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public-health

UK urges pregnant women to reconsider travel to Zika-hit Florida

British health officials have urged pregnant women to consider postponing non-essential travel to Florida after the southern U.S. state confirmed the first cases of the Zika virus that were not linked to travel. Florida, a popular holiday destination for Britons, reported four cases of local transmission on Friday. “Pregnant women should consider postponing non-essential travel to affected areas until after the pregnancy,” Public Health England, the government’s public health agency, said.

‘McDonald’s Diet’ brand ambassador dropped from schools: company

By Lisa Baertlein LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The former Iowa science teacher and McDonald's Corp “brand ambassador,” who preached the virtues of walking and near-daily french fries in presentations to youth, is no longer visiting U.S. schools, the fast-food chain said on Friday. The program presented by John Cisna, author of the book “My McDonald's Diet: How I lost 37 pounds in 90 days and became a viral media sensation,” was sharply criticized by teachers, parents and public health advocates who accused McDonald's of trying to hook youngsters on unhealthy food. Cisna's program included a documentary and discussion guide edited by McDonald's, which hired him in 2015 and provides him with a stipend for time and travel related to his speaking engagements.

WHO recommends new test, treatment plan for superbug strains of TB

By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) – The World Health Organization on Thursday recommended a speedier, cheaper treatment plan for patients with superbug forms of tuberculosis (TB) – a change that should help cure thousands of the killer disease. In what the WHO’s leading TB expert said was a critical step forward in tackling the “public health crisis” of multi drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), the Geneva-based health agency said the new treatment plan could now be completed in 9-12 months rather than the two years previously recommended. The shorter treatment regimen also costs significantly less – at just under $1,000 per patient in developing countries, said Mario Raviglione, director of the WHO’s global TB program.

WHO seeks $56 million for Zika; Brazil microcephaly cases rise

By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) – The World Health Organization (WHO) called on Wednesday for $56 million to combat the Zika virus, a disease that has been linked to severe birth defects in Brazil and has spread to nearly 30 countries and territories. A public health expert, Lawrence Gostin, said the United Nations health agency had “grossly underestimated” the need as the virus, which has spread rapidly across the Americas, will likely spread to many other regions. The WHO declared the outbreak a global public health emergency on Feb. 1, noting the association of the virus with two neurological disorders: microcephaly in babies and Guillain-Barre syndrome that can cause paralysis.

Outrage of the Month: Our Broken System for Protecting Human Research Subjects

Read more in Public Citizen's December Health LetterFrom 1946 to 1948, the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) conducted highly unethical medical research in Guatemala (1). Some of the research involved deliberately infecting people with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), such as syphilis and gonorrhea, without their consent (2). In 2011,…

Dementia may be stabilising in some countries: study

The occurrence of dementia and Alzheimer's disease may have stabilised in some wealthy nations, according to a study released Friday. A review of data from Sweden, the Netherlands, Britain and Spain showed the percentage of the population with dementia — the umbrella term for neurodegenerative diseases of the brain — holding steady, along with the number of new cases, said the study, published in The Lancet Neurology. Researchers led by Carol Brayne, a professor at the Cambridge Institute of Public Health and the University of Cambridge, compared dementia occurrence in old people across two time periods spanning the last several decades.