Tuesday, 11 September 2012

Diabetes warning for people of Asian

Diabetes warning for people of Asian, African and Caribbean descent

By James GallagherHealth and science reporter, BBC News

Scientists are trying to find out why some ethnic groups much more likely to develop diabetes

British people of South Asian, African or African Caribbean descent are significantly more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes than their European counterparts, researchers have warned.

Half had developed the disease by the age of 80 in a study of 4,200 people living in London - approximately twice the figure for Europeans.

The researchers said the rates were "astonishingly high".

The findings were published in the journal Diabetes Care.

Losing control of blood sugar levels increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, blindness and amputations. Type 2 diabetes is often linked to lifestyle and diet.

Some ethnic groups are already known to have a higher risk of Type 2 diabetes. However, one of the researchers at Imperial College London, Dr Therese Tillin, said it may be down to them simply getting the disease earlier in their lives and the figures would even out over time.

But the study showed: "The rates don't slow down as you get older. The astonishing difference continues," Dr Tillin said.

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People from these communities should be screened earlier than the general population - from the age of 25 rather than 40”

Dr Iain FrameDiabetes UK

She warned this could be a sign of things to come with the potential for soaring levels of diabetes around the world as more people lived in cities and enjoyed a calorie-rich diet.

Mystery

The scientists involved said that fat, particularly around the waist, could explain some, but not all of the difference, between the ethnicities.

Fellow researcher, Dr Nish Chaturvedi, said genetics could not explain the difference either as there were similar levels of "risky genes" across all groups.

She said: "There is something else that puts them at higher risk and we're not sure what that is."

Dr Mike Knapton, from the British Heart Foundation and a GP, said: "Awareness is really low considering the magnitude of the problem, even I'm surprised by the figures."

He also warned that failing to deal with diabetes would have huge financial consequences for the NHS.

The director of research at Diabetes UK, Dr Iain Frame, said it was "even more important" for people at high risk to manage their weight.

He said: "People from these communities should be screened earlier than the general population - from the age of 25 rather than 40.

"People need to know their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and get diagnosed as early as possible. We know that people from South Asian backgrounds can often be living with the condition for around 10 years before they are diagnosed, which increases the risk of complications such as heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, blindness and amputation.

Monday, 10 September 2012

Crippling viral infections 'cause asthma'

By James GallagherHealth and science repor

They say their findings, published in the journal Nature Medicine, will help develop ways of preventing asthma.Viral infections in newborns "cripple" part of the immune system and increase the risk of asthma later in life, US researchers studying mice have said.

They showed infections by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) stripped immune cells of their ability to calm down inflammation in the lung's airways.

The charity Asthma UK said the study had "really exciting" potential.

When something irritates the airways of a patient with asthma, the airways become tightened, inflamed and produce too much sticky mucus. All of this can make breathing difficult.

Previous studies have shown a link between repeated lung infections with RSV and developing asthma later in life.

One Swedish study showed showed 39% of infants taken to hospital with RSV had asthma when they were 18. However, only 9% of infants who were not ill developed asthma.

How the virus might be able to do this was, however, unknown. Now a team of researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine believe they have an explanation.

Their experiments on mice showed the virus impaired the ability of a specific part of the immune system, called regulatory T cells, to calm inflammation.

Inflammation is an important part of dealing with an infection. However, for asthma patients, chemicals in air which come from ordinary things like dust mites, pets and mould can trigger an inappropriate inflammatory response.

Infection with RSV led to a "complete loss of suppressive function" of the regulatory T cells, after which the mice developed asthma-like symptoms," researchers Prof Anuradha Ray and Prof Prabir Ray told the BBC.

Early window

They said there might be a window in early life when the cells were vulnerable to being "crippled".

They think the finding could help scientists devise treatments which prevent some people developing asthma.

"We feel that both prophylactic and therapeutic approaches can be developed.

"This is especially desirable in infants who have a strong family history of asthma."

Malayka Rahman, from Asthma UK, said: "This research provides vital information on how viruses interact with our immune cells and why this might lead to an increased risk of asthma.

"What's really exciting is the potential of these findings to translate into new treatments for asthma in the future."

Diabetes cholesterol risk warning

A simple test can show if cholesterol levels are too high

The majority of people with diabetes are not controlling cholesterol levels effectively - putting them at increased risk of heart disease, a charity warns.

Diabetes UK says 90% of people with the disease are having annual checks which will show up problems.

But it says the most recent national diabetes audit found many are not then addressing high cholesterol.

Chief executive Barbara Young said it meant the health of thousands was being put at unnecessary risk.

'Easy to control'

About 3.7 million people in the UK have diabetes. The majority - about 90% - have Type 2 diabetes, where the body makes too little insulin or where it fails to make it properly. In those with Type 1 diabetes, the body cannot produce any insulin at all.

