Health News, 27 July 2018

If, like me, you're sick of hearing nothing but politics on the news -- with all its seedy lawyers, porn stars, extortion, taped conversations, and bad hair -- then here's the week's recap of health news.  Cause this stuff matters.

• Our ace cub reporter in Pulaski sent in a Fox News story about kids getting salmonella from their backyard chickens and ducks.  As one Doctor said, "always remember to wash your hands after hugging your chicken."  Excellent advice for so many things you might want to hug!
• Someone within Department of Defense hired the RAND Corporation (a federally funded non-profit research group) to look at rates of sexual assault at military installations.  RAND is ready to release the report, but that sponsor within DOD suddenly doesn't like the answer.  Ooooo....smells like something died in here.  SEN Gillibrand is watching.
• Ebola can hibernate?  A woman in Liberia contracted Ebola back in 2016, but recovered.  After more than a year, her virus re-emerged to infect her and her 15-year old son (who died). 
• Discovery of the decade --> Scientists at the University of Alabama have discovered how to UNDO wrinkles and hair loss from aging...in mice.  By playing with the on/off switch for mitochondrial DNA in the mice, they may have uncovered the first step in also slowing the other ill effects of old age:  heart disease, cancers, diabetes, memory loss, etc.  Commenting on this game-changing research, lead researcher Dr. Dick Weiner said, "yea, it's great...we just don't know what we're going to do with 3 dozen mice that look like Kenny Rogers."
• In 2005, the United Nations named Glascow the most violent country in the world.  By treating violence as a public health threat -- an epidemic of bad behaviors similar to infectious diseases-- they have now more than halved the violence.  Some of the same approaches are now being used in Chicago, which often makes the national headlines because of inner city violence and looks to be the USA's hotspot for violence.
• Several weeks or months ago, we looked at the curious case of tick-borne meat allergies.  To summarize, some people become allergic to meat after they've been sucked on by the lone-star tick.  Researchers are now wondering if other mysterious allergens are connected with insect bites, such as lactose and gluten intolerance.  Maybe we can blame ticks for ice-cream gas!
  
• Foodie News, or "OMG, we're all gonna die!" -- -- Whey powder used by multiple companies in multiple products (Ritz and Goldfish crackers, Hungry Man dinners) may be contaminated with salmonella.  The company that makes the powder said:  "All products shipped into the marketplace tested negative for Salmonella....  However, because additional product tested positive for Salmonella...the company is recalling product as a precautionary measure."  I think they do not fully comprehend the meaning of "ALL products"  Current FDA head, Scot Gottlieb, says you should remain calm and continue to consume stuff.  So hey, I feel so much better. 
  -- Kraft Heinz is recalling Taco Bell Cheese Dip -- botulism, free of charge, included in every purchase. 
  -- Read this slowly:  "More than 10,000 chemicals are allowed to be added to food in the U.S., but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is unable to ensure all of those chemicals are safe."  The FDA allows companies to self-certify the safety of the chemicals they're adding to the foods we buy.  Children are particularly at risk, because so little is known/documented on the effects of more than 9,000 of those chemicals on humans...particularly on growth and development.  Does that make us happy?  Best advice is to eat fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables.  Go here to read more:  http://www.aappublications.org/news/2018/07/23/additives072318

• Great Britain is legalizing the medicinal use of marijuana...although recreational use is to remain verboten!  Primary treatments will be for chronic pain, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and the nausea that comes with chemotherapy.
• Made In China:  a company that makes vaccines in China falsified data on their medicines, to include vaccines for rabies, diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough.  In all seriousness, WTF?  Appears that the vaccines have only been sold within China, but the government appears to be suppressing news reports.  Expect to see public executions soon.
• Train Wreck Ahead:    The Lancet reports that "Brazil's government is backing away from the core principles of universal health care, despite it being a constitutional right."  Turns out that universal health care is unaffordable for the government.
• A follow-up postscript from last week's notice of the Valsartin recall -- turns out that a couple of our close ones (and one of their doctors) were impacted!  Don't assume that everyone is NOT trying to kill you.

Link to the APH Newsletter:  https://phc.amedd.army.mil/Periodical%20Library/APHWeeklyUpdate27July2018.pdf

Hope everybody has a great week.

Joe

Ten Years Later On...

Ten years have passed since I was here last.  A great deal has changed in my family in the last decade.

Between Facebook, Instagram, and who knows what else, guess social media conquered the world and left Blogs in the rear-view mirror.  Facebook never quite felt like "home", though.  So maybe let's try this blog thing again.

In connection to my job, I subscribe to a weekly news recap assembled by the U.S. Army Public Health Center.  I try to keep up with it -- and remember some of it -- by summarizing for the family.  I'll try to post those recaps here, as well, in the hopes that it might spur other rambling notes and useless bits of information. 


Here's the weekly news:

• Don’t eat the Honey Smacks…it has Salmonella
• Don’t eat McDonald’s salads…they have cyclosporiasis (a parasite)
• There’s a listeria outbreak in Europe stemming from frozen veggies packaged in a Hungarian plant by parent company Greenyard.  9 people in Europe are dead so far, and 1 in Australia.  There are indications that some of the veggies were shipped to the U.S., but nobody is sure where yet.
• Make sure to fully cook the turkey.  Multiple illnesses reported from across 26 states linked to raw/undercooked turkey.
• A new study suggests that full-fat dairy products lower your risk of heart disease and stroke.  We switched back to whole milk a couple years ago. 
• Ahh...brain eating amoebas!  I'm drawn to these stores of woe like a moth is drawn to the flame.  A brain-eating amoeba has now killed 6 people in Pakistan.  Well, it’s likely more than ONE amoeba, I suppose…or else he’s one mean and hardy bastard.
• STDs have tripled in 4 years in France.  Depending on your views of the French, this is either a tragedy or poetic justice.  C'est cela l'amour!
• Fascinating story from China.  Police are monitoring waste water (sewage) for signs of drug use.  Folks who are taking drugs, or making drugs, have to pee.  Authorities conduct chemical analysis on sewage to trace where the stoned pee is coming from.  Wham -- drug user and/or illegal drum manufacturer.  This trick might be useful in other countries!
• Here’s a story you thought you’d never hear:  China’s birth rate is dropping, and now is even below the U.S. rate.  And yes, primary reason is because of the historical preference for male children and the official policy of 1 child per family (lifted in 2016).  Female infanticide has created an imbalance of 30 million males.
• If you doubt that cola drinks are bad, take a look at the Mexican town of San Cristobal where clean water is scarce, but Coca-Cola is cheap and plentiful.  They have a Coca-Cola plant that has government-approved dibs on the water supply, and the residents are left with few options.  On average, residents drink a half-gallon of Coke a day.  Deaths from diabetes have skyrocketed 30% in the last few years.
• Anybody taking valsartan for high blood pressure and/or heart disease?  FDA has issued a voluntary recall due to an impurity in some of the products that came from China (wow, what a surprise).  See the list here:  https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm613532.htm

Reference APH Weekly Update:

https://phc.amedd.army.mil/Periodical%20Library/APHWeeklyUpdate20July2018.pdf 

      

Hope everybody has a great week.
Joe