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| 1/1/2009 | THE INSIDER - A Health WorldNet Exclusive | |
| It's Flu Season Again - Here's the Scoop | |
| Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is a respiratory illness caused by viruses. There are many different types of flu, from the swine flu to the most feared avian flu. This article, however, deals only with the so-called common or seasonal flu. The flu season usually starts in the fall and subsides in late spring. Because of its seasonality, the flu season differs between the Northern and the Southern hemisphere. The United States health agency Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) gives the following statistics on flu: • 5 to 20% of the population gets the flu annually • Yearly, 200,000 cases are hospitalized due to severe flu complications • Yearly, 36,000 cases prove to be fatal • Annual healthcare costs of the flu are estimated to be more than US$10 billion. On the global scale, flu can affect tens of millions of people and cause 250,000 to 500,000 deaths each year. THE FLU is caused by many different types of viruses. There are three types of influenza viruses: Type A, Type B and Type C. Each type consists of different subtypes and substrains. The influenza types A and B are responsible for most of the flu epidemics. |
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| 1/1/2009 | The Cutting Edge | |
| The Melamine Story - Is Our Food Safe? | |
| In September 2008, the world was shocked at the sight of little babies in China attached to dialysis machines as they fight for their lives. Yet, the news of contaminated milk formula did not gain much attention until it was realized that the melamine problem is not only restricted to China only but has actually spread globally. | |
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| 12/31/2008 | Heads or Tails? | |
| To Vaccinate or Not To Vaccinate | |
| Almost everyone agrees that vaccination has been one of the single most effective public health measures ever undertaken.1 Then why the controversy? The controversy centers on two areas of contention: • While vaccination eradicates disease, it may and in some cases has created significant disease or long term damage to a percentage of the people, primarily children, who receive vaccinations. • Because vaccinations are mandatory, there is a strong argument about public good versus individual rights. |
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| 12/11/2008 | THE INSIDER - A Health WorldNet Exclusive | |
| Should the Legal Drinking Age be Lower? | |
| BACKGROUND The minimum legal drinking age refers to the minimum age at which alcoholic beverages can be consumed. This age limit is set by governments to restrict children and minors from purchasing, possessing and consuming alcohol. The age limit may vary from country to country or between states within a particular country. The United States has the highest legal drinking age in the western world. This age limit was established by the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984. This law was driven largely by the desire to reduce traffic fatalities associated with alcohol consumption. This requires all states in the US to legislate and enforce a minimum legal age of 21 years for purchasing and publicly possessing alcoholic beverages. The state that does not comply with the provisions of the act would be subjected to a 10% percent decrease in its annual federal highway apportionment under the Federal Highway Aid Act. The US Department of Transport is responsible in ensuring that this law is strictly observed. |
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| 12/11/2008 | The Cutting Edge | |
| Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) - The Truth and the Fiction | |
| Few innovations have had such immediate and sweeping popularity as Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs). Since it was first developed and marketed by R. Lee Heath in the late seventies, over a million have been purchased and distributed. The 2005 Federal Drug Administration decision to make them available without a prescription made for increasing deployment in homes of those at risk for sudden cardiac death. | |
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