Children living near toxic waste sites in lower and middle income countries such as India, Philippines and Indonesia may experience higher blood lead levels, resulting in a loss of IQ points and a higher incidence of mental retardation, according to a study presented today by Kevin Chatham-Stephens, MD, Pediatric Environmental Health Fellow at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting on May 6 in Washington, DC.

The study titled, "The Pediatric Burden of Disease from Lead Exposure at Toxic Waste Sites in Low and Middle Income Countries in 2010," was a joint research partnership between Mount Sinai and the Blacksmith Institute.

Researchers measured lead levels in soil and drinking water at 200 toxic waste sites in 31 countries then estimated the blood lead levels in 779,989 children who were potentially exposed to lead from these sites in 2010. The blood lead levels ranged from 1.5 to 104 µg/dL, with an average of 21 µg/dL in children ages four years and younger.

According to Dr. Chatham-Stephens, first author of the study, these higher blood lead levels could result in an estimated loss of five to eight IQ points per child and an incidence of mild mental retardation in 6 out of every 1,000 children.

"The average blood lead level in an American child is approximately 1.3 µg/dL," said Dr. Chatham-Stephens. "Our research found an average predicted blood lead level of 21 µg/dL, which is very high. Lead has serious, long-term health consequences such as the potential to impair cognitive development in children and cause mental retardation." The condition of mental retardation is defined as having an IQ below 70.

"On a global level, this analysis highlights the importance of assigning more public health resources to identify, evaluate and remediate lead-contaminated toxic waste sites in these countries," said Philip Landrigan, MD, MSc, Dean for Global Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, one of the authors of the study. "In order to prevent further detrimental effects on neurodevelopment in children, these countries should create programs to identify toxic wastes and reduce lead exposure."

"This study is important because, to our knowledge, the burden of disease from these toxic waste sites has never been calculated before," said Dr. Chatham-Stephens. "We are showing that children who were chronically exposed to toxic waste sites in lower and middle income countries could have had high lead blood levels."

(source: www.sciencedaily.com)

Volunteers from the Churches of Scientology of the Tampa Bay Area spent World Health Day April 7 helping local residents make healthy choices by providing the truth about drugs.

Tampa Bay, Florida (PRWEB) May 06, 2013

Members of the Churches of Scientology in the Tampa Bay area marked World Health Day April 7 by taking action against drug abuse—a health issue that has become an epidemic.

On March 28, Dr. Tom Frieden, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) tweeted: "Drug poisoning deaths from opioid analgesics have more than quadrupled since 1999, now 43% of drug poisoning deaths."

The news in Florida is a bit more hopeful. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement announced in March that drug-related deaths dropped 5 percent in the first half of 2012 compared to the same period the year before.

But this still means that 4,126 Floridians died of drug-related causes—4,126 too many, according to the Tampa Bay Scientologists who took to the streets on World Health Day and distributed more than 3,000 copies of The Truth About Drugs booklet at Clearwater Beach and in Tarpon Springs and Tampa.

The Truth About Drugs booklet provides essential information on how drugs work and how they affect the body and mind, why people take them, and the effects of the most commonly abused substances. Without scare tactics, the booklet provides information that empowers young people to make their own decisions to live drug-free.

The Church of Scientology has published the brochure Scientology: How We Help —The Truth About Drugs, Creating a Drug-Free World to meet requests for more information about the drug education and prevention initiative it supports. To learn more or to read a copy of the brochure, visit http://www.Scientology.org/antidrug.

Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard wrote, "The planet has hit a barrier which

prevents any widespread social progress—drugs and other biochemical substances. These can put people into a condition which not only prohibits and destroys physical health but which can prevent any stable advancement in mental or spiritual well-being."

The Church of Scientology supports the Truth About Drugs, one of the world's largest nongovernmental drug education and prevention campaigns. It has been conclusively proven that when young people are provided with the truth about drugs—factual information on what drugs are and what they do—usage rates drop commensurately.

(source: www.beaumontenterprise.com)

The World Health Organization's ability to police the new strain of bird flu that has killed 27 people in China is being jeopardized by budget cuts, according to a top U.S. official.

"One of the things that, frankly, concerns us is the ability of WHO to respond effectively," Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told the Reuters Health Summit in New York on Monday.

Frieden said he planned to raise the issue with other countries at the World Health Assembly (WHA) meeting, which is being held in Geneva, where the U.N. agency has its headquarters, from May 20 to May 28.

Many scientific questions still have to be answered about the new flu strain, known as H7N9, which first caused patients to sicken in China in February having been previously unknown in humans.