The audit includes data on 1.9 million people in England with diabetes.

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It is an issue that is putting the health of hundreds of thousands of people at risk. ”

Barbara YoungDiabetes UK

People with both types of the condition have a higher risk of heart disease than the rest of the population.

Cardiovascular disease is linked to 44% of deaths in people with Type 1 and 52% with Type 2.

Diabetes UK says that because of the existence of statins - cholesterol-lowering drugs - it is relatively easy to control high cholesterol.

People with Type 2 diabetes also have twice the risk of stroke within the first five years of diagnosis compared with the general population.

Barbara Young said the findings were worrying, adding: "It is not clear why the high number of people having their annual cholesterol check is not translating into better cholesterol control, but it is an issue that is putting the health of hundreds of thousands of people at risk.

"It will often be appropriate to prescribe medication such as statins, but it is no good doing this without explaining the importance of taking the medication regularly and the potentially devastating consequences of not doing so.

"Other ways people can help improve their cholesterol levels include losing weight, exercising daily, reducing alcohol consumption, stopping smoking and eating a healthy diet, low in fat."

Saturday, 8 September 2012

Viral Special Pathogens Branch

Viral Special Pathogens Branch (VSPB)

The Viral Special Pathogens Branch is involved in activities that address more than 35 highly infectious viruses across five different viral families, many of which cause hemorrhagic fevers and other deadly diseases.

Some of these viruses are rare, whereas others are quite common and cause frequently debilitating or fatal disease in many thousands of people. While a portion of the virus types are found in relatively small geographic areas, others are distributed over continents.

VSPB diseases include:

Activities include:

Monitoring of hemorrhagic fevers and other infectious diseases
Operation of Biosafety Level 4 labs for safe containment of viruses
Responding to outbreaks and conducting epidemiological fieldwork
Assisting with disease detection and control measures
Conducting ecological investigations of emerging zoonotic viruses

Dame Jo Williams: Care regulator chair to resign

She said it had been a "privilege" to work at the Care Quality Commission, but it was now "time to step aside".

The CQC came under attack last year over the exposure of abuse of residents at the Winterbourne View care home.

The Department of Health said she was "tireless and dedicated" to her role.

She will step down once a replacement has been found.

Last year scathing reports by the health select committee of MPs and the National Audit Office suggested the organisation was struggling to cope.

Her own position has come under close scrutiny after she tried, and failed, to have a board colleague sacked over criticism of the CQC's leadership.

Kay Sheldon had given evidence to the public inquiry into failings at the Mid Staffordshire trust which is due to deliver its report to the government in mid October. The recommendations from the inquiry could have far reaching implications for the regulation of healthcare.

'A privilege'

In a statement Dame Jo said: "I am proud of the progress we have made.

"It has been a demanding and complex role, and there have undoubtedly been challenges as we registered 40,000 providers and brought the entire health and social care system under one set of standards.

"But there is now clear evidence that our regulation is beginning to have an impact on the care that people receive, and it feels as if the organisation is moving into the next stage of its development.

"It has been a privilege to hold this important role but I now believe it is time to step aside and for a new Chair to lead CQC into the next stage."

She will still give evidence as planned to the Health Select Committee on Tuesday. The committee has previously criticised the CQC for taking on too many responsibilities and failing to concentrate on its core role of ensuring minimum standards.

Earlier in the year Cynthia Bower resigned as chief executive of the organisation.

Una O'Brien, permanent secretary at the Department of Health, said: "I would like to thank Jo for her tireless and dedicated service in leading the CQC as Chair since 2010, and before that as a Non-Executive Director from its inception in 2008.

"Jo has shown sustained loyalty and commitment to the organisation, and to the patients and the public its serves. She is leaving the CQC well prepared for the next phase of its development

Friday, 7 September 2012

Yosemite Park-linked hantavirus kills third victim

The warning comes as a West Virginian who visited the park in June became the third person to die from the virus.

Eight cases have been confirmed so far. There is no known cure for the virus, spread by infected rodent droppings.

Yosemite tent cabins undated file picture

Symptoms can take up to six weeks to show and one third of cases are fatal.

Yosemite National Park said it was getting about 1,000 calls per day to itshantavirus hotline from frightened visitors.

The hantavirus virus is carried in rodent faeces, urine and saliva. When it dries out and mixes with dust, it can be inhaled by humans, especially in small spaces.

The disease can also spread if people touch or eat contaminated substances, or are bitten by an infected animal.

Extreme breathing difficulty

The first death was reported in August. One of those who died was a 37-year-old man from the San Francisco Bay area.

Yosemite says that out of the eight cases linked with the park, five remaining individuals are either improving or recovering.

