Health Highlights – September 8th, 2009

September 9, 2009 | by

Health Highlights is a biweekly summary of particularly interesting articles from credible sources of health and medical information that we follow & read. For a complete list of recommeded sources, see our links page.

Health Highlights

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Put Your Hands Together and Fight the Flu

May 7, 2009 | by

Although the immediate threat of H1N1 — the swine flu — appears to be benign, experts say that the emerging strain could return in a more virulent form in future flu seasons [1]. And with increasing reports of the swine flu close to home, hand washing is more important than ever. Indeed, hand washing is the best way to prevent infection and illness. Some scientists estimate that as much as 80% of all infections are transmitted by unwashed hands [2]. Hand washing is the single most important thing you can do to prevent the spread of infection and to stay healthy. As simple as it may be, there’s a trick to effectively washing your hands with soap and water.

handwashing

Kids learn early on in preschool that to truly prevent the spread of germs, you’ve got to wash your hands. Nevertheless, a dab of soap and a quick rinse isn’t effective. The key is to wash your hands for at least 20 seconds to ensure that you’ve removed the microbes. By rubbing your hands with soapy water, you pull dirt and oil from your skin. The soap lather suspends any germs trapped inside and are then washed away when rinsing.

Science and the Swine Flu

April 28, 2009 | by

You’ve likely heard news reports this week about the swine flu virus outbreak in Mexico. The swine flu or swine influenza produces regular outbreaks of respiratory disease in pigs and is caused by influenza type A viruses. Transmission of swine flu viruses between people has been reported in the past, but was limited to three people. Today, the World Health Organization (WHO) raised its pandemic alert to "phase 5", which means that people in at least two countries in one WHO region are spreading the disease [1]. This was done following an increase to "phase 4" several days ago because the virus was already widespread in differnet locations, with confirmations in Mexico, the United States, Spain and Scotland.

While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has determined that the swine flu is contagious and is spreading from human to human [2], the WHO has indicated that most people infected with swine flu make a full recovery without the need for medical attention or antiviral drugs [3].

Lifetime Immunity From the Flu

March 4, 2009 | by

Scientists report in the current issue of the journal Nature Structural and Molecular Biology the isolation of a group of high-affinity antibodies that are potent inhibitors of a wide range of influenza viruses, including the H5N1 avian flu, the 1918 Spanish flu and some seasonal strains [1]. The antibodies may someday be used to create a vaccine that provides lifetime immunity from the flu.

Seasonal flu hospitalizes an average of 226,000 people in the U.S. annually, killing 36,000 every year [2]. Influenza A viruses have been associated with an increasing number of deaths; from 1990 — 1999, the greatest mean number of flu deaths were associated with influenza A (H3N2) viruses [3]. Each season, between one quarter- and a half-million people die of influenza worldwide [4].

Living Healthy Isn’t Cost Saving, It’s Cost Effective

February 8, 2008 | by

There are a lot of good reasons for people to lose weight and to quit smoking. However, according to a new study published in PLoS Medicine, saving money on lifetime healthcare costs isn’t one of them [1].