So far, researchers have established it is being transmitted to people from birds - probably mostly chickens. There is no evidence of it spreading from person to person.

The WHO plays a central role in coordinating the global response to such emerging disease threats, but it is struggling in the face of budget cuts that were forced on it two years ago, partly as a result of a strong appreciation in the Swiss franc.

"They had trouble sending a team to China for H7 because they didn't have enough money to travel," Frieden said. "They are managing and we will help them manage - and will send staff there as needed - but the world needs them to be effective."

Taiwan reported its first case of H7N9 on April 24 and health experts say it is critical to monitor closely the new strain's potential to spread in neighbouring countries.

Dr. Keiji Fukuda, the WHO's assistant director-general for health security, said the organization was carrying out the work that needed to be done but the operation, involving more than 50 staff, was "very expensive".

"We need the gas tank to be full if the car is going to move. We've already been working with donors in terms of response and funds for support," he said in a telephone interview in Geneva.

There will be a side event on H7N9 during the WHA meeting on May 21 where both Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO director-general, and he will speak, along with the Chinese health minister, Fukuda added.

The U.N. health agency, which helped eliminate smallpox in the late 1970s, co-ordinated worldwide efforts to deal with the H1N1 swine flu pandemic in 2009/10.

It receives the bulk of its funding in dollars, leaving it exposed to currency fluctuations. It was forced in 2011 to cut 300 jobs in Switzerland - or one in eight - because of the strength of the Swiss franc and financial problems in some donor countries.

"They've had to lay off hundreds of staff in Geneva and in other parts of the world, including in areas that are quite relevant to flu response," Frieden said.

(source: www.sabc.co.za)

An update of World Health Organisation's action plan for the "Decade of Vaccines" focusing on the global status of immunisation will be presented at a conference to be held in Qatar from December 4-7.

The presentation will be made by Dr Thomas Cherian, WHO's programme and impact monitoring co-ordinator, Excellence in Paediatrics Institute announced yesterday.

The conference is being sponsored by Sidra Medical and Research Centre, a member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development.

The global vaccine action plan (GVAP) was endorsed by the 194 member-states of the WHO in 2012 to achieve the 'Decade of Vaccines' vision by delivering universal access to immunisation. The GVAP's mission is to improve health by extending the full benefits of immunisation to all people, regardless of where they are born, who they are or where they live by 2020.

If the GVAP is translated into action and resources are mobilised, 24.6-25.8mn deaths could be averted by the end of the decade, billions of dollars in productivity will be gained, and immunisation will greatly contribute to achieving the Millennium Development Goal target to reduce by two-thirds the under-five mortality rate, the institute said.

The GVAP builds on the Global Immunisation Vision and Strategy 2006–2015, the United Nation's Millennium Declaration and the UN Secretary-General's Global Strategy for Women and Children's Health.

Developing the plan has brought together multiple stakeholders involved in immunisation, including the leadership of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundations, GAVI Alliance, Unicef and US National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases.

All partners, including governments and elected officials, health professionals, academia, manufacturers, global agencies, development partners, civil society, media and the private sector, are committed to achieving the ambitious goals of GVAP.

Sidra, who has been working to improve the provision of healthcare for women and children in Qatar, region and internationally, supports the goals of GVAP.

"At Sidra, the focus is not only on ensuring an unparalleled patient experience within the hospital, but improving the individual's overall wellbeing before they even arrive at our doors. Vaccination is essential in disease prevention and I am looking forward to Dr Cherian's update on WHO's action plan for the Decade of Vaccines," Sidra's chief medical officer Dr Edward Ogata said.

(source: www.gulf-times.com)

Toxic waste sites with elevated levels of lead and chromium cause a high number of "healthy years of life lost" in individuals living near 373 sites located in India, the Philippines and Indonesia, according to a study by a Mount Sinai researcher published online in Environmental Health Perspectives.

The study leader, Kevin Chatham-Stephens, MD, Pediatric Environmental Health Fellow at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, presented the findings today at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Washington, DC. "Lead and hexavalent chromium proved to be the most toxic chemicals and caused the majority of disease, disability and mortality among the individuals living near the sites," said Dr. Chatham-Stephens, first author of the study.

The study titled, "The Burden of Disease from Toxic Waste Sites in India, Indonesia, and the Philippines in 2010," was a joint research partnership between Mount Sinai and the Blacksmith Institute. Eight chemicals were sampled and collected at the toxic waste sites in 2010. The samples were then measured for pollutant levels in the soil and water and then compared with the 8,629,750 individuals who were at risk of exposure around these sites in order to calculate the loss of years of equivalent full health.