The outbreak of the virus at Yosemite is thought to have been caused by mice nesting in the insulation of tents at a campsite in the Curry Village area of the reserve.

About 10,000 visitors stayed at the campsite between June and August and could be at risk of contracting the virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.

The park service more recently extended its warning to 12,000 people who had stayed or were planning to stay at the High Sierra Camps from earlier this summer through mid-September, bringing the total number possibly exposed to 22,000.

One non-fatal case was linked to a stay at the High Sierra Camps in July.The CDC has urged doctors to report diagnosed cases of the hantavirus to state health authorities.

The park has contacted several thousands of groups of visitors warning them to seek medical advice if they experience flu-like symptoms, including headache, fever, shortness of breath, muscle ache and cough.

Severe cases can lead to extreme breathing difficulty and death.

Last week, park officials closed all 91 "signature" cabins after finding deer mice, which carry the virus, nesting between the double walls of the luxury tents.

But they added that the outbreak of the virus had not led to a wave of cancellations.

"There have been cancellations, but it would be grossly overstated to say they're cancelling en masse. There's quite a bit of people out there still," Yosemite spokeswoman Kari Cobb said.

The park saw two other cases of the hantavirus in a more remote area during 2000 and 2010, but this year's were the first known deaths.

Thursday, 6 September 2012

earlier trees were virgin

Yosemite

A visitor takes in the view of Upper Yosemite Falls in Yosemite National Park, California May 17, 2009.

Credit: Reuters/Robert Galbraith

By Ronnie Cohen

SAN FRANCISCO | Wed Sep 5, 2012 4:37pm EDT

(Reuters) - Health officials in France were investigating two suspected cases of deadly mouse-borne hantavirus in people who may have been exposed at Yosemite National Park this summer. .

Some 1,923 Europeans in 18 countries may be at risk of contracting hantavirus pulmonary syndrome from visits to the U.S. national park in California between June and August, according to an assessment by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control on Wednesday.

"In France, the French National Institute for Public Health Surveillance has reported an ongoing investigation into two potentially exposed cases," the European CDC said.

The disease has so far been confirmed to have killed two men and sickened four other people, all U.S. citizens, prompting the U.S. authorities to issue a health alert.

But officials are concerned that more Yosemite visitors could develop the lung disease over the next month. Most of the victims identified so far were believed to have been infected while staying in one of 91 "Signature" tent-style cabins in the park's popular Curry Village camping area.

Of the 10,000 people thought to be at risk, as many as 2,500 live outside the United States, park service epidemiologist David Wong said. U.S. health officials sent warnings to 39 other countries earlier this week that citizens who stayed in Yosemite should be on the lookout for symptoms of the lung disease.

Of the European visitors to Yosemite this summer, the greatest number came from France, at 502, the European assessment said. It said 342 British people also could have been exposed, along with 250 Germans and large groups from the Netherlands, Italy and Belgium.

There is no cure for hantavirus, which kills 36 percent of those it infects, but early detection through blood tests greatly increases survival rates. The disease has never been known to be transmitted between humans.

Last week, park officials shut down the "Signature" tent cabins after finding deer mice, which carry the disease, infesting the double walls.

Early symptoms of the disease include headache, fever, muscle aches, shortness of breath and coughing. The virus may incubate for up to six weeks after exposure and can lead to severe breathing difficulties and death.

(Additional reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Dan Whitcomb, Cynthia Johnston and Cynthia Osterman)

Liquitabs alert after children burned

Doctors are warning about the dangers of liquitabs used in washing machines and dishwashers, after treating some children for near fatal injuries.

The Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow has admitted five children this year, all under two, who had either bitten into or squeezed the tabs.

They suffered chemical burns to their eyes or throats.

When liquid was swallowed, a tube had to be inserted to aid breathing until swelling in the airways was treated.

Dr Lyndsay Fraser, from the hospital's ear nose and throat unit, said: "We have known for some time about the risk of eye injuries from kids squeezing these liquitabs until they burst.

"What we have seen more recently is that children are biting into the tablets, presumably because they think they are sweets as they have the same soft texture and bright colouring.

"The alkaline chemicals in the liquitab cause an immediate chemical burn, causing breathing problems as the airway starts to swell rapidly.

Shannon Hutchison's daughter Orla spent 10 days in hospital

"Getting them to hospital straight away is imperative. In most of the cases seen so far we have had to insert a breathing tube to protect the child's airway from the swelling and help them breathe."

Dr Fraser said that if these children had not reached the hospital on time, their airway "could have closed over completely with potentially fatal consequences".

The medic added: "Once the breathing tube has been inserted, children can be on a ventilator for anything up to two weeks whilst the swelling settles and one child so far has required further surgery to repair the damage caused by the liquitab.

