meal or a dessert than a beverage to quench your thirst. Consider bubble tea one of those indulgences to savour once in a while, when you want something cool, creamy, fruity - and just a little bit chewy!

Amy Toffelmire

http://chealth.canoe.ca/channel_section_details.asp?text_id=4996&channel_id=44&relation_id=48476

New Cancer - Skin Cancer

Please Read & Share Dr. Brian Berry of the United States has found a new Cancer in human beings caused by Silver Nitro Oxide.  Whenever you buy recharged cards, don’t scratch with your nails, as it contains Silver Nitro Oxide coating and can cause skin cancer.  Share this message with your loved ones. Important Health Tips: 1. Answer phone calls with the left ear. 2. Don't take your medicine with cold water. 3. Don't eat heavy meals after 5.00 pm. 4. Drink more water in the morning, less at night. 5. Best sleeping time is from 10.00 pm to 4.00 am. 6. Don’t lie down immediately after taking medicine or after meals. 7. When the phone's battery is low to the last bar, don't answer the phone, because the radiation is 1000 times stronger. Can you share this with the people you care about? I just did! Kindness costs nothing! Knowledge is power!

Why need to apply medical card

Why need to apply medical card

February 13, 2010

 

 In modern era, medical cost is very high. Medical expenses is rising and it make sense that many of us get problem when get sick. Most of us prefer government hospital instead of private hospital. Government hospital has limited expert and the increase of patient will make us wait and queue to get medical treatment. It is make danger especially for critical or emergency sickness.
That’s the problem that we must avoid. Private hospital is an alternative for us but their costing is very high. To pay cash for their medical treatment fee is impossible. Medical card is an alternative way to settle your private medical bills. Modern medical card not only covered medical bill, it also have with life protection. This is good if something bad happen to you but if your life is safe, you will be paid for your saving or retirement fund.
Most of private hospital accepts the medical card because they can claim more at the provider. That’s the important for us who don’t have big cash. Just show them your medical card and you will need to paid small amount from the bill.
It is the basic thing about medical card but you must know that the medical card is not a health insurance. Lately, most of individual insurance provide with medical card. You must check first before applying the medical card. Check T&C and compare their advantage because not all of the company gives good offer. 

 http://yourhealthblog.net/why-need-to-apply-medical-card/