Researchers calculated healthy years of life lost due to ill-health, disability or early death, in disability-adjusted life years (DALY), a measure of overall disease burden used by the World Health Organization. One DALY represents the loss of one year of equivalent full health. In this study, the total number of lost years of full health or DALYs was 828,722. In comparison, malaria in the same countries caused 725,000 lost years of full health, and outdoor air pollution caused 1.4 million lost years of full health in 2008, according to Dr. Chatham-Stephens.

"The number of DALYs estimated in our study potentially places toxic waste sites on par with other major public health issues such as malaria and outdoor air pollution which are also causing a high number of healthy years of life lost," said Dr. Chatham-Stephens. "This study highlights a major and previously under-recognized global health problem in lower and middle income countries," said Philip Landrigan, MD, MSc, Dean for Global Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and one of the authors of the study. "The next step is targeting interventions such as cleaning up the sites and minimizing the exposure of humans in each of these countries where toxic chemicals are greatly present."

Additionally, children and women of child-bearing age made up two-thirds of the population in the study. "If a woman is pregnant, the fetus may be exposed to these toxic chemicals," said Dr. Chatham-Stephens. "This data is relevant because the prenatal to early childhood period is the time when individuals are very vulnerable to some toxic exposures, such as lead's impact on the developing nervous system."

Previous studies have shown that lead can cause neurological, gastrointestinal and cardiovascular damage, while those also exposed to high levels of chromium have a greater chance of developing lung cancer. "Our research shows that chemical pollutants from toxic waste sites are insufficiently studied in lower and middle income countries and that disease and death caused by these chemicals can contribute to loss of life," said Dr. Chatham-Stephens.

(source: www.countercurrents.org)

LONDON - A new strain of bird flu that is causing a deadly outbreak among people in China is a threat to world health and should be taken seriously, scientists said on Wednesday.

The H7N9 strain has killed 24 people and infected more than 125, according to the Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO), which has described it as "one of the most lethal" flu viruses.

The high mortality rate, together with relatively large numbers of cases in a short period and the possibility it might acquire the ability to transmit between people, make H7N9 a pandemic risk, experts said.

"The WHO considers this a serious threat," said John McCauley, director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Influenza at Britain's National Institute for Medical Research.

Speaking at a briefing in London, experts in virology said initial studies suggest the virus has several worrisome characteristics, including two genetic mutations that make it more likely to eventually spread from person to person.

"The longer the virus is unchecked in circulation, the higher the probability that this virus will start transmitting from person to person," Colin Butte, an expert in avian viruses at Britain's Pirbright Institute, said.

Of the some 125 people infected with H7N9 so far, around 20 percent have died, approximately 20 percent have recovered and the remainder are still sick. The infection can lead to severe pneumonia, blood poisoning and organ failure.

"This is a very, very serious disease in those who have been infected. So if this were to become more widespread it would be an extraordinarily devastating outbreak," Peter Openshaw, director of the centre for respiratory infection at Imperial College London, told the briefing.

Scientists who have analysed genetic sequence data from samples from three H7N9 victims say the strain is a so-called "triple reassortant" virus with a mixture of genes from three other flu strains found in birds in Asia.

Recent pandemic viruses, including the H1N1 "swine flu" of 2009/2010, have been mixtures of mammal and bird flu - hybrids that are likely to be milder because mammalian flu tends to make people less severely ill than bird flu.

Pure bird-flu strains, such as the new H7N9 strain and the H5N1 flu, which has killed about 371 of 622 the people it has infected since 2003, are generally more deadly for people.

Human cases of the H7N9 flu have been found in several new parts of China in recent days and have now been recorded in all of its provinces.

Last week a man in Taiwan became the first case of the flu outside mainland China, though he was infected while travelling there.

The H7N9 strain was unknown in humans until it was identified in sick people in China in March.

Scientists say it is jumping from birds - most probably chickens - to people, and there is no evidence yet of the virus passing from person to person.

Jeremy Farrar, a leading expert on infectious diseases and director of Oxford University's research unit in Vietnam, said the age range of those infected so far stretched from toddlers to people in their late 80s - a range that appeared to confirm the virus is completely new to the human population.

"That suggests there truly is no immunity across all ages, and that as humans we have not seen this virus before," he said.

"The response has to be calm and measured, but it cannot be taken lightly," he said.

(source: vitals.nbcnews.com)

Semarang, Central Java. Better health care through easing restrictions on foreign doctors and imported medical equipment is key to improving living standards and economic efficiency, members of a business lobby group heard on Tuesday.