"It really is only good fortune that we haven't seen a death resulting from this type of injury."

Staff at the hospital have been alarmed by the number of children recently admitted as emergency cases.it is easy to access to them especially if they are left within reach and sight of young children or toddlers.

"Most parents are not aware of the dangers of these common household items, commonly storing them in unlocked cupboards within potential reach of their child.

"It is important parents realise that these liquid capsules are dangerous chemicals and they should be kept locked away so children can't reach them."

Shannon Hutchison backed the hospital's safety campaign after her daughter Orla swallowed the contents of a liquitab at the age of seven months.

She said: "Orla was at my sister's house playing with my two-year-old nephew who managed to get hold of one of these liquitabs.

"He thought it was a sweetie because it was bright and like a jelly so he gave it to Orla who bit into it.

"Immediately we realised there was a problem as she was going in and out of consciousness so phoned an ambulance right away, it was terrifying. I'm just so lucky to still have my little girl."

'Bright sweeties'

Orla was rushed to intensive care and spent 10 days in hospital.

Since the incident, Shannon said she had been much more careful about where all her family are keeping liquitabs.

"To kids they do look like bright sweeties and they are not in a sealed box, kids can get into them so easily and I had no idea what could happen until I saw what happened to Orla," she said.

"When we got to hospital the doctors told me they see this two or three a year. Now I make sure that all the liquitabs are locked away and I tell everyone to do the same.

"The boxes they come in really should be child proof and I hope manufacturers do something about this as I wouldn't want this to happen to any other little girl or boy."

Wednesday, 5 September 2012

Thalidomide

Thalidomide apology insulting, campaigners say

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Bronze statue symbolizing a child born without limbs because of thalidomide

The bronze statue of a child born with thalidomide symptoms is on display in Stolberg, Germany

The drug, sold in the 1950s as a cure for morning sickness, was linked to birth defects and withdrawn in 1961.

German-based Gruenenthal has issued its first apology in 50 years, but said the drug's possible side-effects "could not be detected" before it was marketed.

But the UK's Thalidomide Trust said any apology should also admit wrongdoing.

Nick Dobrik, a member of the trust's national advisory council, said it "should be an unreserved apology, not a conditional apology".

"We feel that a sincere and genuine apology is one which actually admits wrongdoing. The company has not done that and has really insulted the thalidomiders."

Compensation

Martin Johnson, the trust's director, told the BBC that the news that the manufacturers were starting to acknowledge responsibility was welcome but they were still trying to perpetuate the myth that no-one could have known of the harm the drug could cause when there was, he said, much evidence that they did know.

And Freddie Astbury, president of Thalidomide UK, said: "It's taken a long time for them to apologise. There are a lot of people damaged by thalidomide struggling with health problems in the UK and around the world.

"So we welcome the apology, but how far do they want to go? It's no good apologising if they won't open discussions on compensation. They've got to seriously consider financial compensation for these people."

By the time the drug was pulled from the market, more than 10,000 babies worldwide had been born with a range of disabilities caused by the drug.

This included shortened arms and legs, blindness, deafness, heart problems and brain damage.

There are between 5,000 and 6,000 sufferers still alive. Thalidomide UK says there are 458 people in the UK who were affected by the drug, but that for every thalidomide baby that lived there were 10 that died.

Harald Stock, Gruenenthal's chief executive, issued his company's apology at the unveiling of a bronze statue symbolising a child born without limbs because of thalidomide.

"We ask for forgiveness that for nearly 50 years we didn't find a way of reaching out to you from human being to human being," he said at a ceremony in the western German city of Stolberg, where the firm is based.

"We ask that you regard our long silence as a sign of the shock that your fate caused in us."

Mr Stock said the company regretted that the potential for thalidomide to affect the development of foetuses "could not be detected by the tests that we and others carried out before it was marketed".

Class action

BBC science correspondent for the Today programme, Tom Feilden, said one of the main issues was what Gruenenthal knew about the drug's side effects, when it knew about them and whether the company could have acted sooner in withdrawing it from the market.

Some compensation has been paid, particularly by thalidomide's British distributor.

Gruenenthal itself has previously paid compensation to survivors of the drug, many in Germany, and has voiced regret over the issue - but has not admitted liability.

In the early 1970s, it agreed to pay 100m Deutschmarks (£40m) into an official fund for German thalidomide survivors and was given permanent legal indemnity by the German government.

Since the original fund money ran out, continuing compensation payments have been made by the government. In 2009 the company added a further 50m euro (£39.6m) one-off endowment.

Compensation claims are still outstanding, including one key class action in Australia, which saw thalidomide survivors win the right to have their case for compensation heard there.

The drug is still used today under strict controls to treat some bone marrow cancer patients