"The public's access to health care remains low, as a result of limited services, and poor distribution and quality of medical workers," James Riady, Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and

Industry (Kadin) deputy chairman for education and health, said during the body's national congress in Semarang on Tuesday.

Disparities in health care across regions and economic groups should be minimized swiftly, said James, who is also chief executive of Lippo Group, owner of Siloam Hospitals, which operates 10 facilities.

James said that company employees only work effectively when their health is secure. To achieve that goal, James said, it is essential that the new Social Security Organizing Body (BPJS) operates effectively.

James said that Indonesia lacks quality doctors and other medical professionals and that the government should lift the ban on foreign medical workers so that the BPJS program can be successful.

"Kadin Indonesia wants to see red tape cut, including regulations that hinder businesses catering to the welfare of the public, such as the health sector," James said.

"How can hospitals provide sufficient quality and affordable services under the BPJS program when the equipment needed is expensive," James said in reference to the luxury goods sales tax, which applies to medical equipment.

Kadin Indonesia's health committee chairman Dr. Adib Yahya said that improving the quality of human resources in the health sector would require innovation and improved access to health education, including sufficient field practice to sharpen skills.

However, Adib said, substandard infrastructure and the small number of health facilities that work in conjunction with the health education system was limiting the quality of training available.

Adib echoed James's complaint about expensive import duties on health equipment, saying the tax led to a scarcity of sophisticated equipment.

He added that the luxury tax on health equipment had also put access to quality health care out of reach of many people.

Health Minister Nafsiah Mboi in her opening address said: "Health care never really came for free. The government has long provided subsidies for health services, so any assumption that such care was free is mistaken. There were definitely expenses.

"I support the revocation of luxury goods sales tax for medical equipment in order that hospitals can provide better services, with better equipment, purchased at more affordable prices. And that can be covered by BPJS."

(source: www.thejakartaglobe.com)

The country's workers unions are set to stage rallies across Indonesia to commemorate Labor Day on May 1, with marches organized across the archipelago.

National Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo said his men were ready for the May Day rallies.

"It is an annual event, so it is important to keep it orderly," he said on the sidelines of a meeting at the Presidential Palace complex on Monday. "So please keep it peaceful and orderly. [You] are allowed to express your aspirations, but don't disturb the activities of other people." He acknowledged that Jakarta would be "a priority".

"Don't worry about the blocking of toll roads by protesters; we all hope it won't not occur," he added.

Jakarta Traffic Police deputy chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Sambodo Purnomo warned motorists to avoid the rally's three checkpoints at the Presidential Palace and the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle both in Central Jakarta and the House of Representatives in South Jakarta.

"We will let the public know about traffic detours during the May Day event through the Traffic Management Center [TMC] website as well as through Twitter and Facebook. There will also be live radio broadcasts," he said.

Thousands of workers in Tangerang regency are planning to block access to the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on May 1 to pressure President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

"We will not leave the airport until the president comes to talk with us," said Mukhtar Guntur from the People Movement against Capitalism (Gerak) on Monday.

Gerak coordinator Koswara explained that their 13 demands included the elimination of the outsourcing system, the freedom of the workers' association, better wages and for the government to decline requests from their employers to suspend the higher 2013 wages.

"We are tired of holding rallies at the Presidential Palace without any reaction. Therefore, we will just stage a rally at the airport," he said.

Depok Police coordinated with the unions about their May Day plans. Chief Sr. Comr. Achmad Kartiko said that the police would deploy 695 personnel to secure the event, while asking the unions not to target factories in Depok operating on that day.

Timur said that the President planned to meet with workers in Surabaya during the May Day event.

On Monday afternoon, Yudhoyono met with several figures that represented the unions, including chairman of the Confederation of Indonesian Workers Union (KSPI) Said Iqbal, Indonesian Labor Movement Council (MPBI) chairman Andi Gani and Congress Alliance of Indonesian Labor Unions (KASBI) chairperson Nining Elitos.

"In short, we share the same commitment and interests," Yudhoyono told the meeting. "I have often agreed that we want better workers welfare. It's not fair: High economic growth, the industry is well developed, yet the workers see no progress."

Yudhoyono urged protestors to keep the rallies peaceful.

Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar, who also attended the dialogue, told the press that they had agreed to have a meeting ahead of May Day to share ideas.

"We talked about how to improve the social security provider [BPJS] as well as its regulations, the provincial minimum wage [UMP] and outsourcing," Muhaimin said after the meeting.

Said Iqbal said Yudhoyono promised that "as long as the economy is growing, the workers would enjoy the wage. So let's wait until it improves." He also revealed that the President said May Day would be a national holiday next year. (tam)

(source: www.thejakartapost.com)